Smokey and The Bandit Collection (lenticular hard case, August 2024))

[Nitroes]

Already have a UK lenticular set and the 4K of the first film so not too fussed.

If they'd had better artwork, maybe

Nice to see the documentary The Bandit appear.

https://viavision.com.au/shop/smokey...ase-art-cards/

https://www.sanity.com.au/products/3...dition--Collec

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/s...n-1977-blu-ray

[LMFAObros]

If it has the 4K master of the first I may grab it

[shireguy]

the price being asked for this is just outrageous : $70 - get real

(and before anyone posts - you don't need to buy it - I ALREADY have it - both the US 40th Edition Blu - and the previous 3 pack released locally - which I didn't pay anywhere near this price).

[g12345567]

Originally Posted by shireguy

the price being asked for this is just outrageous : $70 - get real

Agree. Would love to get this but the price as you said is quite high.

Only have the original 2010 universal Blu-ray of the first movie and the triple feature DVD of these three movies.

[PT Ryan]

Originally Posted by shireguy

the price being asked for this is just outrageous : $70 - get real

(and before anyone posts - you don't need to buy it - I ALREADY have it - both the US 40th Edition Blu - and the previous 3 pack released locally - which I didn't pay anywhere near this price).

I would have agreed were it not for the inclusion of extras on 2 & 3. If they release an edition without the lenticular case and cards, I’ll probably get it. Daniel Kremer’s commentary on III should be an informative one. III’s a bad movie, but the story behind its production is a fascinating one.

[MrFlix1983]

I just received my copy in the mail today!

The first disc is essentially the Bluray that Universal released a few years back with the notable exception of including the original 2.0 Mono track which maintains the entire soundtrack that the newly created 5.1 Remix tampered with obliterating the film of its natural truck sounds and horns. I'm pretty sure this is the first time the original Mono audio has been included on Smokey and the Bandit since its very first DVD release back in 1998!

Parts II and 3 are newly produced from ViaVision to include new static menus that list their respective single audio tracks as being "2.0 Dual Mono', but they both look and sound equally great in their presentations and as an added additional bonus that wasn't listed in ViaVision's Press Release, Part 3 includes the 'Trailers From Hell' Teaser of the film with commentary by Larry Karaszewski so you get the opportunity of seeing both the originally filmed Teaser for 'Smokey IS The Bandit Part 3' and the actual Theatrical Trailer for 'Smokey and The Bandit Part 3'.

Haven't listened to the newly recorded audio commentaries for Parts II and 3 yet, but they were definitely major selling points for me making this purchase!

[MrFlix1983]

BONUS FEATURE SPOILER ALERT

Just finished listening to Daniel Kremer's commentary for Smokey and The Bandit Part 3. If there could be an award for 'Commentary that Spent the Least Amount of Time Actually Discussing the Film', he would get it.

I checked in sporadically on the time count listening to Daniel as he "discussed" Smokey 3. The first 15 minutes alone are purely Daniel discussing the topic of movie sequels as a whole and mentioning how the year 1983 contained the most releases of movie sequels than any other year to date, particularly movies in their third outing (Smokey 3, Superman III, Jaws 3D, Amityville 3D, Return of the Jedi, and several others).

Kremer then goes on to talk about the works of several other people that have absolutely nothing to do with the film we are currently watching with him. Yes he talks about the work of Jackie Gleason, but then he brings up Burt Reynolds and his career slump in the 80s, as well as name dropping several directors who have absolutely nothing to do with the world of Smokey and the Bandit like Peter Bogdanovich!

By the time we get to the final four minutes of the film, we hear Kremer saying the phrase "I forgot to talk about...." or "I haven't mentioned yet..." at which point I wanted to scream, "BECAUSE YOU SPENT THE LAST 80 MINUTES TALKING ABOUT ANYTHING BUT THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!"

At the beginning, Kremer touches lightly upon the original version of the film, getting us as listeners amped from the get-go as he mentions how he got access to the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences to get access to materials in a folder for the film labeled with as he mentions, six, yes SIX different titles the film went under during production, and then gives us the most simplified summary of the original film as many of us fans already knew, the story of how the original concept was having Jackie Gleason take on the role of both Buford T. Justice AND The Bandit, hence the original title of 'Smokey IS The Bandit'. He also discusses a small bit about the now widely available Teaser Trailer that was shot with Jackie Gleason giving viewers essentially what was going to be the plot of the original film, but that's it.

