Independence Day BD and others re-released? (April 13,2010 Amazon listings)

[digitalbabe]

I may just have missed the announcement, but in browsing Amazon,I noticed that ID4 has two links:

The one now available:

http://www.amazon.com/Independence-D...1031168&sr=8-1

and another to be released on April 13:

http://www.amazon.com/Independence-D...1031194&sr=1-4

Like many I read hi-def news daily but didn't see anything about a re-release. Googling the item number only takes me to listings for the same thing,with no further explanation. I thought it may be a "movie cash" edition, since the summer is approaching and promos are common.

There are also new links for April 13 release dates, for other BD's that have already been released. They could be database artifacts, but I would think these would be cleaned up this close to the release date.

Master and Commander, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and others:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&fiel...KTPA6J3WNN4DA4

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
DB

[DetroitSportsFan]

I'm guessing this is another one of those BD/DVD combo packs that Fox/MGM have been cranking out recently.

The disc is the same as the previous release, packaged with the DVD version in a DVD sized case.

[digitalbabe]

Hi Detroit-thanks for your reply. Definitely a sensible possibility and makes sense given their recent emphasis not only on double packs but combos, too. Bummer, and here I thought ID4 would get a better release. I know many thought it was better than the DVD, but with talks of sequels for the film, I was hoping to have seen PQ on a new release. I'll keep hopin' Have a good one!

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by digitalbabe

I know many thought it was better than the DVD, but with talks of sequels for the film, I was hoping to have seen PQ on a new release.

If there was a new release coming with a new transfer, extended cut, and other extras it would have been announced and there would be a lot of talk about it here.

[Lincoln6Echo]

Jesus, you guys see that price for ID4? $31.49 ??? You gotta be kidding me! Especially if its just a BD/DVD combo pack. Now if it's a new transfer including the SE cut, plus special features, I can see that price as acceptable....somewhat, that is...

[MaCruz]

OH!! If this is true. I'm getting it for sure!

[Clark Kent]

I would surmise that many of them are being released again in fancier packaging for a holiday like Father's Day.

[digitalbabe]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

If there was a new release coming with a new transfer, extended cut, and other extras it would have been announced and there would be a lot of talk about it here.

Hi Detroit-no doubt about that. I thought there was a slim chance I missed any discussion, but since there is none, I'll assume it's just a repackage-lord knows they find every excuse to do so, LOL.

[LordCrumb]

I'm happy with the theatrical version. The 'extended' just adds pointless scenes imo.

[NL197]

ID4 is one of my all-time favorite films, and I've always preferred the theatrical version to the extended version. The extended scenes were just dropped in without any editorial considerations at all, and while some are funny, most (involving Randy Quaid's character's family) are poorly acted and slow the film down. They'd be better off as separate deleted scenes.

Also, they aren't even mixed properly either. They've got monaural sound.

The Blu-ray did things right be releasing the theatrical cut only, not just for the reasons above but also because the branching on the DVD release ended up compromising the theatrical version slightly, because the branching cut short some scenes and there's even a looped scene later on in the film that was nowhere near any extended or deleted scenes, so why is there a loop? No idea. So in this regard, the Blu-ray is the first presentation of the TRUE theatrical version since the VHS "Fox Widescreen Series" release.

P.S. Fans of David Arnold's score for the film take note:

April 20 will see a 5000 copy limited edition release of the complete score for the film by La La Land Records. Bootlegs of the score have been floating around for years but they were never complete. This is the first official release of the entire score. The first 100 copies will be autographed by the composer himself!

It's my all-time favorite score, the one that opened my ears to film music, so I had to share that great news about the release in case anyone here is also a fan of the incredible music in the film.

[Kyo28]

All those re-releases have (Ws) added after the title. I think this means it'll be a Widescreen edition where they change the aspect ratio to have it at 1:78 or 1:85 instead of the theatrical aspect ratio.

I could be wrong but it looks to be something like that.

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by Kyo28

All those re-releases have (Ws) added after the title. I think this means it'll be a Widescreen edition where they change the aspect ratio to have it at 1:78 or 1:85 instead of the theatrical aspect ratio.

I could be wrong but it looks to be something like that.

You would be wrong. Most of the studios can barely justify releasing new transfers, much less altered encodes of existing Blu-rays.