Ultimate Dolph

Yes about German TV Cut -95 minutes long. Basically it is not just deleting dialogue scenes and bla bla bla as many can think, aka DigiDreams amateur cut. It has different opening credits order and it looks professional re-editing. Works perfect to me. John Woo likes many slow motion shots, scenes and in this cut fairly this stuff was deleted for pacing reasons. It is more action packed. Mostly they removed scenes from first 45-50 minutes of the movie ( they cut about 12 minutes, mainly scenes when crazy killer is first introduced by killing that couple in their apartment and the scene where he wants to poison Fred Williamson in the hospital and some ending extensions of already existed scenes that weren't so important and look very repetitive).
I suggest to watch this version, it looks more like a theatrical movie, not a TV show

Platinum Cult / Digidreams claim they have found a new master (still in SD, as BJ was edited in analog video and not from the 35mm elements) with which they reconstructed a 16/9 version to be released late February
https://www.facebook.com/PlatinumCultEd ... ZQ9MRVCtrl
https://www.platinumcultedition.com/pro ... 00-stueck/

But they have also completely redone the main titles with a new font:

Curious to see what this transfer will be like. Wouldn't be surprised if it's an upscale of their previous one, with a reframed 16:9 version.

Weird that they re-did the opening titles. Maybe somebody who owns their previous release(s) can confirm if those have that as well?

looks awful to me with this cheap looking new titles. The German TV Cut 95 minutes is the best option - better transfer and pacing

I’ll definetly buy this new one, looks better to me, including the titles, never liked the tv feeling of it, alao the title fonts looked cheaper (like taken from Windows 95 Paint Brush default fonts gallery) than those cleaner new ones.
Never understood why Woo got into TV and shoot actually like a Walker Texas Ranger 90s standard tv show.

It was an early contract that Woo had signed with Canadian company Alliance (JM) to direct two pilots for potential TV series he would then produce. So after FACE/OFF and the TV version of ONCE A THIEF, he was contractually obligated to helm a new feature-length pilot for them and BLACKJACK was the project that was chosen...

Although a big budget for TV, Woo had little time to deliver BLACKJACK, and no time to re-write the script as he pleased. Rumor as it that he didn't approve the final cut and had jumped on his next projects, a soccer commercial and then of course MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2...

Super excited about this new Blu, what's international shipping to UK like with this company?

Jox wrote: Although a big budget for TV, Woo had little time to deliver BLACKJACK, and no time to re-write the script as he pleased. Rumor as it that he didn't approve the final cut and had jumped on his next projects, a soccer commercial and then of course MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2...

It does strike me as a rambling cut, probably puffed up by the producers for maximum advertising breaks.

French promo poster for display in video stores

Japanese promo

Happy birthday, John Woo!



PS:
I wish we could find more set pics with Woo and Lundgren together

Did anybody end up getting the Digidreams Blu Ray? I ordered it in February and basically can't get a response from them

Same here and no response...


Today marks the 25th anniversary of the US rental VHS release:

Jox wrote:Today marks the 25th anniversary of the US rental VHS release:

We had to wait until August here, I really dug that UK VHS art.