When Sony announced they were re-releasing the Transformers Movie on DVD for the 20th Anniversary, many fans were skeptical. Most felt that, through various other releases by companies like Rhino and Metrodome, that there was little left to offer from another release. As I would find out first hand, Sony was out to prove that fans hadn’t seen anything when it comes to the original movie.
Movie
Released in 1986 to a resounding thud at the box office, the Transformer Movie has become a cult hit among animation fans and a classic among Transformers fans. The storied history of this movie, from its production, to the numerous versions to appear in video form, could fill a short novel. The main purpose of the film was to wipe the slate clean. Remove the original characters to make way for the next year’s worth of figures. Little did the production team know the immediate and long term impact their decisions would have, not only on fans, but on other popular toy properties. Many of the changes are chronicled in some of the features on this release, especially in the fan commentary.
For those new to the film, it is meant to take place 20 years after the second season. The Autobots are losing the war. The Decepticons completely control Cybertron, and the Autobots are attempting to mount a comeback. The movie opens with the Decepticons decimating the original Autobots and using their ship to infiltrate the Autobot base on Earth. An epic battle ensues, and Autobot leader Optimus Prime faces off against Decepticon leader Megatron for the final time.
The movie also introduces us to a new terror by the name of Unicron. Unicron is a planet eater whose true intentions are never revealed in the film. We only know what he fears…the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. Unicron recruits a group of fatally wounded Decepticons, including Megatron to hunt down and destroy the Matrix as well as anyone who posses it. This all leads a final showdown between all Transformers and Unicron as he attempts to destroy Cybertron.
The Transformers movie was like no other animated film of the time. Gritty, mean and filled with a sense of a real war, Transformers went on to alienate many of the children it was meant to cater to. But as time moved on, those children grew up and grew to appreciate what the film ultimately accomplished. Many people can look through the numerous flaws and poorly paced middle to see a film they can watch over and over again.
Score: 8 out of 10Video Format and Quality
Sony went to the vaults to find an original 35mm print of the film. What they found was a theatrical reel of the film. Something every prior license holder was looking for and something thought to not even exist anymore. They used this print to fully restore and remaster the film to exactly how it was presented in theaters 20 years ago. Disc 1 contains the theatrical widescreen version of the film. Presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 ratio, and enhanced for 16×9 televisions. For those with 16×9 HDTV’s, the film fills out the full screen. Disc 2 contains a 4:3 Fullscreen version of the film. My initial thought was that it was cropped from the full screen. However, when I did detailed screen caps of the Rhino and Sony side-by-side, I was wrong. The fullscreen from Sony actually shows a hair more than the Rhino version. It is most noticable when looking at the dead Wheeljack and Windcharger. My apologies for any confusion.
The video quality is pristine in every sense of the word. There are no scratches or pops visible. Film grain is greatly reduced and is nearly non-existent. The color and contrast are the best of any release ever. The Rhino release suffered from being too dark and the Metrodome reconstructed version suffered from being too light and blown out. The Sony release has nearly perfect contrasting. The color adjustments are also impressive. Some deeper reds come off slightly pinkish in nature, but it’s hardly noticeable. The remastering if this print results in a vivid presentation. Simply put, this is the best this film has ever looked.
Score: 9 out of 10Sound Quality
The film is presented in English with 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo. The 5.1 track is mixed quite well and is a better sound presentation than the previous Rhino release. The 2.0 Stereo sounds crisp and clear as well. While nothing stands out in the audio department, it gets the job done and really enhances the enjoyment for those with 5.1 capable systems.
Packaging
The DVD comes in a clear clamshell case with 2 disc flaps inside. The packaged DVD has a really nice lenticular print that moves from and Season 2 centric group to a Season 3 centric group. An insert comes with the DVD showing a few pages of the upcoming IDW Publishing comic adaptation of the film. Each DVD is adorned in artwork. Disc 1 shows Unicron while Disc 2 shows the Matrix. The clear clamshell case allows artwork to show through from the cover. All art is done by IDW Publishing fan favorite artist Don Figueroa with coloring by Josh Burcham. The artwork is crisp and clean and meant to reflect the style of the film. It’s an overall great presentation showing how much care Sony put into this release.
Extras
The extras are where this disc really stands out above any other. No other release has gone through such great lengths to provide something never seen by the fans. The fact that Sony reached out to the fan community for help in this release shows how much they wanted this to be a great disc.
Disc 1 contains:
– Audio Commentary with Director Nelson Shin, Story Consultant Flint Dille, and Voice Actor Susan Blu.