No stories at all about the original script, plot, characters, not even a mention of the screenwriters themselves, Stuart Birnbaum
and David Dashev who would go on to write the story for 1987's Summer School starring Mark Harmon.

I myself own a copy of the original Smokey IS The Bandit script and there is so much more out of that source that could have been discussed. Unfortunately, as this newly recorded commentary was a major selling point in getting me to purchase this set, I feel a major letdown and disappointment almost as though Daniel Kremer went out of his way to do anything BUT discuss Smokey and the Bandit Part 3.

I'm just about to start Smokey and the Bandit II with the newly recorded commentary from Matthew Asprey Gear, whose work I know nothing of, but hopefully this one will provide a lot more substance than Daniel Kremer's did on Part 3.

[The Mole]

Originally Posted by MrFlix1983

I just received my copy in the mail today!

The first disc is essentially the Bluray that Universal released a few years back with the notable exception of including the original 2.0 Mono track which maintains the entire soundtrack that the newly created 5.1 Remix tampered with obliterating the film of its natural truck sounds and horns. I'm pretty sure this is the first time the original Mono audio has been included on Smokey and the Bandit since its very first DVD release back in 1998!

Parts II and 3 are newly produced from ViaVision to include new static menus that list their respective single audio tracks as being "2.0 Dual Mono', but they both look and sound equally great in their presentations and as an added additional bonus that wasn't listed in ViaVision's Press Release, Part 3 includes the 'Trailers From Hell' Teaser of the film with commentary by Larry Karaszewski so you get the opportunity of seeing both the originally filmed Teaser for 'Smokey IS The Bandit Part 3' and the actual Theatrical Trailer for 'Smokey and The Bandit Part 3'.

Haven't listened to the newly recorded audio commentaries for Parts II and 3 yet, but they were definitely major selling points for me making this purchase!

Ist the first movie based on the 4k master used for the 40th Anniversary Edition BD or the older 2k master? And do the discs have English subtitles?

[MrFlix1983]

All three films contain English subtitles.

As for the master used, I haven't watched the film all the way through but I'm thinking it is the 2K Master used.

[CompleteCount]

Originally Posted by MrFlix1983

Just finished listening to Daniel Kremer's commentary for Smokey and The Bandit Part 3. If there could be an award for 'Commentary that Spent the Least Amount of Time Actually Discussing the Film', he would get it.

I myself own a copy of the original Smokey IS The Bandit script and there is so much more out of that source that could have been discussed.

Christ! I've done trivia-tracks for films where there has been very little information available, but managed to keep everything relevant to the movie in hand, even pointing out screw-ups in the film in question, the careers of those involved, how they faired on home releases, etc.

I also own a copy of the script to Smokey IS The Bandit, which could have been used for as the basis for the entire track by itself. Even the whole matter of continuity errors could have given the guy a decent about of material to work with - the Trans-Am appearing in the background of a scene before it's even been introduced in the film, etc.

The original script wouldn't have rendered it a classic, but it might have at least made its own kind of scene under its internal logic. It's also got the rather neat twist of

[Show spoiler]Dusty being a member of the Burdette family,

which works fine to tie up the material at the end. There's some funny stuff in there, too, which pushes it ahead of the released version, which resorted to having Jackie Gleason nick Laurel & Hardy gags.

[PT Ryan]

That's a pity about the commentary. I recently learned that United International Pictures cut a sizzle reel of 1983 releases which included a look at Smokey IS the Bandit to screen for exhibitors. This was a couple of months before the reshoots occurred. I would love to know if that still exists, not to mention that original test screening version itself.

[Telemachus]

VV commentary tracks are ****. They are all low effort wiki facts garbage, at least the ones I was suckered to listen to on my sets. They need to just keep that trash off the discs. The worst one is on their Gate II disc, where for the first fifteen minutes of the commentary the guy talks about David Cronenberg (yes, really).

[MrFlix1983]

Originally Posted by PT Ryan

That's a pity about the commentary. I recently learned that United International Pictures cut a sizzle reel of 1983 releases which included a look at Smokey IS the Bandit to screen for exhibitors. This was a couple of months before the reshoots occurred. I would love to know if that still exists, not to mention that original test screening version itself.

