Contact (1997) - Should I stop waiting for a rerelease?
 

I've been wanting to see this again for some time now and I'm thinking of buying this some time in the next month. But first I want to ask if anyone's heard word of a rerelease of this film?

I was 13 when I saw this in theatres and it gave me the same kind of feeling I got from reading 2001: A Space Odyssey. I wonder how much better it will be now that I'm older.

Enough about me. So any news? Speculation?

Haven't heard of any re-release scheduled, but the current one is quite good. It's anamorphic, and has lots of extras including THREE full-length commentary tracks. If you like the movie, ths DVD won't disappoint. (I've had this for several years and it is a snapper - not sure if the packaging has changed.)

would love to see a rerelease too
 

This was my FIRST DVD purchase ever! I remembered I had to bring it back for an exchange twice because it always froze at the same part in the movie. It had, at that time, very decent supplementary features. I would love to see this get another release, especially when I hate snappers.

Some copies had a manufacturing problem that manifested itself later, with the second layer becoming unplayable. That may be why you had to get it exchanged. I believe my copy still works, thankfully.

Warner is not a big double-dipping studio unless they feel that they have a compelling reason to re-release a title. Contact already has a pretty good transfer and a bunch of supplements. I wouldn't hold out for an SE.

A regular edition back in the day usually = a "special edition" today.

For some reason I thought I owned this movie. Weird.

Yeah, I doubt they would do a re-release but I'm sure if I bought it, an announcement would not be far off. :)

However, it may not be long. As we know from our adventures in HD format war land, the master would have been done in 1080i, and they're not using those now. If they're planning to release this on HD discs, they'll have to do a new transfer, and while they're at it, they'll use it for a new DVD as well.

After all, we're getting a new L.A. Confidential this year. :)

FWIW, the current edition does say "Special Edition" at the top, but it's elegant and non-obtrusive, unlike other SE banners.

i have seen this on sale at places for under 5 bucks. even if they do re-release it, that doesn't sting so bad.

they also put it out in a double feature disc with sphere I believe

Contact supposingly is coming to Blu-Ray on a release pending date:

Also some other interesting titles here that have either been postponed or pending.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html

just do what I do....buy it and then they'll announce a re-release :(

The "best" you'll get -- if you're into this kind of disc and if you even liked the other movie -- is the recently released double feature of the film with Sphere on a flipper, in a standard keep case instead of the snap case.

Not sure what more they could do, but I would welcome a double dip on Contact. I can imagine a beautifully designed two-disc deluxe set. But the current release is great, and I'm glad I have it. If I didn't, I would gladly get it. One of my favorite movies.

--THX

It's still on sale for almost no money and it's a great buy, a great transfer and a great package. What more incentive do you need?

Of course, the fact that as soon as you buy it, it will come out in a new transfer is just icing on the cake... :)

Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath for a new DVD release. Maybe a hi-def version down the road, but it would probably have the same stuff.

The cinemalaser review of the DVD said:

This year would have the best chance of a re-release since it's the 10-year anniversary. But I'm not holding out much hope.

Thanks, I will probably just buy it. In the likelihood that it is rereleased again this year (10th Anniversary), well, I'll just go through the hassle of reselling it.

I'm just rewatching this for the first time in years. It's still the best sci-fi movie ever made on every level, but especially that of intellectual honesty. Its message of the absurdity of the great divide between science and "faith" is especially topical and will remain so for a long time to come.

The extras are incredibly rich and numerous including a 20 minute documentary just on the making of the film's first scene. The three (count'em) commentaries are all worth listening to and full of insights on the art of moviemaking. And this film has rarely been duplicated in its use of evocative and atmospheric soundscapes at the service of sound storytelling.

I remember seeing a sneak preview of this film in Toronto and the whole teary-eyed crowd bursting into spontaneous applause and cheering in the last scene with its dedication "To Carl" (Sagan).

As a "special edition", this package was way before its time. Bravo, Warner Brothers!

P.S.: I just figured out a fascinating piece of trivia about this film... An important part of its story revolves around a compass found in a Cracker Jack box which cements the relationship between the heroine and her theologian love interest. Isn't it interesting to note that a compass from a Cracker Jack box was also an important story point in the film 1941, which Robert Zemeckis wrote and which is an absolute low point in the intelligence of American movies? At one point in this film, a German general and a Japanese submarine commander are actually coaxing Slim Pickens to defecate so they can get a hold of this compass, which he has swallowed and is their only way to get out of Los Angeles harbour, a metaphor for the whole film: a bunch of grown men looking for a sense of direction in a pile of caca. I guess Zemeckis made Contact, which is an ode to intelligence, partly to atone for past sins...

I like to think of it as his apology for Forrest Gump, an ode to willfull ignorance.

I didn't dare say it...

Oh, C'Mon...Gump was a truly great film. Now I also enjoy Contact and hope for a future rerelease with a better picture.

Truly an incredible film, must own DVD that could always use a better release.