MGM -- quietly downgrading special editions

I got Basic Instinct at CC for $9. One the back it said 16x9 and P&S version. They just slapped the SE coverart on the new sinlge disc version.

I have no interest in a P&S version, my point only being its misleading.

Yup--the one with the blue sky cover.

FWIW and just for the record, Basic Instinct is an Artisan (now Lions Gate) title.

-p

I picked up Valley Girl and Bull Durham today at Best Buy. It's true, the Valley Girl and Bull Durham scaled down discs are already out. Furthermore, they were even labeled as SE on the sticker at the top of the case!

Do you know which features were deleted from these editions and is the Valley Girl DVD still two-sided?

On the Bull Durham disc the commentaries are still there but the documentary, "sports wrap", photo gallery and that stuff is gone-I think. I know the documentary is definitely gone on the new disc and I'm pretty sure the other stuff is too (Except the commentaries). The disc I believe is double sided. As for the Valley Girl disc, I think it's the same deal but I'm less sure in regards to that one. My advice is, if you want the movies at all or might want them, head to your store while they're still there. There were only two Bull Durham discs at my store, the SE and the scaled down version.

Also, the Valley Girl discs were priced the same: 9.99

Thanks for the information, Edward. I'll pick those up when I go out tomorrow.

If I may toss a crazy idea into the ring:

Do you suppose these SEs are being downgraded so if Warner Brothers buys MGM, they can be re-issued as 2-Disc Special Editions?

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

Just a thought.

They have also done this with The Producers & West Side Story.

So are you able to at least tell by the back-cover packaging whether or not it's an SE anymore?

Yes.

The Fargo SE is no longer.....

Really? That's a shame - I really liked that documentary.

Lame. I hate this. I ran out and picked up the SE of West Side Story because it is one of my wife's favorites. Can'e say I understand the logic behind this move by MGM...

I picked up Bowling For Columbine recently at Circuit City and my copy was a flipper does this mean its the downgraded version?. I never actually tried out the disc because I had to return it due to a big dent on the cover I didn't notice prior to opening it. The copy I have now is a 2 disc version which I frankly prefer over flippers in general. So can anyone confirm for me what the difference between the downgraded version and the special edition?.


-Mike

Michael:

I'd imagine comparing a list/description of supps in a review to what you have in hand is a good way to answer these kinds of questions.

Also, http://www.thedigitalbits.com/review...columbine.html.

-p

This is just one of many serious missteps MGM has made with its DVD library. I can't say I'm surprised but I'm definitely disappointed.

Hm. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

Not a big 'Valley Girl' fan, but I love Nic Cage and was pleased they did a good SE for it...

Barely remember 'The Sure Thing', but I'm a Cusack fan...

'Bull Durham' isn't a favorite, but I probably would have picked this up 'someday'...

And now there's a rush, if we want the best released editions. Terrible business practice. Terrible.

I missed the good The Producers, damn it. Well, I suspect it'll be revisited when the musical hits either the screens or dvd... so I can wait on it, and not get the bare-bones now..

Got Thelma and Louise, and Fargo, at least (wish they were 2 discs instead of flippers, but the content is most important) and Bowling For Columbine (happily, that one's 2 discs- weird that they did both at the same time, quietly... meanwhile, wish I had the 2-disc T2 Ultimate instead of the flipper...).

Weird that they'd black-case the 'better' Legally Blonde and pink-case the scaled-down one... the good ones were in pink cases when they first came out, weren't they?

Based on the information in this thread, I tried to put together a comprehensive list of available MGM Special Editions to buy sooner rather than later.

The titles in bold are either dual aspect ratio or two-disc editions. Based on the first wave of releases to be scaled down I would suspect these will be the first to be stripped of special features, assuming MGM will continue this madness.

I realize titles such as The Manchurian Candidate and The Great Escape were only released a short while ago, but since it seems MGM is withdrawing e.g. the SE of Bowling for Columbine so soon, I thought I'd include these as well for quick reference in the future. I've omitted forthcoming SEs available for preorder but not released as of this writing, as well as some other titles such as the Ingmar Bergman and Pink Panther films that are available as part of a boxed set.

EDIT: Salvador has been added to the list, thanks to John Kilduff. I didn't add UHF to the list yet, but I will try to closely watch the status of similar releases not labeled as SEs. Thanks for the heads-up.

I also noticed that there is a full-screen movie-only edition of Silence of the Lambs coming out on August 24th. Will the full-screen SE be discontinued as a result? While nobody at HTF will care about the fate of a MAR release, it's worth following up on just to see if they will do this to the widescreen version later.

Further suggestions are welcome.

