THE PUNISHER (Mark Goldblatt, 1989)

[leigh1975]

I thought it was a bit weird... but the reason I think I thought it might hold water was because when Albert Pyun released his director's cut of Captain America, technically he couldn't get sued, but it has been noted that on the DVD covers, the star symbol logo and the A logo on Cap's forehead had to be blacked out on the cover art, as that's something like a seperate visual copyright... it sounds very complicated.

[Jox]

Hummm...
(I wouldn't take Pyun as an exemple though)

[leigh1975]

I'll NEVER understand how that guy hasn't got sued!

Actually, thinking about it, the Warners cheapie Steel from 1997 also removed the Superman logo from Shaquille O'Neal's costume.

All this is largely speculation when it comes to Punisher, of course; If it came from Yakin's mouth that it was a creative decision to leave it out, so that's that.

[Jox]

The skull is actually on Dolph's face make-up (and daggers), and as far as I know the X-MEN movie costumes didn't exactly follow the comics either but didn't bother anyone.

[savagesketch]

I always thought that the backlash on the '89 PUNISHER was partly due to the fact that it had gotten slighted upon its release in the States. A lower-budget production that was shelved and then released direct-to-video didn't bode too well for the film. Complaining about the lack of the skull always seemed liked kicking a dead dog to me... It was merely bitchin' about the film in the aftermath. Sadly, fans still complain.

As far as the X-MEN movies go, you're right... It always amazed me how the fans suddenly accepted the lack of faithful costumes. It's like it was "okay" and "made perfect sense." Of course, I think those films also had the budgets going for them, which made the transition seem sensible. The films were big-budget theatrical releases with special effects, etc. that for the most part, stayed true to the story. Bitchin' about the costumes almost didn't seem valid or even necessary.

In the end, the later two PUNISHER films boasted a skull, only for them to be bigger disappointments... at least in my opinion. WAR ZONE was good, but neither film scored at the box-office. This almost leads one to believe that perhaps 'ol Frank Castle is a character who's just not meant for the big screen.

As far as the new blu-ray release goes, photoshopping a skull onto the cover seems like a last-ditch effort and attempt to grab money. Fairly dishonest if you ask me...

[leigh1975]

What's the specs on this as opposed the Starlight version?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004ERYG46/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

[Jox]

I doubt there's any difference, at least from a technical standpoint, and these German discs are all made from the R1 source...

[Jox]

[Jox]

The German SPECIAL EDITION is coming on APRIL 22!!!

Final specs and cover artwork on the way...

[leigh1975]

Is this the 'big' one?

[Jox]

Yep!

Mediabook 3 discs limited edition - 1 Blu-ray - 2 DVDs
Blu-ray: 89 Minutes (R-Rated), 90 Minutes (Unrated)
DVD: 94 Min. (Unrated-Workprint)
1.85:1 (16:9)
Audio: German Dolby Digital 2.0 / DTS HD 2.0
English Dolby Digital 2.0 / English DTS HD 2.0
Subs: German

Special Features:
• Exclusive Audio Commentary with director Mark Goldblatt
• Workprint version transfered from Original tape
• Gag reel (6 mins)
• US- and German Trailers
• Gallery with rare publicity material (courtesy of yours truly)
• 20-pages booklet with notes by Thomas Witzler (German)

Pre-order
http://shop.dtm.at/product_info.php?products_id=51271
http://www.medienversand.at/xtcommerce/ ... -ray-.html
(Not sure if it will be on Amazon as this is a FSK-18 title)

[leigh1975]

Nice!!!! Mind you, that grey border makes the cover art look very cheap...

EDIT: Why is the UK runtime 85 mins for the theatrical, and this is 89???? Surely a true HD master should be unaffected by PAL time changes???

[Jox]

EDIT: Why is the UK runtime 85 mins for the theatrical, and this is 89???? Surely a true HD master should be unaffected by PAL time changes???

Theoretically, if the HD master has been made from an authentic film source at 24 frames a second, which isn't the case here (same happened with PENTATHLON)... Doesn't mean it's not HD but yeah...

[leigh1975]

FPS differences makes my brain ache

[Jox]

I hear ya! And if it was only frps...