Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves Ultimate Edition

[Agent Kay]

Anyone have this yet??

[James Luckard]

I can't wait to pick this up! Been hoping for the theatrical cut for years. The extended cut scenes are dead weight, and as I remember they introduce a plot hole with the witch, because all the scenes were clearly not intended to be included together, some are clearly alternate versions, so one of the new scenes directly contradicts information in one of the existing scenes, though I can't remember exactly how. I think it's something to do with t

[Show spoiler]he witch being able to spy through the holes in the wall,

but I could be wrong, it's been years since I watched the extended version.

By the way, I have always found the British phrase, used throughout the Commonwealth, which appears in the final sentence of the press release funny. "Available at all good retailers." What about mediocre retailers? Surely they'll be carrying it too... I know, I know, the inference is that the way to tell if your local retailer is any good is by whether they carry whatever item is being advertised. It's just a phrase that is never used in the US, so I found it funny when I first saw it. I'm sure we have expressions that sound similarly wacky to you guys.

[Agent Kay]

I has a HDTV version I timed to the 35 mm look I bet it's the same washed out master, but I want it

[DVD Josh]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

I can't wait to pick this up! Been hoping for the theatrical cut for years. The extended cut scenes are dead weight, and as I remember they introduce a plot hole with the witch, because all the scenes were clearly not intended to be included together, some are clearly alternate versions, so one of the new scenes directly contradicts information in one of the existing scenes, though I can't remember exactly how. I think it's something to do with t

[Show spoiler]he witch being able to spy through the holes in the wall,

but I could be wrong, it's been years since I watched the extended version.

By the way, I have always found the British phrase, used throughout the Commonwealth, which appears in the final sentence of the press release funny. "Available at all good retailers." What about mediocre retailers? Surely they'll be carrying it too... I know, I know, the inference is that the way to tell if your local retailer is any good is by whether they carry whatever item is being advertised. It's just a phrase that is never used in the US, so I found it funny when I first saw it. I'm sure we have expressions that sound similarly wacky to you guys.

The thing that always bothered me about this movie is that the only cast member without an english accent is costner. And his butt scene, lol. Still love the movie though.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by DVD Josh

The thing that always bothered me about this movie is that the only cast member without an english accent is costner. And his butt scene, lol. Still love the movie though.

Well, he has something approaching a British accent... on certain words... haha. Still a great movie.

The nude scene was intended to show the scars on his back from the crusades, from his torture, it's meant to be about Marian realizing he has suffered. However it's photographed so poorly that even on the big screen it's tough to tell. I was a huge fan of the film when it came out, so I read every interview. I seem to remember that Costner got sick at the last minute, and they had to replace him with a body double who looked nothing like him, thus the exceptionally wide angle that makes the scene meaningless. He clearly had no issue with the nudity, since there's a similar scene in Dances With Wolves a year earlier. Either way, the scene ends up weirdly like she's just spying on him in a sexual manner in the finished film, which is unfortunate.

[drush9999]

The only good extra bit in the Extended version is when the carriage they've stolen goes off into a lake, explaining why they are wet moments later. Other than that those extra witch scenes are tedious.

[IndyMLVC]

Is this region free?

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

Anyone have this yet??

Not yet, but it shipped yesterday. Australia usually takes some time though.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by andreasy969

Not yet, but it shipped yesterday. Australia usually takes some time though.

Nice, and with one single car we can tell where the master is from

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

Nice, and with one single car we can tell where the master is from

???

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

???

I think he meant cap (?). Because that's what I will provide once I have the disc.

[CreasyBear]

Excited to have the vastly superior theatrical cut on Blu-ray, finally! The extended cut is quite dreadful.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by andreasy969

I think he meant cap (?). Because that's what I will provide once I have the disc.

Yep it was auto correct

[Fat Phil]

Okay, let's not drag this out. This disc sucks, save your money.

I said I wouldn't mind an older HD master but gawd daaaamn, son! This one is as old as the sands of time. It's the same one used for the DVD so essentially a standard definition presentation stuffed onto 1080p disc. Riddled with constant shimmering noise, the milkiest black levels you ever did see and just generally hideous. The wait for a watchable theatrical version continues......

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Fat Phil

Okay, let's not drag this out. This disc sucks, save your money.

I said I wouldn't mind an older HD master but gawd daaaamn, son! This one is as old as the sands of time. It's the same one used for the DVD so essentially a standard definition presentation stuffed onto 1080p disc. Riddled with constant shimmering noise, the milkiest black levels you ever did see and just generally hideous. The wait for a watchable theatrical version continues......

The only disc out there of the theatrical cut is a flipper DVD from before the big bang. If I can just get the theatrical cut in a form where I don't have to get up halfway through and turn the disc over, I'll be happy.

[Fat Phil]

My earlier outburst was the result of crushing initial disappointment so I'll qualify it a bit now i've calmed down and have spent some more time with the disc.

I'll upgrade my assessment to 'Eh, it's watchable, sort of, just seriously temper those expectations'. People with smaller screens will fair better with it - but at 65" it's brutal.

The thing is, i'm willing to overlook a whole lot for this theatrical cut. Telecine wobble - I don't care, poor colours - I don't care, flat looking - I don't care, lacklustre detail - I don't care, lame contrast - meh, I don't care, print damage - honestly don't care. My issue is with how completely digital it looks. The screen is constantly alive with shifting macroblocks - I don't know if this is due to Via Vision's terrible encode, or if it's somehow weirdly inherent to the master. If it is the encode, then it's hands down the worst encode i've ever seen in thousands of discs. Either way, it's incredibly distracting - a barrier between myself and the presentation underneath.

Last of the Mohicans has a similarly ancient master BUT it doesn't exhibit this same level of digital garbage so it's eminently more watchable.

So there you have it. One hot take, and one slightly more eloquent one. Is it utter garbage? Or just kinda shite? The choice......is yours

Originally Posted by James Luckard

The only disc out there of the theatrical cut is a flipper DVD from before the big bang. If I can just get the theatrical cut in a form where I don't have to get up halfway through and turn the disc over, I'll be happy.

Then you'll be damn happy. No flipping required

[Markgway]

That's very disappointing to hear. I own a used copy of the old R1 flipper so this 'upgrade' will still be just that. I expected an old master but the digital shit is a real bummer. Will wait for some sort of sale.

[FletchNZ]

The best filmed rendition of Robin Hood is, of course, Richard Carpenter's TV series Robin of Sherwood from the 1980s....

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by Fat Phil

If it is the encode, then it's hands down the worst encode i've ever seen in thousands of discs.

I'll bet you literally any amount of money that it's not as bad as this:

[James Luckard]

My disc just arrived. It plays on US equipment.

I A/B'd this and the old theatrical cut DVD. I had forgotten that not only is it a flipper, it's a 4:3 letterboxed transfer, the worst of both worlds. It's likely a repurposed old laserdisc transfer.

This new BD blows it out of the water.

On the other hand, does the new BD look appalling, in the abstract? Yes. It looks like a badly compressed quicktime file from 2004. Yes, it's pixely, yes the onscreen titles have strange shimmery pixels around them, probably due to oversharpening.

That said, the DVD looks 1000x more wretched.

Is this a million miles from a remastered version of the theatrical cut? Unquestionably. Is it likely the only HD version we will ever get of the theatrical cut? Entirely possible.

For the moment, I'm grateful to have it.

Just don't sit too close to your TV, and you won't notice quite how dreadful the transfer is, haha. It's still better than the great big nothing we had before.