The Muppets Christmas Carol 20th Anniversary Blu-ray available for preorder on Amazon (1 Viewer)

http://www.amazon.com/Muppets-Christmas-Anniversary-Edition-Blu-ray/dp/B008NB0SQO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1343054371&sr=8-10&keywords=the+muppets+christmas+carol+blu-ray

Hopefully this includes the extended version in its OAR for the first time since the laserdisc. I did not buy the DVD because only the theatrical cut, which inexplicably cut "When Love is Gone," was OAR.

^ Second that.

agreed. unless it's widescreen and includes "when love is gone", I'll just continue to watch my laserdisc each Christmas.

Originally Posted by jim_falconer /t/322490/the-muppets-christmas-carol-20th-anniversary-blu-ray-available-for-preorder-on-amazon#post_3952881
agreed. unless it's widescreen and includes "when love is gone", I'll just continue to watch my laserdisc each Christmas.

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I checked the specifications at Amazon's pre-order page...it's 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Don't know if it includes the song you singled out, but it's only $18.55 a pop from them!!!

Blu-ray.com claims "1 movie, 2 cuts," which is encouraging.

Very nice.

"We;re Marley and Marley. Whoooooa!"

The blu-ray.com listing also includes a running time of 85 minutes, if that's in any way helpful...

I LOVE this film. One of the BEST Christmas Carol adaptations, IMHO. Not even kidding. I agree though that it needs to have the extended cut in OAR for me to buy it. I finally saw the theatrical cut for the first time last Christmas and was shocked how badly that part of the film plays with that song cut out. It's VERY jarring.

I Love it too but I suspect Disney is just giving us a Blu copy of what we already have - the complete version 1.33 and OAR cut. Why they won't go back to the original elements and do a new transfer I don't know. Did they lose them?? But here and on Amazon fans have shown disapproval over this.
Another factor regarding previous editions is the first DVD included Good Making-Of material that has been replaced with lamer stuff on the last DVD. I had to keep them both.

Originally Posted by NY2LA /t/322490/the-muppets-christmas-carol-20th-anniversary-blu-ray-available-for-preorder-on-amazon#post_3953958
I Love it too but I suspect Disney is just giving us a Blu copy of what we already have - the complete version 1.33 and OAR cut. Why they won't go back to the original elements and do a new transfer I don't know. Did they lose them?? But here and on Amazon fans have shown disapproval over this.
Another factor regarding previous editions is the first DVD included Good Making-Of material that has been replaced with lamer stuff on the last DVD. I had to keep them both.

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I've been thinking about that, seeing how some Disney Blu-rays have not included the deleted scenes that were on laserdisc (Ransom, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society).

MatthewA said:

I've been thinking about that, seeing how some Disney Blu-rays have not included the deleted scenes that were on laserdisc (Ransom, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society).

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That almost definitely is due to the extended versions of those movies being finished on video rather than film. That's probably why the song has been missing from this movie in various incarnations too. If I had to bet, I'd say that they won't go back to the film elements of the deleted scene/song and re-edit it back into the film so I think it's going to be MIA here too.
As for it still being 1.33, I think that's all but impossible. Given the age of the DVD, they are most likely doing a new transfer for the Blu-ray and if that's the case, it will be 1.78/1.85.

TravisR said:

That almost definitely is due to the extended versions of those movies being finished on video rather than film. That's probably why the song has been missing from this movie in various incarnations too. If I had to bet, I'd say that they won't go back to the film elements of the deleted scene/song and re-edit it back into the film so I think it's going to be MIA here too.
As for it still being 1.33, I think that's all but impossible. Given the age of the DVD, they are most likely doing a new transfer for the Blu-ray and if that's the case, it will be 1.78/1.85.

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The movie was produced on 35mm film. The song, being part of the movie, was shot on film as well. Director Brian Henson wanted the song included on Homevid and it was - mastered, as it could only have been, from the film it was shot on. The first disc release was a laserdisc that had the complete film transferred in Original Theatrical Aspect Ratio. The first DVD was 1.33 and was complete with the song. The last DVD added a widescreen transfer that was missing the song. However the song clearly does exist in its original OAR, - on film.
If going back to the complete film elements to produce a new complete DVD in OAR (especially for a BRD) is too much trouble for a film company, they have no business asking us to buy it again. According to Matthew in a previous post here: "Blu-ray.com claims "1 movie, 2 cuts," which is encouraging."
And if they plan to again include the complete version, but NOT go back to the film elements, then they WOULD be including the 1.33 version again, just like the last disc - unless they threw in the old laserdisc transfer as an extra like Fox did when they dumped the superior 65mm version of Oklahoma! onto disc 2 as a lowres supp.

