Tag: scarface

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DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD & Blu-ray Releases: Monday 5th September 2011

DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS

Once Upon A Time in the West (Paramount): Landmark 1969 Sergio Leone Western about the struggle to control water in a desert town which involves various characters: a mysterious loner (Charles Bronson), a ruthless killer (Henry Fonda), a bandit (Jason Robards) and a widow (Claudia Cardinale). Sumptuously shot in widescreen with Leone’s trademark visual flair, it also features a timeless score from Ennio Morricone and a script co-written by Leone, Dario Argento and Bernardo Bertolucci. This new Blu-ray features the theatrical and ‘restored’ cut, which are branched together, and the extras are ported over from the last DVD, with over an hour of featurettes and a great audio commentary featuring Sir Christopher Frayling, John Carpenter, Alex Cox, Sheldon Hall, John Milius and Claudia Cardinale. [Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon UK]

Kind Hearts and Coronets (Optimum Home Entertainment): Vintage 1949 Ealing comedy about an outcast aristocrat (Dennis Price) who murders several members of a rich family, most of whom are played by Alec Guinness in a remarable performance. Directed by Robert Hamer, this version has been digitally restored and features an audio commentary by Peter Bradshaw, Terence Davies and Matthew Guinness (son of Alec), an audio interview with cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, a 1993 TV documentary about Dennis Price and an interesting Radio 3 documentary by Simon Heffer. [Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon UK]

13 Assassins (Artificial Eye): Epic samurai film set in 1830s Japan where an evil young lord is pursued by a secret team of assassins. Directed by Takashi Miike, it stars Kōji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yūsuke Iseya and was co-produced by Jeremy Thomas. Violent and stylish, it ranks amongst the director’s finest work, although viewers of a nervous disposition should be warned that it is not for the faint-hearted. [Buy it on Blu-ray and DVD from Amazon UK]

The Panic in Needle Park (Second Sight Films): The film which provided Al Pacino with his breakout role is also a vivid glimpse into the drug culture of New York in the early 1970s. Directed by Jerry Schatzberg, it charts the relationship between a small-time hustler (Pacino) and a drifting woman (Kitty Winn) as they live amongst a group of heroin addicts. [Read our full review here] [Buy it on DVD from Amazon UK]

Scarface (Universal): The violent 1983 crime drama about the rise of Cuban immigrant Tony Montana (Al Pacino) into a Miami druglord was initially shunned on release but has gathered a huge fanbase over the last 30 years. Directed by Brian De Palma and scripted by Oliver Stone, this violent update of the 1932 crime classic of the same name has a certain intensity and fine supporting roles for Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Robert Loggia. [Buy it on Blu-ray and DVD on Amazon UK]

Das Boot (Sony Pictures Home Ent.): Gripping 1981 drama about the crew on board a German submarine in the dying days of World War II. Establishing Wolfgang Petersen as an action director, it was the most expensive German film of its time ($12 million) and was adapted from the experiences of photographer Lothar-Guenther Buchheim (Herbert Gronemeyer). Starring Jürgen Prochnow, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch and Martin Semmelrogge, the Blu-ray features the 208 minute director’s cut and the original theatrical 149 minute version. [Buy it on Blu-ray and DVD from Amazon UK]

Boyz N the Hood (Sony Pictures Home Ent.): This 1991 drama about urban violence was a powerful debut from director John Singleton. It follows the story of contrasting characters struggling in South Central LA: Tré (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and his father (Laurence Fishburne); and Doughboy (Ice Cube) and Ricky (Morris Chestnut), who live with their mother (Tyra Ferrell). A critical and commercial success, Singleton was just 23 years old when he directed it and was nominated for Best Director and Screenplay. [Buy it on Blu-ray and DVD from Amazon UK]

Cathy Come Home (2entertain): Landmark 1966 TV drama directed by Ken Loach which tells the story of a young couple, Cathy (Carol White) and Reg (Ray Brooks) who struggle with poverty and unemployment in Britain. The documentary techniques used by Loach and its unflinching look at the darker edges of society meant it provoked a major public debate. [Buy it on DVD from Amazon]

ALSO OUT

A Little Bit of Heaven (EV)
Cobra (Warner Home Video)
Demolition Man (Warner Home Video)
Dexter: Season 5 (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Doubt (Miramax)
Fast and Furious 1-5 (Universal Pictures)
Fast and Furious 5 (Universal Pictures)
Fortress of War (G2 Pictures)
Modern Family: Complete Season 1 (20th Century Fox Home Ent.)
Modern Family: Seasons 1 and 2 (20th Century Fox Home Ent.)
Priest (Sony Pictures Home Ent.)
The Last Airbender (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Water for Elephants (20th Century Fox Home Ent.)

> UK Cinema Releases for Friday 2nd September 2011
> The Best DVD & Blu-ray releases of 2010

Categories
DVD & Blu-ray

Scarface on Blu-ray

Universal have announced the Blu-ray release of Brian De Palma’s Scarface on Blu-ray in September.

