Is Badlands a safe buy? (1 Viewer)

[MarcoBiscotti]

Do you guys forsee a Special Edition from Warner Bros anytime soon, perhaps with a commentary track from Terrence Malick to capitalize on his new film?

 

[JohnMor]

I have no info on a new special edition, but I would love to see one. Malick, Sheen & Spacek could all contribute.

I say go ahead and get the current one. It *probably* won't be revisited again before HD. (Or if your life works like mine, the minute you buy it, they'll announce the SE. That would be a small price to pay for us all to get a SE! )

 

[TonyD]

i've not seen any of his 3 previous films, but after seeing the new world i put them into my netflix to see as soon as get them.

 

[Vincent_P]

There was a special edition of BADLANDS released overseas with a featurette produced by Blue Underground. I believe Spacek and her husband (and frequent Mallick collaborator) Jack Fisk both participated in it and possibly Martin Sheen as well, but of course the ellusive Mr. Mallick himself was... well, ellusive and didn't participate in the doc. Still, it's out there for those of you with multi-region players.

Seeing as how Mallick is reportedly preparing an extended cut of THE NEW WORLD for DVD, maybe he's "come out of his shell", so to speak, and might be more inclined to release S.E.s of his other films now, as well.

Vincent

 

[Elijah Sullivan]

Since nobody is sure about a double-dip, I would simply say:

1. The DVD has an OK transfer and OK sound.
2. It can be found very cheap.
3. It is a must-see for all lovers of cinema.

To date, it's probably Malick's most accessible film (I'm going to drive 100 miles to see The New World tomorrow and may change my opinion then - can't wait ). Considering the price, there's really no risk in buying it. It's worth $10 to see it in the next six months before a special edition opportunity.

Cheers... and enjoy!

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Thanks, I'll probably go for it than!

I'm hoping that we do see a Special Edition though to tie in with the DVD release of his new movie. Hopefully I'll have the same luck as John

 

[Jon Martin]

I don't know. I think you'd sooner see J.D. Salinger on Charlie Rose than Malick do a commentary.

 

[Andrew Haines]

Continuing with Terrence Malick Films. Is The Thin Red Line a safe buy or is there a SE coming? (Sorry I didn't want to start a new theard for this question.)

 

[David Wilkins]

In my opinion, "The Thin Red Line" ia another title that's cheap to aquire and too good not to own (if you love Malick's work). You may as well spring for it. "Special Edition" and "Malick" are words too seldom associated to stake too much on waiting for it to happen.

"The Thin Red Line" is a rare bird: a deeply spiritual war film, told from the internalized perspective of several different characters. The fact that it wasn't a typical war film caused many to criticize it for lacking "strong character development", among other things. In answer to those critics, I thought Roger Ebert expressed it very well; and I paraphrase: If you insist on strong character development, well, there are the Star Wars movies.

 

[Paul_Scott]

i finally got a chance to see Badlands a couple months back when i got it from Netflix.
i would love to own it, but the dvd is an early dvd production and while its viewable and no where near as bad as some other earlier discs (like Blade Runner for instance), its still edgy, with haloing, and has what i would describe as a mosquito noise look to it (this may be due to film grain not compressing well, or the grain suffering the effects of EE, or something other effect going on).
i was watching on a widescreen with a front projector and like i said it was watchable but after it was over i craving a remastered edition.

and at this point
-it's an older, early title on DVD
-the director has a new film coming out
-the HD format will be on the market within 12 months (at the latest)
-his new film will be on HD
-like all his work, its beautifully shot and deserves to be seen in as high a standard as possible.

so that all adds up to me that his other films have a good shot at getting new masters (where needed) to serve dual purposes (HD and DVD). I wouldn't be expecting a full blown SE because Malick just doesn't seem to be into them, but remastered audio and video is another thing.

for that reason i'm passing on it now.

but like others have said, the current dvd is cheap now so you certainly won't be losing much.

 

[Joel C]

How about his other film on DVD, Days of Heaven? I was thinking of getting the Paramount disc (cheap!).

 

[Paul_Scott]

i would rate the a/v quality of DOH as decent to excellant. i don't remember print damge to any great extent and about the only flaw i think i can remember is haloing (common to a lot of Paramount titles)- but even that isn't as bad here as it is on other titles.
in short-better than Badlands for sure.
if you are satisfied with Badlands, you'll have no problems with DOH


for a while, Fox releases were almost uniformly excellant (from a/v standpoint), and Thin Red Line was produced in that time, so thats another one that i would consider a safe buy right now- unless you anticipate getting a Blu ray player in the not too distant future.

 

[Dharmesh C]

The dts edition is quite a good disc.

 

[Elijah Sullivan]

Get them all. You won't regret it.

By the way... just got back from seeing The New World and everyone needs to see it as soon as possible. If pressed to rank it's stature, I would say it is the best piece of American cinema in 30 years... or more. It is a towering achievement of filmic art and almost unbearably beautiful. It's his best film... I'm pleased to say this... by far.

The eventual DVD release (70mm, DTS, extended cut, documentaries +) will be the ultimate addition to our Malick collections. Cheers!

 

[Richard Kim]

And it's full bitrate DTS to boot. For a three hour long film, the picture quality is very impressive.

 

[TonyD]

it seems there is 3 editions of thin red line on dvd.
a DD a DTS and a fox war classics with both DD and DTS.
i ordered the last from amazon for less then $8.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Im pretty sure the Fox War Classics is the original film and not the Terrence Malick version.

Which would mean there are currently only 2 editions... DD and DTS - An easy decision.

 

[Paul_Scott]

i believe the FWC is just a re-bannering of the other disc.
which would still make it an easy decision.

 

[TonyD]

i was looking at it yesterday.
it has both dts and DD listed and is the TM film.

doesnt mention 16x9 enhancement though.

 

[Vincent_P]

The original film IS the "Terrence Mallick version". He had final cut, so all of the material that was taken out of the film was of his own doing.

Vincent