The Transformers: The Movie (1986) 20th Anniversary DVD (2 Viewers)

[Greg K]

Awesome.

It's been mentioned that the cover art will "transform", so my guess is that it'll be a lenticular image that, when viewed from a different angle, becomes an image of all the new characters (Optimus becomes Hot Rod/Rodimus, Megatron becomes Galvatron, Skywarp becomes Cyclonus, etc.). That would be cool.

(UPDATE: Fan reports from Comic-Con have apparently confirmed this, too. It's lenticular. Optimus becomes Rodimus, Bumblebee becomes Daniel, Grimlock turns into Kup, Unicron is replaced with Cybertron, etc.)



Here's the full press release:


SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT UNVEILS SPECIAL FEATURES LINE-UP
FOR HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED 2-DISC COLLECTION:


TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION DVD




Ultimate TRANSFORMERS Limited Edition DVD To Feature Three Versions Of Film; Commentary Tracks and Interviews; Sneak Peak At Next Summer's Major Motion Picture Event; And Much More



Legendary Artist Don Figueroa Crafts Exclusive New "Transforming" Cover Art For This DVD



New York, New York, July 21, 2006 - SONY BMG Music Entertainment will help usher in the next phase of TRANSFORMERS mania as it unveils the specifics of its November 7th release of TRANSFORMERS: The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD. Since announcing the title in June, fans have been clamoring for more details * nearly as much as Decepticons clamor for Energon * and they will not be disappointed. Sony BMG Home Entertainment has gone to painstaking lengths to put together the ultimate package that will surely appeal to the huge, passionate and multi-generational TRANSFORMERS fan base.

For the 20th anniversary edition, Sony BMG Home Entertainment completely re-mastered and color-corrected the film and will present Optimus Prime, Megatron and the rest of the star-studded Autobots and Decepticons in true splendor through three distinct versions:




16 X 9 WIDESCREEN PRESENTATION * which has not been seen anywhere since the movie was in theaters 20 years ago.


AUTOBOT MATRIX OF KNOWLEDGE PRESENTATION * Truly showcasing the pop culture phenomenon that is THE TRANSFORMERS, SONY BMG has created a special version of the film for the DVD release. The Autobot Matrix of Knowledge will feature trivia and fun facts about the movie itself, the TRANSFORMERS brand, and the pop culture references in which TRANSFORMERS has been spoofed/tributed. Approximately 100 fun facts will show up on screen throughout the movie. Many of the factoids were provided by fans through a special DVD site created by Sony BMG to solicit input -- marking the first time that the huge TRANSFORMERS fan base has ever been asked to participate in the creation of a TRANSFORMERS home entertainment release.


FULL SCREEN EDITION


Adding to the excitement for this DVD, Sony BMG Home Entertainment has partnered with Paramount Pictures to provide a behind-the-scenes sneak peak at next summer's highly anticipated TRANSFORMERS live action movie event. The special feature segment on the DVD will include comments from Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg who share their vision and passion for TRANSFORMERS.




TRANSFORMERS: The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD will take viewers even more inside this cult favorite than ever before through all-new interviews and first-time-ever commentary tracks. Exclusive new interviews with director Nelson Shin, story consultant Flint Dille and Sue Blu, the voice of fan-favorite Arcee, are included in this fantastic new special edition DVD.



To further commemorate the 20th anniversary of the film, SONY BMG is providing fans with some extra-celebratory content that lets them track back to the true origins of the TRANSFORMERS. After careful consideration and preparation, Sony BMG has scoured the archives for the best TRANSFORMERS-related footage available, and the DVD will include the original commercials for the toy line and movie -- allowing viewers to see how and where the phenomenon began.




Beyond the actual DVD content, Sony BMG Home Entertainment is expanding the DVD's collectibility to the packaging itself. The company has commissioned fan-favorite artist Don Figueroa to create the imagery for a special "transforming" cover. Through his much-heralded work with TRANSFORMERS, Don's art brings to life the characters so many have grown to love. With Optimus Prime appropriately situated in a position of prominence on the cover, the Autobot leader is joined by Megatron, Bumblebee, Starscream, Blaster and more of the most popular TRANSFORMERS characters on the first image of the special "transforming" cover.




TRANSFORMERS: The Movie features the voice of Orson Welles in his final role, as well as stars Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Casey Kasem, Robert Stack, John Moschitta, Peter Cullen, and Frank Welker. The DVD also features a winning soundtrack featuring the iconic theme "The TRANSFORMERS" performed by Lion, and the popular "The Touch," performed by Stan Bush. The movie, set in 2005, chronicles the efforts of the heroic Autobots to defend their home of Cybertron from the evil Decepticons and Unicron, a huge robotic creature that devours planets.

 

[Rhoq]

This sounds phenominal. For the first time, I'm actually impressed by something coming from Sony.

 

[Greg K]

I have to wonder what else there will be.

And will it be just the Movie-related toy commercials and such, or the rest, as well?

And what about script/storyboards/deleted footage?


Before anyone asks, there MUST be deleted footage that was animated. Most people are quick to say, "the deleted moments probably wasn't animated", but the completed film contains traces of bits that were cut out. Thus, the bits that were cut out must have been animated, too.

For example, when Prime confronts Megatron, Megatron is smiling before he turns around. This is because he was watching Devastator rip into Autobot City while battling several Autobots (and killing Red alert) in a deleted segment. Additionally, we see Prime stand back up for no apparent reason when he says, "That's a question you should ask yourself, Megatron.". This is because a moment where Dirge tries to tackle Prime--and Prime picking Dirge up and slamming him to the ground--was deleted.


www.wombatking.com has a whole collection of storyboards of deleted material.

