While we await word of what movie trailers we can expect to see at Super Bowl 2020, here are some classic films coming to bluray this week from our wonderful friends at Scream Factory!
Big Trouble in Little China
Synopsis from the Press Release:
Kurt Russell (Escape from New York, The Hateful Eight) stars as Jack Burton, a tough-talking truck driver whose life goes into a supernatural tailspin when his best friend’s fiancée is kidnapped in John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. Jack, who suddenly finds himself in a murky, danger-filled world beneath San Francisco’s Chinatown, where Lo Pan, a 2,000-year-old magician, mercilessly rules an empire of spirits. Facing down a host of unearthly terrors, Jack battles through Lo Pan’s dark domain in a full-throttle, action-riddled ride to rescue the girl.
Adam Says:
Big Trouble is one of those movies that may not have set the Box Office on fire, but an entire generation of children discovered it on video (myself included) and elevated it to the widely-acclaimed, pop culture masterpiece that it’s recognized as today. John Carpenter must be truly pissed at how often that happened to his movies; consequences of being truly ahead of your time. This Scream Factory Collector’s Edition I feel, more than any of their others, is a direct Christmas gift to all those kids that have cherished this film for the last three decades.
First off, you have a bonus blu-ray that is nothing but interviews; there must be close to two dozen here, covering most of the principal cast and crew and even an interview with Drew Struzan on that iconic poster. Second, on the main disc you have the full array of extras including multiple commentaries, isolated score, trailers, the crazy music video John Carpenter made, and the movie itself. Finally, and in my opinion greatest, on the main disc you also have a huge collection of deleted material and an extended ending.
Big Trouble moves as a frantic pace; so much so that you might not catch all the plot details as you’re riding along with the action. As stated in the title cards on the deleted scenes, there weren’t so much scenes cut from the film as pieces of dialogue cut in favor of maintaining that tremendous velocity. Watching these longer versions of the scenes gives you a lot more background, side characters are further developed, and the whole universe is expanded. If you’ve watched this movie dozens of times and love it; it is a real treat to be able to add this excised information and character back into the story.
Special Features Include:
Disc 1:
- NEWAudio Commentary with producer Larry Franco
- NEWAudio Commentary with special effects artist Steve Johnson, moderated by filmmaker Anthony C. Ferrante
- Audio Commentary with director John Carpenter and actor Kurt Russell
- Isolated Score
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Vintage Audio Interview with John Carpenter
- Electronic Press Kit – interviews and profiles
- Gag Reel
- Music Video
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- Extended Ending
- Photo Galleries – movie stills, posters and lobby cards, publicity photos and behind-the-scenes photos
Disc 2:
- NEW You’re the Hero– an interview with actor Dennis Dun
- NEW The Soul of Lo Pan – an interview with actor James Hong
- NEW Able to Be Myself– an interview with actor Donald Li
- NEW The Tao of Thunder– an interview with actor Carter Wong
- NEWThe Tao of Rain– an interview with actor Peter Kwong
- NEW The Hatchet Man Speaks– an interview with actor Al Leong
- NEW Damn Wiley Prescott– an interview with writer W.D. Richter
- NEWIt Was A Western Ghost Story – an interview with writer Gary Goldman
- NEWThe Poetry of Motion – an interview with associate producer/martial arts choreographer James Lew
- NEWInto the Mystic Night – an interview with The Coupe De Ville’s member Nick Castle
- NEWSince We Were Kids – an interview with second unit director/The Coupe De Ville’s member Tommy Lee Wallace
- NEWLove and Art – a conversation with movie poster artist Drew Struzan
- Return to Little China – an interview with director John Carpenter
- Being Jack Burton – an interview with actor Kurt Russell
- Carpenter and I – an interview with director of photography Dean Cundey
- Producing Big Trouble – an interview with producer Larry Franco
- Staging Big Trouble – an interview with stuntman Jeff Imada
- Interview with visual effects artist Richard Edlund
- Vintage Featurette
Synopsis from the Press Release:
Experience the ultimate in horror The Fly Collection, featuring 1958’s The Fly starring Vincent Price, The Return of the Fly, in which the son of the original scientist continues his father’s work and The Curse of the Fly, in which a woman finds she’s married into the wrong family. David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly electrified audiences with its ground-breaking, gooey effects and the riveting performance by Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle, a scientist whose teleporting experiment takes a tragic toll. The hair-raising sequel to the remake stars Eric Stoltz as Seth Brundle’s son, who is beginning to show the effects of his father’s experiment.
