Lonesome Dove: Two-Disc Collector's Edition - August 5

[Escapay]

TV Shows on DVD is reporting that a new Collector's Edition of Lonesome Dove is being released by RHI Entertainment & Genius Products on August 5 in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats.

The two-disc (dammit) set will feature all four episodes digitally remastered (the remastered versions were recently shown on ION Television in 2007), featuring 5.1 Surround Sound, and for the first time in...*gasp*...widescreen. Whether it is true as-shot-in-1988 widescreen (doubtful, as it was a TV miniseries) or matted widescreen remains to be seen.

Bonus Features: (for both DVD and Blu-Ray)
-"The Making of an Epic" (50 minutes) - TVShowsonDVD says it's a "new, never before available featurette" which is only part true, as a ScandinavianDVD had a 21-minute cutdown, and the early 90s laserdisc featured the full documentary.

-New Interview - with Director Simon Wincer

-Lonesome Dove Montage - with Original Score by Basil Poledouris (YES! The score for the series is one of the best ever composed!)

-On-Set Interviews - with Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Diane Lane, and the rest of the cast

-Photo Gallery - of Lonesome Dove original sketches, casting notes, etc.

-Collectible Reprint of original TV poster

-Hand-written letter by Simon Wincer

-6-hour audio commentary with director Simon Wincer. (Blu-Ray exclusive)

Not included in this release are the following: (all from the original Artisan release)
-Larry McMurtry Interview (13 minutes)
-Suzanne de Passe Interview (43 minutes)
-DVD/VHS Trailer
-Western Historical Trivia
-Western Historical Trivia Game
-Cast and Crew Biographies/Filmographies
-Production Notes

Blu-Ray SRP $39.92
DVD SRP $19.95

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I'm very excited for this release. Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite miniseries ever, and is probably my favorite western ever.

A part of me is disappointed in some aspects of this new set. For one thing, it's still a two-disc set, which will cause compression issues. Each episode is about 93 minutes long, so it'd make more sense to have two episodes per disc and a third disc for extras rather than two episodes + extras per disc. If they're doing double-sided discs, that will piss me off.

Also, as glad as I am that we're finally getting the original documentary, I would have also liked a new documentary that gathers the surviving cast & crew and provide a more retrospective look at the making of the series (perhaps something like "We Don't Rent Pigs: A Look Back at Lonesome Dove"), along with featurettes about the music, the original 1970s movie version (that never got made), and some educational ones about cowboys and cattle rustlers during the time period. And some 1989 TV spots and commercial bumpers would be a great nostalgic extra as well.

Still, the good outweigh the bad in this release and I know I'll be buying it on the street date!

ETA:

TVShowsonDVD is now reporting a street date of August 5. Changed the thread title and date in the post as well...

Albert