New Apocalypse Now DVD set this year? (1 Viewer)

[JohnTRU]

From AICN;

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=24212

"The new DVD release of Apocalypse Now has been criticized by completists for not including the "Heart of Darkness" documentary. Coppola said that he didn't want to include the documentary because he considered it a separate film, not a "supplement." He also said that another company(Showtime) produced "Hearts of Darkness," and there would have been complicated rights issues involved in including it. He also mentioned that not everything in the documentary was accurate or fair to him; some of the footage was taken out of context. He wished that he could do a commentary track on the documentary to correct the misimpressions."

 

[Pete York]

That sounds like a great idea. And I agree with Coppola, I've always expected HEARTS OF DARKNESS to be a separate release, as it very much stands on its own, like BURDEN OF DREAMS and FITZCARRALDO. I just thought it would be out by now.

 

[oscar_merkx]

I would absolutely second that idea.

His commentaries are outstanding on all his films

 

[Dave H]

Has anyone compared the 1999 transfer of AN to the new 2006 version?

 

[Dave Mack]

Man! I am DONE with Circuit City! Went to the one in Emeryville Ca. today, last day of the sale. They had 4 copies with the bonus disc and 3 without. It also said $12.99 on the marker thingy.
I go up to the register and sure enough it rings up at $14.99 like everone else had happen. So I had the circular to get the price adjusted and the cashier starts giving me a hard time!
She first says, "yeah, that happened before. The $12.99 one is different,"
HUH! It's the one in the bloody AD!
I protest and she repeats it again. I show her the damn ad pointing out clearly that's it's the same one, you know, the one that says FREE BONUS DISC!
She says she'll have to check with a manager because it's "different..."
3 minutes go by, the line is getting long, (she's also the ONLY damn cashier) and she finally comes back saying the manager "okayed the price match.."
HUH! How do you pricematch your own ad?!?!?
Then she says "well there was a price correction on that one..."
meaning the one with the FREE BONUS DISC!!!!! The other version, without the FREE BONUS DISC was indeed $12.99. I almost asked to see where this price correction was posted but figured I would just get the HELL out of there.
Oy. Amazing.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Sounds like you ran into a moron sales clerk. I hear they pop up from time to time. . .

At least you got what you came for!

 

[rich_d]

No, Dave Mack's experience is just as if he had my experience and decided to write about it.

Here is your ad. No the DVD is not different. Yes the bonus disc is listed just to the right of the picture ... you know the one that says bonus disc ... yeah next to the price that says 12.99.

Phone call needed to be made as the rest of the dawn of the dead employees mill about ...

A Circuit City clerk is one that they wouldn't take at Best Buy. Now, that's a scary thought.

 

[Dave Mack]

EXACTLY, Rich!
She even alluded that the one without the FREE bonus disc WAS $12.99!
So I'm thinking, okay. So you are basically charging $2.00 extra for the FREE BONUS DISC!
It was amazing. And she had obviously been through it before. I wonder if anyone who maybe got a copy with a bunch of other items and didn't really check the receipt carefully got screwed. Or just a milquetoast type who doesn't like to argue. "Uh, ok..." when told it was $14.99 got the shaft. I was ready to hold up that line all afternoon out of principle. You lure customers in with a salesprice in your circular, then you try to lie about it?
The only way their argument could've held water is if both the copies with and without the bonus disc rang up at $14.99 and she had said there was a pricing error in the circular. Sucky but fine. But by having 2 prices and charging $2.00 more for the one with the FREE bonus disc they are engaging in unethical if not illegal business practices IMHO. I know it's only $2.00 but it's the principle. And considering what gas costs nowadays, making the trip to Emeryville from where we live in Berkeley in the Sienna and back winds up costing around $2.00 in gas! So I made the effort to go there, (instead of supporting one of the local indie Berkeley stores) for the FREE BONUS DISC! Which they then tried to charge me for!


ARGH!!!!!!

or maybe it's me.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Man, I feel bad for you guys. I've never had a problem with any of the clerks at my local Circuit City (despite occasional pricing/ stock issues). The CS desk has even let me open discs to make sure that stuff like free movie passes was in there!

