MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (Gary Goddard, 1987)

[Jox]

Custom movie cover for "Your Sinclair" magazine featuring an article about the videogame

(click for high-res)

[Jox]

Warner just posted some clips for the Blu-ray release.

Is it me or they changed the color grading a bit?

[savagesketch]

Still seems a little dishonest calling it the "25th Anniversary Release" when there are zero additional special features that are different from the initial DVD release... even more disappointing considering that Warner Bros. had the opportunity to include some and declined. I think for this one I'll stick with the DVD...

[viendammage]

Went to Power-Con today in balmy Torrance, California. It was my first time attending this hybrid convention for He-Man, She-Ra and Thundercats fans. It was just about a perfect show for fans. You had just about all facets of the brands represented: cartoons, art, voice actors, staff and crew from the live action movie and of course, toys!

The second of three panels we checked out today was Masters of the Universe: Live the Adventure, consisting of director/writer Gary Goddard, Blade/weapons master, Anthony De Longis, Meg Foster/Evil-Lyn and Richard Szponder, the kid who won a sweepstakes to be in the movie and played Pigboy.

Everyone looks back pretty fondly in hindsight. Goddard reiterated the problems production went through and a few times when Cannon couldn't make payroll, Mattel stepped in to keep it going. They were intent on maintaining the brand.

Dolph related: De Longis had a month to train him in swordplay. Says Dolph was a natural athlete and champion kickboxer. Liked to swing those swords hard. After their initial training, they didn't see each other for a month. When they got back together to shoot the final fight had been moved up and their weeks of prep turned into one hour. De Longis was doubling Skeletor in the final battle that had to be retooled due to Skeltor's god helmet. But Dolph being a natural athlete and having a rapport with De Longis made it work.

As for the WB Blu-Ray we'll never see: A full documentary made during the making of the film supplemented with new footage/content. The Bryan Singer moderated interview/commentary. All of Bill Stout's design work. All they wanted was the cost of the documentary. WB said no. Goddard plans on releasing the documentary independently and maybe a book for all the designs/photos.

Goddard touched upon his original ending where the teens have an extended goodbye with He-Man, Teela, Man-at-Arms and Gwildor individually a la Dorthy saying goodbye in Wizard of OZ. Test audiences had cried during the original ending but there was an abrupt fade to black so people started to get up and leave. The studio talked Goddard into dropping it which is his biggest regret. He thinks someone like Spielberg would need to get involved if we're ever going to see it.

A new movie: There have been three serious attempts to make the movie at WB. The draft Goddard read had nearly 60 characters in it.

Have some photos, I'll upload when I have a better connection. There was so much more discussed and I loved every minute of it. This was my first movie in theaters and has been a favorite ever since.

Good journey!

[Jox]

Thanks for your report!

[Jox]

The full Power-Con panel with Gary Goddard, Meg Foster and Anthony De Longis... and even the "kid" who had won the contest to appear as Pigboy (who holds Skeletor's staff at the end) in the film!

[Jox]

Another video of the panel

[Jox]

Meg Foster interview
http://www.gay.net/celebrities/2012/09/ ... meg-foster

Anthony De Longis demonstration

[viendammage]

Awesome that the panels showed up in such good quality. It was a really fun event. I picked up a Cannon Films Preview fold out poster for Gary and others to sign.

[Jox]

Harry Knowles (AICN) twitted:

Having feasted upon Kino's Kubrick FEAR & DESIRE Blu, I will have dessert, @Dolph_fans MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE Blu!

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE is a friggin trip of a film. Absolutely insane.

Blu-ray fan reviews from He-man.org

The blu-ray cover is ..... meh.... wish they woulda used the painted photo from the vhs, but whatever, it woulda helped sales IMO. The disc is beautiful however, all black with a chrome MOTU logo.

The picture quality is nice. No doubt a step up from the dvd, but not what I would consider a HUGE difference. Its 1080p for sure and helps bring out the details cleanly, but the picture has a bit of grain to it, not in a bad way, not in a good way. Im happy they didnt use DNR cause that usually looks like crap if over applied,but its a small movie for a small group. Its nicely presented and still light years better than the dvd. Id say 8/10.

The old bio section of the dvd isnt here nor is the menu with the animated sword. The menu here is ULTRA generic and looks terrible. Buy it for the film and commentary, thats all. Now for the audio......... my god..... perfect. Sounds AMAZING. Really a clean feed and nicely blasts through my soundbar and subs!

noticeable upgrade. the sound, as noted, is awesome!; and the picture sharpness and clarity is definitely better than the dvd. i agree that some scenes are abit "extra" grainy, but i'm guessing that's more attributable to the original film, as it's in scenes where there is smoke, etc effects

[Jox]

Here is the detailed review from Blu-ray.com with screenshots

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Masters-o ... 94/#Review

Video Quality 4/5
Israeli cinematographer Hanania Baer, who is now Henry Jaglom's regular DP, shot Masters of the Universe. As director Goddard repeatedly notes in his commentary, he and Baer took several weeks to find common ground on the look of the film, with Baer pushing for a flatter, more naturalistic look and Goddard insisting on something glossier and more stylized. Goddard's view prevailed, but he points out a few sequences that reflect Baer's preference. Regardless of which photographic style is on display, Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray does a fine job of presenting this effects-laden comic book translation in an accurate fashion, which isn't to say that eyes accustomed to CGI, digital post production and digital cinema will necessarily be pleased with the result. Masters of the Universe was an FX-heavy film, but the effects were done by optical compositing, which produces a softer image than we're used to now, even when the FX plates are shot on 65mm, as they were here by ILM alumnus Richard Edlund. Also, much of the film was shot at night on the streets of Whittier, California, and the entire film was finished photochemically. "Grain" wasn't yet a dirty word, and the film's grain is generally visible, often obviously so, because it's been left intact by the technical crew that created this Blu-ray. Viewers should applaud their efforts, but we know from experience that some will not.

