Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring Sam Raimi's 'Army of Darkness: Screwhead Edition' to Blu-ray on May 19th, day-and-date with the DVD release. Coming on a BD-25, video will be presented in 1.85:1 1080p VC-1 accompanied by a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.


Extras for this release include:

* U-CONTROL: Universal's exclusive signature feature, U-Control puts viewers one click away from going deeper into the making of the film without ever leaving the movie
o PRODUCTION PHOTOS: Access interactive production photos from the set without interruption to the movie experience.

* BD-LIVE(TM): Access the BD-Live(TM) Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more!

* MY SCENES: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage.

* ALTERNATE ENDING: See the original ending planned for the film.

* DELETED SCENES: Additional scenes that never played in theaters.

* THE MEN BEHIND THE ARMY: Go behind-the-scenes with star Bruce Campbell.

* ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE: See extra footage shot for the film.

* FEATURE COMMENTARY with director Sam Raimi, star Bruce Campbell, and co-writer Ivan Raimi

* THEATRICAL TRAILER: The original promotional trailer for the theatrical release http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=2401

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=2401

Im there!! So does this have the directors cut, or is all of the new scenes in the "extras?"

So a they are going to put it on a single layer? No thanks, I'll pick up the HD DVD for $5 instead.

The MGM DVD from Hong Kong is the edition to beat. It's far beyond all others.

i'll buy it if it's a new transfer without the EE

The MGM DVD from Hong Kong is the edition to beat. It's far beyond all others.

If they can just port that straight over to blu-ray I'd be a happy camper.

That's my favorite DVD period!

The MGM DVD from Hong Kong is the edition to beat. It's far beyond all others.
Agreed. If Universal can't be bothered to try and better that DVD, then I can't be bothered to buy their crap BD. :cool:

I'll wait for reviews when it is actually released, but it is a title I am interested in.

sweet!

So a they are going to put it on a single layer? No thanks, I'll pick up the HD DVD for $5 instead.

WTF does this have to do with anything? so what if it is single layer, does that mean lower AV quality? NO!!

-Gary

Universal can take their old EEed transfer and stuff it.

I'm sure the disc is already done, but...

(raises hand)

ahem... Universal... I'd love to restore this properly. Please give me a call.

Personally I loved the HDDVD transfer.
I also have Anchor Bay Limited Edition 2 disc set, and MGM's Hong Kong Director's Cut.
Universal's edge enhancement VC1 HD DVD encode is still way better than MGM version.

I'd love for you to restore it too, Don. :(

Got my MGM R3, so until we get the Director's Cut in 1080p I guess I'm set.

WTF does this have to do with anything? so what if it is single layer, does that mean lower AV quality? NO!!

-Gary

I guess it doesn't. They should probably put it on a CD then and save some money.

Seriously, yes, the extra 20 GB of data would seriously help the quality of the film for both Audio and Video. YES!!


- The High Potentate

Extra 25gb isn't going to do squat if it's the same old transfer seen on HD-DVD. (http://www.hdmovies.co.nz/hddvd.php?id=Army%20of%20Darkness)

WTF does this have to do with anything? so what if it is single layer, does that mean lower AV quality? NO!!

-Gary

+1

Glad someone said it.

These "OMG its on a 25" folks just dont seem to understand encoding I guess. BD25 does not mean the quality will be bad.

So a they are going to put it on a single layer? No thanks, I'll pick up the HD DVD for $5 instead.

the HD DVD is single layer too...

the HD DVD is single layer too...

Yup, and its $5 vs $25 that probably will have no improvement over the HD DVD.

I understand encoding just fine, but the improvement needed to get me to buy this version, when I have the HD DVD already, would require a better encode that would take up more space. So you'll have to excuse me for not jumping for joy that it's probably not going to be an improvement over the HD DVD.

Yup, and its $5 vs $25 that probably will have no improvement over the HD DVD.

I understand encoding just fine, but the improvement needed to get me to buy this version, when I have the HD DVD already, would require a better encode that would take up more space. So you'll have to excuse me for not jumping for joy that it's probably not going to be an improvement over the HD DVD.

People still use HD DVD's?????????

It will be worth the price if they get rid of the 1inch of Edge Enhancement the HD DVD had. i had that title on HD DVD and it was unwatchable on my setup..

So a they are going to put it on a single layer? No thanks, I'll pick up the HD DVD for $5 instead.

The HD-DVD has zero extras and no lossless audio. Looks like this one has a good amount of the extras from the Anchor Bay releases, so if you're a fan, it's got a lot more going for it -- in this case -- than the HD-DVD did.

when I have the HD DVD already, would require a better encode that would take up more space.This statement, by itself, suggests that you do not "understand encoding just fine." The art of encoding involves a great deal more than the file size. And a larger file size (or dual-layer disc) does not automatically signify a higher-quality encoding.

