"1492: Conquest of Paradise" finally coming to blu-ray in U.S. (1 Viewer)

[waltodonnell]

Surprisingly I didn't see a thread for this. A North American blu-ray release for "1492: Conquest of Paradise" was announced back in August 2016. It will be released by Kino Lorber.

Here's the original August 26, 2016 announcement from High Def Digest:

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...-1492-conquest-of-paradise-bluray-bound/34373

And here's the original August 22, 2016 from Kino Lorber's official facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/KinoLorber....1472100089./1143115715745334/?type=3&theater

It was originally scheduled for the end of the year but that didn't happen. Since I hadn't seen any update about it, I messaged Kino's facebook page a week ago about it's status. I received a brief reply saying, "Still working on it." Which is good news!

I don't want to raise my expectations too high about it, but I'm hoping this blu-ray will include an all new 4K scan, a commentary from director Ridley Scott, and maybe even that 4 hour version discussed on here a few years back. Or at the very least, all the deleted scenes as special features, including the entire 4th voyage to Panama sequence cut from the film(referred to as the 3rd voyage in the movie since the second and third voyages were combined into one).

If they're "still working on it," at this point, maybe we can expect a release for this October, in time for the 25th anniversary of the film's release.

 

[Konstantinos]

I'm not sure it's a new 4K scan.
I had asked Mr. Lime here if it's the same master with the European Blurays.
He said it's a different one, but I'm sure he would say so if it was a brand new 4K one, wouldn't he?

 

[KPmusmag]

I love the Vangelis music score for this one.

 

[skylark68]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to this release. Great film. An extended cut would be most welcome.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Wow a fairly high profile Ridley Scott flick getting dumped out there by a boutique label. Poor Charlie.

 

[waltodonnell]

I'm just glad I can finally replace my old VHS copy! It will be the first time in 23 years that "1492" is available in the US. On hard copy anyway, last I checked it's available to purchase on amazon prime streaming.

 

[Bob Cashill]

So when is this being released?

 

[waltodonnell]

TBA. The original press release from August of last year said late 2016/early 2017. Probably by October I would think, for the 25th anniversary of the film's release.

 

[Dick]

Wow a fairly high profile Ridley Scott flick getting dumped out there by a boutique label. Poor Charlie.

Not so high profile. It didn't do so well theatrically, did it?

 

[ricktech12]

Love this film and have been following it's status regarding this release. Kino is waiting for Ridley Scott to reply in regards to doing a director's commentary. That is what is causing the longer delay. It was mentioned it will be the theatrical cut from a Paramount 1080p master (no 4k scan unfortunately). Not the same master from the European Blu-rays and for extras they will include scenes from the international cut. No theatrical trailer (due to music rights issues, the Enigma track). Of course only Kino Lorber knows what's really going on. I would imagine releasing it in October would be ideal but for me the sooner the better. It's a bummer there is a delay since this title has never had even a USA release on DVD. I would also love some deleted scenes and Ridley Scott would be able to provide Kino those. This flopped at the box office and it's awesome it's even getting a Blu-ray release in the USA. So I don't expect Kino Lorber to put that much effort into this release but with Ridley Scott maybe involved who knows. I just want the transfer itself to look amazing because when I saw this in the theater it was a stunningly beautiful movie.

 

[waltodonnell]

Ah, well, a theatrical release is better than no blu ray at all. I hope Ridley Scott returns their calls and records that commentary. If he's involved I hope there will be more delleted scenes than what's in the international cut. If anything, I'd like to see that Panama sequence.

 

[waltodonnell]

Kino announced on their facebook page that it's coming June 6.

Special features include an audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson and deleted scenes. Also 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround audio. Optional English subtitles.

Bummer that Ridley Scott's not involved but I'm glad it's finally being released in North America!

 

[waltodonnell]

My copy arrived Sunday. I watched the deleted/extended scenes then, which I can confirm are only extra scenes found in the international cut, nothing else, so that was disappointing but expected. I finally had a chance to listen to the commentary last night. And good god, what an awful commentary it was. I commend Kino Lorber for getting this movie on disc in North America, thank you very much! But that commentary...

