Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by rapta

Surely we get the UK full length cut (not the shorter US theatrical cut) and the alternate version with 700+ different jokes? ...The unrated cut was the UK one right? And the theatrical cut is the US version. That's what I read a while ago anyway.

Originally Posted by Buzz201

There were reports (started by a tweet from Edgar Wright, but never confirmed) that it was cut for a PG-13 in the US, but left uncut at a 15 in the UK and some other territories (I think Australia was one), which would explain why only two cuts were listed on the UK release.

If that's the case then that makes sense. I think I remember our cinema version containing more than one use of f*ck so sounds like we did get the unrated version.

[Buzz201]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

If that's the case then that makes sense. I think I remember our cinema version containing more than one use of f*ck so sounds like we did get the unrated version.

According to the BBFC Insight the UK theatrical release had one f word.

Apparently they changed a line from Brian about

[Show spoiler]investigating the level of ejaculate on hotel duvets

(Not a spoiler, I tagged it in case the line offended anybody), they re-editted the crack smoking scene and had to change a "50 Greatest Vaginas in History" segment, because the MPAA wouldn't let them say 'vagina' at PG-13...

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by Buzz201

had to change a "50 Greatest Vaginas in History" segment, because the MPAA wouldn't let them say 'vagina' at PG-13...

I imagine that's because it was being used in a sexual context - they allowed "whale's vagina" through for the first one.

[McCrutchy]

I keep thinking about this movie...

I saw it when it was re-released as the Super-Sized R-rated version here, having seen only the first film, and not the PG-13 cut of this film.

My reaction was very similar to the first film: I really wanted to like it, and I found it generally very pleasant, but it wasn't funny to me. I may have chuckled once. And...I feel bad.

Obviously, with this movie, it was a labor of love, from a group of people who can be very funny, and it was very well made from a technical standpoint.

I feel like I should have laughed more.

Now, again, I feel compelled to buy this on Blu-ray, if for no other reason than to remember it as the last film Paramount distributed in the USA on 35mm. Ironically, however, I don't want the edition that contains that version of the film (the PG-13 cut) but rather this UK edition. The one which will cost me more, and make me wait an additional four weeks.

(I wouldn't mind the SteelBook, but I'll be damned if I'm paying over twice as much for someone to ship an Entertainment Store product to me in the States. They are laughing at £26 for that, much better the amaray for £12.50 from Amazon right now.)



I confuse myself sometimes.

I am hopeful that this may get funnier on a second viewing. If not, at least the Blu-ray will be fantastic, though. I'm sure I'll get some value out of it.

[Kuros]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I keep thinking about this movie...

I saw it when it was re-released as the Super-Sized R-rated version here, having seen only the first film, and not the PG-13 cut of this film.

My reaction was very similar to the first film: I really wanted to like it, and I found it generally very pleasant, but it wasn't funny to me. I may have chuckled once. And...I feel bad.

Obviously, with this movie, it was a labor of love, from a group of people who can be very funny, and it was very well made from a technical standpoint.

I feel like I should have laughed more.

Now, again, I feel compelled to buy this on Blu-ray, if for no other reason than to remember it as the last film Paramount distributed in the USA on 35mm. Ironically, however, I don't want the edition that contains that version of the film (the PG-13 cut) but rather this UK edition. The one which will cost me more, and make me wait an additional four weeks.

(I wouldn't mind the SteelBook, but I'll be damned if I'm paying over twice as much for someone to ship an Entertainment Store product to me in the States. They are laughing at £26 for that, much better the amaray for £12.50 from Amazon right now.)



I confuse myself sometimes.

I am hopeful that this may get funnier on a second viewing. If not, at least the Blu-ray will be fantastic, though. I'm sure I'll get some value out of it.

The American BD release contains three cuts (Original Theatrical, Unrated/Extended, and Super-sized), and the probability is high that Paramount will simply provide the UK with the exact same Blu-ray disc pressings that they used in the US.

The audio commentary available on BD 1 of the US Set will apparently also form part of the UK BD release. But this audio commentary was recorded for the Unrated/Extended cut, not the Original Theatrical Cut.