And if they just repurpose the old 1.33:1 transfer, the results will be HORRENDOUS. There will have to be a new image harvest of the elements, which would ideally include seamless branching of "When Love is Gone."

Specs on HiDef Digest indicate an 89 minute running time.
Disney has released following list of features for this "special edition" I'll have to go check my previous 2 DVDs but Seems at least one or two extras from first DVD are back... with new commentaries. Now if Director Brian Henson was involved in the production of this version - enough to do new commentaries by himself and with Muppet performers - and we know he WANTS the movie to be complete...
Technical Specs
Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
Supplements
Audio Commentary from Brian Henson
Muppet Audio Commentary: All New Audio Commentary from your favorite Muppets – Kermit, Gonzo, Rizzo, and More!
Disney Intermission: Press “Pause” and see what happens when the Muppets Show up at your door to sing your Christmas Carols – Muppet Style!
Muppet Holiday Sing-Along
Blooper Reel
Frogs, Pigs, and Humbug: A Behind the Scenes Look
Christmas Around the World with Gonzo and Rizzo
Pepe’s Profiles Presents: Gonzo, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Weirdo

NY2LA said:

The movie was produced on 35mm film. The song, being part of the movie, was shot on film as well. Director Brian Henson wanted the song included on Homevid and it was - mastered, as it could only have been, from the film it was shot on.

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Yes, I know that it was shot on film but, at the time of VHS and laserdisc, the extended cut of the movie was probably finished on video and not on film. Many studios weren't thinking beyond video in the 1990's so now when they go to do a Blu-ray, they can't use the extended cut because it exists only as NTSC video (like Dead Poet's Society, Good Morning Vietnam, Ransom or Scream). Of course, they still should be able to go back and find all the "non-theatrical" footage and release an extended cut on Blu-ray but that requires money that they aren't always interested in spending. Hopefully, this will be a time when they go the extra mile and do it right.

TravisR said:

Yes, I know that it was shot on film but, at the time of VHS and laserdisc, the extended cut of the movie was probably finished on video and not on film. Many studios weren't thinking beyond video in the 1990's so now when they go to do a Blu-ray, they can't use the extended cut because it exists only as NTSC video (like Dead Poet's Society, Good Morning Vietnam, Ransom or Scream). Of course, they still should be able to go back and find all the "non-theatrical" footage and release an extended cut on Blu-ray but that requires money that they aren't always interested in spending. Hopefully, this will be a time when they go the extra mile and do it right.

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Yeah I know how that kind of thing was done. I was around then. And so were the film elements for the song.
See, I don't believe in reaching for excuses for movie companies to cut corners on things they expect us to buy again and again.
If they're going to remaster the movie, the cost of including an extra four minutes is negligible. It would be just plain lazy not to. In fact, mastering just those four minutes and popping it into the OAR release a few years ago would not have been terribly costly or difficult had they put any thought into it.
Now let's see if they were willing to make the effort this time. If they're trying to revive the Muppet brand, for a new movie franchise, merchandise, etc, I'd think not pissing off longtime Muppet fans a third time in a row with this release would be a good start.

NY2LA said:

See, I don't believe in reaching for excuses for movie companies to cut corners on things they expect us to buy again and again.

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Who is reaching for excuses? I think it's pretty much given that every consumer wants things done right but I even specified "Hopefully, this will be a time when they go the extra mile and do it right."

TravisR said:

Who is reaching for excuses?

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TravisR said:

That almost definitely is due to the extended versions of those movies being finished on video rather than film. That's probably why the song has been missing from this movie in various incarnations too. If I had to bet, I'd say that they won't go back to the film elements of the deleted scene/song and re-edit it back into the film so I think it's going to be MIA here too.

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"finished on video?" The whole movie was transferred - "finished" on video.
From Wikipedia:
"When Love is Gone" was a song that was cut from the original 1992 theatrical release by Walt Disney Studios, who believed that the scene would not appeal to young children. The movie plays with an obvious, jarring edit when the film is played with the song missing. Brian Henson objected to their decision, believing that the song was integral to the plot (the concluding song, "When Love is Found," is a direct counterpoint to it), and the song was subsequently restored to the VHS and laserdisc editions.
The song was back in the movie when it was first released (a/k/a "transferred, or "finished") on video. So there really wasn't any "extended version" created or "finished" on video. The film, when originally transferred to video, was transferred - complete with the song - from the film. Even if they had left it out - which evidently they didn't - Transferring four minutes of film to video is not such a big deal. And they have to go back to film each time they make a new transfer anyway...

In addition, the movie itself was shot hard matted IIRC, so the P&S version is actually panning and scanning it.