It starts out fine, Nathaniel Thompson, who I will call the one with deep voice, and Howard S. Berger, who I will call windbag, talk about the actual movie, some production information and comparisons between the two Columbus movies that came out in 1992. Deep Voice initially dominates with production info, with Windbag cutting in with comments about Ridley Scott's film career and how it relates to the movie. It worried me a little, a reminder of when screenwriter Peter Stone hijacked the "1776" DVD commentary back in 2002 and gave us a Revolutionary War history lesson rather than talk about the movie's production which director Peter Hunt desperately wanted to do.

But Deep Voice would continue with scene specific comments, like when the filming started in early December 1991 and how Sigourney Weaver didn't join the cast until mid-January, etc. Unfortunately, by the middle of the first voyage, when Columbus gives his crew the great pep talk, Wingbag takes over and yammers on and on about Ridley's career. It becomes a commentary on Ridley rather than a commentary on, ya know, 1492. Deep Voice is guilty of this too as he converses with Windbag all about Ridley. Every once in awhile 1492 will come up briefly on how it relates to where Ridley was at the time, but that's it.

They finally come back to the film all the way to the part where Utapan is calling out for the Haitian chief after Columbus has returned and found the 39 men he left behind massacred. But the discussion of Ridley's career still cuts in, mostly from Windbag, and it's just back and forth for the rest of the film. Basically 1/3 about the film, 2/3 about Ridley's other films.

Really guys? No discussion of the casting of the actors, filming locations, details about the 90 or so minutes of footage cut from the film? No mention of the coincidence that the actors who play Utapan, the Haitian chief, and the Haitian medicine man are related? The chief is Utapan's father, and the medicine man his grandfather. I got that just from the 1492 pressbook I bought on ebay for a few bucks. I could have done a better commentary than these two! I know Kino tried to get Ridley to do a commentary and he wouldn't return calls or something, but couldn't they have at least gotten SOMEBODY actually involved with the production? Anybody? Producers, actors, editors, writers?

I'm not knocking all film historians giving commentaries here, many of them are pretty good, the Universal Monsters series' commentaries in particular.

My advice, listen to the commentary up to the middle of the first voyage, and pick it back up again during the Utapan and Moxica scene. Then buy the pressbook.

My hope is that this release will do well enough that Ridley will be inspired to come back to it and give us a proper blu-ray special edition release. I hope that's what will happen, slim chance it may be since he's nearly 80.

The image is good, not the best I've ever seen, but passable. I'm glad to finally have this in HD, the deleted/extended scenes are in HD. I wish some of the other special features/cast interviews found in the various global DVDs, legitimate or bootleg, had been ported over because then I would have been able to toss out my old Brazilian copy. Anyway, thank you again, Kino Lorber, for this. It's my second favorite movie of all time and I will come back again and again to it. But I'm never listening to that commentary again!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

My hope is that this release will do well enough that Ridley will be inspired to come back to it and give us a proper blu-ray special edition release.

Sadly, that's extremely unlikely. If the studio that controlled the rights had interest in doing a proper special edition, and if Ridley had been interested, it would have happened years ago. That it's just coming to Blu-ray now, and from a smaller label that's merely licensed the film, means that the studio itself has no interest in further promoting it or investing in additional bonus content.

Heck, even Ridley's latest film (Alien: Covenant) is not likely to get the generous quantity of bonus features that most of Ridley's previous films and all previous Alien films have gotten. The filmmaker who had worked on all of Scott's previous bonus features, Charles de Lauzirika, had stated he wasn't asked to participate in creating behind-the-scenes material for this one.

I don't meant to ruin anyone's parade and that's not my intent in posting, but I think it's highly unlikely that this title will be revisited on Blu-ray.

 

[WillLon]

Special features that could have been included:

1. "Ridley Scott: Eye of the Storm", BBC TV documentary, 13 October 1992, 55mins. A good documentary, if you can find a copy, about making the film and Ridley Scott's career in general up to that point.
2. US teaser trailer (shots of Columbus' first steps on the island).
3. US theatrical trailer (Enigma: Sadeness music rights cost).

I suspect the contract between Paramount and Ridley Scott specified he could get his "director's/extended cut" or whatever if the film turned a profit. That did not happen and thus we have little investment in extras.

The "other" Columbus film, "Christopher Columbus The Discovery" was directed by James Bond director John Glen. That film was broad, mostly family entertainment, emphasizing stuntwork. "Conquest" is heavily stylized, mature, adult entertainment, covering the broader story in a more serious tone. I prefer "Conquest of Paradise" over that "other" Columbus film. ;-)