 

[Greg K]

There's a feedback page at the newly-revised www.transformersthemoviedvd.com website from Sony. I suggest we all use it to try to convince Sony to re-release the original series PROPERLY. After all, if they remaster it and do it right, it'll probably trickle down to other Regions, as well (since the Rhino versions have made their way overseas, too).

http://www.sonymusic.com/about/feedback.cgi

 

[Jerome Grate]

This is going to be one kick-butt release, can't wait.

 

[Jay Pennington]

Greg, just because one shot of a deleted sequence was animated it doesn't mean they all were. Stuff gets split apart and farmed around in animation, and shots right next to each other could be months or years apart on the production schedule.

 

[Christian L.]

I, as a die-hard fan of the classic transformers since my early ages, could not be more happy that finally a release of The Movie gets prepared, which seems to be worth of it´s name, and then some.

I can´t believe the good news right now, it´s simply too good to be true.

This is maybe one of the things i´ve waited (along with a gazillion others) and waited a very long time and i´m so utterly excited ... i can´t really express those feelings right now.

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!

 

[Greg K]

True. But I'm willing to bet that (at least) bits and pieces of shots and scenes exist.

At the very least, voice recordings of the dialogue from deleted moments and scenes would probably still be in the archives. That would be cool to hear.

 

[Greg K]

The second cover image of the TFTM DVD's lenticular animation art has been released, featuring the characters introduced in the Movie.

www.transformersthemoviedvd.com

 

[Greg K]

The official DVD site (www.transformersthemovidvd.com) has the main menu screen for the DVD up, as well as this little tidbit:

"A Special Advance DVD Screening of TRANSFORMERS The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition will be presented at Botcon 2006. Attendees will be the first to see the brilliantly remastered and color-corrected movie, in widescreen format, on the big screen!"

 

[Greg K]

More special features revealed, from:

http://www.seibertron.com/news/view.php?id=8555

Color corrected remastered scenes.

Spanish/French subtitles.

Photo Gallery.

Animated Storyboards.

Side-by-side comparison of the original and remastered. (Hot Rod fishing scene)

Interviews and commentary from Nelson Shin (Director), and Susan Blu (Voice of Arcee) as well as several behind the scenes personalities.

Nelson Shin, Susan Blu and others try to sing the theme song.

MOK (Matrix of Knowledge) which is an turn on and off segment that will display facts and interesting tid bits during the movie.

MANY Easter Eggs.

And Surprisingly, Scramble City will be on the DVD but it will have no audio (Hasbro wasn't able to procure the rights to the Japanese voice rights and others). But it will have fan commentary.

 

[Carlo_M]

This would be infinitely funnier if they tried to sing "The Touch".

And they absolutely should have included as an easter egg Dirk Diggler's short rendition of "The Touch" from Boogie Nights.

 

[Brandon_S]

I tried to score a ticket to the Botcon screening last night in Lexington, KY. Unfortunately I would have had to register for the entire Botcon conference to see the DVD. Oh well just one more month until it hits stores.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

This release could have absolutely nothing on it but the film and if the film was in it's OAR, that's all I would want.

This release is LOOOOOONNNNGGGGGG overdue!

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

If they couldn't use the Japanese audio, why not create an English dub?

 

[Greg K]

This is what I'm talking about, baby! Freakin' A!

From www.transformersthemoviedvd.com:


SPECIAL FEATURES

Brilliantly remastered and color-corrected!
Limited Edition 2-DVD set!
Collectible Lenticular Artwork


Disc 1

(16x9) Theatrical Widescreen Version
Autobot Matrix of Knowledge (full-length movie featuring fun facts and trivia)
Commentary with Nelson Shin (Director), Flint Dille (Story Consultant) and Sue Blu (Voice of Arcee)
Fan Commentary
Original Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots
Cinex and Credit Test
Photo Gallery
Remastering Side-by-Side Comparison
Scramble City with Commentary
TRANSFORMERS 2007 Live Action movie trailer and special Sneak Peek


Disc 2

Full Screen Version
Activate Autobot City Trivia Game (DVD-ROM)
All-New Featurettes: "Death of Optimus Prime", "Cast and Characters" and "TRANSFORMERS Q&A" with Nelson Shin (Director), Tom Griffin (Producer), Joe Bacal (Producer), Flint Dille (Story Consultant) and Sue Blu (Voice of Arcee)
Promotional Trailer with Commentary
Test, Deleted/Alternative Footage with Commentary
Animated Storyboards
US and Japanese Toy Commercials
DVD-ROM Link to Exclusive Content

Easter Eggs on both discs! Also Includes French and Spanish Subtitles and English Closed-Captioning




Art for both discs (featuring Unicron and the Matrix) can also be seen at the site's "Artwork" page.

 

[Carlo_M]

Oooh, I can already hear the theme song!

"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy..."

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

A review has been posted here.

Everything sounds good except for this:
The quoted statement was in error and the author has since removed that statement from his review.

 

[Carlo_M]

Hmm, not sure what to make of that. Does that mean that the widescreen transfer was just a cropped version of the image on the original DVD? I hope not because I'm pretty sure I noticed times when it seemed like there should be more side-to-side information on the original DVD.

Can someone with more knowledge on the original aspect of TF:TM chime in? What aspect ratio was it originally drawn/filmed in?

 

[Timothy Alexander]

From what I remember, TF The Movie was animated in full screen and then cropped at the top and bottom for theatrical release. All the previous videos and DVD releases of this movie featured the open matted version and this new release is from the actual theatrical print which was, of course, the cropped widescreen version. For some reason it looks like Sony took the widescreen cut and turned that into a full screen version.