Altimus Prime

The other day I noticed WalMart had The Devil's Advocate in a cardboard bin for about $7. I've seen it elsewhere for about $15. Wondering if it's worth getting.

I have it on VHS. It is a fav of mine. But I tend to prefer buying stuff I don't have over upgrading, but I have upgraded many of my VHS flicks, especially the old and worn ones.

I remember hearing there were changes to the sculpture in Milton's office. Was it also changed on the VHS? I couldn't find a review here. How's the picture and sound quality? Are the deleted scenes of any interest? Any chance of a better version - anniversary/special edition - coming out?

Thank ya muchly for any insight.

MasterofDVD

The alterations to the film were done some time after the initial release. It would depend on when the VHS was bought. I've never seen the altered version since I have the original DVD release.

The DVD has some decent extras considering it was released on 12/1/98. If I recall there is no option to view the deleted scenes without the commentary. That was one thing I disliked about the release.

I can't say that I've heard about any new releases in the near future.

talemyn

I've got the recalled version and I think the removed scenes of the sculpture make a pretty big difference (it chops out about 1-2 minutes of nice, explanatory dialog at the end). It had been a while since I had scene the cut version when I first watched the recalled version, but I still noticed the difference. If you can track down a copy (eBay is where I got mine), I think it's worth the effort.

ShagMan

Wow, I remember the legal problems (looking too much like a real art piece at some church) but I had no idea they eventually chopped the scenes out..... doesn't that remove some pretty vital chunks of the ending??

Cameron

all the info you need about this film and it's rerelease can be found in this thread right here

Enjoy

talemyn

Thanks for the link Cameron.

It must have been longer than I thought since I had seen the altered version when I got the original, because the changed seemed far more noticable to me than they way that people have described it in that thread. Perhaps not . . .

For those interested, here is a screen cap of the sculpture on the un-altered disc:



This is from right at the beginning of Chapter 37 (1:56:55). The sculpture is shown in and out throughout the next 15+ minutes, with movement starting at 2:07:45.

For the record, I think this ranks up there as one of the great climatic scenes in movie history . . . Pacino is amazing.


Edit: For comparison, here is a picture of the "Ex Nihilo" sculpture:

Altimus Prime

I'm pretty sure the VHS I have is the altered version. And I never knew it.

As was said, I think the altered version may be even more effective, having the figures appear from what at first just looks like a swirl, then coming to life. I guess it's not that big a deal.

Being OAR and a DVD, I'm sure the picture of the DVD is going to be better. I'm just wondering since it's probably an older release, is it as good as it can be?

PixyJunket

The DVD is good. Get it!! Great movie. I had the altered version at first, and only bought the original several years ago when I saw it in a pawn shop for $10. It wasn't even that huge of a difference in the context of the movie.

Michael Corvin

I didn't check the original thread but this is what I remember reading in 98/99.

The DVD was recalled, sent back to the studio. Scene was altered and re-released.
VHS was not recalled, but later production runs had the altered scene.

Could be wrong, that was a long time ago.

PixyJunket

No, the DVD was not recalled. WB was allowed the first press of DVD and VHS with the scene intact. There are probably more VHS out there since in 98, DVD was still a fledgling format.

abintra

I just read that other thread also. It cuts scenes out of the film? I thought they just digitized the background and everything else was left intact.

talemyn

Like I said, it had been a while since I had seen the altered version, so I wasn't sure. What I did remember was that, when I saw the original version, that scene had a much bigger impact on me. I guess, adding that to the fact that I knew a little of the history of why it was altered, I must have just assumed that they had cut some out.

abintra

Oh, no worries. I just wanted to make sure nothing was cut other than the background being digitized as that would impact my decision to pick this one up.

Altimus Prime

Guess what? Went back to WalMart tonight - one day later - to get Devil's Advocate and...

... you guess it...

GONE! Not only was the movie gone, the whole display it was in with about a dozen other titles was GONE! No where to be found.

Damn it!

talemyn

Two things:

1) There seem to be a number of reasonably priced copies up on eBay, but not many of them are the original cut (I saw at least one, but didn't look in too much detail). If you go that route, though, ask a lot of questions and make sure you are getting the version that you want (you probably already know that ).

2) Does anybody else find this a little freaky?

Michael Corvin

^^

What is sad is that when this all went down there were people on this forum advocating (like that plug), renting the original dvd and swapping it out with the new version. Video store - none the wiser. I wasn't so lucky. I think I paid around $30 for mine on ebay at the time. Which isn't too outrageous.

eau

I think I'm gonna pick this DVD up. It is in the list of the Warner B1G1 free promotion, so I can get another DVD free or buy another DVD and get this one free (with S&H)

digiboy

I have both on DVD, not really all that big a deal IMO but I was curious enough to check it out. Didn't seem like there were any scenes cut or re-edited, just a few seconds altered where the sculpture looks abstract intead of having human figures before it starts to change.


I just saw another copy of the original DVD version for sale for $10 used at one of the shops here in New York City. It has been there for about 2 weeks but I don't know if it's still there. Box looked OK.

If anyone in NYC is interested, drop me a note. I'll respond to the earliest Email and i'll tell you what shop, but don't knock yourself out, it's very likely gone by now anyway.