Arrow June Releases: MAJOR DUNDEE 2-Disc Limited Edition, Argento UHD

[AndyDursin]

In addition to THE BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMMAGE in 4K, Arrow announced MAJOR DUNDEE for both the US and UK markets.

At first glance, doesn't look like a lot of difference between this, content wise, and the Imprint but there's the high likelihood of better compression with Arrow's release.

TWO-DISC LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS

The 136-minute Extended Version of the film from a 4K scan, as well as the original 122-minute Theatrical Version
60-page perfect bound booklet featuring new writing by Farran Nehme, Roderick Heath and Jeremy Carr plus select archive material
Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
Fold out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
DISC ONE - EXTENDED VERSION

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a 4K scan by Sony Pictures
DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio with new score by Christopher Caliendo
Lossless original mono audio with original score by Daniele Amfitheatrof
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with Nick Redman, David Weddle, Garner Simmons, Paul Seydor
Audio commentary by historian and critics Glenn Erickson & Alan K. Rode
Audio commentary by historian and critic Glenn Erickson
Moby Dick on Horseback, a brand new visual essay by David Cairns
Passion & Poetry: The Dundee Odyssey, a feature length documentary about the making of Major Dundee by Mike Siegel, featuring James Coburn, Senta Berger, Mario Adorf, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Gordon Dawson
Passion & Poetry: Peckinpah Anecdotes, nine actors talk about working with legendary director Sam Peckinpah, featuring Kris Kristofferson, Ernest Borgnine, James Coburn, David Warner, Ali MacGraw, L.Q. Jones, Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong, Isela Vega
Mike Siegel: About the Passion & Poetry Project, in which filmmaker Mike Siegel talks about his beginnings and his ongoing historical project about director Sam Peckinpah
Extensive stills galleries, featuring rare on set, behind the scenes, and marketing materials
2005 re-release trailer

DISC TWO - THEATRICAL VERSION (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE)

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a 2K scan
Lossless original mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Riding for a Fall, a vintage behind the scenes featurette
Extended/deleted scenes
Silent Outtakes
Select extended/deleted scenes and outtakes with commentary by historian and critic Glenn Erickson giving context on how they were intended to appear in Peckinpah’s vision of the film
Original US, UK and German theatrical trailers
Stills gallery

[Eric Paddon]

The only difference I'm seeing content wise is that two commentaries by Glenn Erickson are listed whereas Imprint only lists one (though I have to confess I thought Erickson's one on the Imprint was a solo commentary but the box on Imprint says it's Erickson/Rode).

I was quite happy with the Imprint release, but I may just decide for the heck of it to double-dip for a low price. At any rate, this proves once again the consensus of just how inadequate and worthless Twilight Time's release was despite all the spin it's defenders put on it.

[AndyDursin]

Might be worth selling off the Imprint release for a little extra cash. Arrow's encoding and presentation -- as much as their heavy PC sermonizing in their booklets and such (worse than Criterion's) has become an irritant -- is as good as it gets.

[Eric Paddon]

Since I ended up with two copies of the Imprint (because I ordered from Deep Discount and Via Vision. The latter came more than a month after Deep Discount) I just listed the second sealed one on e-bay.

An indicator of how seldom I sell an object? When e-bay made me go through the "confirm your identity" process the address they had listed was my grad school address which became out of date in June 1999!

[Edmund Kattak]

Since I ended up with two copies of the Imprint (because I ordered from Deep Discount and Via Vision. The latter came more than a month after Deep Discount) I just listed the second sealed one on e-bay.

An indicator of how seldom I sell an object? When e-bay made me go through the "confirm your identity" process the address they had listed was my grad school address which became out of date in June 1999!

A good move. It's another testament that if you sell it for at least more than you paid for it, then some risks pay off. I bought that restored LAWRENCE OF ARABIA collector's BD boxed set back in 2016 for $29 off Amazon and never opened it. I just sold it on eBay last month for $90, as I see that people were selling new copies for more than that. I'm not greedy, but all told $50 profit for something I payed way less for was worth it for my available shelf space.

As far as MAJOR DUNDEE, I am not familiar with this movie at all. I don't know what this new Arrow set is going to retail for, but the pictures above look nice. I like Heston, so maybe I'll see some for of the film and give it some thought.

[Eric Paddon]

Dundee to me is a film of great potential wasted. I have never seen a movie that has such a terrific first half and then falls apart completely in the second half due to a poor script and lack of proper narrative. Of course a lot of ideas that were originally envisioned for the film sadly got cut or never realized, but even with all that, Peckinpah still didn't deliver on a strong second half of the film. But unfortunately in the years since, the Peckinpah fanboys have spent more time whitewashing him of all responsibility for why the film went off course and instead blaming the producers-studio and fixating on the music score, which while certainly flawed (thanks in part to an inappropriate uptempo title song by the Mitch Miller Chorus) should not have been replaced by a fan-boy score 40 years later in the longer preview cut of the film. TT's initial release of this film on Blu-Ray was a total travesty and thankfully Glenn Erickson came to the rescue to do it right so the option of the original score on the preview cut (which should really be the only version as the final US theatrical cut was simply a hack-job) was finally restored.

[AndyDursin]

Amazon's price is down to $29.99

It's definitely a worthwhile pick-up over the Twilight Time disc.