anchor bay - EL CID, FALL OF ROMAN EMPIRE (1 Viewer)

[frank manrique]

quote:

...Ultra Panavision, which is the format Ben-Hur was shot in (as well as The Fall of the Roman Empire)...
__________________________________________________ ________

...as were Mutiny on the Bounty, Khartoum, Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Battle of the Bulge...and certain footage segments of How the West Was Won, of course...

-THTS

 

[Bob Engleman]

According to DVD Verdict, there'll be 380 releases next wk. Where're "El Cid" and "Fall of the Roman Empire"???? Surely someone in the business knows why these titles haven't been issued in region 1. If you're that person, please share; thank you.

Bob Engleman

 

[John Hodson]

Meanwhile for anyone wandering, Anchor Bay UK looks to have abandoned plans for El Cid and The Fall of The Roman Empire; the former has been re-released in p&s by Universal, the latter is still available, cropped and incomplete and will shortly form part of a Sophia Loren box set.

Shame.

 

[Douglas R]

I suggest we bombard Miramax with emails, letters and phone calls. About a year ago they confirmed to me that they have the titles but could give no information about a DVD release.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Great if they are owned by Miramax we can expect a really crappy DVD release. Expect edited and shortened versions with new soundtracks using lots of Hip Hop. In Miramax's own words it would be "This is the only way we could release this old crap for todays audience".

If its Miramax I'll pass.

 

[RolandL]

For a comparison of the Korean (on top) and Japanese (on the bottom) DVD's go to

http://cinerama.topcities.com/fotre.htm

 

[Mark Anthony]

Another few month's have passed, over eight years into DVD and five years after the smash success of Gladiator and with 2 potential HD format's poised for release, we still do not have the Bronston 65mm epic's on dvd in their correct ratio's...

When, oh when, oh when!

Are these stil owned by Miramax, are they working on them, are the element's privately owned and rotting?

M

 

[Ken New]

I agree with Mark. These must be among the last 'Roadshow' productions yet to receive the full DVD treatment.

Is the delay caused by copyright problems? Does Anchor Bay own them or Miramax? With the upheavals at Miramax lately, might these movies have slipped through the cracks?

HTF members have worked wonders in the past, getting long-lost treasures released. Is there anyone that can advise how we might campaign for the Bronston movies?

 

[GerardoHP]

Atrocious.

 

[Elijah Sullivan]

Atrocious sure is the word. I've never seen this film, but want to badly. It seems like the last great epic that I haven't seen and a damned good one, to boot.

I'll add my voice: Why hasn't this been released?!!?!!

 

[dana martin]

Currently i believe that VB id the distributer for Criterion, actually if it was a US release, i would love to see them do these three.

 

[Brian Sharp]

Are any of the dvd releases of El Cid, Fall of the Roman Empire or 55 days worth getting or shouldl I continue the wait?

 

[Dick]

Personally I've about given up on Disney as far as catalog titles are concerned, excepting only their classic animations. Since that huge wave of releases two years ago they've been largely silent, even though scores of fine films remain unreleased (SO DEAR TO MY HEART, A LIGHT IN THE FOREST, TREASURE OF THE MATECUMBE, The True Life Adventure features)and many DVD releases need to be re-done (JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN, WHITE FANG, IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS, GNOME MOBILE,etc). The whole SONG OF THE SOUTH issue further confirms - to me, at least - that this studio is currently being run by wannabes and politicians.

 

[Simon Howson]

If only these films could end up at Warner Bros. some how. They did amazing things with King of Kings (1961)... It pains me to think that the Ultra Panavision elements for Fall of the Roman Empire are just sitting in some vault somewhere, probably in need of restoration.

 

[Cees Alons]

Yes, a Samuel Bronston Box Set would be great. With at least these three!

Much like Ken was referring to:
But with great sound, of course.


Cees

 

[john a hunter]

An earlier thread about 3 months ago discussed the then recent Japanese releases in,apparently, the correct aspect ratios and 5.1 sound. Several contributors were waiting for their copies and promised to report back. Since then nothing.If they are still visiting this site, can they please report back and let us all know what these Bronston epics look and sound like?

 

[David_B_K]

I looked at the link to one of those sites. I was just about to order El Cid, but the next day, the title was recalled.

The best DVD presentation I've seen yet of El Cid is the French region 2 Le Cid. It's at least anamorphic, and looks decent, if not stunning. It certainly looks better on a 16:9 display than my Criterion laserdisc in "expanded" mode. However, my all-region player is unable to remove the French subtitles when I play it with the English (original) souindtrack.

I still think the source is the laserdisc master. The beginning credit start a fraction of a second late, as if they are removing the "Martin Scorsese" title at the beginning. here are a few captures:

 

[Brian Sharp]

Some screen grabs from the UK region two version of El Cid (first two) and Fall of the Roman Empire. The sound quality (stereo) is about as good as he picture. Save your money folks!

 

[Manus]

I got these R2 Japan Ntsc versions of these rather than waiting for SD or maybe even 1 day Hd versions They are available at www.cdjapan.co.jp

El Cid http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TCDL-1058

55 Days http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TCDL-1060

TFOTHRE http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TCDL-1059

Circus World http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TCD-1061

Comparisons of various versions/Sound Quality/Aspect Ratio are available here :

http://www.dvdcompare.net/

and , in some cases on www.dvdbeaver.com.

Why wait ?

~M~