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Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

post #1 of 11
8/5/08 at 3:27pm
Thread Starter 
DVD Talk Review: WarGames - 25th Anniversary Edition

I was wondering if anyone had a take on the new featurettes and whether it was worthy of a buy.
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post #2 of 11
8/5/08 at 4:26pm

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

I almost picked this up the other day. I don't have the previous version, so this wouldn't be a double-dip for me. I'll probably buy it later this week.
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post #3 of 11
8/5/08 at 6:20pm

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

I picked it up at Best Buy for $10 on release day and watched it that evening. For me, the presence of a 16x9 transfer made this a fairly easy upgrade over the old 'flat' presentation; especially at that price. I watched the 'Loading Wargames' feature and enjoyed it quite a bit. The origins of the film and how the final product differed were interesting to me. It sort of reminded me of another Badham film 'Blue Thunder' and how that film varied from the original concepts.

I'd say that the only reason not to upgrade (assuming one is a fan) is if you wish to wait for a Blu-ray release. (And who knows when that will occur?) For $10 I simply was not patient. I did not attempt an A/B with the older release, but I was pretty happy with the transfer. Some shots still looked kind of soft but all in all I was pleased. It certainly was fun to watch this again and (for me) it held up quite well considering 25 years have elapsed since its theatrical run. Seeing the old acoustic modem coupler certainly brought back memories.

- Walter.
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post #4 of 11
8/5/08 at 6:26pm

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

It's worthy of a buy just for the 16X9 enhanced picture. I thought the extras overall were pretty good. The documentary is a real documentary, it's not broken into smaller featurettes with a "play all" feature. The Tic Tac Toe featurette is kind of cheesy, though. The commentary isn't listed on the back of the case, so that had me worried, but it's there. One bad thing is no booklet from the first release. Picked it up at Best Buy for $9.99 no regrets.
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post #5 of 11
8/5/08 at 6:34pm

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

I really liked the "Interactive Superpower Weapons Briefing Gallery" feature. It let's you look at all the aircraft and such. The presentation overall is very nice and as others have stated it's 16:9. For $10 this doesn't even need to be debated. Just get it. You will be pleased.
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post #6 of 11
8/5/08 at 6:40pm

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

I've got it. I'll give my thoughts -

Transfer - a little too red, some characters look sunburnt at times. I'm not sure if the film is supposed to look like this so it's a valid criticism for me. A bit noisy as well.

Sound - Looks like they used the existing six-track for the 5.1. The rears seem a little monaural at times (IIRC 70mm prints were 4.1) but the low end is deep and loud (especially in scenes featuring the W.O.P.R)

Extras - I've only just given a brief listen to the commentary but it seems to be missing the first few seconds. There's an awkward cut and then we hear Badham say "So you have three of us here", no introductions for the participants.

Documentaries are great especially the surprisingly deep Loading WarGames, History of Tic Tac Toe is very silly as most of already said.
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post #7 of 11
8/5/08 at 7:06pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

Wow, didn't know it was only $10 at BB. I see Amazon has it for $13 but I guess I would save 2.50 by picking it up on my next blue and yellow store trip.
Certainly looks like it's worth it.
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post #8 of 11
8/7/08 at 5:29pm

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

Watched it last night. Definately worth the pick up. PQ looked really good to me.
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post #9 of 11
8/8/08 at 7:20am

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

Picture quality is light years ahead of the original, non-anamorphic release (the opening sequence of which was almost literally unwatchable)...no hyperbole here. Light years.
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post #10 of 11
8/8/08 at 5:04pm

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

Picking it up tomorrow. I can't wait.

Never thought I'd get excited about a standard dvd again, but I love this movie.....and Ally Sheedy.
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post #11 of 11
8/8/08 at 7:50pm

Re: Anyone get the new War Games - 25th Anniversary Edition?

I got it for less than $10 at DD & wow what a difference from the old dvd. I like the features too which are listed on most websites (although almost all list it as a 2 disc set which it is not).
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