Got the Scarface box set yesterday - impressions on the whole thing within

[slop101]

The box was only $20 more than the regular version - I only got it because of the 1932 Scarface.

Though totally unecessary, the box is pretty nice. It's got a black snake-skin texture w/ Tony Montana's emblem on it. The money clip is pretty lame, but some of the lobby cards are pretty cool. When you open it the Pacino Scarface set is on top surrounded by red velvet. Lifting that tray reveals the bottom level that has the lobby cards, the money clip and the 1932 Scarface.

BTW, none of the dvds even have inserts (boo, Universal). But at least there are no forced trailers on the discs - you can even use the chapter advance button to skip the FBI warning.

DePalma's Scarface looks pretty good. Ananmorphic, solid blacks and vibrant colors - it's a bit hazy, but not in a bad way. It's easily miles better than the old transfer. The DTS sounded pretty good - it was pretty front-heavy, but had a decent surround feel to it (like the music in the club). I didn't get a chance to check out the extras disc, but it looked like they just took the documentary off the old disc and spliced it up into parts and then added the DefJam interviews.

Howard Hawk's Scarface (the only reason I got the box) was a real treat. I only had a chance to flip through it, but what I saw looked great. The dvd starts up with the newer Universal logo, but in B&W, which I thought was a nice touch. The movie itself had some obvious print damage, but nothing detrimental. The transfer itself was fine and very acceptable for a 71 year old movie. The sound is in mono and very easy to hear - though there's a slight hiss when there's dialogue. A real surprise was an alternate ending to the film presented as an extra, which is about 8 minutes long - it doesn't look as good as the film, but it's not in bad shape. A very nice thing to have for such an old film.

I'll field any questions - the only thing is that I'm at work right now, and don't have access to the set to check out anything specific.

[Rypro 525]

good news about an alternate ending.

[boston george]

I got it too. Here's some pics.






BTW the money clip is much cooler than it looks. On the back it is engraved and says "The world is yours"

[RichDB10]

Would love to own the 1932 version individually...however there's no way i'm buying the 'gift set' just to get it.

[PalmerJoss]

I'm only buying the gift set for the 1932 version, though I think it would have been a much better choice if they included both versions in one set. But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because this IS Universal, the company that didn't want to include both versions of E.T. in the regular set, and wouldn't have if it wasn't for Spielberg's last minute intervention.

[slop101]

Originally posted by RichDB10
Would love to own the 1932 version individually...however there's no way i'm buying the 'gift set' just to get it.

If you don't want the DePalma Scarface, then I'd say it wouldn't really be worth it to get the box only for the Hawk Scarface. But if you want both, it's totally worth it, as the box is only $20 more - I think the old Scarface is easily worth that.

But you may also want to hold out, as the '32 Scarface dvd has it's own UPC. So it is marked for individual sale, maybe down the road... ?

[REL77]

I just ordered mine with STL, cant wait for it..

[RichDB10]

Originally posted by slop101
But you may also want to hold out, as the '32 Scarface dvd has it's own UPC. So it is marked for individual sale, maybe down the road... ?

Yeah..i'll probably go for this option and wouldn't suprise me at all if this happened sometime in the near future once sales of the giftset have pretty much been exhausted.
Thanks for your comments with regard the whole package anyway.

[Tha Freak]

That would be a cheap shot for the one who had bought the gift set just for the older film...

That's why now, I don't buy movies when they're just released...I wait a little bit to get the feeling...

[chente]

Isn't this supposed to come out next week? How did you get a copy a week early?

[Geofferson]

Awesome - gift set, here I come!

[slop101]

Originally posted by chente
Isn't this supposed to come out next week? How did you get a copy a week early?

My local Mom&Pop video store always sells stuff early and they also charge well below MSRP. They're not quite as cheap as Best Buy or Wal-Mart, but I'd much rather support local independant businesses than those face-less conglomorate mega-stores.

[SplatterTwitch]

Does the (big) box have the name on the spine?

[PatrickMcCart]

Thank you, Universal, for making another classic film part of an expensive set.

Right up there with having Criterion take down their Charade so Universal can release their bare-bones disc.

[slop101]

Originally posted by SplatterTwitch
Does the (big) box have the name on the spine?

No, nothing on the sides - actually, I chucked the box in the closet and just put the 2 dvds in with the rest of my discs in their approriate place, under "S".

[PJsig08]

That whole velvet thing looks pretty sick. Still, I've never seen the 1932 version (saw clips of it though in Some 1983 Scarface documentary) and was wondering if its that good? Some of you may have different tastes than me, but I'm unsure that a 21 year old like myself will be able to stand a 70 year old movie

Every rapper will own this.

[Franchot]

I also bought the gift set because I want the 1932 "Scarface." (I really don't want the Pacino version, but what can I do?)

Why I'm not waiting for an individual release of the 1932 "Scarface"?

The only way to get "Death Takes A Holiday" was to buy the "Meet Joe Black" double disc. (Now out of print.)

The only way to get an anamorphic version of "Charade" is to buy the double version of the "Charade" remake.

The only way to get the DVDs of the TV show "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" is to buy the box sets of the Alfred Hitchcock films.

(Maybe I shouldn't use the word "only". There's always e-bay.)

Anyway, Universal sticks it to us again!

[bboisvert]

Originally posted by slop101
But you may also want to hold out, as the '32 Scarface dvd has it's own UPC. So it is marked for individual sale, maybe down the road... ?

That's what we all said about Universal's Alfred Hitchcock Presents volumes too.

3 years later and there isn't any sign of a release other than the boxes... I wouldn't hold my breath for an individual 1932 Scarface release.

[Kinyo]

I wish I had the Scarface giftset right now.

[chucks888]

Thanks for the early review, since you said it was only $20 more than the DVD alone- how much was it?

It will be almost $30 more at Best Buy (16.99 dvd vs. 44.99 gift set. I've been just debating whether the other stuff is worth that much more.

[slop101]

Ah - the store I went to had the stand-alone dvd for 22 and the box for 44. ... about $20.

Best Buy obviously has the stand-alone as a loss-leader (selling under cost).

[chucks888]

Yeah, you're right, the loss on Scarface this week makes the giftset price look bad. I'm still gonna go for the set I think.

Thanks again for the info!

[Corleone316]

Is this gonna be availabe at CH as an enrollment in a few months?

[mikewendt]

I'm definatly picking up the box, despite the price.

[victant]

I've been sitting on this order from amazon for more a couple of months now! Nice pics and summarization of the set.