Super Fuzz DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Christian Preischl]

For what it's worth: The German title is "Der Super Cop".
The film is also called "Super Snooper" in many countries. Love the film, by the way. I have the UK DVD which is total and utter crap. There's also an anamorphic Italian DVD, which has both Italian and English language tracks, but I don't know anything about the quality. (Note: The film was shot in English, and despite his Italian accent Terence Hill wasn't dubbed in this one, so an English language track is a must.)

Chris

 

[Joe:C]

There's a good chance then I did watch this as "Super Cop". There's no telling how many names this has been released under over the years.

 

[walter o]

there is a MGM film called SUPERCOPS with David Shelby and Ron Lieberman, maybe you are thinking of that one?

 

[Christian Preischl]

I'd love to see that one on DVD.

Regarding the Italian Super Fuzz DVD I mentioned above: It seems to run 92 min. which is 9 minutes shorter than any version I've ever seen (German, UK). How long is the US DVD?

Chris

 

[walter o]

US DVD is probably a rip on the old embassy tape, so I suspect 91 min?

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I bought a brand new copy of this classic on tape off of ebay a few months back, it, of course, leaves a lot to be desired in terms of quality, but it's still good for a casual view.

"Here he comes, down the street, and he looks like everybody you meet...Super, Superrrrrrr"

 

[Daniel Bakken]

I was pretty surprised how poorly this film aged. The DVD transfer is horrid too. I remember loving this as a kid, but I just couldn't get into this one as an adult.

 

[Jeff*H]

There is a new DVD transfer of Super Fuzz being released on 2/27 from a company called Somerville House, with a run time of 97 minutes and in Full Screen AND Widescreen, according to the Amazon specs. Sounds like a much better version than the previous DVD release. My copy just shipped from Deep Discount DVD.

 

[Christian Preischl]

Let us know if it's any good. I meant to pre-order this but the running time has put me off. Several European versions, including the German and UK ones, run 106 min. (approx. 101 after PAL speedup).

I never found out what's missing in the short version, but having grown up on the longer one I just can't bring myself to buy it.

 

[MarkHastings]

Is the 97 min. version really short? or is the 101 min. version long? From what I've read, the movie is approx. 97 minutes.

And yes, Jeff is right, they are saying that this new release is a brand new transfer as opposed to the old version.

EDIT: Amazon actually listed the 2004 DVD release at 80 minutes??

 

[Christian Preischl]

Mark, I can't say which is considered the "official" version. All I can say is that the German version was always 106 min. (101 min. in PAL) even when it was shown theatrically in the early 80s.

The UK DVD features the same 106 min. version (in awful, truly terrible quality).

But that's the only version I've ever seen. It may just be a case of alternate cuts in different countries. Wouldn't be the first time.

Chris

 

[MatthewHA]

I saw SUPERFUZZ in the theater in the early eighties. I remember an ad for it showing the supermarket robbery scene where Terrence Hill catches a bullet in his mouth. That was enough for my brother and I to get our friends' mom to drop us off a the theater on Saturday afternoon to watch it. Superfuzz is one of those enjoyable BAD movies. Very bad and very funny.

 

[Jeff*H]

I spent many an afternoon in 1983 or so watching Super Fuzz on Showtime as a kid, and going outside afterwards and playing "Super Fuzz" with friends, although I never tried to catch a bullet in my mouth.

 

[Brad M]

I'm tempted to go ahead and order this. Amazon says they are not sure what region it is in the description. Anyone know the story?

 

[JonZ]

"All I remember of this bizarre film was Ernest Borgnine and the title character floating on a giant bubble of yellow bubble gum..."

Yea with structure support wires you can see through the gum

I prob havent seen this since 82 or so when it was on HBO.

A couple years ago my brother came in thehouse all excited and said "your not gonna believe what I got on DVD". I said "what" and he threw They Call Me Bruce at me.

Ahhh the good ole days.

 

[Jeff*H]

So I finally received my copy today after waiting over 3 weeks since it shipped. Having seen it a dozen times on Showtime in 1983, and subsequently purchased the same version of the film on VHS in the '90's, I am pretty familiar with this movie. That said, here's the lowdown on this latest DVD release:
* It suffers from PAL speedup, noticeable in the voices and music, despite the fact this is an R1 release
* Film is anamorphic widescreen, 1:85:1.
* Opening credits feature the title SUPER SNOOPER instead of SUPER FUZZ
* There are a few additional scenes featured in the movie, and some extended scenes
* The voice of Dave Speed is still Terence Hill's, but it seems like it is a different recorded track compared to the other version (i.e. different line readings in a few instances)
* Many, many music cues have been replaced with the standard Super Fuzz musical theme from the opening. Other music cues have disappeared, and several scenes that didn't have music cues at all now have the Super Fuzz theme added. The theme really wears out its welcome in this version, whereas in the other version it was used more sparingly. One horrifying example of music alteration occurs in the scene where Dave busts out of the electric chair, heads underwater and rescues the chief on the bubble gum balloon, the new music and sound cues are awful.
* Other voices of some of the supporting characters are completely different, such as those of Tony Torpedo's goons
* A few pieces of Hill's voice-over narration appear to be missing or altered
* The camera filter used to make the helicopter scene appear to be dusk is gone; scene now appears to be in bright daylight

On the positive side, the quality and clarity of the print looks better than I have ever seen it before.

Bottom line: this SUPER SNOOPER version was probably released in England and/or Canada in 1980, and is the cut of the film seen on this DVD. The SUPER FUZZ version that was released theatrically in the US in 1981 is the version we all remember from Showtime and the VHS and earlier DVD release. Clearly, as noted above, there are major differences and thus this DVD will disappoint many fans such as myself who have the previous versions.

On a side note, the extras are worthless. There are some production stills included, along with trailers and clips from other Terence Hill movies. No Super Fuzz trailer or director commentaries, contradicting what was stated in the specs on Amazon and other sites.

Buy this DVD only if you don't have the VHS or previous DVD release. Despite the improved picture quality, this version has too many differences that distracted me from enjoying it very much. I doubt I will watch this version ever again.

Hopefully another studio will put out a quality version of the film that we all love and remember.

 

[Christian Preischl]

Jeff,

what's the actual running time of the film on this DVD? If it's indeed the full European cut, it should be somewhere around 101 min. (including PAL speed-up).

 

[Jeff*H]

DVD run time is 1:41, although the specs said 1:37. It is most definitely the European cut SUPER SNOOPER, and not the U.S. SUPER FUZZ.

 

[Christian Preischl]

Thanks, it certainly appears so.

Well, I guess I'll have to order this after all. It's the cut I grew up with, and the DVD I own right now is so bad it makes you scream (I've had second generation VHS copies that looked better).

 

[Jeff*H]

If this is the cut of the film that you grew up with and remember, you should definitely like this DVD, as the picture quality is very good.