I will probably buy this just for the seamless branching option. It's a shame that this option isn't used more. There are so many more movies like Midway that I would love to have the option of watching the tv version.
"What kind of airplane is it? Well, it's a nice big white plane with red stripes, and wheels, and little curtains in the windows, and it looks like a really big Tylenol!"
"You'd better tell the Captain we've got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital. A hospital? What is it? It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now."
"We have clearance Clarence. Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?"
It's too bad they couldn't include the original screen test with David Letterman who was considered to play the Ted Stryker role originally. I'd love to see that. I'm sure if Letterman had any control over it, that footage was probably burned long ago.
That stinks. Does this new disc offer the original theatrical cut (in addition to the extended cut) of the film? If so, then there's no need to hold on to the original disc. If they're using the old commentary on the extended cut there obviously has to be dead air during the new scenes otherwise the commentary and film wouldn't synchronise.
There's no extended cut of the film. What they call the "Long Haul" version uses branching for a few deleted scenes - three, IIRC - but mostly cuts out to show interview clips. This is the theatrical cut with many branching bits for information - it's definitely NOT an extended version of the film!
According to an advertisement I read in this weeks Entertainment Weekly, inside the DVD will be an offer to mail away for an inflatable "Otto the Autopilot"
Just got this, and the 'long haul' version is surprisingly enjoyable. Normally I steer clear of branching modes as they interrupt the flow of a movie - I'd rather see extra stuff separate from the main feature. But in the case of Airplane! the movie is structured in a sketch-oriented kinda way, so the constant interruptions don't really mess with the pacing.
It's a short movie as well, so the extra bits serve to pad out the runtime as opposed to making something even bloody longer (like the stupid 'pod' thingies on the Titanic DVD). The 'long haul' version gets a from me.
It's a shame that, as a UK resident, I can't apply for an Otto doll, but I guess you can't have everything.
Glad to see another positive vote for the branching option.
I was against it from the beginning - I would normally not want this kind of branching done on any DVD - but somehow, it worked perfectly with this title.
From a technical standpoint it works pretty great too, which IMO helps to make the branching mode a little easier to stomach. So often these modes use 4:3 video segments which look naff on a 16:9 display with no adjustment. But because the branching is over so quickly, it's not worth changing the aspect ratio so you've gotta put up with it.
I watch my DVD stuff in progressive scan on a widescreen 32" display, so it was great to A) have the branched bits in anamorphic widescreen (with suitable 'pillar boxing' for the 4:3 deleted scenes) and B) to have the proper flags embedded in the image so that it didn't look like a venetian blind every time it switched from film to video and back again. Finally, someone's got it right.
I think I'll watch the movie tomorrow with the trivia track, which is basically just another excuse to watch this classic again.
I just opened this disc today and I think the way it's set up is a pain in the ass. Is there a way to just view the deleted scenes and interviews directly, or do you have to sit thru the entire movie every time? I didn't see that option on the menu screens, did I miss it?
No. You can't watch the supplements outside of the film.
There seems to be a sharp division in member opinion whether this is a good thing or not. Many members don't like the way Paramount has incorporated the deleted scenes and interviews into the film. I and a few other members think that in this particular instance, it works VERY WELL.
My advice would be to at least try to watch the film, click on the icon to watch the extras when it appears, and see if you like the way they incorporated this material into a scene-by-scene format.