The UK theatrical cut is NOT the Unrated/Extended cut, and all evidence points to the UK BBFC 15 Theatrical Cut as being the exact same US PG-13 Cut that was released theatrically in the US.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Kuros

The American BD release contains three cuts (Original Theatrical, Unrated/Extended, and Super-sized), and the probability is high that Paramount will simply provide the UK with the exact same Blu-ray disc pressings that they used in the US.

It is highly doubtful that the UK edition will feature the US discs, because Paramount often (if not always) localizes the language options on their new release films. US versions have English, French, Portuguese and Spanish options, but the UK versions tend to have English, Italian, Nordic and Spanish (and sometimes French and/or German) options. The language set up for Anchorman 2 may be different in the UK (especially with so much content on the discs), but since the Nordic editions are out around the same time, I would fully expect Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles on the UK BD.

Originally Posted by Kuros

The audio commentary available on BD 1 of the US Set will apparently also form part of the UK BD release. But this audio commentary was recorded for the Unrated/Extended cut, not the Original Theatrical Cut.

The UK theatrical cut is NOT the Unrated/Extended cut, and all evidence points to the UK BBFC 15 Theatrical Cut as being the exact same US PG-13 Cut that was released theatrically in the US.

While I haven't yet seen the UK or US theatrical cuts, there is evidence to support the idea that footage which was cut from the US PG-13 version of the film did appear in the UK theatrical version (scroll down this link to read about it).

And then, the commentary is still included. The listing on Amazon.co.uk, which clearly uses copy provided to them (almost certainly from Paramount UK) states there will be two versions of the film included:

2-Disc Blu-ray Pack Includes Two Versions of the Movie!
• Original Theatrical Version
• Plus Alternate Version – with 763 New Jokes!
• Commentary with Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow, Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner (Original Version)

So according to that information, the US PG-13 cut cannot be present, because that version does not have the audio commentary attached, and neither does the version with 763 new jokes. This means that the other version included on the UK edition must be the extended cut. And Paramount would not be stupid enough to leave off another edition from its marketing, I'm sure if they wanted the US cut on the UK BD, they would be sure to advertise all three versions, just like they did for the US Blu-ray.

Now, could Paramount have re-cut the commentary for the UK BD? Sure, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and it would be needlessly time-consuming. It makes more sense to me, that the UK theatrical cut, or at least the version being touted as the "original version" for the UK BD, is in fact the extended 123 minute cut from the US Blu-ray.

Yes, the run time is listed as 119 minutes on Amazon, but this could clearly be the infamous PAL running time. The extended cut runs 123 minutes, and at 25 fps, that version runs just over 118 minutes. Lose some seconds, and voilà. The DVD even uses this 119 minute run time, and we know that will be PAL format, so one of the run times is off...the PAL DVD and Blu-ray can't both be 119 minutes, and I have seen a number of UK Blu-rays listed with their PAL DVD run times.

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Yes, the run time is listed as 119 minutes on Amazon, but this could clearly be the infamous PAL running time. The extended cut runs 123 minutes, and at 25 fps, that version runs just over 118 minutes. Lose some seconds, and voilà. The DVD even uses this 119 minute run time, and we know that will be PAL format, so one of the run times is off...the PAL DVD and Blu-ray can't both be 119 minutes, and I have seen a number of UK Blu-rays listed with their PAL DVD run times.

To help clear this up, the runtime of the UK theatrical version is 118 minutes and 36 seconds (taken from the BBFC site for the cinema version) so if the unrated cut is 123 minutes long then no, they're not the same. Maybe we got a couple of extra rude words in or something as people have suggested but we definitely didn't get a 123 minute version as our theatrical version.

Also, slightly off topic, but if one of the reasons you want to buy this is because of it being the last film Paramount distributed on 35mm then don't fret - they later backtracked slightly and said that certain films would get 35mm releases if it was warranted. For instance, Interstellar will be getting a 35mm release because Nolan insists on it.

[tob]

What is the best edition to buy is it the U.S blu ray or the U.K.

[Sky_Captain]

The apparent lack of the unrated cut on the UK disc, isn't exacly an incentive to pick up the UK release.

[tob]

I get the U.S blu ray thanks.

[Buzz201]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

To help clear this up, the runtime of the UK theatrical version is 118 minutes and 36 seconds (taken from the BBFC site for the cinema version) so if the unrated cut is 123 minutes long then no, they're not the same. Maybe we got a couple of extra rude words in or something as people have suggested but we definitely didn't get a 123 minute version as our theatrical version.

