"Back to the Future" coming to Blu-ray October 26, 2010

+1

If I can avoid it I will. It is bad enough with either a bonus DVD or a digital copy but when they come up with these triple-play crap...

As for BttF the UK edition doesn't have the DVD copies in their set, just the three BDs, so that is a good option. Similarly the UK Quadrilogy set of the X-men that I got a while back loses the copies while keeping all the extras.
As long as the discs work in one's own region, buying releases from another country can keep oneself copy-free and you may even save a few bucks in the process.

 

And superfans can buy the UK blu-ray with a bunch of interesting extra goodies:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003U5UQCE

I'm considering this, even though it would end up costing about $65 delivered to the US. But those bonus goodies are awfully interesting to me.

 

I took a quick glance at the discs and wasn't sure how to remove them. Any tips?

 

You have to bend them to the point of possible breakage (NOT KIDDING).

Seriously, you need to "bow" them to release the disc from plastic clip system. Worst pacaking technique I've ever seen.

 

It is very easy; just slide each disc towards the clips. The clips will move slightly and the disc come out very easily.

 

I like this package. If you know how to work it, you never have to bow the discs. Just slide each disc towards the clips. Very nice.

 

I'll give it a shot. Thanks. I didn't look at the packaging too closely, but are there safe removal instructions?

Is this typical for BluRay discs?

 

Thanks for that link. I went for it!

 

Are you serious about the "very nice"? Would you take the most valuable CD in a large early pressing collection and take it out and put in back in this freak-show contraption over and over again? Holy cow. Is packaging design that hard?

 

Wow.. I just finished part 1 an hour ago.

It was AMAZING!!!!!!!!! Looked & sounded incredible. I've seen this movie over a dozen
times and I've not gotten more out of it than tonight.

hmm.. not at all. bend the discs? you just pull them towards you, where the clips are like therockman said.

you're doing it wrong if you "bow" anything.

 

Newegg has this for $41.98 with free shipping. I just ordered mine.

 

I agree but the company's see this as a way to convince people that they are providing additional "value"--to me it's just a waste.

 

What was the total cost?

 

The reality is that it costs them maybe a buck to create three DVD-ROMs with the digital copies on them. In the grand scheme of things, this is nothing for a $80 collectors edition. In the studio's crazed-legal minds, they believe this will make people less inclined to try to copy their discs and/or steal from the internet if they get extra copies for their iPods and other portable devices.

No less than Steve Jobs famously said, "nobody wants to watch movies on an iPod," but he was wrong. If you've ever ridden a Japanese or European train and seen 150 people all staring at iPods watching TV shows and movies, you'd understand. Me, I think the screen is too small, even with an iPhone or iPod Touch, but I could definitely see taking a bicoastal flight and watching Back to the Future on an iPad-like device (or a laptop computer).

BTW, I agree with all the complaints about the packaging. They solved the problem of multi-disc DVD spindles ten years ago -- why do they keep trying to reinvent this? Insane.

 

I got mine on release day via Amazon. Bubble mailer, but no bubble wrap. I was surprised to see the slipcover not being part of the factory seal, but relieved that the fold-out digipak at least was. Yes, hands down, the trays for this are poorly designed. For the consumers who will likely damage their investment and have to hassle with a return/exchange, Universal should have included a simple instructional card inside the case to help consumers remove the discs, but I thankfully managed to figure it out rather quickly - there is no way in hell I was going to settle for having to bend the discs as many online reviewers have suggested!

I was one of the millions who saw this at the theatre in July of 85' and I also own the DVD trilogy. I have watched part 1 and 2 so far and several of the extras. My HDTV is limited to 37" and tops out at 720p, but this is easily the finest presentation of the trilogy I have ever seen and the whopping extras make this a steal for under $50. There is so much more detail that pops out at you and the sound is definitely improved, too, right from the moment you hear the various clocks, the Toyota radio commercial, the TV newscast regarding the stolen plutonium, the burning toaster, the mechanical dog food can opener and, well, you know the rest.

Just make sure you navigate to the outtakes section and watch Michael J. Fox become a latin homeboy who refers to his sidekick, Doc Brown as "puto". Very funny stuff. I should add that I am still baffled to this day how Fox was able to manage such a grueling schedule between shooting 'Family Ties' all day and 'BTTF' all night on 2-3 hours of sleep. He claims much of that period of his life was a blur, but IMO it was his best performance of the trilogy and I'm forever thankful that no one replaced him.

Looks like newegg's pricing has everyone else beat in the U.S. and since the Digital Copies are a "limited time" offer, does this mean we might have a secondary pressing (and a simpler tray design) in a year or so? Actually, the UK edition looks mighty tempting...damn damn!

