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Has anybody taken a look at the new R1 Blu of The Piano? From the sounds of it on Beaver and on Amazon, all of the subtitles for Ada's sign language and the Maori dialogue (i.e., crucial pieces of information) have been left off. Quite a disappointment seeing as how a Blu-ray edition of this film has been long-awaited and is much-deserved. To my knowledge, even the SD-DVD has never been upgraded for R1 since its original non-anamorphic edition back in c. 2000.

What do you all suppose is the likelihood of Lionsgate issuing a recall and/or fixing this? Removing the subtitles from this film seems to me pretty egregious. I had really been looking forward to this release, but it looks like I'll be holding on to my sad +12-year-old DVD until a better version comes along.

I've watched it, and it's true that the described subtitles are missing. I didn't miss them though - I've read where some say that they're vital to the story, but I don't agree, and in fact I'd entertain arguments that it's a better film without them. Ada's backstory now seems more ambiguous, and I think it plays nicely against Flora's fanciful stories.

That said it's been long enough since I've seen the movie that I don't remember all that precisely what's missing, so perhaps ignorance is bliss here. That cuts both ways, I guess - it obviously means that the film isn't rendered an incoherent mess by their absence, but I obviously can't claim to be the final word, either. At any rate, like I say I didn't feel like I was missing anything vital.

Of course, that doesn't speak to the question of intent, and if they're supposed to be there, then Lionsgate should recall and reissue. But I'm happy enough given what I paid for it, and unless the subtitles mean a lot to you personally, I wouldn't let it prevent you from upgrading.

So there are only English SDH and that's all? No second subtitle track for the non-English? Definitely should be fixed by Lionsgate. I'm passing on this release since it is extras-free. Waiting for the inevitable Studio Canal UK disc.

Looking at DVDBeaver, they say there are 2 English subtitle tracks, but it is says later on that the Lionsgate has forgotten the non-English dialogue subtitles...

Well, I guess I have to eat my words--I went ahead and sprang for the Blu-ray. (I had a credit on my account at DVDPlanet, so with tax and shipping it only came to $4.) I am planning to show the movie to some friends in a couple of weeks and figured it will be worth it to have a high-def anamorphic copy, even without the subtitles. I'm hoping that as long as I don't mention it, they won't know that they're missing anything, as this will be their first time seeing the film.

I get what you're saying, Brian, and I'm sure the movie still "works" without the subtitles, but I do believe that those lines add great symbolic meaning to the film (for example near the end when one of the Maori men says that "the piano is a coffin. Let the sea bury it"), and it's infuriating that they've been left off. If Lionsgate ever issues a recall--and I really hope they do--I'll be promptly mailing my copy in for an exchange.

Swingers and the underrated Made are out as a double-feature Blu on May 29th

Grand Illusion blu-ray 7/31/12

Lionsgate's sixth StudioCanal Collection release, and first since Delicatessen in September 2010.

That puts them about, oh, 15-20 or so behind Europe (though there are some from SC EU that Lionsgate does not have rights to).

Wonderful news, was just about to get the region B!

Drucker wrote:Wonderful news, was just about to get the region B!

I already did, as I had given up on the StudioCanal Collection continuing to exist in the U.S. Features appear to be the same, and I like the packaging on my UK disc.

So they're actually releasing it as "La Grande Illusion" instead "Grand Illusion"? Not that I oppose, necessarily, but it's pretty shocking. This is the company that released Un Flic as "Dirty Money".

I don't know if all the features are carried over. The Euro "Le Grande Illusion" includes "Little Match Girl", but the US press release doesn't mention it.

manicsounds wrote:I don't know if all the features are carried over. The Euro "Le Grande Illusion" includes "Little Match Girl", but the US press release doesn't mention it.

Lionsgate previously released The Little Match Girl (La Petite Marchande D'Allumettes) in the US on the 2007 3-disc Jean Renoir Collector's Edition (still in print), so they may have felt it was superfluous on this release.

colinr0380 wrote:How about the stuffed toy take on the film?

