Product: The Transformers - The Movie (1986)
Rating: 5.0
Much Better Than The Original DVD Release
I just got the special edition of Transformers The Movie on DVD. I was already a huge Transfan since I was a kid. I already had the regular DVD, and I've watched it a million times. With that said, I had to ask myself, "Do I regret buying this movie for the second time?"The first thing that I did was watch the Widescreen Version on my HDTV. I work for the cable company, so I know all about 16:9 Aspect Ratio, upscaling, conversions, etc. Trust me, there IS a difference between the Widescreen Version on Disc 1 and the Full Screen Version on Disc 2. You can see a little bit more area in the left and right corners of the screen, which I noticed during Optimus Prime's fight scenes. (Of course if you don't have a Widescreen TV, there really is no point of watching the Theatrical Version when you got Disc 2.)Now did I buy this set for my HDTV? Of course not! I knew there would be gems on it, and they are a treat. First off, there are three Featurettes, but the best one of the set is "Death of Optimus Prime", and it covers what led to the decision to kill off the "star" of the show, as well as the aftermath. There's a Director's Commentary and a Fan Commentary, which the latter is rare on DVDs. And then there is one of my favorite parts of the set: the Japanese episode known as "Scramble City."To all fans of the Combiner Teams, this is a MUST SEE!!For the first time you can see the Constructions, Aerialbots, Stunticons, Combaticons, and Protectobots all fighting in one episode! The Japanese producers did a fanastic job of showing the true potential of these gestalts, and that's all I can say without spoiling the episode. Rounding out the set are commercials, deleted footage, trivia, and of course, the Transformers 2007 trailer.Is there anything I didn't like? Well, when I heard it was going to be "remastered", I was thinking of reanimation. Yeah, the colors are better, but it is still loaded with continuity errors. You will still debate over who became Cyclonus, and Thundercracker still shows up at Starscream's coronation, even though he became Scourge. I was thinking that stuff would have been redrawn. And there is no audio track or subtitles for "Scramble City", there's just two fanboys talking over it.Overall, the set is far superior to any prior release of the film. It's a must-buy for 80's kids, and a must-watch for everyone else.