Army of Darkness -> Sept 15

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by PuppetMasterBlu

What about the theatrical cut? That's the cut I like the best. Is the PQ better?

I tried watching the TC on the U.S. disc and felt it to be horrible. It has so much sharpening and DNR that it looks like video. IMHO the directors' cut is superior anyway.

[WorkShed]

I have the FR disc and yes, the Director's Cut looks much better than the Theatrical Cut. It appears to be taken from a much better source. It's the better cut and the plot makes just a tinier bit more sense, even though I am partial to the "Hail to the King" ending of the US Theatrical.

[HonestJohn]

Originally Posted by WorkShed

I have the FR disc and yes, the Director's Cut looks much better than the Theatrical Cut. It appears to be taken from a much better source. It's the better cut and the plot makes just a tinier bit more sense, even though I am partial to the "Hail to the King" ending of the US Theatrical.

Yes and yes. I know some say the Rip Van Winkle ending is truer to Ash and the Franchise, but I prefer the S-Mart ending as well. What I've started doing is watching The Directors Cut and when it gets close to the end, I flip to the Theatrical and watch that ending. It ain't pretty, but it works for me.

[Kriztoffer Swank]

Couldn't you just watch the international cut? I've never watched it but I hear it's more similar to the DC but with the S-Mart ending.

[OldPangYau]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

You know what be great; if Shout! could also work something with Anchor Bay, StudioCanal/Lionsgate, and Sony to release a complete film collection!

That would be a tricky bugger Hell, I remember the days where Anchor Bay actually had all three of the original trilogy, now they just have the original. But yeah, if Shout, Anchor Bay, and Lionsgate/Miramax/Dimension could come together for the Halloween set, I guess anything is possible. Although, I don't see Sony playing well with these guys, so it'd probably just be the original trilogy.

To be fair, all I really want at this point is a really good US blu of AOD. Evil Dead is perfect (right down to giving options to watch in its original 4X3, or the newly approved 16x9 version), as is Evil Dead 2 (Lionsgate saved us from that dated DNR travesty that Anchor Bay put out in blu-ray's early days). It's ironic that the biggest budgeted and most "Hollywood" of the trilogy is the one that gets kicked around the most with so many meh releases.

Although I also wouldn't mind a re-release of the "remakequel" with the deleted scenes that appeared on UK TV.

[HonestJohn]

Originally Posted by Kriztoffer Swank

Couldn't you just watch the international cut? I've never watched it but I hear it's more similar to the DC but with the S-Mart ending.

I have, and still prefer the Director's Cut. International still leaves things out ....

[WorkShed]

The international is a very weird cut. There's quite a bit that is different from both the Director's Cut and the US Theatrical.

[dvdmike]

And instead there is a fourth cut, I need to sit down and prove it one day.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

And instead there is a fourth cut, I need to sit down and prove it one day.

The Best version of Army of Darkness to get is the German 6 disc Ultimate Edition which has 4 versions of the film

Director's Cut
US Theatrical Version
International Version (on the German release the International Version is known as the European Version.)
TV Version

http://www.amazon.de/Die-Armee-Finst...my+of+darkness

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

The Best version of Army of Darkness to get is the German 6 disc Ultimate Edition which has 4 versions of the film

Director's Cut
US Theatrical Version
International Version (on the German release the International Version is known as the European Version.)
TV Version

http://www.amazon.de/Die-Armee-Finst...my+of+darkness

I have that, I have them all, literally.
Look back in the thread I was the first to do shots
TBF I should have said fifth version as I didn't count the TV Version.

[DarthMarino]

Originally Posted by WorkShed

The international is a very weird cut. There's quite a bit that is different from both the Director's Cut and the US Theatrical.

I remember the windmill scene on this version being a complete disaster. It barely makes any sense.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

You know what be great; if Shout! could also work something with Anchor Bay, StudioCanal/Lionsgate, and Sony to release a complete film collection!

In theory. But then Should would incorrectly contrast boost the image, and it would be filled with compression artifacts due to their usual shoddy encoding. Then fans would nitpick how much Shout changed the image from the previous DVDs and demand a recall/fix.

[HonestJohn]

Originally Posted by DarthMarino

I remember the windmill scene on this version being a complete disaster. It barely madkes any sense.

You've got me curious. I have it, just never watched it . Think I'll give it a watch just for kicks ...

[Poya]

I know the FR and DE are from the same source but I always prefer the best PQ/AQ, no matter how minimal.

I actually prefer the DC since Ash was always meant to be the Too Stupid To Live jackass who never gets a break.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

I have that, I have them all, literally.
Look back in the thread I was the first to do shots
TBF I should have said fifth version as I didn't count the TV Version.

If I'm a weirdo who wants English packaging which disc would you advise for a region-free player?

[svenge]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

If I'm a weirdo who wants English packaging which disc would you advise for a region-free player?

Assuming that you want the Director's Cut, the Australian release is the way to go.

[HonestJohn]

Well before I subjected myself to the International Cut I decided to dig up some info on it. I found the site below and it goes into great detail on the differences between cuts and even their sources. After reading up on The International Cut, I got over my sense of curiosity.

http://www.bookofthedead.ws/website/..._versions.html

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

If I'm a weirdo who wants English packaging which disc would you advise for a region-free player?

Depends on how much you want to spend really, and what cut you are after.

[Takeshi666]

Currently the only versions of this movie are both DVDs, the MGM Hong Kong release and the 2-disc UK release by Anchor Bay.

Which blu-ray releases should I buy that'd preserve all the bonus materials from these releases? Did "Men Behind the Army" even make it across the format change?

Also, reading up on the different versions made me wonder what the hell it was I had on VHS many years ago. I always thought it was the international cut, since it included many scenes from the director's cut while omitting others, but it used the apocalyptic ending rather than the S-Mart ending, and with the "I ain't that good" line, the version I had pretty much ended up omitting all of Ash's most famous one-liners from the film. Sounds like it was the same as the later UK video version which also switched the ending around, except the Finnish tape excluded the S-Mart ending post-credit bonus.

[Wernski]

Originally Posted by Takeshi666

Currently the only versions of this movie are both DVDs, the MGM Hong Kong release and the 2-disc UK release by Anchor Bay.

Pretty sure the Hong Kong disc is the director's cut with the Shiela dress tearing scene intact, which is on the German, French and Australian sets, no?

Originally Posted by Takeshi666

Which blu-ray releases should I buy that'd preserve all the bonus materials from these releases?

It's only in the Australian set. And even then, it's on one of the DVDs in the set, not an actual blu-ray disc.