Universal releasing 3 gangster titles on Oct 14 (inc both "American Gangster" cuts)

[JBlacklow]

Universal Studios Home Video have announced the US Blu-ray Disc release of three gangster titles on 14th October 2008. Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, Martin Scorsese’s Casino and David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises will be priced at $29.98 SRP each or will be available as part of a three-pack Gangsters set priced at $89.98 SRP.

Universal have so far not used region coding on their Blu-ray Disc titles and we expect this trend to continue, though officially no region coding information has been supplied. Features are detailed below…

American Gangster

* BD-50 Dual Layer
* Theatrical (158mins) and Extended (177mins) Cuts
* 1080P Widescreen
* English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
* French 5.1 DTS Surround (Theatrical Cut only)
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* U-Control Picture in Picture (Unrated Cut)
* Commentary with Director Ridley Scott and Writer Steven Zaillian (Theatrical Cut)
* Deleted Scenes
* Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster
* Case Files
* Hip-Hop Infusion Featuring Common and T.I.
* The BET Special: The Making of American Gangster
* Dateline NBC: American Gangster First Look
* "Do You Feel Me (Remix)" performed by Anthony Hamilton featuring Ghostface Killah
* "Blue Magic" from Jay-Z's Album "American Gangster"
* Theatrical Trailer


Casino

* BD-50 Dual Layer
* 1080P Widescreen
* English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
* Spanish 5.1 DTS Surround
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* Feature Audio Commentary - Moments with Martin Scorsese, Sharon Stone, Nicholas Pileggi and more
* U-Control Picture in Picture
* Deleted Scenes
* Vegas and the Mob
* History Alive: True Crime Authors: Casino With Nicholas Pileggi (The History Channel)
* My Scenes


Eastern Promises

* BD-25 Single Layer
* 1080P Widescreen
* English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
* French and Spanish 5.1 DTS Surround
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* Secrets and Stories
* Marked for Life
* Two Guys Walk into a Bath House
* Watts on Wheels

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=68561

[RDarrylR]

Very cool. The 3-pack will likely be mine Although the pricing on it doesn't make much sense.

[Adam_ME]

I'll definitely upgrade American Gangster from the HD-DVD since that only has one of the versions in high def.

Casino is a likely upgrade assuming the audio is improved.

No need to bother with Eastern Promises since the HD-DVD has a TrueHD track.

[xradman]

Guess I'll upgrade my HD DVD for American Gangster for the extended cut. Man, I'm a sucker for these things.

[Schils]

Great news! Casino will be snapped up day one, a must own title for me, though I'm sure someone is on the way with their "well, if its the same transfer, not me" tag line, but I sold my HD DVD of this one (had to) and must own the best version avail of it again, and this will be, period, for a long time to come most likely.

I passed on American Gangster the first go round, but an EC/DC of some sorts has me curious, may go for that now...

October is fattening up nicely. =)

[paku]

Nice, American Gangster with both cuts! One of the most well-crafted movies of recent years and only $30 too. Might get Casino too, but although this edition certainly isn't bad, I'm tempted to wait until the next restoration/re-transfer. I don't like it that much.

[GizmoDVD]

Wow...both cuts...very surprising!

[Morpheo]

Great news, thanks! I'll definitely get American Gangster.

...I will be broke just before christmas!

[Timothy Ramzyk]

I'm going solo with Eastern Promise, I presume it's a BD 25 cause they're gonna port the HD DVD master. It's funny to see a Cronenberg film packaged this way.

[RDarrylR]

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

Wow...both cuts...very surprising!

Why is it suprising? I think it was expected that the Blu-ray would have both versions.

[Henke007]

Where the heck is Scarface, could care less for Eastern Promises it's out on HD DVD
and BD in the UK already!!

[jkcheng122]

Originally Posted by RDarrylR

Why is it suprising? I think it was expected that the Blu-ray would have both versions.

considering we still dont have a hi-def version of Die Hard 4 uncut, i'd say it is surprising indeed. univ could have simply ported over the what was on the hd dvd and left it at that.

[Merrick97]

Originally Posted by RDarrylR

Why is it suprising? I think it was expected that the Blu-ray would have both versions.

Because Geonosis on HDD who has been VERY reliable originally stated that it would have just the theatrical cut.

[RDarrylR]

Originally Posted by Merrick97

Because Geonosis on HDD who has been VERY reliable originally stated that it would have just the theatrical cut.

Interesting - I had not read that.

I always figured there would put a little more effort into the Blu-ray version and likely take advantage of the extra space.

[Deviation]

Originally Posted by jkcheng122

considering we still dont have a hi-def version of Die Hard 4 uncut, i'd say it is surprising indeed. univ could have simply ported over the what was on the hd dvd and left it at that.

No kidding! At least once a month I think to myself... where the **** is the uncut version of Live Free or Die Hard already? I'm under the impression at this point that Fox is just never going to get around to it.

[RDarrylR]

Originally Posted by Deviation

No kidding! At least once a month I think to myself... where the **** is the uncut version of Live Free or Die Hard already? I'm under the impression at this point that Fox is just never going to get around to it.

Well I doubt they would put it out anytime soon - the other version hasn't been out that long.

