Has anyone heard anything on a new version of "Bound"?

With Warner milking The Matrix money I would have thought Republic Pictures would have released a better Region 1 DVD with a tag line "Take your first step down the rabbit hole with the W. Brother's first film!". Much like what Warner did with THX 1138 and the Fox Star Wars release.

back from the dead..

will we ever see an anamorphic version or a Blu-Ray? I wonder if the rights to this film are in limbo..

You will never see an anamorphic version.

If it was going to happen, it would have by now.

You can always buy the anamorphic, DD 5.1 version UK PAL version. The French PAL one is good too (anamorphic, English DTS) but with forced English subtitles.

Forced English subtitles on a French disc?!?!

PEEP,

Per DVDcompare.net, English subtitles are forced on the French DVD: http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=141

Yes, if you're region-free, the UK disc is a great option - I think you can still get it quite cheaply, and there is a night and day difference compared with the poor R1.

Hi, all! Can anyone clarify if the US Republic/Artisan release of Bound a true widescreen or letterbox? I don't care if it's non-anamorphic. I just do not want a "matted" version that chops top and bottom from a full screen version to imitate the ratio of a widescreen.

I believe it is matted, but if so...why would you object, if that is the way the filmmakers intend it to be seen?

I mean, a lot of widescreen movies you watch in theatres have the widescreen image produced in exactly this way, by matting the top and bottom of the frame in the projector. If that's what the filmmakers intend, it's not a problem IMO.

Hi, Superdaddy,

Thanks for writing.

No matter how bad a movie gets cropped in the theater, which does happen to vary from venue to venue, it is still projected from a film frame source that is rectangular, so that's not a fair comparison to a DVD presentation as standards in theater will vary a great deal. I would say what the filmmakers intend (if they are so lucky to not have studio intervention) is on the filmframe.

That said, anyone else have any insight on my original question?

Slowcloud,

No offense intended, but the above statement is absolutely false.

Not all filmmakers "protect" for an unmatted presentation. If you could see the complete surface area of each film frame on many films, you would see boom mikes, electrical cables, etc. that the filmmaker clearly did not intend.

For an example, check the DVD of The Remains of the Day (a Super 35 film), where there is a scene among the extra features that is displayed unmatted. The boom mike is plainly visible, dangling over Anthony Hopkins' head.

It's funny because I hadn't looked this film up in a while but just 2 days ago I did a search on Amazon to see if there had been a new version released.

I would LOVE to get a new dvd of this !!!!

And I'll add Exotica and Sirens to the list as well !

It is indeed a terrific film and I'll treasure my current Artisan copy, though less than ideal, until they release an anamorphic one.

None taken, I do believe you are right about this completely, and again, it just adds to my original argument that matting is so random when it comes to movie screenings, as I've seen a few boom mikes in theatrical screenings. But, yes, I take it back. The artistic intentions is not necesarily on the filmframe either. It's just I was wondering if this DVD is cropped so bad so as to immitate a widescreen presentation by cropping a full screen presentation into a "false" widescreen. Anyone heard of this for this DVD?

So, still, no one out there has heard of any image cropping issues with this release right?

The dvd preserves the correct viewing ratio. It's just non-anamorphic.

Great! Thanks.

It has happened with several Blu-ray Discs, though none of them were feature-length movies.

As for DVDs, wasn't "It" and "V" cropped this way?

There has to be an anamorphic upgrade or a Blu-ray of this at some point.....

Bound and Memphis Belle not being available anamorphic really stick in my craw!

I'd get the PAL disc, but then I'd be angry with the 4% speed-up......

this movie has been playing alot on Universal HD alot recently, i think the next airing is this sun at 4 am.

It will happen eventually. I think the issue is that the rights were once with ARTISAN entertainment, and thus they're either over at LionsGate, or perhaps Paramount?

It's a cult classic, and thus I imagine it's not a huge priority. I mean, we just got an anamorphic widescreen version of Child's Play, and that movie was a hit when it came out...

I'm crossing my fingers for a Blu-ray version sometime soon. This movie is easily one of my top 10... "Coooorrrrrgiiiii."

interestingly, when the movie plays on universal hd (the r rated cut), the universal logo is at the front of the movie, which means they prob have the rights to the movie.

I hope Universal doesn't have control of this movie in any way. If they do, we'll be waiting forever for it to be re-released. "Cult" catalog titles seem to carry no priority for them whatsoever.

I just recorded it in high def off of the Universal High Def channel. It is on all month in 1080p. Enjoy.