EL CID, ROMAN EMPIRE Finally Set For Release!

[AndyDursin]

...as part of Weinstein's new DVD roll-out plan.

Weinstein Co. launches three DVD labels
Miriam Collection, Kaleidoscope, Dimension Extreme to feature DVD premieres
By Susanne Ault 5/24/2007

MAY 24 | The Weinstein Co. and its Dimension Films have launched three new direct-to-DVD labels: classics specialist The Miriam Collection, family-friendly Kaleidoscope TWC and horror/thriller/sci-fi hybrid Dimension Extreme.

All three labels will be serviced to retail by Genius Products, TWC’s distribution partner. Product from these labels will be targeted toward DVD, but also might get theatrical premieres. Initial street dates and pricing for titles from Miriam, Kaleidoscope and Dimension Extreme have not yet been specified.

Recently hired TWC DVD czar Barry Gordon will oversee the labels, working closely with Genius CEO
Trevor Drinkwater.

All resulting labels' releases are slated to be offered exclusively for rental at Blockbuster, as part of TWC and Genius' ongoing pact with the chain inked in November 2006. Sell-through copies will be widely distributed at retail, per the Blockbuster arrangement.

The first release from Miriam will be 1961 film El Cid, which has not yet streeted on DVD. El Cid stars Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren and explores Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz. Others in the Miriam pipeline are Fall of the Roman Empire with Loren, 55 Days at Peking with Heston and Circus World with John Wayne.

Additionally slated for the label are Pedro Almodovar’s Dark Habits and What Have I Done to Deserve This? and Akira Kurosawa’s Madadayo.

TWC chiefs Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein also plan to personally hand-pick an as of yet untitled release, all proceeds of which will be given to charity.

The Miriam label is named after the Weinsteins’ mother.

Under Kaleidoscope, upcoming titles include CG-animated The Nutty Professor, which includes voiceover work by the original star of the franchise, Jerry Lewis. Also coming are Unstable Fables, a CG-animated line of titles produced by the Jim Henson Co., which will cover legendary kids stories Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs and The Tortoise and The Hare.

Others on deck for the family label are Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil, a sequel to TWC’s theatrical Hoodwinked; Igor, featuring the voices of John Cusack and Jeremy Piven, among others; and Escape From Planet Earth, from the filmmakers of Happy Feet.

Under Dimension comes Pulse 2, a sequel to the Kristen Bell-starring theatrical; Black Sheep, a horror comedy about genetic engineering gone wrong; Dirty Sanchez, based on the MTV Europe series; and Rogue from Wolf Creek filmmaker Greg McLean.

“When Harvey and I formed TWC, one of our main priorities was to build a strong, valuable and diverse film library filled with a unique combination of quality theatrical releases and niche direct-to-DVD titles,” said Bob Weinstein. “The launch of The Miriam Collection, Kaleidoscope and Dimension Extreme enables us to continue doing just that.”

TWC executive VP of home entertainment Gordon added, “Keeping our quality high coupled with innovative marketing and promotion, we will develop these labels into well known trade and consumer brands that will provide long-term equity for the company.”

In other TWC developments, the company has partnered with Exodus Film Group to jointly develop, produce and finance a series of CG-animated films, DVDs and TV series.

TWC retains all distribution rights worldwide.

Igor, already picked for the Kaleidoscope DVD label, is the first result of this collaboration. The film follows the big dreams of a hunchbacked lab assistant and will premiere theatrically on Oct. 24.


http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6446466.html

[Paul MacLean]

Why has it taken so long for El Cid to get properly released on DVD?

[Eric W.]

Why has it taken so long for El Cid to get properly released on DVD?

Excellent question!

[AndyDursin]

Why has it taken so long for El Cid to get properly released on DVD?

It's either been a rights issue or the Weinsteins have just been sitting on it...perhaps a little bit of both. At the beginning it was certainly a rights issue with EL CID and all of those other films the Weinsteins now have control of in the U.S.

[tjguitar85]

Well I know the scores rock---but are the films any good?

Is this going to be a normal DVD release ($10-$15) or more of a collector's item sort of thing?

[Eric Paddon]

Long overdue for all four Bronston films! I'll still have to keep the Criterion LD of "El Cid" but it'll be nice to have DVD versions of all four films now (and the other three LDs can be disposed of).

[Jedbu]

It will be nice to finally have these out officially. I have Portugese DVDs of EL CID and ROMAN EMPIRE. Neither one have the overtures, intermissions or entr'actes, and RE is in 1:85, but at least this copy of EC does not have the awful fringing that the Miramax reissue had (it was in the second half of the first theatrical reel and it was in the Criterion LD, as well), and it is 2:35.
There's a website that is offering bootlegs of these films on DVD-taken from the LDs-but I will forget that now. EC is one of my favorite Rozsa scores-the scene at the end when the narrator says "the Cid passed into history" and that pipe organ comes in as the sunlight breaks through is one of the great moments in cinema, and RE has my favorite Tiomkin score and just an unbeatable cast.

Thanks for the good news!

[AndyDursin]

Just to follow up on these two classics, both have been released on Blu-Ray in Germany.

Each is essentially a HD version of the DVDs that were issued in the US -- and both gain appreciably from the move to high-def (in spite of the issues the transfers exhibit at times). The commentaries have been retained on each disc as well.

The only caveat is that both are Region B so you would need a region-free BD player in order to watch them.

But, if you've got one, I highly recommend each -- they're both pretty cheap, especially if you're happy with the 1-disc Blu-Ray versions (the 2 disc sets are twice as expensive and contain the corresponding special features DVD from the US release):

[Jedbu]

Aaaauuuugggghhhh! Region B!!!!

[AndyDursin]

I know, I know. But alas, it's likely all we're going to see of them.

I just picked up the other Bronston flicks, CIRCUS WORLD and 55 DAYS TO PEKING, off Ebay. Apparently the Korean versions are 16:9 and look pretty good from what I've been told (and they're dirt cheap too).

[Eric Paddon]

I just made do with transferring my LD's of "55 Days At Peking" and "Circus World" to DVD-R.

[Jedbu]

Yeah, I bought those two Korean transfers, too. 55 DAYS looks better but too bad the overtures, intermissions, entr'actes and exit music is missing (the one for 55 DAYS actually has good song by Andy Williams as exit music) from both. I guess we should call ourselves lucky that the two that Genius released made it out before they went under.

[AndyDursin]

I just made do with transferring my LD's of "55 Days At Peking" and "Circus World" to DVD-R.

I figured with the 16:9 enhancement and the price under $10 together it was a decent package deal. Better than the proverbial nothing lol.

[Eric Paddon]

The Laser Discs had the Overtures/Intermissions/Exit Musics which makes me glad I stuck with them!

[AndyDursin]

Well that's a definite plus! On the other hand the last thing I can tolerate in HD is watching non-anamorphic widescreen content from a DVD, much less transferred from VHS or laserdisc. I mean, I love my laserdiscs (or I used to), but when it comes to high-def if there's no 16:9 enhancement and it's in widescreen (i.e. 4:3 widescreen) it's basically a no-go for me. Even full-screen 4:3 content looks better in HD than non-anamorphic widescreen, even on my Oppo which does a great job of upscaling.