Dan

 

Just picked up the Blu-Ray today. It's selling like hotcakes, at least at the places I've been to, and deservedly so--great package, plenty of extras, and I only scanned the first film, but it looks great.

The only problem I have is the much-hyped Eric Stoltz footage. It is NOT a stand-alone feature of this package. There's about a minute of it, really, and what footage there is gets spoken over; nothing is really heard in the scenes. It's simply contained within a featurette.

This is really disappointing. I guess people think that unfair comparisons to Fox would have resulted? I do understand that, but one, the film was completed without him and there's no changing that, and two, Eric has gone on to be a successful actor despite that incident. I'm not sure anyone could really compare Fox and Stoltz; they had such different approaches, and to compare them would just be unfair.

I really feel like the opportunity to showcase the footage is gone. Even watching what little there is, it's hard to see it as jarring in the age where SNL or You Tube or Funny Or Die reenactments are commonplace. It might have had an impact 10 or 15 years ago, but there's a part of my brain that doesn't respond in quite the same way. Rats.

Here's more of the story from Bob Gale:

http://www.cinemablend.com/dvdnews/...-On-The-Back-To-The-Future-Blu-Ray-27749.html



Dan

 

I've never really understood the interest or attraction of the Stoltz footage. So they were going to go with one guy, and ended up going with another...who cares? Maybe if it were Tom Cruise's audition for Marty, that would be a different story...

 

Well..to be fair, Stoltz isn't Cruise, but he's far from nobody. And, they shot *five weeks* with Eric. That's a lot of work!

Just my opinion, but the Stoltz footage is part of the history of the making of the film and deserves to be seen. And, I think it should be made plain to those interested in the footage that this is *not* a reason to spring for this set, though it's great otherwise.

Of course I understand if the filmmakers are trying to save the feelings of those affected by Eric's replacement, but why tease us like this? I half think they should have chucked the idea altogether; just seems like hype for the next anniversary edition.



Dan

 

Except they weren't "going to go" with one guy - they *did* go with one guy, for a whole 5 weeks. With Fox's performance so ingrained in my brain, I think it would be fascinating to see Stoltz's take on Marty McFly.

 

Bear in mind that no question, Michael J. Fox was the filmmakers' first choice, and they only went with Stoltz with some reluctance. I think Stoltz was the wrong choice for three reasons:

1) he didn't look 16 (despite being the same physical age as Fox, 23)

2) he was very tall (8" taller than Fox)

3) he didn't even remotely look like he could be the offspring of Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson.

And from a story/direction point of view, Stoltz is definitely intense and not as light-hearted and fun as Fox. Fox's comic timing and pacing were impeccable for the film.

But Stoltz was (and is) an absolutely terrific actor. One major drawback in the Blu-ray is that they should've had the guts to interview Stoltz for a couple of minutes and asked him about it. Kind of like the interview Eric Idle did with Dan Ackroyd as "The Man Who Gave Away the Rutles." Stoltz has had a very, very successful indie career, and he works steadily, so I'd bet he may not care about it at all today.

BTW, note that the filmmakers downplayed the truth, which was that the studio reportedly had to pay off Family Ties producer Gary David Goldberg and give him a development deal in order to get Fox's release. That, plus promise him that the nightly feature shoot wouldn't interfere with the TV series. The other rumor in the 1980s was that it was Spielberg who vetoed Stoltz upon his return to LA after being tied up with Temple of Doom and other films. I don't think you get 5 weeks into a shoot and then realize the actor is wrong -- I think Zemeckis was taking the heat off Spielberg and said he had made the decision.

And I'm still curious why Bob Gale never worked with Zemeckis again after Back to the Future III. In fact, Gale has done very, very little since the early 1990s. One hopes he's just living the good life and counting the royalties.

 

It's now $39.98 at Newegg with free shipping!

 

The regular edition blue ray from Amazon.UK is only $44.76 with standard shipping to the US. A wee bit more money, but I feel its worth it. The disc artwork is much nicer... and it has the regular push button disc release packaging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au5c-kOsCsw

 

I bought the UK tin and am very happy with my purchase. These look great in high def.

 

Let's see... the year Zemeckis won an Oscar for FORREST GUMP, Gale brought us the interactive "movie" MR. PAYBACK that required theaters to install hardware for audiences to vote on the story (and in my area was so poorly attended that I was allowed to sit through it several times, getting progressively more bored).

And then Gale's other major project was 2002's INTERSTATE 60, a feature film with some promise, but ultimately an inconsistent muddle.

I really liked the projects that Zemeckis and Gale worked on together (yeah, even 1941), and I would like to see them team up again someday.