Malcolm X: SE.....February 8th (1 Viewer)

[JoshB]

Malcolm X
February 8th

DISC ONE:

Malcolm X: Part 1:
-Anamorphic Widescreen: 1.85:1
-English and French DD 5.1
-English, French and Spanish subtitles

-Commentary by Spike Lee, cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, editor Barry Alexander Brown and costume designer Ruth Carter.

-All-new documentary By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Malcolm X narrated by James Earl Jones.

-10 additional scenes with on-camera introduction by Spike Lee (twenty-one minutes)

Theatrical trailer

DISC TWO:

Malcolm X: Part 2

-Continuation of Disc One commentary by Spike Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Barry Alexander Brown and Ruth Carter

-Academy Award-nominated 1972 documentary: Malcolm X narrated by James Earl Jones (RT 87:54) and directed by Arnold Perl.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm all over this on February 8th.




Crawdaddy

 

[JonZ]

Me too

 

[Herb Kane]

From the WB Press Release:
--------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE ATTACHED

"**** A triumph. Gripping and majestic."

Philadelphia Inquirer, Desmond Ryan

"**** An event movie that lives up to the event."

USA Today, Mike Clark


Featuring a career-making performance by Denzel Washington…

Malcolm X

February 8 Debut of Two-Disc

Special Edition DVD Marks 40th Anniversary of

Civil Rights Leader’s Death


Directed by Spike Lee and Starring Academy Award® Winner Denzel Washington, Film Arrives with Hours of Extras,

including Lee’s Commentary, Additional Scenes

and an Oscar®-Nominated 1972 Documentary

Burbank, Calif., October 27, 2004 – To mark the 40th anniversary of Malcolm X’s death, Warner Home Video (WHV) will debut a two-disc special edition DVD of Spike Lee’s acclaimed epic masterpiece Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington in an Oscar-nominated performance. Considered one of the most significant films of the last half century, Malcolm X will be released as Malcolm X Two-Disc Special Edition DVD, with two and a half hours of extra features including a Spike Lee commentary, additional scenes, two all-new documentaries and the 1972 Academy Award nominated feature length documentary Malcolm X. In celebration of Black History Month, the DVD will be available February 8 for $26.99 SRP.


"We are very proud to be releasing this landmark DVD of such a significant film - a film that defines the life of one of the most influential African American leaders of this past century," said Michael Radiloff, WHV’s Vice President Theatrical Catalog Marketing.

Denzel Washington stars as the civil rights leader in a powerful performance about which The New York Times’ Vincent Canby noted, "Denzel Washington, a fine actor, does for ‘Malcolm X’ what Ben Kingsley did for ‘Gandhi.’" In addition to two-time Academy Award®-winner Washington, Malcolm X stars Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo and Spike Lee as "Shorty." The film also captured an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Born in Nebraska in 1925, Malcolm Little rose from a life of poverty and petty crime, which resulted in a seven year prison sentence, to become one of the foremost pioneers of the civil rights movement. While in jail, Malcolm was introduced to the teachings of the Nation of Islam and its leader Elijah Muhammad.

After his parole, Malcolm became a devoted follower of the organization and was soon appointed its national spokesman. Intelligent, articulate and charismatic, Malcolm X immediately captured the public’s attention as one of the most effective advocates for the Nation of Islam and attracted his own large and dedicated following.

Even after leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X remained an extremely influential civil rights leader until his assassination in 1965.

Spike Lee made his directorial debut in 1986, with the comedy She’s Gotta Have It. The film, which was made for $175,000, went on to gross seven million and established Lee as a highly talented and controversial filmmaker. Since then, he has written, directed and produced many critically lauded films tackling the complexities of America’s race relations: School Daze, Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever and Mo’ Better Blues, among others. In 1990, Lee was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Do The Right Thing which also earned him two Golden Globe® nominations, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

DVD Extras

The Two-Disc Special Edition DVD features By Any Means Necessary, The Making of Malcolm X, an illuminating new documentary, narrated by James Earl Jones, as well as Malcolm X, the Academy Award nominated documentary, also narrated by Jones, and directed by Arnold Perl. It includes excerpts from Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X and archival footage from Malcolm’s life. A complete list of the extras follows:

DISC ONE:

Commentary by Spike Lee, cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, editor Barry Alexander Brown and costume designer Ruth Carter
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Malcolm X (new) narrated by James Earl Jones
10 additional scenes with on-camera introduction by Spike Lee (twenty-one minutes)
Theatrical trailer
DISC TWO:

Continuation of Disc One commentary by Spike Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Barry Alexander Brown and Ruth Carter
1972 documentary Malcolm X narrated by James Earl Jones (RT 87:54)
The DVD will be available in widescreen format and will include English and French 5.1 sound and English, French and Spanish subtitles.

