USA: Menace II Society SE DVD/Blu-ray in September

[claire]

From WB on Sept 8th. Hope it's uncut.

Extras per DVD Times:

• New Featurette: Gangsta Vision: Making Menace II Society
• Commentary by Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes, Darin Scott, Ryan Williams, Tyger Willilams, Larenz Tate
• Interview with the Hughes Brothers

DVD: amazon.com | DVD Empire

Blu-ray: amazon.com | DVD Empire

[Philleh]

I watched this the other night, still a good watch.

What was cut out of interest?

[claire]

I'm not sure. As far as I remember, the UK release was uncut apart from an "instructional" scene which showed someone breaking into a car, while the US release was missing some violence ...?

[Philleh]

Ah, probably the scene the parking lot where they boost the car. I thought they'd have issue with the coke scene too, where he's scene melting it down and cutting it! ha.

[Myersfan73]

Great film and another must buy for me, Region free please

The original UK DVD release was cut by 10 seconds and these were all the cuts:

-A single shot of O-Dog (Larenz Tate) and Caine (Tyrin Turner) breaking open a car door by inserting a thin piece of metal between the window and the lock has been cut lest any aspiring car thieves are watching.
-At the revenge shooting at the burger stand: The UK video shows a victim staggering away from Caine & O'Dog whose friend offers help but in fact shoots him. 2 further shots are heard as the scene cuts away. The original version clearly shows all 3 shots with chunks of the victims back being shot out.
-When Caine's dad shoots one of his gambling buddies, there are trims applied to the entrance and exit wounds of the many gunshots fired.
-In the final showdown Sharif's death by gunshots was trimmed, and 2 gunshot wounds were also trimmed from Caine's death.

[claire]

DVD Compare states that the US release was uncut, but I'm almost certain that's not the case.

Anyway, an "unrated" on the box wouldn't go amiss.

[Companero]

MENACE II SOCIETY was cut for an R rating in the US, apparently. There was a deluxe Criterion LaserDisc released in the US back in 1994. It had additional footage. Having not owned this disc, I can't tell you if the additional footage was incorporated into the film or simply deleted scenes among the special features.

Still, the doco and commentary track are reason enough for me to upgrade my US DVD. I think it's a brilliant flick. Way better than BOYZ N THE HOOD, IMHO.

[Companero]

From IMDB:

Alternate Versions
The criterion director's cut version makes the following changes:
An extra shot of bullets leaving the back of the guy Samuel L Jackson kills.
An extra shot of Awax holding the gang member while he shoots him.
An small scene showing how Caine and O Dog brake into the car in the garage.
Two extra shots of bullet wounds during the final scene.
It also includes two deleted scenes, the funeral of Caines cousin and a scene at his grandparents house after the funeral.

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UK video and laserdisc versions were cut to remove closeups of gunshot wounds and footage of a car door being unlocked with a metal strip. The cuts were restored to the 2003 DVD.
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Criterion laserdisc in US has scenes cut from the theatrical to avoid an X rating.
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There were three scenes shown in the trailer but aren't in the film's final cut They are:
Sharif consoleing Caine
A funeral for Caine's cousin
The aftermath of Caine and Sharif's murder.

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The Hughes brothers, when queried about the film's explicit content, have often talked about a "prison riot" scene that studio execs forced them to cut in order to avoid an NC-17 rating. The scene has yet to appear in any of the released versions of the film.

EDIT:

DVD Active are reporting that the new DVD and Blu-ray releases feature an extended Directors' cut. Happy days.

[Myersfan73]

Nice one! Really looking forward to this. Long over a due a decent release. Hopefully a better version of Dead Presidents will surface in the next decade.

[Companero]

You know something? I watched DEAD PRESIDENTS again for the first time in more than 10 years about six months ago. Really didn't rate it, to be honest, even though I loved it when it came out. Though there are moments of greatness (some of the stuff in Vietnam, the robbery itself, etc) the narrative itself is just too disjointed, like they had to take stacks of character development out to keep the running time down. That's probably the case and the version that was released in cinemas was tinkered with by the MPAA too. There were unrated deleted scenes on the Criterion LaserDisc (I had this one!) - the scene where the cops get shot in the car was more bloody and there were others that I forget now.

After rewatching the film recently, I immediately pondered the possibility of the film getting a decent rerelease but think it's probably unlikely. The film was quite a costly flop and it's not really become anything of a cult curio on home video either. Shame, as a longer version of the film (if it ever existed) would be ace.

BTW - the UK Disney disc of the film that I have is shocking. Not only is it a flipper, it's one of the worst transfers I have seen for a recent(ish) film. It's anamorphic too!

[claire]

I remember being disappointed by "Dead Presidents" when it came out. And although "From Hell" had it's merits, that was a letdown too for me.

But "Menace II Society" holds a special place for me, a great film. I'm chuffed we're getting the director's cut on Blu-ray.

[Companero]

Entertainment In Video will be releasing MENACE II SOCIETY and FRIDAY on Blu-ray, 14th September, these along with SNAKES ON A PLANE, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2003), THE NEW WORLD and FREDDY VS JASON.

[MarcMorris]

Still no Entertainment In Video's uncut PINK FLAMINGOS release?

[Companero]

Still no Entertainment In Video's uncut PINK FLAMINGOS release?

would that actually get an uncut release if they put it through the BBFC now, mate? I saw it for the first time the year before last (courtesy of the US disc in the John Waters Collection) and thought it still looked pretty dodgy!

[Myersfan73]

BTW - the UK Disney disc of the film that I have is shocking. Not only is it a flipper, it's one of the worst transfers I have seen for a recent(ish) film. It's anamorphic too!

I've just noticed I have a R4 version, I've never watched. Will check it out tonight and see what I think.

[MarcMorris]

Entertainment in Video, September 14, 2009.

Menace II Society (Blu-ray): amazon.co.uk

I'm sure this one will sail through the BBFC uncut.

[Companero]

I watched the EiV Blu-ray last night. Decent transfer, a million miles from the lacklustre, non-anamorphic DVD version that New Line put out at the format's dawn. Of course, the picture isn't reference quality but daylight scenes look great. There's a lot of new detail in close-ups, though it's a little patchy in some of the darker scenes. Sound is very good though, particularly great when you consider the film's low budget origins.

I had never seen the director's cut before, all in all it's merely seconds longer and amounts to additional bullet hits here and there, but there are several key scenes that are now far more violent that they were in the MPAA-approved version.

I've yet to check out the extras but if you're a fan of the flick this really is a no-brainer.

[claire]

I agree, I looked through the disc last week and am very happy.

I can even forgive EiV for using the finale scene as the front cover art ...

[bgart13]

Hilarious movie, haven't seen it in years.

[guthrie!]

Menace II Society is a brilliant movie, i remember first seeing it on vhs at first release, it certainly was a breath of fresh air in amongst the crap that was around then! Me and my best mate have arguments about MIIS and Boyz In The Hood (which i like) but Menace always wins hands down. Mind you the same guy argues that 10,000 B.C. is better than APOCALYPTO: whaaaaat!!!!! Seriously though am well pleased this is getting a deserving release, i'll have to wait for the R2 disc though.