Product: Midway (Collector's Edition) (1976)
Rating: 3.0
Missed Opportunity -- Coral Sea Footage Still Omitted!
Having read that the "Collectors' Edition" DVD would include footage omitted from the theatrical release, I assumed that Universal Studios had finally awoken, smelled the coffee, and included the 30 minutes or so of footage of the Battle of the Coral Sea that one can see when one watches the television version of this film. No such luck. Instead, the studio compounds the mistake it made when it included the goofy and anachronistic "son's fiance" sub-plot by adding not the Coral Sea footage, but two utterly goofy and superfluous domestic scenes with C. Heston and his wife before he leaves for work. Who does Universal thinks watches this type of movie, anyway? If Universal wants to tap into the latent market for DVDs of this film (and in its full version, sans fiance, this IS a good film), they should do the obvious: 1) include in its entirety all the missing footage of the Battle of the Coral Sea (an important context for what follows), and 2) relegate to the status of out-takes all the scenes involving the son's fiance -- they don't ring true in the context of the film, and most people who like the rest of the movie delete them out of hand. There IS a market for a true "collectors' edition" of this film -- but this isn't it! Bring on the Coral Sea footage, drop the silly "son's fiance" subplot, and give us the DVD that many of us can't wait to buy but can only find at present on TV! Until the studio gets the message, I'd hold off on buying this release and stick to watching the complete film whenever it comes on TV.