MovieChat Forums > Excalibur (1981) Discussion > We need a Criterion Collection version o...

We need a Criterion Collection version of this.

posted 10 years ago by cstapleton
2 replies | jump to latest

Seriously. If the Criterion Collection would get hold of this and put a deluxe version out with a bunch of special features, I'd be a really happy camper. Maybe then we'd find out if there really has been something wrong with the aspect ratio of the VHS, and BluRay/DVD/HD DVD releases of it - what with the tops of heads being chopped off, etc.

I'd like to see some deleted scenes too, if not added back into the film via a seamless branching optional format, then as a bonus feature.

And maybe they could also include the recent documentary, "Behind the Sword in the Stone" as part of the special features.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2556766/?ref_=rvi_tt

[–] jh66 10 years ago

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082348/board/nest/223130609

"I watched it and got something below expectation, so I'm venting on a public forum!"

[–] cstapleton 10 years ago

The problem is, the BluRay didn't turn out to be any kind of director's cut, just the same cut as the DVD and VHS had.

And from what I've read elsewhere on the internet, they may have framed it with a different aspect ratio than the standard DVD, but they still didn't frame it correctly - as per the theatrical showings in Europe.

VHS - pan and scan
DVD - 1.85:1 (this is the aspect ratio of North American theatrical screenings)
BluRay - 1.76:1
European theatrical - 1.66:1 (as it was actually filmed)

Plus, there's no more special features than those which are on the standard DVD.

The way I see it, the ONLY hope this film has of getting a truly respectable BluRay release is for the Criterion Collection to get hold of it.