Will there be a new release of Halloween? Also DUNE & An American W in London Quest. (1 Viewer)

[David Holm]

Does anyone know if there will be a new release of Halloween? I thought I heard there will be a new SE Anniversary edition soon...

Also, what are the chances for a better version of David Lynch's DUNE coming out - I'd like to see a double disc SE with both the theatrical cut and extended version with some extras.

Is there just one version of the An American Werewolf in London CE? I ask because deepdiscount and has one cover scan without gold bars at the top and bottom while the cover scan at the digital bits reviews has the gold bars...are these the same disc?

Thanks!

 

[Nick Graham]

There will be a 25th Anniversary Edition of Halloween this year. It will have the AMC Backstory special if I recall correctly, as well as the Jamie Lee Curtis and John Carpenter commentary from the Criterion LD. I am assuming they will be using the same transfer and audio from the 20th Anniversary relese.

 

[GregoryP]

There is only 1 version of American Werewolf in London and there has not been any walk of a new version of Dune. Many years ago in a chat with Universal, they said it may happen but there has been nothing since then. David Lynch probably will not participate because he had a very bad experience with Dune and had his name removed from the Extended version of the film.

 

[Simon_Lepine]

This is what is on Anchor Bay's site regarding Halloween:

HALLOWEEN 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION - Fall 2003

It has been 25 years since Michael Myers first returned to Haddonfield. Now he returns to DVD for this special anniversary edition. Extras are still being determined, but expect a plethora of new goodies (i.e. audio commentary, etc.) for this exciting release. Expect more announcements in the coming months, and please note all features at this point are tentative and subject to change. Closed Captioned for the Hearing Impaired.

 

[David Holm]

Now I'm glad I didn't pick up the 2 disc LE way back - that blurb on Anchor Bay must be fairly recent - I didn't see anything about Halloween on there last month.

 

[WillG]

It's been there for quite awhile actually. I'm wondering if there is any progress for AB acquiring the rights to some of the sequels

 

[ChuckDeLa]

There is only 1 version of American Werewolf in London

That is not quite correct. There was a non-SE edition, but it has long been out of print. I got a pretty penny for mine on eBay before the SE came out.

 

[Mark_TS]

...actually, I seem to recall a Universal chat where they indicated that they 'would be interested in revisiting' that title in the future.(DUNE)

kind of non-commital, but jeez,
why not give us a 16x9 now and be done with it....
looking to the STARGATE example (and Im sure we've NOT seen the last version of THAT title)
Uni could put out a 16x9 version, and then if they or Lynch ever get their act together for an SE-people will handily snap that up also...

after watching Sci Fi's admittedly admirable gesture at a complete DUNE, along with its cheezy sets, I still wonder what a good 4-5 hour Lynch DUNE could be like-assuming the elements still exist....
maybe he will change his mind one day...soon.

 

[Kevin M]

Why would Criterion loan Anchor Bay their 1994 Halloween commentary now when they were so against the possibility in 99'? I didn't see anything in that announcement that supported this notion.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Dune's extended edition is an "Alan Smithee," meaning that David Lynch never approved it.

However, it would make sense if Universal did a two-disc edition with Lynch's version (theatrical) remastered on disc one. Then, they can put all the deleted scenes on the second disc.

David Lynch appears to be a fan of personally approving transfers (The Elephant Man, Eraserhead, Blue Velvet: SE), so this could be a nice disc if the effort was put into it.

 

[Damin J Toell]

Why would Criterion loan Anchor Bay their 1994 Halloween commentary now when they were so against the possibility in 99'? I didn't see anything in that announcement that supported this notion.

I am skeptical, too, but it may have something to do with the fact that Criterion has been licensing their commentaries to Anchor Bay for distribution in the UK (e.g., Time Bandits, Mona Lisa) for a while.

DJ

 

[Steve Phillips]

Oh, I'm sure Anchor Bay will release HALLOWEEN and ARMY OF DARKNESS several thousand more times.

 

[Josh Simpson]

I just feel a little sorry for those that bought the LE of Halloween. Actually, I don't know how sorry I feel because I'd love to have it also... I am supposing this release will just be the theatrical cut only, which I like more anyways. Still though, even more so with Army of Darkness LE ownsers, the Boomstick edition sorta cheapens the special feeling of owning the Limited Edition. Anyone else agree?

 

[Damin J Toell]

Still though, even more so with Army of Darkness LE ownsers, the Boomstick edition sorta cheapens the special feeling of owning the Limited Edition. Anyone else agree?

I don't. I bought the AOD 2-disc LE (pre-ordered it, actually) for the content, not the limited availability. I couldn't care less if everyone in the universe had 3 copies.

DJ

 

[TonyD]

never mind

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

Realistically, the only way we will get David Lynch's cooperation in a DUNE DVD is if Universal throws a large amount of money and makes a blood promise to leave him alone to do the cutting. And while it is unlikely, it is not impossible: Universal (through StudioCanal) gained a lot of prestige and decent boxoffice from MULHOLLAND DRIVE and will likely reap similar revenue when they finally issue LOST HIGHWAY on DVD. And Lynch has a decent relationship with Canal+, so maybe they could talk him into it now that they own a piece.

Meanwhile, now that Universal and Anchor Bay seem to be collaborating again, it seems possible they will collaborate on the HALLOWEEN sequels they own. As for Criterion, maybe they finally came to terms on money; that always seems to solve ancient disputes.

Personally, I am holding onto my old Live/Artisan copy of AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, as it has the original teaser that is absent from Universal's otherwise splendid reissue. Why this, or the relatively music-free full trailer for the film, was omitted is a puzzle to me.

 

[Kevin M]

As for Criterion, maybe they finally came to terms on money; that always seems to solve ancient disputes.

Truer words are rarely spoken.

 

[Matt Stone]

There was a thread about the an Anchor Bay box set, and there was no talk of commentaries on H1. There was supposed to be new commentaries on H2 and H3 though.

 

[Damin J Toell]

There was a thread about the an Anchor Bay box set, and there was no talk of commentaries on H1. There was supposed to be new commentaries on H2 and H3 though.

Perhaps you're thinking of the UK box set, which had all of the films except for Curse and Resurrection, and has been available about 6 months. Parts 2 and 3 got new commentaries by film experts (you can see the specs on AB UK's website), but there have been no reports of plans to release that box or those commentaries in R1. AB has been saying that they plan on having a commentary for the Halloween re-release for many months.

DJ

 

[DanHaya]

I would love to see a Dune SE, but you can pretty much forget ever getting David Lynch's participation. Not only did he have a miserable time making the film, but he was rather pissed off when Universal put together the extended version for television against his wishes.

Speaking of which, does anyone know when the Sci Fi Channel is going to broadcast the extended version again? Or are they prohibited from doing so because they have the rights to the Dune and Children of Dune miniseries?