MovieChat Forums > The Offence (1973) Discussion > NEW R2 DVD--SHAMELESS EXTORTION???

NEW R2 DVD--SHAMELESS EXTORTION???

posted 16 years ago by sg7326
4 replies | jump to latest

Hi all,

The Offence is not on DVD at all in the US despite being directed by one of that country's most lauded directors and starring one of the most recognizable stars in film history (Sean Connery). The UK disc which came out in 2004 was bare bones without even a trailer. I bought it anyway and watch it on my PC.

When I heard it was being re-released on DVD (in the UK only) later this month I hoped that, just maybe, it would get some special treatment. A restoration perhaps, featurettes, or maybe...just maybe, a commentary of some sort.

I went to Amazon.co.uk and found the distributor, Optimum Home Entertainment. I looked for the title on their web site but it was nowhere to be found. I e-mailed Optimum and got no reply, I re-sent the e-mail and got this in reply:

The Offence is indeed out on October 20th.
I’m afraid there aren’t any extras on the disc.

Here's what I don't get...WHY???

There is no reason to re-release this that I can see. Because it has already become so unknown, there is only a small fanbase. Connery certainly isn't releasing a new film anytime soon, so that isn't a marketing factor. And then, there will be NO EXTRA FEATURES!

The only reasons I can think of think of are either that Optimum acquired a new bevy of titles and was contractually obliged to release it on their label, or the slight connection to the James Bond re-releases that will be out around the same time.

It seems that no one in the industry cares about this film at all. What a damn shame. Perhaps we will at least have restored pisture and sound, but the tactics displayed so far cast strong doubt upon that happening.

I have ordered the new DVD and will be making a visual comparison soon.

The (now present) Optimum listing is here:

http://www.optimumdvdstore.com/film.php?id=927

Amazon.co.uk links to the DVDs

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Offence-Sean-Connery/dp/B0002VF534/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1223708427&sr=1-1 (2004 MGM UK DVD)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001D07QHG/ref=s9sims_c6_74_img1-rf c_g1-frt_g1-3102_p?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_ rd_r=12DWBKA9XECQ64BCNEGS&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=222506491&pf _rd_i=468294 (2008 Optimum UK DVD)

[–] sg7326 16 years ago

Help fix the situation! Sign my petition!

Sign this to get "The Offence" on DVD
www.petitiononline.com/sg195114/petition.html

[–] bogwart-1 16 years ago

There was an R2 PAL version released by MGM four years ago, but it's a pretty crappy transfer from VHS. If you look at the trivia here for this film you'll see why the studio didn't push the film, and I believe it was felt that the film would not succeed in the US, being so dark and downbeat.

Connery has always had a reputation for being difficult and very litigious, so the studios wouldn't do him any favours.

I don't know whether the Optimum release is using the same transfer; I would imagine that it probably is.

There is another Lumet/Connery cooperation from 1965 - The Hill - which is still to gain an R2 release, and that *is* shameful. Another very dark film, but more than worth watching in these days of glam and sham.

[–] dxgmde 16 years ago

just to be clear, transfer it's not state of the art, it clearly made on betadigital with the use probably of an auto filter without doing a proper restoration; but it's not a crappy transfer from vhs; believe my friend vhs they look much much worse than this when compressed for dvd.

and by the way the hill is available on R2 dvd in France under the title
La colline des hommes perdus by Warner Brothers

[–] rogerscorpion 11 years ago

I just bought it on a 2010 MGM DVD. Haven't watched it.

Carpe Noctem!