Coen Brothers SEs please? (1 Viewer)

[Pat Frank]

Any chance of more Coen Brothers SE-quality DVDs in the near future? I'm getting my hopes up, now that Fargo and Blood Simple got decent releases, and The Ladykillers and O Brother came out in pretty good initial releases.

More specifically, I'm hoping for SEs of Miller's Crossing and The Hudsucker Proxy (which has a particularly bad current DVD release in R1).

 

[GuruAskew]

"The Big Lebowski" is getting an SE this year, other than that, it's doubtful. "Raising Arizona" needs an anamorphic transfer, and it was rumored that it was gonna get an anamorphic re-release when "Miller's Crossing" and "Barton Fink" were released by Fox, but it didn't happen.

 

[Pat Frank]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Chris Cheese]

Miller's Crossing was just (finally) released in 2003, and I highly doubt it has sold enough copies to justify a special edition rerelease. The Big Lebowski is getting a SE, probably because it has become enough of a cult favorite that it will be guaranteed to sell to all those crazy people who would pay 15 bucks for another 15 seconds of the Dude and Walter talking in a bowling alley (myself being at the very front of the line for this group). The only other Coen title I think may possibly be rereleased is Raising Arizona, since it needs some serious improvements and is well-regarded enough that it would likely sell. The Hudsucker Proxy isn't quite as well-regarded, and I'm not sure it'd ever get a SE unless it was released with another of their films at the same time.

 

[GuruAskew]

It's the only movie by the Coens that's owned by Warner Bros. so that's unlikely to happen. I think "Raising Arizona" missed its chance when Fox released "Miller's Crossing" and "Barton Fink". MGM only owns "Fargo" so that SE isn't indicative of any of their other films getting the SE treatment. Both Disney ("O Brother, Where Art Thou" and "The Ladykillers") and Universal ("Blood Simple", "The Big Lebowski", "The Man Who Wasn't There" and "Intolerable Cruelty") have had actual involvment from the Coens in their DVD releases so it's unlikely that we'll ever see any further editions, with the obvious exception of "Lebowski".

 

[Pat Frank]

I appreciate the further info.

I guess I can't complain too much, since a lot of their films are pretty well archived now. But it seems like a shame that Miller's Crossing and The Hudsucker Proxy haven't gotten better treatment.

I know a lot of folks weren't Hud fans, but there's some great imagery in that movie. It'd make a wonderful demo disc.

 

[Chris Cheese]

What's wrong with the Miller's Crossing disc? It was put out in 2003 along with Barton Fink, and both discs seem fine to me.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

I heard that the Coens put the kibosh on some special features on Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink; they don't like to do commentaries, either.

 

[Henry Gale]

Anytime the subject of Blood Simple comes up...I'll alway be there to mention that it has never been released on a DVD.
What many of you have seen, and I finally broke down and bought myself, is Blood Simple 2000. It is inferior to the original, which I have watched in theaters and on LD many dozens of times.

 

[James Lambert]

Henry, UK R2 has a open Matte or Pan and scan (can't remember which) of the original Blood Simple available on DVD. I own it, but am ashamed to admit that it remains unopened on my shelf next to the US version.

 

[dpippel]

What's this then?

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemid=MCA021425

 

[Sean Richardson]

Isn't that the "Director's Edition" re-cut to which Henry was referring? (I'm not sure, I just thought, same as he said, that the original cut hadn't been released in R1.) But, the flip side is, wasn't the laserdisc release the same version as the VHS release, which was actually slightly edited from the theatrical anyway? [The quotes at the beginning being removed and the song being changed.]

Chris, re: Millers Crossing, there's a website which cites three different scenes from the script which were cut out, and there are stills which would suggest that at least one of these scenes was actually shot. I love the disc because I love the movie, but I would've loved it if there had been any significant features too. (Being fair, I loved the anecdote about Albert Finney in drag in the movie.)

 

[James Lambert]

The link to deep discount is indeed the the re-cut version, or at least has the same cover as the re-cut.

The R2 original, incorrectly framed version is available at http://www.play.com/play247.asp?page...g=blood+simple

I'd forgotten the music problems that Blood Simple had over the end, and as I've not personally sat through the disc I've linked to, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone till someone confirms it. Personally as it's misframed I'd recommend the R1 re-edit anyway.

 

[Pat Frank]

Miller's Crossing and Hudsucker Proxy could use better sound treatment. Hud has a 5.1 release in Germany, according to DVDcompare, so it seems kinda silly that there's no digital track in the US release (DVDcompare has some wrong info there).

 

[Henry Gale]

Sean...thank you.
James...thanks for the link to the R2 release!

 

[John Carr]

I'd love to see a special edition release of The Hudsucker Proxy -- my favorite Coen Brothers film, next to The Big Lebowski, of course!


The Hudsucker Proxy is a very nice tip of the hat to Preston Sturges and the classic screwball comedies of the 30s/early 40s. I'm a huge Sturges fan and enjoyed the references and the film itself.

 

[John Carr]

I'd love to see a special edition release of The Hudsucker Proxy -- my favorite Coen Brothers film, next to The Big Lebowski, of course!


The Hudsucker Proxy is a very nice tip of the hat to Preston Sturges and the classic screwball comedies of the 30s/early 40s. I'm a huge Sturges fan and enjoyed the references and the film itself.

 

[Chris Cheese]

I was under the impression that the reedit of Blood Simple changed the overall film very little. I hadn't seen it before the DVD was released, so I can't compare, but I'm very satisfied with the release. From what I've read they just "tightened" a few scenes, but didn't really cut much. Of course, I can see everyone's point that are upset about this, but I'm very satisfied with the release.

 

[Henry Gale]

I'm tired of trying to explain this myself and don't fathom why I need to at a movie fan forum.

Let me quote Kevin M from 9-13-01:

 

[dpippel]

Then why did you bother replying? Sheesh, lighten up. :rolleyes