The girl at the register this week was quite cheerful about fixing the pricing error in the computer, and the manager actually called me back as I was leaving to give me the free Snakes On A Plane preview disc! (I think I said it before, but hey, credit where credit is due!)

 

[Ray H]

Didn't have a problem with Circuit City myself. I went the first day and had anticipated the $14.99 thing. I looked for the flyer in-store in case of the price error, but was dismayed when I saw they didn't have this week's in yet. I was also annoyed because my CC keeps all the new releases behind the customer service desk. I asked one of the customer service people for a copy, and was lucky enough that they gave me a copy with the bonus disc sticker. I noticed that the next copy behind it didn't have it. When it came to ringing it up, I was surprised that it rang up for the right price.

 

[Patrick McCart]

All I had to do is mention the shelf price was $12.99 and the cashier didn't even ask for confirmation.

 

[Brett_M]

When I went in to CC on Tuesday, I looked for 10 minutes before I found a copy. They had a few copies in the "what's hot" section -- near the floor. It had the sticker on it and I went to buy it (which for me was hard because I'm a BB Reward Zone whore -- but the price and bonus disc made me go for it). No cashiers at the registers. I stood there for a minute or two and then I was called over to the customer service desk. The girl rang it up -- $14.99. I said 'It's $12.99 according to your ad." She replies "Where does it say that?" I pointed to the ad. She asked the manager to check it.

That's the last time I go in there, I don't care what they offer. I knew there was a reason I picked BB even before the RW came to be.

 

[PeterTHX]

Link Removed

Anyone can have a bad shopping experience at one store. CC, BB, whatever.
I go to CC because the store I go to is really, really good about ad matching and price adjustments. The local BB is the exact opposite. So its not always the chain itself.

 

[Pete York]

At the risk of thread drift...My legitimate gripe about Circuit City (poor service, which can be anomalous, aside): When I went into CC to make this purchase, reason one for the retailer exclusive was satisfied, they had me in the store. It becomes a complete success for them if I buy something else. I didn't. This CC apparently carried no box sets (as they had not a one) and their classics selection was atrocious (Singin' in the Rain snapper, couple of old version Hitchcocks). This particular CC had made the decision that carrying older movies was not worth it to them. I will never go back, excepting another interesting exclusive. Has anybody found this to be the case at 'your' CC?

 

[WillG]

Well, If that's how Coppola feels about how he prefers "Hearts of Darkness" to be presented, fair enough. And if he wants to defend the perception that the doc. gives of him, fair enough as well. Fortunately, from those words, it does not seem like he is against a release of the film as was previously believed. And the commentary track that he wants to do only sweetens things. So what are they waiting for?

 

[Adam_WM]

My local CC had no problem. The clerk said the price was wrong in the system and gladly adjusted the price to $12.99.

 

[Brett_M]

Good point. If it were not for the reward zone at BB, I would just find the cheapest price. Since I use RW, it makes more sense for me to buy all my movies at BB exclusively. In the long run, I will save more by doing that.

I have to admit, though, that CC seems to have much better prices than BB lately.

 

[Patrick.C]

I too had the $14.99 price ring up when I purchased on Friday. In my case, the cashier didn't fight me on it, but was totally confused for some reason. I had to get the ad and show her, and then wait 5 minutes (she was the only cashier) for a manager to come over, approve the price, etc. etc.

BTW - even though the "sale" is now over, if anyone in the Atlanta area is still hunting down a copy with the bonus disc, the Circuit City at 285 and Camp Creek Pkwy (near the airport) had 8 copies left on Friday afternoon.

 

[Dave Mack]

Well, I watched about an hour of this last nite and unfortunately there is still a TON of EE. Some scenes it is less noticeable but for example in the scene with Duvall wearing the cowboy hat ordering the strike and subsequent speech has Force-field size halos around him and the characters. Very disappointing. It's such beautiful cinematography and to me the EE is pretty distracting. The colors and black levels are great though.

I too had many branching, layer change like stutters on my oppo while watching redux and it through the player out of audio sync alot, (which unfortunately the oppo is known for)
All in all a great deal but could have and should have looked better IMHO.

 

[Jonathon M]

So the consensus is there is branching?

Well, to Robert Grourke, just a note. Much as I respect and enjoy HTF, let's remember that even it's reviewers aren't perfect, eh?