Steve McQueen Collection

[Jeff]

from DVDtimes
Warner Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of The Essential Steve McQueen Collection for 7th June 2005. Hollywood�s real-life rebel and screen legend who defined cool like no other actor -- arrives on DVD through this essential collection which includes a newly remastered Two-Disc Special Edition DVD of Bullitt with three documentaries including the DVD debuts of The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing, a fascinating look at the art of film editing featuring award-winning directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Ridley Scott and Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool, a new documentary premiering June 1 on Turner Classic Movies with interviews from Neile Adams (McQueen�s first wife), Sir Richard Attenborough, Norman Jewison, Chad McQueen (his son), Peter Yates, Barbara Minty (McQueen�s widow) and more.

The five other films included in the Collection are The Getaway, Papillon and new-to-DVD titles The Cincinnati Kid, Never So Few, and Tom Horn. DVD special features include perceptive commentaries from Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Vaughn, directors Norman Jewison and Peter Yates, archival footage and new and vintage documentaries. The seven-disc boxed set will be available for $68.92 SRP. The films will also be available individually for $19.97 SRP while the Bullitt: Two-Disc Special Edition will sell for $26.99 SRP.

The Films

Bullitt (1968) � In one of his most famous roles, Steve McQueen stars as tough-guy police detective Frank Bullitt, assigned for 48 hours to watch a witness before his trial. However, when the witness and another officer are shot, Bullitt decides to investigate the case on his own, much to the dismay of an ambitious Senator (Robert Vaughn) who wants to shut the investigation down, hindering Bullitt�s plan to bring the killers to justice. Robert Duvall and Jacqueline Bisset also star in the film which contains one of the most exciting car chases in film. Bullitt also won the 1969 Academy Award� for Best Editing.

DISC 1:
Commentary by Director Peter Yates
Theatrical Trailer

DISC 2:
Two Feature-Length Documentaries:
-The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing, narrated by Kathy Bates.
-Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool � From filmmaker Mimi Freedman, this all-new documentary uncovers the complex man behind the image by watching McQueen�s life and career through the eyes of the people who knew him best and extensive use of film and television clips

Vintage Featurette: Bullitt: Steve McQueen�s Commitment to Reality

The Cincinnati Kid (1965) � In the title role, Steve McQueen is an up-and-coming poker player in New Orleans who takes on a long-time master of the game. Not only is there a small fortune at stake, but also the status of being the top player. But the game is compromised when the trusted dealer is blackmailed into fixing the outcome. Directed by Norman Jewison (Moonstruck, The Hurricane), the film also stars Edward G. Robinson, Karl Malden, Ann-Margret and Tuesday Weld.

DVD Special Features include:
Commentary by director Norman Jewison
Scene specific commentary with David Foley and Phil Gordon, the hosts of Bravo�s �Celebrity Poker Showdown�
Archival featurette �The Cincinnati Kid Plays According to Hoyle�
Trailer

The Getaway (1972) � Steve McQueen plays a bank robber whose wife makes a deal with a Texas politician to have her husband released from prison in return for a percentage from their next big heist. But when the plan goes sour, the couple must flee to Mexico as fast as they can, with a variety of gun-wielding thugs on their trail. Ali MacGraw, Sally Struthers and Al Lettieri also star in this crime thriller directed by Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch).

DVD Special Features include:
Commentary by DVD Producer Nick Redman, authors Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons & David Weddle
�Virtual� audio commentary with stills featuring Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw and Sam Peckinpah
Trailer

Papillon (1973) � The autobiography of Henri Charriere, one of the few people ever to successfully escape from the notorious French penal colony of Devil�s Island, served as the basis for Papillon. Steve McQueen plays the pugnacious Charriere (known as �Papillon,� or �butterfly,� because of a prominent tattoo), who is wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (Patton), the film also stars Dustin Hoffman as a fellow convict.

Never So Few (1959) � Captain Tom Reynolds (Frank Sinatra) and his band of skilled O.S.S. operatives are in World War II Burma to train the Kachin natives in modern warfare. But jungle combat is more grueling than Reynolds imagined, and after Chinese rebels cross the border to loot and murder American soldiers, Reynolds abandons all notions of �military protocol� and seeks requital. McQueen co-stars alongside Charles Bronson and Peter Lawford.