Just to be difficult, 123 minutes works out around 118 minutes with PAL speed up...

So if, for whatever reason it was submitted to the BBFC for theatrical release with PAL speed up, it could still be the extended cut...

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by Buzz201

Just to be difficult, 123 minutes works out around 118 minutes with PAL speed up...

So if, for whatever reason it was submitted to the BBFC for theatrical release with PAL speed up, it could still be the extended cut...

As I say, this was for the cinema version submitted back in November. So no PAL speed-up.

If anyone's in any doubt, I've gone back through the programming for the cinema I manage and Anchorman 2 had a runtime of 119 minutes on its screenings.

[Buzz201]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

As I say, this was for the cinema version submitted back in November. So no PAL speed-up.

If anyone's in any doubt, I've gone back through the programming for the cinema I manage and Anchorman 2 had a runtime of 119 minutes on its screenings.

How did your cinema play it? If it was digital could Paramount not have sent a shit version at the wrong frame rate?

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by Buzz201

How did your cinema play it? If it was digital could Paramount not have sent a shit version at the wrong frame rate?

I really think you're grasping at straws now...

Yes, it was digital. No, it wasn't a shit copy - it comes up with the frame rate as part of the file information on every show. If it was 25fps it would have a) been flagged and b) not played.

[Buzz201]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

I really think you're grasping at straws now...

Yes, it was digital. No, it wasn't a shit copy - it comes up with the frame rate as part of the file information on every show. If it was 25fps it would have a) been flagged and b) not played.

I realised I was grasping at straws, but it seems unusually shitty for Paramount to screw us over like this...

[Buddy Ackerman]

The 118m version on the BBFC site is the cinema version that the UK got. It was classified in November for the theatrical run. You absolutely can trust the BBFC for the length of the theatrical version (and, as I say, it corresponds with the copy of the film I showed at my cinema). I've no idea what's going on with the commentary - whether it's designed for the 123m version or the 118m version - but if that's the length the BBFC says it is then that's the length it is in the UK and that's how Paramount submitted it.

Whichever way you cut it, the UK theatrical cut was not the 123m 'unrated' version.

Also, the Super-Sized R-Rated Cut wasn't exclusive to blu-ray - we got it as a cinema release back in February. So that was also rated for the cinema release. The one that's a few second longer is probably the blu-ray version with a copyright warning attached at the end or something.

I don't at all think it's a conspiracy. I think it's as simple as Paramount UK not including the unrated cut - probably to fit localised language options on instead - and perhaps trimming the commentary down to fit.

[Socko]

It seems the UK steelbook becomes less and less interesting.

I also want to know if disc 2 has all of the US bonus features:

Behind-the-Scenes
Anchorman 2: The Musical—A look at the musical sequel that almost was
RV—Dissecting the RV tumble
Baxter & Doby—The lovable animals of Anchorman 2
News Fight—Inside the biggest, baddest all-star celebrity brawl
Deleted Scenes
Extended & Alternate Scenes
Previsualizations—RV, Shark Attack and News Fight sequences
Auditions—Featuring Meagan Good, Dylan Baker and Amy Poehler
Benefit for 826LA: “Spoiler Alert”—A special tribute to Anchorman 2
Trailers

[The Apocalypse]

All this stuff is a bit difficult to comprehend, at least for me anyway Anyway, I'm sure once the Blu-ray is out, we'll know what's going on with the versions.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

As I say, this was for the cinema version submitted back in November. So no PAL speed-up.

If anyone's in any doubt, I've gone back through the programming for the cinema I manage and Anchorman 2 had a runtime of 119 minutes on its screenings.