Colors are varied and nicely saturated. In the scenes on Eternia, they never create a sense of a fully realized environment, but I think that was a deliberate effect of Goddard's effort to evoke the graphic world of Jack Kirby's art. Blacks, which are essential for Skeletor's face and costume, are mostly dark and solid; they waver somewhat in multi-layered composites like Skeletor's "holosphere" addresses to the people of Eternia, where everything is fainter and weaker (including detail), due to the compositing process. In general, though, the film's transition to hi-def reveals levels of detail in costumes, make-up and production design that haven't been seen since the film played in theaters.

Audio Quality 3.5/5
The film's original stereo soundtrack is presented as DTS-HD MA 2.0. It's solid and serviceable and has very good fidelity, but little in the way of surround activity, even when played through an advanced matrix decoder. The dialogue is always clear, which is hardly surprising when you consider that most of the characters are Eternians, nearly all of whom speak in a ripely theatrical style that seems to be standard issue for all non-terrestrial life forms speaking English. Composer Bill Conti wrote a truly fine score that manages to evoke the spirit of an otherworldly conflict as effectively as John Williams in Star Wars and Jerry Goldsmith in the pre-Abrams Star Trek films, but without sounding like either one. On the Blu-ray's lossless track, the score sounds as good as I've ever heard it.

Special Features and Extras 2/5
Commentary with Direcctor Gary Goddard: Goddard is an energetic commentator, but it had been almost fifteen years since he'd directed the film, and he hadn't directed another one since. (He moved from film directing into producing and directing major theme park attractions such as Jurassic Park: The Ride and Six Flags' Monster Mansion, though his company, Landmark Productions.) Rewatching the film is like revisiting an old scrapbook for him, and Goddard shares many memories from the shoot, but one can sense the distance and the shift in perspective that comes with a career change. Many of Goddard's items have been excerpted and listed in the film's "trivia" section at IMDb.

Trailer (SD; 1.78:1, enhanced; 1:42): The narration is almost laughably solemn.

Overall Score and Recommendation 3.5/5
It says something about the quality of Masters of the Universe that the film holds up even after the endless parodies of He-Man and Skeletor perpetrated by the creators of Robot Chicken, who seem to have almost as much fondness for this series as for Star Wars. And why shouldn't they? In cost, profit and influence, Goddard's film may be a small stone compared to the giant quarry that is George Lucas' starry franchise, but they have much in common. Both deal with elemental and operatic themes; both are massive costume dramas set in space; and both draw inspiration from cheesy B movies and Saturday morning serials, the most obvious being the Buster Krabbe Flash Gordon adventures. Given some changes in timing and a few lucky breaks, it might have been Skeletor's skull, rather than Darth Vader's helmet, that became the universal symbol of evil ambition. Highly recommended.

[Jox]

http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/ ... u-ray.html

Picture Transfer & Sound Quality

Probably the reason some bought this movie, including myself. Well I have some good and bad news. The bad news is the audio of the movie is done on a simplistic 2.0 scale. We don't even get a 5.1 Dolby version of the film, which blows. You'd think Warner Brothers would have given a better audio transfer, but that's not the case, which is one of many marks against this release.

However, the good news is the transfer is great. One can really appreciate more the texture of the sets and the character design work more. Whenever Saurod, Karg, Gwlidor, Man-At-Arms, and Skeletor's various Robotic soldiers show up, you'll just pause and gawk at how awesome they look.



For the best example of this, I'll go with Karg. I really wasn't a fan of the character of Karg myself. Though on this transfer the make-up and effects really stand out more and do make me appreciate the character more. The same goes for poor Saurod, who is just an awesomely designed character who checked out of the film way too early.

If there's any negative, it is that there are moments when there's a black blur which occurs at the fight in the junk yard and when the Masters cruise to the music shop. Surprisingly, this issue never surfaces when Skeletor is on screen. Perhaps Langella's will as Skeletor commands the transfer to be absolutely perfect whenever he's on screen. I'll go with that wonky theory thank you very much.


Picture: 4 out of 5

Sound: 2 out of 5

[Jox]

It helps that that it looks nice on Blu-ray well, good job Warner Brothers! Be sure to watch through the credits! I am still waiting for Skeletor to return in a better sequel.
Warner delivered a nice Blu-ray release for this film celebrating its 25th Anniversary. It’s 1080p transfer does a good job of showcasing this film’s action and special effects. The release also includes the original audio track, DTS-HD MA 2.0. It works well with the action but nothing spectacular that makes you stand up and scream “I have the power!”. Ok, so the for quarter century anniversary, I was hoping for a lot more in the special features department. There is a commentary track with Director Gary Goddard. It is cool to hear his comments on the film but overall is nothing special. Lastly there is a (laughable) theatrical trailer.

http://www.mediamikes.com/2012/10/blu-r ... y-edition/

BR backcover, identical to the DVD as expected

[Travis]

I must confess, it's been awhile since I have seen this film. I was a He-Man fan but never really liked this movie much though. I wouldn't mind taking a look at it in HD though.

[Jox]

http://www.beyondhollywood.com/new-to-b ... y-edition/