THE SHOOTER / HIDDEN ASSASSIN (Ted Kotcheff, 1995)

[Jox]

Here are the 5 Retro Gold 63 editions:



Special features include:
- Booklet
- Uncut exended version
- Short US version
- Interview with Dolph Lundgren
- Interview with composer Stefano Mainetti

[JuV]

Anyone here planning on picking up this Retro Gold release? I'm tempted to get it myself (especially because it includes both cuts!), but a bit worried about what the "proper HD" version will look like. And I'm guessing they'll stick to their usual €40 price tag as well (plus €13 shipping).

[Jox]

I feel like you, and will probably get one to check the longer version (and the extras)...

[Jox]

Standard Blu-ray October 25, also with the longer version apparently:
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Dolph-Lundgren/dp/B0D9J1CN4B

[JuV]

Just received my mediabook (variant B)! The quality of the mediabook itself is decent, nothing too special if I have to be honest. The upcoming standard Blu-ray release linked by Jox above is probably a better purchase (assuming it uses the same transfer).

The runtime of the US version listed on the back, however, is incorrect. On the back it says 92 minutes, but the actual runtime is 89 minutes (88:52 to be specific). I believe the US version was always around the 89 minutes, and not the 92 minutes listed on the back. But I'm sure Jox knows more about this.

The transfer of both versions is different as well. Top is the longer version, bottom is the US version.





Unfortunately I already got rid of my old German Blu-ray, so I can't compare the two. But from memory that was just an upscale, so this new release looks a lot better. Here's some more screenshots (from the longer version)

[Jox]

The runtime of the US version listed on the back, however, is incorrect. On the back it says 92 minutes, but the actual runtime is 89 minutes (88:52 to be specific). I believe the US version was always around the 89 minutes, and not the 92 minutes listed on the back.

That's right (92 min is wrong).

The transfer of both versions is different as well.

Sure, I assume they used the US transfer that was released in a bundle pack, and obviously a transfer from another source for the longer version (which I guess must be the one available on Prime in some territories).

In my opinion the longer version looks much better, the colors and lighting / brightness more natural, but on another hand I'm puzzled about the framing on the longer cut, which is not the same as the US version (which is a bit wider)...

Unfortunately I already got rid of my old German Blu-ray, so I can't compare the two. But from memory that was just an upscale, so this new release looks a lot better.

The previous German release was indeed an upscale, and a bad one.

By the way, I don't remember if I said it here before but when I interviewed Ted Kotcheff, he was totally unaware that there were two cuts of the movie out there, the longer one being the only one he knew of.

[JuV]

In my opinion the longer version looks much better, the colors and lighting / brightness more natural, but on another hand I'm puzzled about the framing on the longer cut, which is not the same as the US version (which is a bit wider)...

The longer cut looks like they color corrected/graded the footage. while the US cut looks more like raw footage. I am also confused about the different framing. No idea why that's the case.

By the way, I don't remember if I said it here before but when I interviewed Ted Kotcheff, he was totally unaware that there were two cuts of the movie out there, the longer one being the only one he knew of.

I didn't know that! Probably something the distributor did without ever telling him?

[Jox]

By the way, I don't remember if I said it here before but when I interviewed Ted Kotcheff, he was totally unaware that there were two cuts of the movie out there, the longer one being the only one he knew of.

I didn't know that! Probably something the distributor did without ever telling him?

Yeah, it's almost certain Miramax/Dimension did it, they were notorious for re-cutting certain movies they distributed...

[Jox]

R.I.P. John Ashton
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/john ... 236159327/