Except that was a film version. I'll grant you, that if we say the BBFC is correct, then the UK may have gotten the PG-13 cut. Given what I have read, I would feel more comfortable saying that the UK got an alternate version that ran a very similar run time, but even so, here is why it is not a good idea to trust the BBFC:

Looking at recent Paramount films, the BBFC sometimes classify the film at film speed, and the video version at PAL speed:

PAIN & GAIN Film 129m 25s Paramount Pictures UK 30/04/2013
PAIN & GAIN Video 124m 14s Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) 30/10/2013

Sometimes, the run times are similar. Perhaps these are cinema or Blu-ray versions the examiner is watching:

JACKASS PRESENTS BAD GRANDPA Film 91m 45s Paramount Pictures UK 08/10/2013
JACKASS PRESENTS BAD GRANDPA Video 91m 51s Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) 14/01/2014
BAD GRANDPA [Extended Feature] Video 102m 40s Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) 14/02/2014

And here (I believe the IMAX version was indeed slightly longer):

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS [3D] Film 131m 58s Paramount Pictures UK 24/04/2013
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS [2D] Film 131m 58s Paramount Pictures UK 24/04/2013
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Film 133m 7s Paramount Pictures UK 07/05/2013
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS [IMAX] Film 133m 5s Paramount Pictures UK 08/05/2013
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Video 132m 9s Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) 01/08/2013
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS [3D] Video 132m 5s Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) 01/08/2013

But Anchorman 2 shows this:

ANCHORMAN 2 THE LEGEND CONTINUES Film 118m 36s Paramount Pictures UK 26/11/2013

ANCHORMAN 2 THE LEGEND CONTINUES [ANCHORMAN 2 THE LEGEND CONTINUES SUPERSIZED] Film 143m 3s Paramount Pictures UK 14/02/2014

ANCHORMAN 2 THE LEGEND CONTINUES Video 117m 49s Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) 14/03/2014

ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES [Alternative Feature] Video 143m 11s Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) 14/03/2014

Excepting, of course, the 143 minute version, which exactly corresponds to the super-sized version, which is exclusive to Blu-ray and was therefore probably viewed on a Blu-ray, we still have the issue of a video version that runs 47 seconds less than the classified theatrical feature (this is saying nothing of the fact that the film runs 118m 55s on the US Blu-ray). The discrepancy seems strange, and it gets weirder:

ANCHORMAN 2 THE LEGEND CONTINUES [Additional material,Audio commentary with Adam McKay,Judd Apatow,Will Ferrell,Steve Carell,Paul Rudd and David Koechner] Video 118m 36s Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) 25/02/2014

ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES [Additional material,Audio description] Video 118m 36s Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) 06/03/2014

Now, according to the BBFC, it would seem that the commentary is attached to the theatrical version (or that the commentary itself was classified separately, runs the length of the theatrical version, and was overlaid on the extended cut for the US Blu-ray). So this brings up two points:

1. What is the 117m 49s video version? (It's not a PAL DVD, by the way)

2. Why has this version been classified, when the video has been classified at 118m 36s with the audio commentary and audio description?

3. If the audio commentary was meant for the 123 minute cut (as it appears to be), why would Paramount in the UK include it on the US theatrical cut?

4. If the audio commentary was meant for the US theatrical cut, why did Paramount in the US include it on the 123 minute cut?

5. Given 4, and given then that the US and UK theatrical versions are identical (as some have said), then why does the 123 minute cut even exist?

All this is a very long-winded way of saying don't trust the BBFC when it comes to run times.

However, I am willing to concede this:

The UK version may not have the 123 minute cut, but it may have a different theatrical cut, which just happens to have a very similar running time to the US PG-13 version. Perhaps the commentary was recorded for this, probably less censored UK version, and in order for that version to make sense in the US (and in order for Paramount to keep the PG-13 version and the audio commentary on the US Blu-ray) extra footage had to be added, creating a hybrid version of the US and UK theatrical cuts?

I will also say, it doesn't make sense to me that the commentary has simply been altered and overlaid on the PG-13 version for the UK BD. Unless, as I say, the commentary was designed for that cut, in which case, it seems strange that it was placed on the extended cut on the US Blu-ray, and indeed, it seems bizarre for the extended cut to exist period, since we also have the 143 minute super-sized cut.



Any way you slice it, it's a conspiracy?

(that last question mark was a happy accident)

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

Also, the Super-Sized R-Rated Cut wasn't exclusive to blu-ray - we got it as a cinema release back in February. So that was also rated for the cinema release. The one that's a few second longer is probably the blu-ray version with a copyright warning attached at the end or something.

As far as the video versions of the film are concerned, it is exclusive to Blu-ray.

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

As far as the video versions of the film are concerned, it is exclusive to Blu-ray.

Yes, it is - sorry, your original point didn't make that clear. Also, my reply to your post is now a few posts up so none of this now makes sense