Adam Says:
The very first thing that hits your eye is the box art for this collection. All previous posters and art for the 1986 The Fly are some kind of muted, minimalist, and monochromatic imagery. The Fly Collection outer box sports this super-alive purple and green art featuring the characters from all five of the films contained within. Then, as with the other collections, the individual cases have the more familiar poster art.
The 1986 The Fly and The Fly II feature some new interviews but much of the extras are ported over from previous releases. The original trilogy of films has very little in the way of extras at all. This is most likely due to their age, being produced well before the era where bonus features were even a thing and much of the cast has since passed. However, that ultimately matters little for a collection that has been so long anticipated and desired. The Fly II and Curse of the Fly appear on blu-ray in North America for the first time here and this is the first time all the films have been collected in HD. This collection is without question a must have for all horror fans.
Special Features Include:
Disc 1:
THE FLY (1958)
- NEW Audio Commentary with author/film historian Steve Haberman and filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr
- Audio Commentary with actor David Hedison and film historian David Del Valle
- Biography: Vincent Price
- Fly Trap: Catching a Classic
- Fox Movietone News
- Theatrical Trailer
Disc 2:
RETURN OF THE FLY
- NEW Audio Commentary with actor David Frankham
- NEW Audio Commentary with author/film historian Tom Weaver
- Audio Commentary with actor Brett Halsey and film historian David Del Valle
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spot
- Still Gallery
Disc 3:
THE CURSE OF THE FLY
- NEW Audio Commentary with author/film historian Steve Haberman and filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr
- NEW interview with actress Mary Manson
- NEW interview with continuity Renee Glynee
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spot
- Still Gallery
Disc 4:
THE FLY (1986)
- NEW Audio Commentary with author/film historian William Beard
- NEW The Meshuggener Scientist– an interview with executive producer Mel Brooks
- NEW Beauty and the Beast – an interview with producer Stuart Cornfeld
- NEW A Tragic Opera– an interview with composer Howard Shore
- NEW David’s Eyes – an interview with cinematographer Mark Irwin
- NEW interview with casting director Deirdre Bowen
- Audio Commentary with director David Cronenberg
- Fear of the Flesh: The Making of THE FLY– covering all 3 stages of the production – Larva, Pupa and Metamorphosis
- The Brundle Museum of Natural Historywith Chris Walas and Bob Burns
- Deleted Scenes with Storyboard and Script versions
- Extended Scenes
- Alternate Ending
- Test Footage (Main Titles, Lighting and Makeup Effects)
- Vintage featurette/Profile on David Cronenberg
- Still Galleries (Publicity, Behind-The-Scenes, Concept Art and Visual Effects)
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- George Langelaan’s short story
- Charles Edward Pouge’s Original Screenplay
- David Cronenberg’s Screenplay Rewrite
- Magazine articles with photos and video
- Trivia Track
- Two Easter Eggs
Disc 5:
THE FLY II (1989)
- NEW Fly in the Ointment – an interview with producer Stuart Cornfeld
- NEW Original Visions – an interview with screenwriter Mick Garris
- NEW Version 2.0 – an interview with screenwriter Ken Wheat
- NEW Big and Gothic – an interview with composer Christopher Young
- NEW Pretty Fly for A Fly Guy – aninterview with special effects artist Tom Sullivan
- NEW interview with cinematographer Robin Vidgeon
- Interview with director Chris Walas
- Interview with producer Steven-Charles Jaffe
- Audio Commentary with director Chris Walas and film historian Bob Burns
- Transformations: Looking Back at The Fly II
- The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood’s Scariest Insect
- Video Production Journal – a behind-the-scenes look at the special effects
- Composer’s Master Class: Christopher Young
- Storyboard to Film Comparisons with optional commentary by director Chris Walas
- Vintage Featurette
- Extended Press Kit Interviews with Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga and Chris Walas
- Alternate Ending
- Deleted Scene
- Teaser Trailer
- Theatrical Trailer
- Still Gallery
- Storyboard Gallery
Adam Ruhl is a writer and life long Cinephile. He is the Executive
Cinema Editor of Pop Culture Beast’s Austin branch; covering festivals,
conventions, and new releases. When not filing reports, Adam can be
found stalking Alamo Drafthouse Programmers for leads on upcoming
DrafthouseFilms titles. Adam once blocked Harry Knowles entrance to a
theater until he was given extra tickets to a Roman Polanski movie.