Kremer does bring that sizzle reel up in a short part of the commentary and says that it more than likely has been long destroyed Universal by now.

[MrFlix1983]

I just finished Smokey II's commentary this evening by Matthew Asprey Gear, who according to his Facebook page is a film scholar whose specialty is Orson Welles, and does he bring him up during HIS commentary?

You better believe it! Matthew's mention of Orson deals primarily with a short lived talk show he had where Burt Reynolds was once a guest.

Now thankfully Matthew's commentary does manage to go somewhat in sync with what we the viewer are watching....but only for so long until, you guessed it....dead air...silence in multiple parts throughout the film.

Matthew even decides to completely bow out before the famous outtake credits roll and says his official "goodbye" right before we see everyone take off and get the final gag of Buford on a Greyhound bus in hot pursuit.

I feel majorly let down after listening to these commentary tracks. Again, these new bonus features were huge selling points for people, me especially being someone that not only grew up watching the Smokey trilogy but also deep dove into items like the soundtracks, the legendary script for Part 3 AKA 'Smokey IS The Bandit', still owning a 1997 VHS recording of an Extended Broadcast Cut of Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 off of the USA cable network, and even went so far as to recently purchasing the Australian import bluray collection from Umbrella Entertainment, 'Box of Burt' containing The Cannonball Run/Cannonball Run II, Stroker Ace, The Best Little *****house in Texas, and The Man Who Loved Women, all of which contain brand new bonuses, featurettes, and more. I haven't listened to their respective newly recorded commentaries just yet but one thing I feel, is that if you're going to have a commentary track recorded by someone designated as a "Film Scholar", they should at least throw in some thoughts, facts, and or trivia about what is currently happening on the screen and not go delving into a spiel about the roles that a random actor that isn't even in the film you're watching once got considered for before Burt stepped in instead or worse, talk about magazine articles from the time the film was being made and all the trite and gossip laden stories about various parties the star attended in his heyday because of his celebrity and controversies, etc.

Hell, Matthew doesn't even discuss the actual breakup that Burt and Sally went through while making the film which is literally shown in the scene where she walks out on him!

Some people like myself have been pushing various companies to let people like us fans get in there and take the microphone with our fellow brethren and enjoy a few laughs and trips down nostalgia lane with our favorite films, but unfortunately, from what I've managed to gather over the last decade or so, the only way you end up recording audio commentaries for films if you didn't actually work on them, is if you yourself have published works about the subject (books, articles, films, essays, etc.), i.e. the late Mike "McBeardo" McPadden, Lee Gambin, or critics and film reviewers like Howard S. Berger, Julie Kirgo, and Nathaniel Thompson.

"Fans" just don't cut it, unless you're incredibly well known in the online community or social media world for a particular film and you get a rare once in a lifetime opportunity offered to you, i.e. the Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary fan commentary from 2019.

I'll keep pressing til the day I die to try and get companies like Arrow, Shout, or Kino Lorber to use my knowledge and talent to try and record commentaries for movies like Problem Child/Problem Child 2, Three O'Clock High, Toys, even the Police Academy series (all 7 films! I'll do it! I even have the first one already recorded on my YouTube channel!) for them, because considering what utter wastes of time some of these commentaries are, it's no wonder why 75% of the time, they hire people they have no clue about what their filmatic background actually is and just slap the title of 'Archivist' on them or even gather their latest big idea to recruit for commentary...'Podcasters'.

[PT Ryan]

Originally Posted by MrFlix1983

Kremer does bring that sizzle reel up in a short part of the commentary and says that it more than likely has been long destroyed Universal by now.

Sigh. Ah well.

[DMRI2006]

I've long wondered who Kremer knows because he records commentary after commentary for labels worldwide and his tracks are often always useless. He babbles on and clearly just recites IMDB and Wikipedia information because you can tell he's looking at it on his phone. Very rarely is there any real tangible information he's dug up from other sources.

Anyway I'll pass on this release!

[UnionJackMix]

AUD 70 for the whole package is a great deal IMO. If it weren't for the terrible reviews of the commentaries I would have immediately purchased this.

[Telemachus]

Via Vision commentary tracks are awful from just the discs I own, they are minimum effort fluff to have something new on a reissue it's obvious, just stop listening to them. Film critic commentary tracks in general I don't ever take seriously just don't bother, they are nothing but promo for someone's e-career in some way.