Paramount Pictures have officially announced that the late Tony Scott’s classic hit Top Gun is getting a limited IMAX 3D release, followed by a Blu-ray release in February 2013.
I don’t envy Paramount when it comes to the timing of this release. Although the 3D conversion was supervised by Scott before his death, some may see this as a cash-in from Paramount. On the other hand, with what I imagine is a considerable investment made in the conversion, Paramount understandably want to see a return. I think the timing of the release is about right.
My understanding is that Paramount were going to use this re-release to gauge the public’s interest in a sequel, but with development on the film abandoned after Scott’s death, that me no longer be a part of the plan. Besides, which director would want the responsibility of picking up the baton on this project?
Anyway, here’s Paramount’s press release in full:
“TOP GUN” TO BE RELEASED IN IMAX® 3D FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME
THE CLASSIC FILM RETURNS TO THE BIG SCREEN EXCLUSIVELY IN SELECT IMAX 3D THEATRES FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT BEGINNING FEBRUARY 8, 2013
“TOP GUN” Debuts on Blu-ray 3D™/ Blu-ray 2D™ Two-Disc Set February 19, 2013
HOLLYWOOD, CA (December 11, 2012) – “TOP GUN,” Paramount Pictures’ 1986 classic from director Tony Scott, producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Tom Cruise, takes off on a new adventure with an exclusive six-day 3D engagement in select IMAX® theatres beginning February 8, 2013. The film has been re-mastered for the IMAX® 3D release and subsequent debut on Blu-ray.
TOP GUN was re-mastered for the big screen from high-resolution original negative scans and painstakingly converted to 3D by Legend3D under the supervision of the film’s director, Tony Scott. Rendered in 3D, the film’s complex, long shots reveal extraordinary depth and clarity, allowing viewers to explore every detail of the action. From the spectacular aerial dogfights to the intense close-ups in the cockpits, each frame enables the audience to feel a part of the story.
The story of an elite group of pilots competing to be the best in their class and earn the title of “TOP GUN” captured the imagination of a generation and earned a worldwide box office of over $350 million upon its release. The film stars Tom Cruise as Maverick and Kelly McGillis as his civilian instructor. The film also stars Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan.
The “TOP GUN” Blu-ray 3D disc presents the film with pristine high definition picture and sparkling sound in spectacular 3D for the ultimate home viewing experience. The Blu-ray 2D includes the re-mastered film in high definition, along with a six-part documentary on the making of the movie, a behind-the-scenes featurette, interviews with Tom Cruise, commentary by producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott, co-screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr. and more. The two-disc set available for purchase also includes a digital copy of the film and will be enabled with UltraViolet technology.
A couple of weeks ago I lent a hand to a friend setting up a new site dedicated to steelbook Blu-ray releases, called, with amazing good luck, www.steelbookbluray.com.
He’s now got his first competition running, where you can win a copy of the Basket Case Trilogy and The Return of The Living Dead on Blu-ray, both with very nice, limited edition steelbook packaging. The competition is open worldwide, so please check it out here. You can also follow via Twitter here.
So, this week sees the release of Prometheus on Blu-ray and DVD, and by now you will have seen the ads promising “questions will be answered”.
Of course, given that, in interviews with Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof at the time of the film’s release, much was made of the desire to remain mysterious and let the audience draw their own conclusions, it now seems odd that the marketing is going the other way. Do Fox feel that the movie was too mysterious, to the point of alienating audiences? Were Scott and co right or wrong to give the mainstream movie-goers’ intelligence too much credit? Does the marketing around the home video release, with its hours and hours of superb documentaries and deleted scenes, serve to dumb down the movie for those who just didn’t ‘get it’?
Adam Batty, editor of the always excellent Hopelies.com, gave the discs a spin over the weekend, and has written on this very subject:
“The advertising campaign in question boldly declares that “Questions Will Be Answered”. It adorns the print posters, the television spots and even the casing of the disc itself, while the packaging also leads it’s synopsis with a statement that reappropriates one of the films key thematic slogans in to a cheap statement of empty promise concerning the extra material (How Far Would You Go To Get Your Answers?), with the promise of both an alternate opening and alternate ending leading many online commentators to speculate on what hadn’t been re-devised. The most unusual aspect of this whole affair is that while the film does have it’s fair share of undeniable problems, “missing” information isn’t one of them.”
Check out the full article here, it’s well worth a read.
Don’t forget you can order the various editions of Prometheus now via our UK and US stores!
Thanks again to the UK’s BBFC, we now have a couple more extra features confirmed for the Blu-ray release of Prometheus.
First, up is the feature length documentary ‘The Furious Gods: Making Prometheus’, which, according to Amazon runs for 205m, but the BBFC have listed at 243m. The extra running time may be down to the inclusion of animated menu running times, artwork galleries, or similar. Either way, we’re getting an epic 3hr+ look at the making of the movie, just in this piece, never mind all the enhancement pods.
Next, the deleted and alternate scenes are getting an audio commentary from the movie’s editor Pietro Scalia and VFX supervisor Richard Stammers.
To get all of these features you will need to pick up the 4-disc (USA) or 3-disc (UK) Special Editions. The UK set just drops the DVD disc – all the extras are the same.
