Laserdiscs worth keeping? (1 Viewer)

[BrianBo]

I'm looking for some suggestions on laserdiscs to purchase. The one I am currently trying to track down is The Game DTS.

Any others you would recommend?

 

[Damin J Toell]

What are looking for in a laserdisc? It seems to me that the LDs people want these days fall into 3 categories:

1. Films not available on DVD
2. Supplementary material not available on DVD
3. Specific soundtracks (e.g., a DTS track like you mention)

Are you looking for LDs in some or all of these categories? Or perhaps something else I haven't thought of?

DJ

 

[BrianBo]

All 3 of the above...

 

[Jesse Skeen]

No laserdisc collection is complete without the masterpiece that is "Smoking: How To Stop".

 

[Jay E]

There are lots of films on Laser that are not available on DVD. Maybe if you can me some idea of the type of films you like, I can help out in this area as I still have a few hundred movies on laser that are not available on DVD.

 

[Eric Peterson]

The Art of Tom & Jerry (Volumes 1 & 2). Warner Brothers is showing complete disdain for these cartoons and screwing their customers with the DVDs, so I would highly reccomend these.

The Compleat Tex Avery - Warner has not released these yet, and I see and even thinner chance of these being released, due to much of the un-PC content in these cartoons.

Pink Floyd Pulse - Not available on DVD

 

[Bill Williams]

Some LDs I recommend you should track down:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Criterion Collection) - the 3-disc package contains as close to the original 1977 theatrical version (with one additional insert included at Steven Spielberg's request) as possible, along with all of the 1980 SE scenes, additional trims not found on the Collector's Edition DVD, and a really good-sized supplements section.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day Special Edition (Pioneer) - While it's virtually the same as on the Ultimate Edition DVD, there are a couple of little hidden Easter eggs on the supplements section, as well as the Guns 'n' Roses music video "You Could Be Mine" (which is not included on the UE or EE DVD).

Beauty and the Beast Work in Progress Version - This 2-disc set is arranged differently than what's on the DVD.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, released by Tohokushinsha Home Video - This Japanese import has the 93-minute overseas international version released by Cannon Films, with the additional footage in widescreen format (the only known source of this footage to be in widescreen) and not found on the U.S. DVD.

Those are some recommendations I'd make. There was a thread a while back that had a really detailed listing of all the different supplements and additional features found only on LD that were not included in their DVD counterparts.

 

[Jeff_HR]

Most DEFINATELY!!!!

 

[Travis Brashear]

Hey, Bill, I have this LD and kept it solely for the Guns 'n' Roses video, which I thought was the only extra not to be held over for the DVD. Can you clue me in to the specifics of these "Easter eggs"?

 

[greg_t]

There is also a two disc criterion version that is only the original theatrical cut.

 

[Bill Williams]

Sure thing, Travis. To find both of those little extras, they can be found on Disc 2, Side 4.

The first one can be found when you access the main menu of the supplements section. Hit Play, and you'll see the menu go by very quickly with a voiceover of the Terminator saying, "I have detailed files". The menu screen will then stop at Chapter 1.

The other one can be found in the script section. If you scroll through each page of the script individually, you'll notice the background changing ever so slightly. But if you start at page 1 of the script and press Play, you'll see a little mini music video of the entire script going by very quickly, superimposed over the burning playground and the Terminator robot, with Brad Fiedel's T2 score playing (it's the same video sequence as on the end of the main credits sequence).

Hope that helps!

 

[John Sparks]

I have over 300 left and I still have plenty that I haven't watched yet and a large number of DVD's too!

So many films, so little time!!!

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

I think I've heard this before but haven't really given it much thought. What's the story here? Is there much difference? Which one is the original WIP version?

 

[Jefferson Morris]

Reason # 1 to hang onto your LD player: The original, unmolested cuts of Star Wars episodes IV-VI.

Also, lots of Criterion discs, usually for commentary tracks that haven't turned up on DVD (and may never) - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Coppola's Dracula and Cronenberg's Crash are three recent examples that spring to mind.

--Jefferson Morris

 

[Lyle_JP]

Laserdiscs they'll have to pry from my cold dead hands (or until their contents are released on DVD):

* The Frighteners SE
* The Fisher King - Criterion Collection
* Adventures of Baron Munchausen - Criterion Collection
* Bladerunner CAV - Criterion Collection
* Original Star Wars Trilogy (both THX CAV box and THX CLV individual discs)
* The Ultimate Oz
* Jazz at Disneyland
* Genesis: Three Sides Live
* Rush: Exit Stage Left (Japanese Import)
* Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame CAV box
* A Nightmare on Elm Street - Elite THX edition
* Thunderball THX CAV
* Mrs. Doubtfire Collector's Edition (the deleted scenes are practically their own movie!)
* Tomorrow Never Dies DTS
* Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Elite disc signed by Gunnar Hansen!
* Dario Argento's World of Horror - Synapse blood-red LD

I'm sure there are much more, but those are the ones that sprang to mind immediately.

 

[Travis Brashear]

Bill, cool--I actually knew about the 2nd one, but the first was news to me! Thanks!

 

[Bill Williams]

To answer your question, Lars, the WIP version of "Beauty and the Beast" is a hybrid mix of storyboards, pencil animation, clear animation (minus color and shading), and the final version. The title card on the LD is different than what's on the DVD, also. In addition, Disc 2, Side 4 contains some additional supplemental material (BTS stuff, trailers, etc.) that's not on the DVD either.

 

[Jay Pennington]

Sorry, I don't get the explanation. Aren't both versions like that? What are the differences? Simply which scenes are presented at which stage?

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Please note: Beauty and The Beast Work In Progress is one of the most notorious rotters out there. Make sure, if you buy a copy, to get full return priveleges, because the pressing was very small, and the first run was all bad. It was re-pressed, and those discs are good, but there is really no telling the two runs apart without an actuial viewing straight through all four sides.

As for "what is worth buying", I buy anime. A large perccentage is in CAV format, there are frequently amazing extras [including stuff packed with the discs], and in many cases these are the original releases as they were originally meant to be seen [particularly for OVAs; similar remarks apply to TV shows struck from the broadcast masters].

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

I realize that I didn't tell, so my question didn't turn out as absolutely clear as it should, but I've got both the DVD and the LD of BatB WIP, so I know the concept. My question is about the difference between the two - which according to Bill's post appears to be a title card. Is that all?