Deer Hunter 2-disc SE in September (MERGED THREAD) (1 Viewer)

[Mark VH]

Nils, I don't think this is going to be part of the same line. It appears to me that this is more of a "prestige" collection, and bears no relation to the "Monster Legacy" sets.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

That would make a lot more sense and I personally I think they should use a different signature series to distingish these DVDs. Once the cover art is released we will know for sure, but if DVD Answers is correct, and Universal is calling these new releases part of the Legacy series at the very least it will be an odd decision.

 

[GuruAskew]

This was "announced" several months ago on some foreign website, I believe it was dutch. They had a bunch of Universal titles that were supposedly in the works and "The Deer Hunter" was one of them, along with the "Big Lebowski" SE that is advertised on next week's "Casino" DVD and, finally, a special edition of David Fincher's "The Game". I wonder when we'll get some official confirmation on that one.

 

[PaulP]

Perhaps I'm just naive, but I highly doubt this has anything to do with HD. Firstly, there is no one standard, and until there is, it will not get off the ground as standard DVD did. Look at the DVD-A and SACD, I don't know anyone who's heard of them, much less owns some, yet everyone I know has at least a few DVDs. So the release of these long-awaited SEs has little or nothing to do with HD, it's just taken them this long. The Batman SEs will be out around the same time too, probably, perhaps later, so it's not just Universal.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

That's great news, John. I will buy this again if the transfer significantly exceeds the R2.

 

[oscar_merkx]

I agree that the R2 audio commentary is awesome.

Would only rebuy this if there are different extras

 

[DAVE B]

I tend to agree with PaulP's post, I think it's just taken them a long time to get these out. I could be naive in saying this but, what are the odds two films of this vintage will even look that much better on HDDVD/Blue Ray? (Barring a full restoration)Doesn't seem like these would be ones people would wait on because they believe the next transfer is gonna be a good deal better.

Gonna be an expensive september 6th.

 

[Paul McElligott]

Neither HD-DVD nor Blu-Ray will replace DVD in the overall marketplace for years, if ever, so there is no reason NOT to release new SD DVDs this year and for the near term.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

300/600% (720/1080)increase in resolution and detail isn't going to look much better?

720p HD broadcasts have about four times more resolution than standard broadcast TV, and they look significantly better - and that’s even with all the signal noise you get from the cable and satellite compression schemes. Again, check out the interest in HDTVs at your local electronic retailer.

720p and 1080p DVD without any additional work on the transfers will look far better than current transfers.

That said, I actually do not believe Blu-ray/HD DVD/(fill in the blank) will do all that well, at least compared to standard DVD sales for several reasons as mentioned already in the appropriate threads. However, this is a question of perception and not how well the new format(s) will sell. Just like with VHS, about the time DVDs came out, VHS sales dropped despite the fact that few customers even had a DVD player.

Once customers get word of a new format, most will either stop buying, or at least cut down their purchases of the older format even though they have not bought the new format. The perception they share is that they do not want to invest heavily in a format, which they believe at some point might be replaced by a new format. In fact, there are several threads on HTF where members are saying how they are already cutting down on their DVD purchases in favor of waiting for HD editions.

The reason I believe standard DVD will continue to thrive and outsell any new format is because; its cheap; there are and will continue to be far more titles available on it than any new format; and other than capacity, quality and eventually some nifty interactive features, standard DVD offers all the other entertaining and convenient features that the new format will have.

Still, when consumers go to Best Buy and see demos of this new fangled high def DVD format history has shown us that even if they do not buy into it right away, it will dampen their buying habits of the older format.

Trying to rationalize why many consumers buy certain products and not others can often lead to confusion and frustration, but there is still a great deal of ‘science’ involved in predicting how consumer markets react to new products and as such, companies have been able to make sound strategic decisions based on this ‘science’.

If you would like to further discus your predictions for the sales potential of the new format we should probably move it to one of the threads discussing the new format.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Precisely. The point though is that there are so many older DVDs getting redone and released this year, and the data would strongly suggest that these studios realize there are greater potential sales if they release them now while the new format(s) is/are still being ironed out.

Again, it is hardly any different than why a studio releases a bare bones edition, then follows it up with a SE as it is an opportunity to sell more from those that will double dip - a pretty common theme among HTF members whom post in a new edition’s thread.

 

[Vincent_P]

35mm film, even of the 1970s "vintage" of the movies in question here, still has far, FAR greater resolution than either 480 X 720 NTSC or 576 X 720 PAL can offer, and potentially a lot better than even 1080P High-Definition, too.

Vincent

 

[oscar_merkx]

specs are here


I guess I will be double dipping once again

 

[Jace_A]

Where's Cimino's really wonderful commentary from the R2 DVD?

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Me too, Oscar: Vilmos Zsigmond is an amazing artist and it also very erudite and forthcoming when dicussing the films he has worked on. It will also be interesting to see the deleted scenes.

 

[oscar_merkx]

was he not on the second disc being interviewed as well ?

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

My guess is that Universal were either not aware that Blue Underground produced extras for the Studio Canal-Warner Bros. DVD or that they were and didn't bother to license them, or the cost to license them was prohibitive. Just because video and audio masterials exist, doesn't mean that they will appear on a DVD. It is usually the reverse in the UK: many SEs from a studio will lose extras when it appears in the UK (and Australia) from the same studio.

 

[Britton]

This movie was my second dvd purchased, so it holds a high spot on my all-time favorites. I will most certainly upgrade.

 

[Steve K.H.]

Ah great - "Extended Scenes"

I always thought this film was a little short.

 

[streeter]

I was most looking forward to a Cimino commentary, so it looks like I'll have to get the R2 DVD I've been holding off on for so long (unless anyone's got an mp3?). Aside from that, this looks like a wonderful special edition, so I can't wait.

 

[PaulP]

I will be very much looking forward to getting this, but is it just me, or is it a bit skimpy for a 2-disc set?