The 1983 crime drama charts the rise of Cuban gangster Tony Montana (Al Pacino) as he arrives in Florida with his friend Manny (Steven Bauer) and starts working for a local crime boss (Robert Loggia).

Written by Oliver Stone and featuring a score by Giorgio Moroder, the film has grown in popularity and influence over the years (especially with footballers, rappers and people who work on Wall St) with the AFI listing it in their top gangster films of all time in 2008.

For this edition, the main selling point is the hi-def transfer, a 7.1 audio mix and a new batch of exclusive extras created especially for this release.

Some of the bonus features are carried over from the previous DVD version, but let’s hope they also keep the impossibly funky music bed which was on that menu.

BONUS FEATURES (*Denotes all new content)

  • *The Scarface Phenomenon: This all-new documentary presents Scarface as a unique phenomenon in cinema history. It explores how a film plagued by controversy leading up to its release has become a Hollywood classic, influencing a whole new generation of filmmakers and leaving a lasting imprint on popular culture.
  • Deleted Scenes
  • The World of Tony Montana: Experience the world of the ultimate gangster and hear from experts on the real world violence, fear and paranoia that surrounds a drug lord.
  • The Rebirth: Director Brian De Palma, producer Martin Bregman, actor Al Pacino, and screenwriter Oliver Stone revisit the history of Scarface, from the inspiration of the original Howard Hawks classic to the evolution of the script.
  • The Acting: Join the filmmakers, Al Pacino and Steven Bauer to discover how each of the roles was cast and how Brian De Palma worked with his actors to get unforgettable performances
  • The Creating: A fascinating, controversial and definitive journey through the making of the film, which began with the production being forced to leave its initial location in Florida. Discover how the chainsaw scene was filmed, learn about the production design, the photography, and the struggle to get the film an “R” rating in the US.
  • Scarface: The TV Version: A revealing and hilarious montage of film clips comparing the theatrical version to the network television version of Scarface.
  • The Making of Scarface the Video Game: Immerse yourself in the world of Scarface in this behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the video game.•
  • *U-CONTROL Features
    • Scarface Scoreboard: Watch Scarface like never before. Keep track of the number of times the “F” word is used and monitor the bullets fired.
    • Picture in Picture: Access interview footage of Brian De Palma, Al Pacino, Screenwriter Oliver Stone, and others without interruption to the movie experience.
    • Also featured is a scene comparison between the 1983 version of Scarface and Howard Hawks’ original film.
  • *BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Centre through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers and more.
  • POCKET BLU™ APP: Universal’s groundbreaking pocket BLU™ app uses iPhone™, iPod® touch, Smartphone, Android™, PC and Macintosh to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-ray™ player and offers advanced features such as:
    • ADVANCED REMOTE CONTROL: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.
    • VIDEO TIMELINE: Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the movie.
    • MOBILE-TO-GO: Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs to save to mobile devices or to stream from anywhere there’s a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy exclusive content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
    • KEYBOARD: Enter data into a Blu-ray™ player with your device’s easy and intuitive keyboard to facilitate such Blu-ray™ features as chatting with friends and sending messages.
> More on Scarface at Wikipedia and IMDb
> Original trailer
Categories
Amusing Viral Video

Scar Wars: Scarface meets Star Wars

Someone has done a mash up of Harrison Ford’s most famous roles (Han Solo and Indiana Jones) with some Scarface audio.

Categories
Amusing TV Viral Video

Badly dubbed films for TV

Have you ever laughed or sighed when a film on TV has a ridiculous piece of editing to replace ‘offensive’ language?

This Basic Instinct video that compares the original film with the badly dubbed version altered for sensitive TV audiences.

Check out the differences between Scarface and the US TV cut (“this town is like one big chicken, just waiting to get plucked!”):

How about the safe-for-TV version of Die Hard 2? (“Hey turkey!”):

Or what about this scene from the TV edit of The Big Lebowski, with possibly the strangest substitute line ever? (“This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps!”)

And what about Casino, where the f-word is said 422 times?

This scene with De Niro and Pesci in the desert finds a way of avoiding it completely (“You better get your own fighting army pal!”):

Den of Geek has noted some other TV dubbing disasters:

Goodfellas: “Go fu*k your mother” bizarrely becomes “Go feel your mother”.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “Pardon my French but you’re an AARDVARK!'”(????)

Field of Dreams: “We were going to ask Ty Cobb to play, but none of us could stand that son of a squid”

Robocop: “You’re gonna a bad mothercrusher…”

Lethal Weapon: “We bury the funsters!”

The Last Boy Scout: “I POPPED your wife, and later I’m gonna POP her again”

If you know of any others, just leave them in the comments below.

> Melon Farmers reprint an official BBC response as to why Thelma and Louise was cut for TV
> Bad TV Edits
> More edited-for-TV movies at Den of Geek