[Deviation]

Originally Posted by RDarrylR

Well I doubt they would put it out anytime soon - the other version hasn't been out that long.

It was something that had been promised in their promotional materials until the release date came and the realized they didn't have time to correct the mistake they had made. I don't see how it could be anything other than a quick fix to get it out ASAP post-release to sell alongside the rated version. I'm not asking for anything other than the cut footage, squibs and dialog - I don't need some extra elaborate special edition, I just want them to match what's already available on DVD.

[davcole]

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

Wow...both cuts...very surprising!

Very!!

I nearly bought the HD DVD but was disappointed that the HD DVD only had the theatrical cut while the DVD had both cuts. When HD DVD died and Universal entered BD, I waited hoping that Universal would release it with a unrated cut and lossless audio. My instincts were right and i'm jumping on this as soon as it's released.

[shadowrage]

Originally Posted by davcole

Very!!

I nearly bought the HD DVD but was disappointed that the HD DVD only had the theatrical cut while the DVD had both cuts. When HD DVD died and Universal entered BD, I waited hoping that Universal would release it with a unrated cut and lossless audio. My instincts were right and i'm jumping on this as soon as it's released.

I guess HD-DVD's space really was limiting. Now Uni is releasing title with audio that eats up a bit more space and bandwidth(It's also Master quality), and optimizing releases. I wanted AG too, especially the DC. Scott's DC are usually more superior to the theatrical cuts. KOH and BR.

I wonder if the PQ will be any different since it wasn't too well received on HD-DVD. At the digital cinema it looked really good.

I got Casino on sale so no problems. I also wanted EP(not full price for a blind buy though0, I guess they added two more special features because of the space. Uni's 3packs have rocked so far, they package movies you would actually want to buy together(take notes Warner).

Originally Posted by Decado2

WTH is with the package deal? It's no cheaper than buying each individually. :|

Yeah it is. You can usually find a deal on it. I got the Halloween and Action Packs $36ea. shipped(Deal is gone BTW).
The action pack is $42 @ amazon. It's almost a BOGO.

[Decado2]

WTH is with the package deal? It's no cheaper than buying each individually. :|

[baytoLA]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the theatrical cut WAS the directors cut.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by Decado2

WTH is with the package deal? It's no cheaper than buying each individually. :|

It's four cents higher! No way I'm paying an extra four cents!

j/k, but hopefully Amazon goes aggressive on pricing the bundle. I've never seen Eastern Promises, but Casino and AG are must haves for me, so the bundle would be worth it at the right price (~$50).

Brandon

[paku]

Originally Posted by baytoLA

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the theatrical cut WAS the directors cut.

It is. That's why the longer cut is simply called "extended" and not "director's".

[SirDrexl]

Originally Posted by baytoLA

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the theatrical cut WAS the directors cut.

Yeah, Scott's preferred cuts are sometimes the theatrical cuts. For Gladiator and Alien, for example, the extended cuts are NOT his director's cuts. For Kingdom of Heaven and Blade Runner, of course, the theatrical cuts are NOT his director's cuts.

I think what it is, is he's just good to his fans. He realizes some people like longer cuts, so he provides them, but he's careful to have them labeled properly and say which cut is definitive.

[paku]

Black Hawk Down was another one where the new cut was labeled as just "extended" (it wasn't even in the massive 3-disc set.)

[MovieSwede]

Originally Posted by SirDrexl

I think what it is, is he's just good to his fans. He realizes some people like longer cuts, so he provides them, but he's careful to have them labeled properly and say which cut is definitive.

Its more like the studios have understand that if they add 15 minutes of extras scenes they can sell some movies again, or it will help and boost DVD sales if you include some more scenes. (A big problem for the studios that not many of the theatrical visitors buys the DVD)

In many cases we have movies that have not done very well at the theater, gets an extended cut so people thinks they get a whole different picture.

Adding more scenes are rarely intended to improve the movie, its to improve the economic numbers at the studio.

[BlueMan1]

Originally Posted by xradman

Guess I'll upgrade my HD DVD for American Gangster for the extended cut. Man, I'm a sucker for these things.

ditto.
I am not going to be doing much HD DVD replacing, but to have both cuts in HD....yeah, I'll double-dip

[Darth Lavender]

Looks like Casino restores the two docos/featurettes dropped for HDDVD ("Vegas and the Mob" and the hour long "True Crime Authors") and 'omits' the other featurettes on script, production design, etc. (I'm guessing these are being repackaged as the 'U-Control')

Eastern Promises, despite being BD-25, seems to have two new additions; "Two Guys Walk Into a Bath House" and "Watts on Wheels"

[lgans316]

It would be great if Universal cleans up the print impurities that impaired the PQ of Casino on HD DVD. It was like watching an run-of-the-mill Asian film filled with dirt and white flecks. Same applies to Hulk and The Pianist.

[tkbryant]

Originally Posted by lgans316

It would be great if Universal cleans up the print impurities that impaired the PQ of Casino on HD DVD. It was like watching an run-of-the-mill Asian film filled with dirt and white flecks. Same applies to Hulk and The Pianist.

What impurities in Hulk? That was one of the cleanest catalog titles put out by Universal.