Posted Mon Dec 18, 2006 at 11:37 AM PST by
In yet another new version of the much-maligned Oliver Stone epic, Warner Home Video will bow 'Alexander: The Unrated Final Cut' on Blu-ray and HD DVD this February.
A critical and commercial bust, 'Alexander' has already hit standard-def DVD in two separate versions -- the theatrical version and a shorter Director's Cut. Now, on February 27, 2007, Warner will give viewers the chance to at see Stone's much-talked-about, unexpurgated vision, complete with racy footage too hot for the theaters, on both next-gen formats.
"Most director's cuts and special editions are typically two to 10 minutes longer, and here we have [an extra] 45 minutes," said Jeffrey Baker, Warner senior VP and general manager of theatrical catalog in a press statement. "Oliver [Stone] really wanted to show the viewer what these battle scenes were really like, and the extended scenes of the battles give you the realism and sheer horror of them. There are [also] salacious scenes, heterosexual and homosexual, which tell quite a different version of the story than what we saw in theaters."
Warner is also clearing hoping for a 'Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut'-like success for its latest redux of 'Alexander,' which grossed a paltry $37 million domestically, though it did do better on home video, eventually moving 3.5 million copies.
"What we did with Donner and now with Alexander really reinforces the fact that, where it makes sense, we are supportive of getting filmmakers’ visions onto the small screen," said Baker. "The studio is very responsive to consumers who are looking for special versions of movies."
If nothing else, Colin Farrell's bad blonde wig is sure to look mighty fine in high-def. We'll keep you posted when full specs come in, and in the meantime, we've added preliminary listings for 'Alexander' to our HD DVD Release Schedule, and Blu-ray Release Schedule.
We've also set up dedicated threads for all the titles in our new Forums area -- click the following links to discuss the 'Alexander: Unrated Final Cut' Blu-ray release and the 'Alexander: Unrated Final Cut' HD DVD release.
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