I listened to the solo Anthony Minghella commentary last night & he actually mentions this parody in the commentary. He apparently enjoyed it & had seen it more in the intervening years between finishing the film & recording the commentary than he had seen his actual film.

"See you at the video store, Richter!"

Total Recall Announced, Again, For Blu-Ray

Sorta surprised this wasn't mentioned yet. Checked my e-mail late and saw that Lionsgate is releasing a Tarantino box set on Blu-ray for November 20th which includes True Romance, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, JackieBrown, both Kill Bills, Death Proof, and Inglourious Basterds. It looks like it's just a repackaging of existing discs, though, but does include two bonus discs that includes this material:

* Critics Corner: The Films of Quentin Tarantino – In-depth critics’ discussion piece exploring Tarantino’s films that redefined cinema and the impact of one of the most influential writers/directors of our time.
* 20 Years of Filmmaking – Take a look at Tarantino’s career from the beginning, with interviews from co-workers, critics, stars and master filmmakers alike as well as a tribute to his greatest collaborator, Sally Menke.

It says the 2 bonus discs contain 5-hours' worth of material so I assume there's more than what has been listed.

It's going to be $119.99

Art work

That's kind of annoying- I'd be interested to see the bonuses, particularly any material about Menke, but I've already got everything in there besides Death Proof, which I don't especially want.

Yeah, it's a bit useless unless you own none of them or only a few. Somewhat stunned that Natural Born Killers isn't in there, but I guess that's more Stone's movie and I believe Tarantino isn't fond of the finished result.

Also disappointed about the lack of From Dusk Till Dawn, but I'm guessing even Lionsgate has standards and figured there was no way in hell they were including the Echo Bridge disc.

I might have to debate with myself about this one. On the one hand I already have all the films except Reservoir Dogs on DVD, on the other the Blu upgrade and the extras might be worth the price. Hmm :-k

cdnchris wrote:Also disappointed about the lack of From Dusk Till Dawn, but I'm guessing even Lionsgate has standards and figured there was no way in hell they were including the Echo Bridge disc.

I haven't looked into the From Dusk Till Dawn situation. Was that disc particularly bad? I see that Echo Bridge seem to have released that film's making of documentary Full Tilt Boogie as a separate disc. I would have thought that would have been an essential inclusion on the From Dusk Till Dawn package rather than a standalone thing!

I haven't actually seen it yet but the "good" reviews suggested it was "OK" and the most scathing basically said it looked like a murky upscale littered with artifacts. It also has none of the features from the DVD, except you can get Full Tilt Boogie in the set (which has all of the films in the series) or on its own as you said.

Five disc Francis Ford Coppola Blu-ray set

One From the Heart is an exclusive, no?

Yup - StudioCanal didn't bother with a ONE FROM THE HEART Blu in the UK when they released it over here recently for the first time on DVD.

But France and Japan have it out on BD. The Japanese disc includes none of the DVD extras though.

Some retailers are listing Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm for a 1/8/13 re-issue release (part of the Miramax library; Disney BD is OOP)

Does anyone know if the Coppola set's "One From The Heart" has any extras or not?

edit, hold up, found it:

BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
• Feature-length audio commentary by director Francis Ford Coppola
• The Dream Studio documentary
• The Electronic Cinema documentary
• Tom Waits and the Music of One From The Heart documentary
• The Making Of One From The Heart (1982) documentary
• Previously Unreleased Demo Recordings and Alternate Takes of Tom Waits’ Music
• Deleted Scenes
• Videotaped Rehearsals
• The Tom Waits Score: Alternate Tracks
• Press Conference at the Studio
• Francis Coppola Speaks to the Exhibitors
• This One’s From the Heart Music Video
• Stop Motion Demo
• Theatrical Trailers