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MGM releases another Billy Wilder film on DVD in July! (1 Viewer)

Thomas Hart

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This has just been posted over on http://www.dvddrive-in.com :


On July 15, MGM will release Billy Wilder's excellent THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES on DVD. The film features Christopher Lee as Mycroft Holmes, a role that the actor has always regarded as one of his favorites and important in his career. The disc features a new 16x9 transfer; trailer; new 15-minute video interview with Christopher Lee discussing Sherlock Holmes, Billy Wilder, and the importance of the film to his career; interview with editor Ernest Walter (from the Image laserdisc); deleted scenes depicted through script pages, still photographs, and surviving film and sound elements. It retails for $19.95.



Yes!!!! I can't wait to get this! Two things though:

1) According to the specs above, was there anything on the Laserdisc this is not on this DVD release?

2) Has Christopher Lee done more interviews and commentaries for DVD than any other media person?
 

SteveGon

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Thomas, thanks for the heads-up!

Looking forward to this one as I haven't seen it before.
 

Bob Cashill

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In his 80s, Christopher Lee works like someone half his age. His career renaissance, via films and his many welcome contributions to DVDs, is nothing short of incredible. He is an example for us all. Viva Lee!
 

Eric Paddon

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The laser disc had an isolated score (albeit mixed down) and since Miklos Rozsa's score has never had a CD release of any kind, do not throw away the LD no matter what.

I will be interested to see how the cut scenes are handled on this one. On the LD we had picture and no sound for the "Naked Honeymooners" segment and sound and no picture for "The Upside Down Room." If they've gone the extra mile to find stills to illustrate "Upside Down Room", that would be a definite improvement.

The real tragedy is that restoring the movie to Wilder's original director's cut remains impossible.
 

Rain

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Ok, I need to be educated on this film.

I was under the impression that Wilder's original "vision" of this film was not completed and the film was initially released in the 125m version.

Did he actually have a finished version that was cut down for release? If so, did this original version ever get shown?
 

Douglas R

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Wilder's original cut was never seen. It was edited down prior to release on instructions from United Artists. Didn't the LD also contain a lengthy documentary?
 

Dick

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The LD had no documentary. GFlad to see this one coming out, for all its flaws.
 

Eric Paddon

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There was certainly at one time a finished cut that had the missing scenes since the audio track for the Upside Down Room segment is completely mixed with score, dialogue and sound FX.
 

Peter Apruzzese

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Yes, but it never made it past the preview & editing process (those scenes never made it into a release print), so probably no prints of it (beyond the work prints) would have been made. And once UA decided to just make it a regular release, there was no incentive for them to save all the cut material. Too bad they couldn't have foreseen the future and the revenue possibilities in recreating unreleased versions of their films!
 

Jerome

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I think there was a promo featurette hot at the time of the release. It will be too bad if it is not included in the DVD.
 

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