Three Versions Of Close Encounters

[Lurker 5]

According to this, the 30th anniversary Blu-ray edition of Close Encounters of the Third Kind will contain all three versions of the movie (1977 theatrical, 1980 "Special Edition" and 1998 "Collector's Edition").

I hope all three also find their way to the standard definition DVD.

Neil

[fommes 164]

Is this possible with seamless branching? I mean it must be complicated. I thought there were a number of differences, and some small ones too.

[Mr. Breathmask 624]

Nice!

I too, hope this will make it to a standard-def release.

[Guest macrea]

It is possible to do what they're claiming; the question is whether or not it will be done right. Will it truly be the 1977 version and not the slightly compromised cut on the Criterion laserdisc, and will somebody working on this be aware of the subtle audio differences between the versions? Mistakes in that regard were present in '98 version. Great idea but I hope they deliver what they say they will.

[Jim Ware 637]

This is all because I bought the Criterion laserdisc a few days ago, isn't it?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,843]

Hahahahahahaha!

[AI 0]

From the little I know about blu-ray, I would assume it can do this kind of thing seamlessly, or close to, considering the specs, and of course if the disc is encoded correctly.

[pixie_twinkle 60]

I can't wait to see the original theatrical version again. There are still a few scenes missing in the 1998 version. For instance the scene where Roy and his wife are talking/arguing and he sees Devils Tower in a pillow.

I also hope they include the original TV trailer for the movie, with the guy driving down a road at night and the road ahead of him lights up (this is where the original LP cover is taken from). You see bits of it on the 1998 DVD but not the whole trailer!

[Ollie 1,364]

This is all because I bought the Criterion laserdisc a few days ago, isn't it?

Mine's been collecting dust for the past 9 years.

I'll throw in my "I hope this will make it to standard DVD" wish as well.

[GoodMusician 66]

it would be nice to have some Blue-Ray HD Spielberg movies finally...

Jurassic Park next...PLEASE... god the DVD looks so horribly blurry and grainy... dear lord...

[Ollie 1,364]

According to this, the 30th anniversary Blu-ray edition of Close Encounters of the Third Kind will contain all three versions of the movie (1977 theatrical, 1980 "Special Edition" and 1998 "Collector's Edition").

I hope all three also find their way to the standard definition DVD.

Neil

If I read that article correctly it should be coming to regular DVD.

[Mr. Breathmask 624]

Excellent.

[robthehand 3]

It's unclear:

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Steven Spielberg's landmark "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is coming to DVD ($40) and Blu-ray Disc ($50) on November 13, four days shy of the 30th anniversary of its 1977 theatrical opening.

The release marks the first time a Spielberg movie has been issued on high-definition disc, and it also is the first home video release of all three versions of the film: the 1977 original theatrical cut, the re-edited 1980 theatrical special edition and Spielberg's director's cut, released in 1998.

That part suggests that it will be on DVD and Blu-Ray, but this part suggests otherwise:

Through a process known as "seamless branching," the Blu-ray version contains all three films on a single disc.

Though I'm guessing it will be on both.

[Maurizio 6,766]

I guess both BluRay and standard DVD will feature all the three cuts. Probably the BluRay will have all the versions on one disc via the "seamless branching" technology, meanwhile the standard-def DVD will split them up on two or three plates.

[Mr. Breathmask 624]

DVD can also support seamless branching, so who knows.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,843]

I bought the old CEO3K DVD a while back, so I'm not gonna invest in that same film in this format.

[Luke Skywalker 2,323]

i bought it some months ago with some pain.... (well i saw it, decided that i would buy it, out of stock/print, order it in the store, the store does not say anything, find it in the store a month after...)

at least it was only 8 €

[Elmo Lewis 7]

Peio bought my copy in 2004, so I'd never want to get rid of it.

[Mr. Breathmask 624]

I'm not getting rid of my lovely Columbia Classics edition, but I might seek out the theatrical cut. Perhaps not on the day of release, but I've been wanting to see that version in proper widescreen and DVD quality for a while now.

[Ollie 1,364]

Eh, mine was a gift so it will be like I'm buying it for the first time.

[Lurker 5]

I wonder if the original 1977 cut will be anamorphic.

Neil

[Ollie 1,364]

Don't start......

[Mr. Breathmask 624]

I wonder if the original 1977 cut will be anamorphic.

Neil

You're evil.

[robthehand 3]

Artwork here.

[FBC Director 10,764]

it would be nice to have some Blue-Ray HD Spielberg movies finally...

Jurassic Park next...PLEASE... god the DVD looks so horribly blurry and grainy... dear lord...

That characteristic exists with many early Universal DVD releases, they all have that similar look to them.

[gkgyver 1,647]

Why don't they just make ONE version with EVERYTHING in instead of three separate films?

