CinemaNut

Same here. I have the wooden box, and unless they announce a remaster that extends the movie without the noticeable wear and tear of the film which is obvious when viewed in extended form I'll pass. Its way to annoying for me and when I watch, I only watch the U.S version. Its just not worth it for a commentary.

Panda Phil

Okay, could omeone take a moment to explain which version is on which DVD? I own a VHS copy that has a 101 minute running time. I'd like to upgrade to DVD, but every version I've seen has been the 'edited' edition.

Josh-da-man

I don't think the extended cut will ever look better than it does now.

The only surviving elements of the additional footage were of poor quality (videotape, I believe?) so that's as good as it's going to look for the time being.

grim_tales

101 mins (NTSC?) = the Extended Cut (really DC) - I think so anyway. The DC is 101/2m NTSC I'm sure.

Patrick Mirza

press release

basaro

Pre-order at amazon: $13.99

http://www.amazon.com/Wicker-Man-2pc...?ie=UTF8&s=dvd

macnorton

I checked out DVD Compare (http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=1530) and the extended cut and the director's cut are the same.

This new release looks like a re-release of the wooden box set (here are the specs for the original wooden box):

R1 LE America - (Anchor Bay) Extras: DISC ONE - "Theatrical Version"
*The Film ("Theatrical Version")
"The Wicker Man Enigma" documentary (35mins)
Theatrical Trailer (2mins)
TV Spot (1min)
Radio Spots (5mins)
Talent Biographies:
- Christopher Lee (21pages)
- Edward Woodward (18pages)
- Robin Hardy (14pages)
- Anthony Shaffer (19pages)

DISC TWO - "Extended Version"
*The Film ("Extended Version" ("Director's Cut") - with 12mins of Additional Rare Footage)

Subtitles:No

Picture format:1.85:1 Anamorphic NTSC

Soundtrack(s):English Dolby Digital 5.1 ("Theatrical Version" ONLY)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono ("Extended Version" ("Director's Cut") ONLY)

Case type:Special

CaseNotes:This is an LE featuring the new "Extended Version" ("Director's Cut") and packaged in a Wooden Box.

Easter eggs:On Disc One select the "Extras" Menu Entry. On the next screen then highlight "The Wicker Man Enigma" and then press [Up]. This will highlight a large Question Mark on the screen and if you press [Enter] now, you will be treated to an Interview With Christopher Lee ("Critic's Choice") (25mins).

bboisvert

The LE wooden box does not have the commentary. That was previously only available in Region 2.

macnorton

Yes but it is the same content...plus the commentary

Panda Phil

Picked up my copy this morning. Certainly can't beat the $14 pricetag. Film looks great, and the extras are interesting (only listened to snippets of the commentary, but it sounds like its gonna be a treat.

My only real worry is that it looks like its been cropped to fit the widescreen format. Comparing it to my washed out old VHS copy there's definately quite a bit missign from the top and bottom of the screen. I hope its just because it was an open matte print, and that the studio didn't screw around with it. Anyone have any info?

BuckNaked2k

Was it originally open matte? How does it compare to the version in the wood box in terms of aspect ratio?

uebetan12@yahoo

ive seen the movie.....it's a great cult movie...........and could have been a better release, if they have digitally remastered it and added some sub titles................ hope that they will release a definitive edition someday where the video is comparable to new dvd releases,pristine and very clear, with the advent of new technology.......plus anchor bay! when will you ever have sub titles on your dvds???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ambassador

The lack of subtitles is a fair complaint. I've been wishing that AB would supply them for years.

However, the film is never going to look much better than it does on AB's release -- for the simple reason that the negative no longer exists for the extended cut. Did you not watch the documentary about the making of the film? The extended cut was recreated largely from a tape, hence the vastly inferior quality. Very little digital remastering can make a film look "pristine and very clear" when the source material is so compromised.

On the other hand, however, I find that the original cut (and the sections from the original cut that were used in the extended cut) actually looks pretty good for an inexpensive British film from the 1970s. It has the same graininess I associate with films from that period, but it's not significantly worse than, say, the prints of Blood on Satan's Claw that I've seen.

Panda Phil

It's still a vast improvement over the washed out VHS copy I'd been forced to watch all these years.

The audio was certainly better. I realized there were lines in the film I'd been misunderstanding since I first watched the film.

digiboy

The AR is 1.85 on the DVD.

Tech specs at IMDB list the OAR at 1.37 "negative ratio" and 1.66 "intended ratio"

So is 1.85 going to be a cropped image? To me that's just as bad as pan&scan. Seems to me the top and bottom would have to be cropped to make 1.85.

If the OAR was 1.66, that's how it ought to be shown.