 

[JoshB]

I held off for so long buying the single disc snapper even though it was a pretty cheap price because I knew Warner would someday revisit with a proper special edition. Kudos for to them on coming through with what sounds like a pretty good release. One of my favorite Spike Lee film next to Do the Right Thing,

 

[MarcusUdeh]

Although I am glad that this movie is getting the deluxe treatment; I am worried about the video suffering due to the fact that the 202m long feature will be on a single disc, with a commentary track and part of a feature length documentary and trailers too.


Warner should have spread the movie over two discs, had the doc and trailers on the third disc.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Marcus,
I think you need to read the press release again because it appears the movie is spread over two discs.





Crawdaddy

 

[JonZ]

Has anyone had a chance to view this yet?

Same transfer as the previous release spread over 2 discs?

 

[Andy Patrizio]

I've watched it (reviewed it, too ) and while I didn't have a chance to get the original for comparison, let me say this new disc looks like a brand new movie. The audio isn't quite as impressive. The bulk of it comes from the center channel with little front surround action and next to nothing from the rears.

However, the deleted scenes, commentary and 1972 documentary more than make up for it.

 

[Manendra]

If anyone was able to compare the two releases, please post the findings. I've got the original release. I'm wondering whether to double dip. I would gladly do so if there's an improvement in the PQ.

Thanks.

 

[Gil Jawetz]

The documentary is worth rth double dip alone. I wrote the review over at DVDTalk. The 1972 doco is a revelation.

 

[Travis Brashear]

The print used for the new DVD is completely identical to the prior release, including the same minor incidents of print damage in the "Police Station/Brother Johnson" section of the film (speckles, slight black vertical scratches on scene with outside marchers, etc.). The new release seems to offer an ever so slightly smoother and yet punchier image, but this is almost certainly due to improvements in compression technology during the five years separating the two releases. Upgrade for the extras, but if you could give a flip about extras, then there's no reason whatsoever to upgrade in terms of just the audio/video presentation, especially considering you'll now be dealing with a side break that the old release didn't have.

 

[Gil Jawetz]

Am I wrong in thinking that the old version was a flipper and did therefore have a side break?

And if there has ever been a disc worth upgrading for the extras, this is it. The documentary is brilliant.

 

[Travis Brashear]

Gil, you are wrong--the entire film was on one side, no breaks...I'll sell ya my old copy if you need proof.

 

[Gary->dee]

I'm not a big Spike Lee fan but this is by far his best movie in my opinion and I'm glad that I caught it in the theater when it first came out. It's Lee's masterpiece and a great movie by any filmmaker. I've held off getting the original release even though I've been tempted to get it. I saw the new 2 disc version yesterday at Circuit City and I glanced over it. Since the new 2 discer apparently has the same transfer I'm still torn, but the additional scenes and documentary could sway me.

 

[Mike Williams]

Travis, you're in Tulsa, Oklahoma??? Wow! Me too.

 

[Travis Brashear]

Yup, at work at 51st and Garnett at this very moment, in fact...

 

[Gil Jawetz]

Travis Brashear, no need to mail me proof, I was thinking of soemthing else, I guess.

It is curious that they split it up (and frankly they didn't do a great job of it) but the extras still make this a must-see disc.

 

[Mike Williams]

Well, this is one of my favorite movies of all time, and i was really reminded of that yesterday when I watched all the bonus stuff. Tonight I think I'll rewatch the movie.

Travis, I'm about to leave work at 71st and Memorial. LOL!

 

[Raymond Chan]

I'm a bit disappointed that Warner Bros. split the movie over two discs while using the same transfer from the original release. The SE would have been perfect if Disc 1 had the entire movie and commentary track and Disc 2 had the 2 documentaries and deleted scenes. I also like the cover of the original version better. I probably won't double dip on this one, but for those who really like extras and/or hate snapper cases making the upgrade is certainly understandable.