Gladiator: 3-Disc Extended Edition announced for 6/7/05 ! (1 Viewer)

[Simon Massey]

Disc 3 states there are deleted scenes and abandoned sequences. I would expect this covers most of the deleted scenes from the first release if they are not re-incorporates.
The slide show, concept art, storyboard and photo galleries again will likely be incorporated into the third disc
The third disc says there are authentic memos from the production. Chances are Spencer Treat Clark's production diary could go here.
Do you really need a HBO first look when you have a possible 200 minute making of on the production, in which I would be very surprise if there was no mention of the music and sound effects (those titles for Disc 2 are not final apparently).

Its a shame the couldnt include the Learning Channel doc, as I always like historical films to include a little factual info on what it is based on, but still I would expect most of the extras from the original release to make it over.

Now the Ridley commentary is another matter. I would have thought he would have done another commentary like he did for his Alien Special Edition.

This is looking to be a great release but I hope the info about the commentary turns out to be wrong. And they are listening to what most HTFers seem to be saying about extended cuts - make sure the theatrical cut is available too!!! I for one, much prefer the theatrical cut to be available on the extended version. Means I dont need two copies

 

[MikeEckman]

The original was a near-reference movie for me both in video and audio. Although I really like the movie, I dont watch much in the way of supplements anymore, so more than likely I will be skipping this set unless those 17 extra minutes really give the movie a new perspective or some new profound meaning...which I doubt.

I wonder if they'll include the scene with the Christians being fed to the lions back into the movie?? With the Pope recently dying and all, thats bound to get a buch of people POed.

 

[Dennis*G]

So they are going to stick the extended and theatrical versions onto 1 disc? I hope that uses branching because 5 hours of video on one disc is a bit cramped, or is it a DVD-18 and I just missed that?

 

[Robert_eb]

How about doing that Blade Runner title?

 

[Frank M]

From thedigitalbits:

 

[Andrew Chong]

I love, love, love all-encompassing, feature-length documentaries about my favourite movies and am very much looking forward to the '3 hour and 20 minute Strength and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator documentary'.

Thank you all [and The Digital Bits] for the information albeit non-final; though that documentary seems confirmed.

 

[Anthony*B]

the key for me is not the DTS track (it's a shame, but not paramount to the enjoyment of the film), but the restoration of the MANY (seemingly) cut/censored bits of violence in the film...i'm not the gorehound I used to be, but the whole tone of this film demands that the excessive violence be re-instated...the very idea of gladitorial combat is horrific & repulsive & the film should mirror this..it is VERY obvious to me that mucho violence was trimmed for an "R" rating, & if this is fixed, I will buy the disc without hesitation...the movie as it stands now suffers from the cuts IMHO

 

[Ruz-El]

Based on Ridley's 3 disc "Black Hawk Down", you can't go wrong on this release. I listened to both the DTS and DD on BHD, and they were identical. NO DTS is no big deal.

Sure, I'll choose it if it's there. but I'm not going to hold out on a release like this because it's absent.

Is Charlie D doing the docs on this? He's Ridleys DVD guy, right?

 

[Ryan L. Bisasky]

do you have any proof or facts to back up that alot of the violence was cut for rating? i personally thought there was enough blood and gore ect.

anyone remeber a few years ago when the ABC network aired the so called extended version (it might be what this dvd version is), but of course heavily edited for violence.

 

[PaulP]

I'm keeping the original and getting this one solely for the extras. It's like having Gladiator: Super-Duper Five-Disc Edition!

 

[Anthony*B]

Ryan, I dont have "proof or facts" (which is why i put the word "seemingly" in there ) it's just a hunch I get while watching the film...watch the cutting/editing during some of the fight scenes closely to get a better idea...it is indeed a VIOLENT movie, but not a particularly GRAPHIC or BLOODY one, & I'm betting this extended cut will be... it's all pure conjecture on my part, I assure you, but I am no novice when it comes to film & can tell you without hesitation that a lot more films get butchered by the MPAA than you may realize

 

[BrettB]

The MPAA may be a lot of things but "Film Editor" is not one of them.