I do agree with you, however, that Uni probably won't reencode or remaster this movie for BD, so the upcoming BD probably won't be an improvement on the HD DVD (aside from the extras not present on the HD DVD.)

I do agree with you, however, that Uni probably won't reencode or remaster this movie for BD, so the upcoming BD probably won't be an improvement on the HD DVD (aside from the extras not present on the HD DVD.)
If it is merely not an improvement I think we'd be lucky. I hope Universal doesn't do another DNR-heavy catalogue title (I still haven't forgiven them for The Thing).

If this is on a 25GB disc then that's still 10GB more than the HD DVD had. And for crying out loud, the movie's like 75 minutes long, how much space could it possibly need?

Anyway, I'll probably just hang on to my HD DVD. I think it looks pretty good and while I like the film, I don't love it enough to buy it again when I already have a decent copy. A good sale price could tempt me though.

If it is merely not an improvement I think we'd be lucky. I hope Universal doesn't do another DNR-heavy catalogue title (I still haven't forgiven them for The Thing).

If this is on a 25GB disc then that's still 10GB more than the HD DVD had. And for crying out loud, the movie's like 75 minutes long, how much space could it possibly need?

Anyway, I'll probably just hang on to my HD DVD. I think it looks pretty good and while I like the film, I don't love it enough to buy it again when I already have a decent copy. A good sale price could tempt me though.

Don't forget - it still has to add a lossless DTS MA track to it as well. How much space do those typical take up?

Don't forget - it still has to add a lossless DTS MA track to it as well. How much space do those typical take up?
I wouldn't expect it to be too much. X-Men 3 had a 6.1 24/48 DTS-HD MA track on it, it was a longer film and had a good amount of extras to boot. All on a BD25. Army of Darkness is 5.1 and probably 16/48 and isn't exactly an aggressive mix.

People still use HD DVD's?????????
Yes, but we're also pointing at the moon and going "WHAT'S THAT?!!" ;)

People still use HD DVD's?????????

Yeah, they didn't explode like so many others thought they would. In fact, for many, were enjoying superior versions while the BD gets to enjoy DNR and EE :D

Yeah, they didn't explode like so many others thought they would. In fact, for many, were enjoying superior versions while the BD gets to enjoy DNR and EE :D

Yep. They might be discontinued but there are still some gems worth hanging onto. My player is used mainly for Universal titles.

Well, with this Blu-ray I can replace the HD DVD and the R2 DVD I was hanging on to (the latter had extras that aren't on the otherwise excellent R3 edition), so I'm in - with one caveat...

What version will be on the BD I wonder? An audio commentary is mentioned in the specs, but AFAIK one was recorded for the Director's Cut only.

I'm kinda hoping for the theatrical cut, as I don't enjoy the DC all that much. Don't get me wrong, I like this flick but it ain't no masterpiece, and the longer DC runs out of steam. The theatrical cut is short enough to not outstay its welcome.

Don't forget - it still has to add a lossless DTS MA track to it as well. How much space do those typical take up?

since we don't know the average bitrate of the track we won't know...

best guess would be somewhere around 2GB given the length of the movie if they don't include a bunch of other languages...

the HD DVD included a DD+ track that would have been around 750MB plus a roughly 99MB spanish track

I've still got two copies of the numbered Limited CE DVD that contained both the Original and Director's cuts, so I'll definitely be loath to replace them with any release that doesn't hold its end in the features department.

MY SCENES: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage.


I hope that we get all three versions of the movie, and can cut them all together to create possibly about 20 versions of the movie.

I hope that we get all three versions of the movie, and can cut them all together to create possibly about 20 versions of the movie.

Army of Darkness The Amish Fury Cut.... has a nice ring to it

WTF does this have to do with anything? so what if it is single layer, does that mean lower AV quality? NO!!

-Gary

It seems many think a BD50 = better quality.

Most movies under 90 minutes are on average around the 18 gig mark.

This relese needs a full on extended cut, as it was given overseas. That cut, released by MGM (I think) was made on film and NOT ****** video like the Anchor Bay jobs. Until that proper cut is released, I am sticking with DVD.

As this title has been released in the UK I would not hold out for any re-master (unless you count DNR as a re-master).

a few reviews of the UK release (not released by Universal, but image wise it looked the same print as the HD-DVD I owned)

http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/dvd/army-of-darkness.html

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?id=1524&show=review

Add u-control and BD live . . and you're ready for round 3