Tom Horn (1980) � Tom Horn (McQueen), a renowned former army scout, is hired by Wyoming cattle ranchers to put a stop to violence on the range. In the process, Tom finds himself accused of murder. Linda Evans and Richard Farnsworth also star.

Looks like a new version of The Getaway as well. I'd be disappointed to buy it in this box now, and then end up with a second copy in the Peckinpaugh set.

[Lino]

No offence guys but does this belong here? Or in the DVD NEWS section.

Hmm...are you questioning your own suggestion of a sub-forum dedicated to Warners? Or to put it another way, have you fallen in your own trap?

[Andre Jurieu]

Hasn't there actually been a substantial amount of scholarship and critical assessment on the first Mad Max film?

I don't really have a problem with someone including The Getaway and Bullit in this section. Of course, I didn't have a problem with the inclusion of JFK, Bonnie and Clyde, Blow-Up, or Goodfellas. I also think it's fairly obvious that The Matrix films don't belong here.

[Nihonophile]

I'll probably split up the box but just in case these are great films, I don't want to pass them up. So, how are Never So Few and Tom Horn?

[pzman84]

According to a January 14 posting on www.filmscoremonthly.com, "The Getaway" is going to have both the Quincy Jones AND rejected Jerry Fielding musical scores. I have to say this is a box set I am very much looking forward to and is long overdue. My only concern is on the "Bullitt" SE. The documentary The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing looks cool, but since it has George Lucas in it, it will probably consist of him ranting about new electronic editing systems and how digital will replace film. While that is a very important discussion, I don't want to have some nerd ruining a bad*ss film in what could be a badd*ss DVD with some discussion of computers. That's just my opinion. Maybe talking about computers will only make McQueen look cooler.

[Zumpano]

The editing documnetary has been on Starz the past two months, is a very good look at what editors do, and contains great interviews not only with the directors but also their editors as well (finally get to see what Sally Meneke looks like). Don't worry, there is no "nerd ranting about how digital will replace film " for two hours (why is this such a worry anyway). Instead, the doc is mainly about the use and power of editing.

I'm glad to see this included on the DVD (since it is a feature length doc), and will now gladly erase it from my Tivo. Frankly, I'm suprised that with all the licensing of film clips in the film (many are not WB films), that Warner would include it as just a special feature on the "Bullit" DVD.

This doc contains some pretty humorous/out-there footage of Walter Murch and his editing set-up (his portions were shot while he was editing Cold Mountain). My non-film-buff friends were rolling in laughter at his "concepts of editing" and his freestyle/stand-up/edit-by-feel process. Really something to see rather than to be told about. Great documentary.

[Gordon]

Seeing as Warner are working on The Getaway for the McQueen set, I wonder if they are working on the other Peckinpah films at present and the "they have been delayed until 2006" romour is perhaps an exaggeration? I really hope so.

[devlinnn]

Looking at the specs for the 'Deluxe' version of The Getaway one finds only the Quincy Jones score. Any confirmation on this from anyone here? The Australian R4 only has the one score. If so, do we then presume a triple-dip (a 'Deluxe Plus' version) in 2006 for the Peckinpah set to include the Jerry Fielding score. I somehow doubt they would go back a third time with new specs.

(a side note - the Peckinpah yak track gang (Redman, Weddle etc.) mention the commentaries for The Wild Bunch and Ride the High Country on The Getaway one - so at least we know they've been done.)

[cafeman]

I wnat to get this set, but isnt`t it incredibly stupid to have an overlapping movie in two sets likely to be purchased by the same people?

[domino harvey]

The Cincinnati Kid is getting a Blu-ray release on June 14. Say wha

[AfterTheRain]

The Cincinnati Kid is getting a Blu-ray release on June 14. Say wha

And Papillon will be getting a digi-book Blu-ray release on May 24th. Queue the jaw drop.

[Noiradelic]

Does this mean the Getaway Blu isn't actually going OOP, but just getting repackaged or something?