From what we can see, the full list of extras now stacks up like this (if we’ve missed any, please let us know!):
Commentary by Director/Producer Ridley Scott
Commentary by Writer Jon Spaihts and Writer/Executive Producer Damon Lindelof
THE FURIOUS GODS: MAKING PROMETHEUS – Running time according to Amazon 205m, according to the BBFC 243M
Conquest of Paradise: Renewing The Story
Under The Pyramid: LV-223
Reverse Engineering: USCSS Prometheus
The Human Manifest: Casting and CostumesA World Without Green: Pinewood Studios, 2011
Demons in the Dark: Creature Design
Hazard Pay: Stunts and Action
Fire From the Sky: Visual Effects
Prometheus Unbound: Post-Production and Release
ALTERNATE AND DELETED SCENES WITH COMMENTARY BY EDITOR PIETRO SCALIA AND VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR RICHARD STAMMERS – Running time 34m 56s, consisting of:
So, Fox have now officially released the details for their upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release of Prometheus. While there is no mention of an Extended or Director’s Cut of the film, what is interesting are the specific references to the inclusion of the Theatrical Cut.
The fact that the Theatrical Cut is specifically highlighted is a strong hint that we will soon see an additional release of an extended cut.
What do you think?
You can order the various editions of Prometheus from our UK and US stores.
20th Century Fox have officially announced the release of Prometheus on Blu-ray and DVD, and have confirmed the special features that we’ll see.
The specs here refer to the US release, so there may be some differences in other countries. The UK, for example, gets a 3-Disc SE, not 4-Disc, which drops the DVD. However, I would expect the content of the discs themselves to match worldwide.
Here’s Fox’s announcement, followed by the disc specs themselves. You can see more details on the extras here.
LOS ANGELES, CA. (September 28, 2012) – Renowned director Ridley Scott takes fans on a gripping sci-fi adventure that “kicks ass so hard and often that it’s impossible not to be thrilled by it”
(Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). Launching into space to discover the mysterious creators of the human race, the “genuinely epic” (Tom Long, Detroit News) film,PROMETHEUS, debuts globally on
Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD October 9 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. An unmatched home entertainment experience, watch the highly-anticipated blockbuster hit in the format it was meant to be viewed, stunning 3D high-definition.
Written by Damon Lindelof (“Lost”) and Jon Spaihts, PROMETHEUS features outstanding performances by Academy Award® winner* Charlize Theron (Monster), Golden Globe®-nominee* Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds), Guy Pearce (Memento), Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Logan Marshall-Green (Devil).
Archeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Marshall-Green) discover a star map that they interpret as an invitation from humanity’s forerunners, the “Engineers.” Determined to find out more about them, the couple boards the scientific vessel Prometheus, created and funded by Peter Weyland (Pearce), CEO of Weyland Corporation. Lead by mission director Meredith Vickers (Theron) and monitored by Weyland’s android David (Fassbender), the team of explorers find a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth and embark on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe where they fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
Loaded with over seven hours of bonus material, the PROMETHEUS 4-Disc Collector’s Edition and
2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack feature the original theatrical release and are available in premium packaging. Fans can get the ultimate Prometheus experience with an Alternate Opening and Ending, Deleted and Alternate Scenes, access to “Peter Weyland’s Files,” commentary by directors and writers, a cutting-edge Prometheus Weyland Corp. Archive Second Screen App and more!
PROMETHEUS 4-Disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Special Features
Disc 1
Theatrical Cut
Commentary by Director/Producer Ridley Scott
Commentary by Writer Jon Spaihts and Writer/Executive Producer Damon Lindelof
The Peter Weyland Files
Deleted and Alternate Scenes that include an Alternate Opening / Ending
Prometheus – Weyland Corp Archive Second Screen App
Disc 2
The Furious Gods: Making Prometheus
Enhancement Pods
Weyland Corp Archive
Pre-Vis
Screen Tests
Disc 3
3D Theatrical Cut of Movie
Disc 4
DVD / Digital Copy
PROMETHEUS 2-Disc Blu-ray Special Features
Disc 1
Theatrical Cut
Commentary by Director/Producer Ridley Scott
Commentary by Writer Jon Spaihts and Writer/Executive Producer Damon Lindelof
The Peter Weyland Files
Deleted and Alternate Scenes that include an Alternate Opening / Ending
Prometheus – Weyland Corp Archive Second Screen App
Disc 2
DVD / Digital Copy
You can order the various editions of Prometheus from our UK and US stores.
Amazon UK have updated their listings for the Special Edition Blu-ray release of Prometheus, showing off some very nice artwork for the SE.
Check it out below (click to enlarge):
Meanwhile, Fox have released a trailer for the release, confirming that we will indeed see the original ‘Elder Engineer’ opening for the film, an alternate ending, and several hours of extra features.
Warners have released the following trailer for their upcoming 30th Anniversary Blu-ray box set.
You can order the set from Amazon in the UK here or in the USA here, and here’s what you’ll get:
Disc 1: Blu-ray of The Final Cut
Disc 2: Blu-ray of US Theatrical, International Theatrical, and “Director’s Cut” seamlessly branching on one disc
Disc 3: Blu-ray of Workprint Cut (from the UCE Disc 5), Dangerous Days documentary (from the UCE Disc 2), everything from the UCE “Enhancement Archive”(UCE Disc 4). This disc also includes a new Photo Gallery with “over 1000 new photos”, and “more”
Disc 4: DVD of The Final Cut
An “all-new” Ultraviolet Digital Copy
An “all-new” concept spinner car toy
An “all-new” action lenticular
An “all-new” 72-page photo book
Here’s what you’ll get in the box (click to enlarge):
You can order the set from Amazon in the UK here or in the USA here.
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or 
Blu-ray Special Editions (The UK set just drops the DVD disc – all the extras are the same).
have updated their listings for the 
Blu-ray release of Prometheus, showing off some very nice artwork for the SE.
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