Scorsese's "New York, New York"... any word? (MERGED THREAD) (1 Viewer)

[Drew Reiber]

Hey, all. I've got a good friend who really wants to see this movie re-released (even though I friggin' hate it). As a favor a bunch of my friends and I were planning to get it for him when the new Scorsese set came out, but it's not included in any of the release plans. Any idea what's going on with that one? Thanks.

 

[Anthony Neilson]

There's no sign of it. There was meant to be an R2 disc released last year but it didn't appear. It's not a great film but it has its moments and you could get one hell of a Special Edition out of it, that's for sure.

We've got CAPE FEAR and TAXI DRIVER and we've got GOODFELLAS and MEAN STREETS on the way. But we really need special editions of ALL the Scorsese / DeNiro team-ups -
KING OF COMEDY, RAGING BULL, CASINO and NEW YORK, NEW YORK.

What a collaboration !

 

[Neil_Duffy]

The King of Comedy disc is OK... Why Raging Bull has never been released in the US, a disc as equivalent to the UK one is something of a mystery.

Casino is the one I'd most like to see.

 

[Chris*W]

Actually, MGM did release Raging Bull on DVD in the U.S. some years back, but it's now OOP. I've heard rumors about SE treatment, but no official news yet...

 

[Anthony Neilson]

The UK Special Edition of RAGING BULL is pretty unexciting imo. Beautiful packaging, admittedly, but a half-hour doc with only editor Schoonmaker present from the original production and a couple of clips of Jake La Motta doesn't begin to do this film justice. I'd love to hear that LD comm and have an official long-form doc on there, with out-takes.

It has been rumoured for a while now and I remain hopeful it'll happen. How could it not ?

(cough) Blade Runner ! (cough)

 

[Scott_MacD]

Anthony, the LD commentary is one of the best I have ever heard. Here's hoping it makes the port, for your sake.

 

[JPCinema]

Yes "New York, New York" is definitely needed on DVD. MGM's choices for catalog titles have not been great lately and many classic UA films especially from the 60's and 70's are MIA.

 

[Seth--L]

Yes, the commentary on the LD is superb. Hopefully it will make it to a future DVD release of the film.

 

[Bob Graham]

It seems that whenever people talk about Scorsese titles that are either not on DVD or need to be upgraded to special editions, no one ever seems to mention this title (lots of requests for RAGING BULL, which I understand, and CASINO, which I don't, but that's another matter). Personally, I think this is one of his best (I'm talking about the restored director's cut). A special edition boxset with commentary by Scorsese was issued by MGM in the laserdisc era and since it was a United Artist release, MGM should still control the rights. It would be great if MGM were to revisit it and provide even more extensive materials, but damn it, there seems to be a special edition just sitting there ready for release with very little effort on MGM's part. Any one else feel the same way?

 

[Joel Vardy]

YES!!

It's been awhile since I thought about it but I was also anticipating this title in the past and am totally baffled at both the apparent lack of mention and studio intent on getting it out. I'm sure they are understestimating the demand level...

Joel

 

[bob kaplan]

...New York...has any heard of any rumblings of the MGM musical of the Big Apple, NEW YORK, NEW YORK. It has had a rough LaserDisc history and i am hoping that it makes it to DVD in a "reasonable" time...with complete ending!!! Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[EricDW]

SE DVD Coming Q4 2004 along with Raging Bull SE.

 

[Jason Hughes]

Do you have a link for that?

 

[Anthony Neilson]

Yeah, EricDW, that's a bit of a bolt from the blue ! It's great news - incredible news - if it's true but where are you getting this information from ?

 

[Craig S]

Makes sense, as a piggyback to both Warner's Scorsese box and The Aviator. But yeah, some sourcing would be nice...

 

[Erik_H]

I picked up a copy of "New York, New York" earlier today in NYC and watched it tonight. Much, but not all, of the material from the laser collectors' edition has been included, including the audio commentary by Scorcese and critic Carrie Rickey.

The non-anamorphic (why?) transfer didn't have any glaring problems but the print shows its age in spots. Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 (the film was released in mono); I heard nothing from my surround speakers.

The version of the film on DVD is not the original theatrical release but the longer version that was given a limited release in the early 1980s. This version includes the lengthy production number "Happy Endings" that was cut before the 1977 premiere. At the very beginning of the longer version (as it appeared in theaters and on laser), a credit was added for Larry Kert, the Broadway actor (the original Tony in "West Side Story") who made his film debut in "New York, New York" as the male lead in the "Happy Endings" number. Since the number was excised from the 1977 release and Kert only appeared in that sequence, his name was not included in the original 1977 credits. Unfortunately, MGM omitted the credit for Kert in the DVD edition (his estate---Kert died years ago---could have a cause of action against MGM here).

MGM made some inappropriate choices regarding photos in the DVD package. The shot of DeNiro and Minnelli on the DVD cover is taken from the ending of the film that wasn't used in the final version (the alternate ending is included on the DVD). And the photo on the DVD itself is not taken from the film's marketing materials but is instead a shot of the modern NYC skyline (the film takes place in the 40s and 50s).

 

[ArthurMy]

The credit added for Mr. Kert may have been a courtesy credit. We have no idea if his contract even afforded him credit. Frequently, and especially back then, not all players got a credit, even in the end credits roll. All depends on what was in his contract. I'm sure they would have given him credit had the sequence been in the film, but that doesn't mean he was guaranteed it.

 

[Mark-P]

I couldn't find any threads for the upcoming Blu-ray release of New York, New York, so I'm resurrecting this old thread. Does anybody have any info on what the aspect ratio will be? According to the DVD release (1.66:1 non-anamorphic) Scorsese said he wanted to shoot the movie in the old academy ratio (1.37:1) but that there was no feasible way to project academy frame in 1977, so he opted for 1.66:1 instead. It should be a nice upgrade to the letterboxed DVD, but I hope they keep it at 1.66:1 and don't crop it to 1.78:1.

 

[SD_Brian]

Scorsese is a major director so I would be very surprised if a new HD transfer of the film was completed without him at least signing-off on it. My guess/hope is that it will be properly framed at 1.66.

 

[ShowsOn]

Originally Posted by SD_Brian

Scorsese is a major director so I would be very surprised if a new HD transfer of the film was completed without him at least signing-off on it. My guess/hope is that it will be properly framed at 1.66.

Scorsese's name wasn't enough to stop the terrible Gangs of New York DVDs and initial Blu-ray.