 

[JoshB]

I hope some of the scenes included are from the feature included on the 2-disc set, which was a from the cutting room floor and was a montage of scenes that were cut. Some of these were pretty good and would make a nice addition. I know these included some more scenes fro mthe opening battle that would have made it much more coherent and not so choppy. Some other scenes showcasing the superb cinematography would also be a nice touch. The deleted and extended scenes that were on this release were also quite good and would have fleshed out characters and scenes much more. I also am pleased they included a feature of sorts on the late Oliver Reed (although about the stand in f/x and not so much about him), which is still a nice addition.

I wonder if Hans Zimmer recorded additional music to go along with these new scenes.

I for one can live without a DTS track. I will likely keep the original 2-disc set (it was my first DVD!), but I hope they dont sacrifice PQ or sound by adding these films on one disc, even with seamless branching (it thats what they are using).

June seems to be awfully close to just be hearing of this now, and I wonder since its still in production if the specs will change again or if the release date will be pushed back.

The set is likely to coincide with Ridley's "Kingdom of Heaven" but regardless of being a different production company, I'm relieved they did not include all of that useless promotion for the director's or actor's new movie due to be out and the DVD is nothing but a rip off of a neadless double dip (like so many of Universal's other films, like Bourne, Meet the Parents, Pitch Black and XXX).

Frankly, I have not seen Ridley do this with any of his releases (other than BHD 3-disc, which was announced ahead of time and is one of the best produced DVDs yet), and thats what keeps him a director to look forward to when it comes to DVD releases or re-releases.

This could be one of the most anticipated releases so far this year and given the new and original material (a 3+ hour documentary on a disc of its own!!??) this is one re-release that I have no problem in picking up.

Now, about that Blade Runner..............

 

[JeremySt]

Wow... not on my system. I thought they sounded noticably different. Both are great, but different nontheless.

 

[Brent M]

I'm with Jeremy. The DTS on my Black Hawk Down Superbit is most definitely superior to the DD and I think dropping the DTS 6.1 ES track from Gladiator is a big mistake. I also question what the PQ will be like if both a theatrical cut and an extended cut are on the same disc. I think I'll just stick with my current copy and rent the new one if I want to watch the extras(which I usually only check out one time anyway).

 

[JoshB]

Likewise on my system. The DTS on BHD is among the most powerful I have ever heard. The helicopter sfx are much more powerful (as is the stunning crash scene), along wit the impact from the weapons whne they are fired. I have the Region 3 4-disc set (Superbit Deluxe) which also plays Region 1. It loses the commentaries but you get a better packaging (and coverart) than the Region 1 3-Disc set, and still you maitain the 2 discs of supplements. It's a great bargain over at Koreandvds.com. I highly recommend this set if you want to pick a Superbit version of the film whiel still having most of the great featrues from the 3-disc set. Its actually cheaper than the single disc Superbit while maintaining the same quality.

http://www.koreandvds.com/dvddetail.html?id=11080

 

[Ruz-El]

I should of thought it out more before dropping the "DTS is the same as DD" bomb. In retrospec, I watched the DTS on a friends system, as opposed to comparing on my own.

Lazy comment on my part, and I now stand before the forum for the spanking I deserve.

I'm still not too upset that they dropped the DTS. And in regards to the reg 4 BHD set, Didn't Charlie comment that he tweaked the transfer on the R1? I've never seen a comparison of the 2, so I don't know how noticibal it would be, but the it looks damn sexy. I couldn't imagine them cheating Gladiator of it's current transfer, which I remember 2 years ago looking just as sexy.

 

[Justin Bauer]

yeah, I will still get it, but I will not be happy about the DTS thing. I will just add my other 2 disc set into this one's packaging.

 

[Bill Hunt]

My understanding is that the new DVD will feature almost entirely new extras, so if you keep the original 2-disc set along with the new 3-disc, you'll have one helluva 5-disc SE.

 

[Tim Glover]

For me and I don't want to be a thread crapper but since I've owned the current 2 disc edition with dts for about 5 years now,I can wait some more so I'm going to hold out for the higher definition one-especially if this omits dts.