[Hitch 60]

More money for the studios. Wait till Universal get started on his movies! Wait, they haven't done anything special to mine lately. Damn their oily hides.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

I'm not getting rid of my lovely Columbia Classics edition, but I might seek out the theatrical cut. Perhaps not on the day of release, but I've been wanting to see that version in proper widescreen and DVD quality for a while now.

I've been wanting to see any version of this movie for a while now.

Burga- who last saw it on TV 8 years ago and hardly remembers anything about it.

[Ollie 1,364]

So it will be available on regular DVD.

Why don't they just make ONE version with EVERYTHING in instead of three separate films?

Because the 1977 release is the best version of the film. To not present that version is almost as unforgivable as what Lucas did to the original trilogy.

I wonder if the original 1977 cut will be anamorphic. ;)Neil

I saw an anamorphic HD print of 1941 last night in 2.35:1 on one of the Hi-Def movie channels.

[RamboFBII 2]

The thing I hate about the DVD that's been out is that you gotta go to the other disc if you wanna watch the SE stuff. You can't just watch it in the normal flow of the movies.

What I think they should do is just take the main parts of the movie and put an option in the menu where you can turn certain scenes/editions on or off. You can do that with the deleted scenes on Simpsons DVDs...why not do it with CE3K too?

[Ollie 1,364]

The Blue-Ray will feature seamless branching.

[RamboFBII 2]

Yeah, what the hell's that?

[Ollie 1,364]

What you asked for.

1 disc for all 3 films.

[RamboFBII 2]

Yeah, but don't you still have to watch all three versions separately or can you do the different scenes on/off thing?

[Mr. Breathmask 624]

You get to choose either one of the three versions.

You can't have one with everything, as that version doesn't really exist.

- Marc, who wouldn't want that anyway.

[Ollie 1,364]

The 1977 version is the one to watch.

Although the other two are worth watching and really don't ruin the film although I found it to be a bit too much to show Neary inside the ship because it really doesn't add too much. It's more visual eye candy than anything else.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,843]

The third version alctually deleted the "inside the spacecraft" scene, Mark.

[Ollie 1,364]

Correct, the third version is the DVD release that's available now and combines elements from the first two.

[Elmo Lewis 7]

I haven't watched the 1977 original, so I can't compare it really -- but I felt there was very little wrong with the version that's currently on DVD. It does get a bit slow halfway through, though, especially with the Neary family scenes.

[RamboFBII 2]

I appreciate all the interior of the spacecraft scene and I can appreciate why it's also superfluous. I like it just because it's got some phenomenal music written for it and yeah, cool eye candy. But it's also best left up to the imagination, too, like Señor Spielbergo says.

[Admiral Holdo 16]

Looks pretty awesome, huh? It's nice to see the digipack again, everyone else has been using Amaray cases.

[artyjeffrey 20]

So what exactly does this release have that the last one didn't?

[Jacob 1]

Why is the special/collectors edition packaging always made out of cardboard?

[FBC Director 10,764]

I love digipak!

[Lurker 5]

So what exactly does this release have that the last one didn't?

The 1977 version and the 1980 version.

Neil

[A24 5,027]

Maybe the Blu-ray' packaging will be different. Get that one!

On the other hand, you might want to go for HD DVD: The Battle Still Continuous

Alex

[GoodMusician 66]

so based on the title this is the "DVD" version... not the HD version or whatever the other thread was talking about or did you mean that...

[Mr. Breathmask 624]

I thought it was going to be 3 discs for the standard-def release?

[Koray Savas 2,259]

it would be nice to have some Blue-Ray HD Spielberg movies finally...

Jurassic Park next...PLEASE... god the DVD looks so horribly blurry and grainy... dear lord...

The whole HD/Blu-Ray war won't be over for some time. Recently Microsoft paid Paramount $150 million to be HD-DVD exclusive, causing an uproar in the film business. Spielberg was outraged and thats why Close Encounters is Blu-ray/standard edition only. Hopefully more Spielberg will reach Blu-ray, but Universal hasn't been Blu-ray as of yet. Several planned DreamWorks and Paramount Blu-ray releases have been cancelled due to this incident. Michael Bay was pissed because Transformers is now only HD-DVD, so I think his future movies will only be Blu-ray.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is don't get your hopes up.

[pixie_twinkle 60]

Just bought this today from WalMart. It looks fantastic. If you buy it from WalMart you get an exclusive CD of "The Entire Close Encounters Soundtrack". This is a bit of an overstatement, as the CD is actually a 2007 pressing of the original 10-track soundtrack. It has new disc art (darkness with a few UFO lights at the top), but the disk itself is on a card, not in a jewel case, and there is no sleeve or cover etc. Still, for those who don't have the original Close Encounters CD release it's a nice way to get it for free.

Haven't watched the films yet, but I'm so excited to finally have the original version I remember as a kid. The packaging of the DVD set is wonderful!