Discontinued Special Editions:
Bowling for Columbine
Bull Durham
Fargo
Jeepers Creepers
Legally Blonde
Producers, The
Sure Thing, The
Terminator, The
Thelma and Louise
Valley Girl
West Side Story

Special Editions currently available:
Agent Cody Banks
AntiTrust
Bandits
Barbershop
Bubba Ho-Tep
Blue Velvet
Bulletproof Monk
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
CQ
Dark Blue
Dances with Wolves
Escape from New York
Femme Nikita, La
Fiddler on the Roof
Fog, The
Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The
Great Escape, The
Guy Thing, A
Heartbreakers
It's My Party
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Mad Max
Magnificent Seven, The
Manchurian Candidate
Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
Of Mice and Men
Out of Time
Platoon
Princess Bride, The
Rain Man
Rollerball (2002)
Salvador
Silence of the Lambs
Some Like It Hot (Movie-only edition also currently available)
To Live and Die in L.A.
Uptown Girls
Usual Suspects, The
What's the Worst That Could Happen?

My Target still had the full editions of BFC, now priced at $9.99!!!

Would it be proper to include "Salvador" and "UHF" on your list, Marko?

"Salvador" was a 2-Disc Special Edition (I believe), and although "UHF" wasn't officially advertised as an SE, it was dual-aspect-ratio with deleted scenes, commentary, a featurette and a music video.

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

It's your call.

Thx for taking the time, Marko.

Exactly. I kinda now need to make a decision about titles I hadn't necessarily placed on my short list (Rain Man: SE, Mad Max: SE, Fargo: SE, Sure Thing: SE, Platoon: SE).


It's an 80s gem. If you dig Cusack, I'd recommend getting it.

Quick look at Amazon (not a reliable supp source I know, but Bits and File did not review this one) shows that it does not look like there's much supp other than the Reiner commentary on Sure Thing.

There's sure a lot to be lost on Mad Max if they axe that one though. Bastards.

Ugh--the tortured history of Platoon on DVD. Hopefully we won't now see a 4th DVD, given that what MGM would do is probably exactly like the anamorphic-but-supp-free release in I think 2000 that followed the Live (bought by Artisan bought by Lions Gate) non-anamorphic-with-supps and preceded the I think 2001 SE that finally got it right (anamorphic w/ supps).

-p

Besides compressing the video to death by including a completely worthless video commentary (I watched this for the opening ten minutes and got about 45 seconds of comments by Cage and someone else that were obviously just interview material that didn't make the featurettes) encoded at the same bitrate and including all the other extras except the trailer (audio commentary, a few featurettes, music videos, etc) on the widescreen side of the disc.

Paul,
The Sure Thing SE includes several featurettes in addition to the commentary. "The Road to The Sure Thing," a retrospective featurette runs about a half hour and includes interviews with all the major players. In addition, three mini-featurettes focus on aspects of the film's production and design. These are found on the flip side of the disc.

Usual Suspects hasnt been reissued as a 2-disc has it?

My copy's a flipper...

Does the Valley Girl SE have an insert?

The list of currently available Special Editions has been updated with The Terminator (how could I have forgot this?) and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.

Marco, I believe The Usual Suspects is a one-disc Special Edition. It's in bold in the list because MGM is either dropping the second disc from two-disc SEs or dropping special features from dual-aspect ratio flippers in order to cut down on production costs. Therefore it may be a candidate for future bare-bones reissue.


I just received Bowling for Columbine in the mail today and thankfully it is the original as opposed to the scaled-down version. However, I did not have such luck with Jeepers Creepers that arrived in the same package. I'm thinking of sending it back, but it appears the SE is pretty much gone from every online retailer - everywhere I look, the product information has been updated and the cover art changed.

If any HTF members have picked up extra Special Edition copies of Jeepers Creepers or The Producers and want to sell, please let me know via PM or email. I'm still waiting for a few of the discontinued Special Editions to arrive from two online retailers, but in case they turn out to be the scaled-down versions, I'll want to buy some of the other titles too. Therefore, please also let me know if you have copies of the other discontinued titles for sale (excluding BFC). I'm sure we can work out a deal where both parties will feel safe in making the transaction.

The above probably belongs to the HTF Marketplace and I apologize for including it here, but from what I hear, these SEs are disappearing fast. Thanks to anyone who might be able to help.

Thx for the Sure Thing supp info., Marc.

Here's hoping MGM knows better than to futz with a title this popular . . . ha!

I already returned a Terminator bought online with the newer artwork (sans quasi-holographic cover and with a completely unacceptable reference to "Rise of the machines" on the back).

(Btw, it's gonna be interesting to see if Lions Gate releases another T2 . . .)

-p

Nothing related to the movie, Edward.

It has two advertisement inserts. The first was a "Get a free DVD" insert which was already expired. The other was "Movies to the Max" that says "Own the best of the 80's" and shows pictures of 12 DVD covers.

Thanks Dave. My SE came without any inserts and I was surprised. All the other MGM discs I have contain inserts.