Deer Hunter 2-disc SE in September (MERGED THREAD) (1 Viewer)

[Gordon McMurphy]

Well, to be fair, it is a 183-minute movie with 5.1, so it basically, has to be a 2-disc, in order to preserve video quality.

 

[Mark J Crawford]

Nick Cage looking into his closet (from The Family Man) and seeing his The Deer Hunter Legacy Collection not only doesn't have DTS it isn't even DD 5:1

"This is so.... sub par."

I hope the announcement of the DD 2.0 off of DavisDVD is a mistake. Otherwise, I'm not buying. The other two DVD's of this movie sounded horrible. I thought it sounded better watching it on cable TV.

Why?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? !?!!??!?!

If it is a mistake... Thank the maker.

Just IMHO's.

Mark

My DVD Collection

 

[Ray H]

The cover art for this, as well as the other Legacy Editions, is up at DVD Empire.

 

[John Hodson]

DVD Savant's review of The Deer Hunter SE is here. Sample:

"Disc two has almost nothing on it. A misleadingly titled 'deleted and extended scenes' extra is instead a selection of a few (very long) alternate camera takes in workprint form. It drags on quite a bit, showing us some moments that are obviously first tries before the actors have fully warmed up. A trailer with bad color and some press-release text production notes are it for the extras. It looks as if other material fell through at the last minute. Amazon.com still lists two items not included on the disc: Acceptance of Best Picture Award and Anatomy of a Scene. The disc comes in a handsome and durable 'little Golden Book' package that promises a lot more."

 

[BillGo]

I was looking forward to a new release of The Deer Hunter on September 6, 2005, hopefully with improved (5.1) audio. Now it appears that except for the fact that the new release is anamorphic, it is identical to the old version. It may be a new transfer but there is no information available to indicate that.

Does anyone have more detailed information on this release?

(DVD Savant's review claims the Video is greatly improved)

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I will have more information when Universal sends the review copy.

Regards,
Steve

 

[George Cifrancis]

Any of you Deer Hunter fans recognize this shot?

http://www.cifrancis.com/misc/mingo_dh.jpg

That location was used in the opening shot from the movie. I pass over that bridge (Route 7 in Ohio) when I go back home to visit my mother in Steubenville, Ohio.

 

[Kain_C]

Very, very disappointing.

 

[Aaron Thorne]

Deer Hunter is being re-released today as you may or may not know. Being that the new disc is anamorphic, I'm sure that alone is worth the price of double-dipping. I'm surprised there are no reviews on it...

 

[John Hodson]

Glenn's reviewed it at DVD Talk here, as mentioned in previously this thread.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

We don't get Universal review discs until after street date.

- Steve

 

[Doug Schiller]

Glenn's reviews are required reading for any film fan but, he doesn't really go into AV quality at all.

I have a sinking feeling this is DD2.0 (I guess Cimino must have control of the 70mm audio).
If that is the case, it will be a rental only for me.

How they can give a mono film a remastered 5.1 track and refuse to use the multi channel mix for Deer Hunter is beyond me.

 

[Berk]

I got the Se of Deer Hunter yesterday and have made it through the commentary with Vilmos Zsigmond and some guy from the film institute. Overall I am disappointed in the commentary.

Vilmos Zsigmond was the cinematographer for the film and the majority of his commentary is related to how the scenes were shot and why. There’s an interesting fragment every 10-minutes or so, but you have to listen hard due to Vilmos Zsigmond’s thick accent. I’m thankful the film institute guy is also in the commentary because he serves to lead the discussion to more interesting areas than why the lighting was done a certain way, though there’s plenty of that.

I did note some inaccuracies in the commentary as well. For example, according to Vilmos Zsigmond the bar in the film was built for the production. That’s not true. The bar was an actual bar in Mingo Junction, though the film crew did make some modifications to the support structure to accommodate the film equipment. A bit disappointing to think everything else Vilmos Zsigmond says may be questionable.

Count me in with the folks who would have preferred Cimino’s commentary as included in the region 2 DVD.

 

[Ron Boster]

How was the PQ and sound? Thanks!

Ron

 

[Berk]

In regards to picture quality and sound of the new SE, I can speak to the picture quality but not the sound, as I simply use stereo speaker and not a home theater.

The picture quality, to me, looks very similar to the previous disc. If there's improved sharpness or color, I didn't really notice it and I know the film pretty well.

I can verify that there are select scenes where the picture is "wider" than the previous disc, with more background visible(I'm no expert when it comes to films, so please excuse me). I assume this is due to the anamorphic widescreen. For me, this alone makes the new disc worthwhile.

 

[Carlo_M]

Any increase in "a wider / more background visible" picture is due to a change in the framing of the transfer used for the new DVD rather than any anamorphic enhancement. So at least we know they didn't use the exact same transfer as the previous DVD as the framing would not have been different.

 

[Doug Schiller]

Someone is reporting on DVDTalk that Deer Hunter is DD5.1.
I haven't got it yet.

 

[JoshB]

No 5.1, but it has Logic 7 2.0 and 2.0 Dolby Digital.

 

[Carlo_M]

Was this originally released in stereo? If so, I'll be okay with the mix as long as it sounds good (hopefully they've restored the track to some degree)

 

[Steve Tannehill]

The disc is indeed DD 5.1. The opening scenes in the mill are pretty damned impressive.

Carlo, I definitely know the movie was released in Dolby Stereo--that's how I saw it in the theater. I don't know how the soundtrack was treated in the 70mm theatrical presentations.

I'll review the disc fully this weekend, but the anamorphic transsfer is a sight to behold. Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography is amazing.

More to come...

- Steve