A commentary of this nature was long overdue for this film. The history of this film was so full of great stories and it was great to finally hear them. The commentary is, for the most part, fun and informative. The one major downfall is that English is clearly not Nelson Shin’s first language and it made some of his dialogue hard to make out. But he does share some interesting aspects about what effects were used for what scenes.
– First ever Fan Commentary
The group consisted of myself (Joe Moore), Tony Bacala (credited as Alex Weiner), J.E. (Rik) Alvarez and Paul Hitchens. Click Here for a detailed breakdown of this featurette.
– Autobot Matrix of Knowledge
A fun Pop Up Video style presentation that plays with the film showing fun “facts” and trivia. It’s silly and fun and worth watching once for a laugh.
– Original Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots– Photo Gallery
The gallery is relatively small, but shows some great images. It contains some of the character model sheets, some concept art and some classic movie memorabilia.
– Cinex and Credit Test
This group of test animation reels showed some of the lighting and color tests. It also showed the early tests of the credits and the effects used for them. It’s always fun to see things like this as it gives some insight into how things were done.
– Scramble City
For the first time ever, Scramble City is officially released in North America. Unfortunately Sony was unable to secure the rights to the audio portion of the release. Instead of scrapping this extra, Sony called in 2 of the fan commentators, Tony Bacala and Rik. Alvarez to do a commentary to explain what this piece of film is. Tony and Rik do an admirable job on the commentary, keeping pace with the action and explaining the significance of the film
– Transformer 2007 Teaser Trailer and Sneak Peek
The trailer is the same one from Summer 2006. The sneak peek shows some footage from the film interspersed with comments from Michael Bay, Steven Spielberg and writers Roberto Orchi and Alex Kurtzman. The footage itself shows a lot of things blowing up. However there are a couple of quick, yet interesting glimpses. One shows a miniature model of an ice cave with a human staring at something. The other interesting piece shows 2 quick glimpses of a computer screen. Each glimpse shows a brief shot of a wire frame for 2 different Transformers. It’s an nice addition to the disc, but is very short and doesn’t show enough to really make an impact on those on the fence about the release.
– Trailer for Everquest 2 videogame
– Trailer for the release of this DVD
– Trailer announcing the release of G1 on DVD by Sony in 2007
Disc 2 contains:
– Active Autobot Trivia Game
– Featurettes – Death of Optimus Prime, Cast and Characters and a Q and A
All feature the same group like Nelson Shin and Flint Dille. Each featurette contains info and insight not widely known before. Especially the Cast and character featurette. To hear what Nelson Shin originally thought of Orson Welles’ lines was very enlightening. Each one is definitely worth multiple viewings.
– Original Promotional Trailer with Commentary by Paul Hitchens
This is the widely popular original promo trailer. The trailer features alternate and unfinished footage, such as a Diaclone colored Ultra Magnus. Paul does an excellent job explaining the differences and what was actually used in the final film.
– Animated Story Boards
These story boards, compiled by Paul Hitchens, give some insight into the early stages of production of the film. The first 2 line up to scenes in the film. The third one shows the deleted scene of Ultra Magnus pulling up with Tracks , Red Alert and others taking down Devastator. As the Autobots flee, Red Alert is shot in the back and killed. These are worth watching again and again as they are well put together.
– Test, Deleted and Alternate Footage with Commentary by Paul Hitchens
This is probably the most anticipated feature on the disc. This is a group of reels found in the vault of various test animations. Included are a few alternate backgrounds for animations and the first ever deleted scene found for the Transformers movie. After Astrotrain leaves Autobot city, the camera pans over to show the Autobots running to a fallen Optimus Prime. While the footage itself isn’t too exciting, it is exciting to know that deleted footage actually exists.
– U.S. and Japanese Toy Commercials
A great addition marred by poor video quality on many of the commercial. While it’s great to have, it is a shame that the video quality is so bad on some of these.
– Scramble City Commercials
These are much better than the other commercials and another great addition to the set. Shows the various toy commercials for toys released in the Scramble City packaging.
Overall the features make this set a must purchase. No other company has gone to such great lengths to make their Transformers Movie disc something memorable. Many of the features are worth sitting through multiple times.
Score: 10 out of 10Overall
The Transformers the Movie 20th Anniversary DVD is a must buy for all Transformers fans, regardless of prior purchases. The video is crisp and clean, the features are well laid out, easy to access and enhance the experience of the film. If this disc is a taste of things to come from Sony, then the Transformers DVD license is in very capable hands.