DVDizzy Forum

In one of their rare but welcome decisions, Universal goes into their archives and gives a Special Edition treatment to a classic film that's NOT Hitchcock

Cleopatra: 75th Anniversary Edition - DVDTimes article

Universal Studios Home Entertainment have announced the Region 1 DVD release of Cleopatra (75th Anniversary Edition) on 7th April 2009 priced at $29.98 SRP. Nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, the historical epic directed by Cecil B. DeMille stars Claudette Colbert as the cunning Queen of the Nile who, wielding her beauty like a weapon, lures Roman leaders Julius Caesar (Warren William) and Marc Antony (Henry Wilcoxon) into her web of royal deception and betrayal.

Featuring a digitally remastered picture and all-new bonus features, full specs follow:

* Full Frame
* English and Spanish DD2.0 Mono
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* Claudette Colbert: Queen of the Silver Screen
* Cecil B. DeMille: Hollywood's Epic Director
* Forbidden Film: The Production Code Era
* Feature Commentary with Filmmaker F.X. Feeney
* Theatrical Trailer

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The film was previously available in the CB DeMille boxset with 5 other movies: The Sign of the Cross, Four Frightened People, The Crusades, and Union Pacific. Hopefully this means Universal will revisit those titles as well, along with many more in their film library.

The cover shows that Universal is going with yet another banner name that likely won't live long: Backlot Series. In addition, a Pre-Code Hollywood Collection will also be released and contain 6 pre-code films (The Cheat, Merrily We Go to Hell, Hot Saturday, Torch Singer, Murder at the Vanities, and Search for Beauty) and the "Forbidden Film: The Production Code Era" featurette that's also in the Cleopatra DVD.

albert

I would love to see this, but I'd rather Fox bring the 3-Disc set of the Liz Taylor version back into print.

First Howard The Duck, now Cleopatra? Now that Phantasm II R1 DVD has GOT to be around the corner!

my chicken is infected wrote:I would love to see this, but I'd rather Fox bring the 3-Disc set of the Liz Taylor version back into print.

So true. I was pissed off at Fox when they suddenly re-released it with just the two movie discs and commentary, cause I assumed it'd be a regular re-release of the three-disc in slimmer packaging, or with the movie on a flipper and the bonus disc contained. Thankfully I found the three-disc version at a GameStop for only $9.99 so I picked that up instead.

Mickeyfan1990 wrote:First Howard The Duck, now Cleopatra? Now that Phantasm II R1 DVD has GOT to be around the corner!

I don't quite see how Howard the Duck or Phantasm II ties in with the greatness of Cleopatra, but whatever floats your boat, Mickeyfan.

albert

Mickeyfan1990 wrote:First Howard The Duck, now Cleopatra? Now that Phantasm II R1 DVD has GOT to be around the corner!

Dream a little dream, it's never going to happen.

Escapay wrote:

Mickeyfan1990 wrote:First Howard The Duck, now Cleopatra? Now that Phantasm II R1 DVD has GOT to be around the corner!

I don't quite see how Howard the Duck or Phantasm II ties in with the greatness of Cleopatra

Lazario wrote:

Escapay wrote: I don't quite see how Howard the Duck or Phantasm II ties in with the greatness of Cleopatra

Yes, I'm aware of that connection

But companies dip into their catalogue and re-release titles all the time. And neither film are remotely related to Phantasm II aside from its distributor (Universal). So I don't quite understand the Mickeyfan1990 logic of "If Universal releases Howard the Duck and Cleopatra, then they must be working on Phantasm II as well!" I might as well say "Yay! Disney re-released Mary Poppins a couple weeks ago and since Pete's Dragon is going OOP it'll get a re-release too! That *must* mean Song of the South is next!"

albert

Well, the reason is that Cleopatra and Howard The Duck were never released on R1 DVD before until this year. Song Of The South is different because of it's history. Phantasm II has yet to be released in the US. And while I do have the UK and Japan inports, and the 2-Disc bootleg, is just isn't the same as having a R1 of Phantasm II on the shelf. It's basically common sense.

Mickeyfan1990 wrote:Well, the reason is that Cleopatra and Howard The Duck were never released on R1 DVD before until this year.

Cleopatra has been released before, in a boxset with other CB DeMille films.

And your reasoning still doesn't make sense. Every new announcement of a previously-unavailable movie on DVD doesn't mean that Phantasm II is next on the radar.

albert

I'm as big of a DeMille fan as they come, and I bought that previous box set on the first day, but I'm not sure if I want to do any more double dipping on DVD. If this was a Blu Ray release, it would be a must have.