Waterworld: Arrow Video In Depth Review
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Cereal At Midnight dives deep in this exploration of the 1995 film Waterworld via a new three-disc limited edition Blu-ray box set from Arrow Video! In what has already topped the list as one of the best releases of the year, Arrow leaves no stone unturned, offering viewers not one, not two, but THREE cuts of the film and hours of special features, a book, a poster, and photo cards. It's a stunning release of one of the most ambitious films in movie history, and we have things to say about both!
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You hit the nail on the head: Waterworld is indeed the pinnacle of a certain type of cinema, and it signified the end of an era in Hollywood. The size of the sets, the complexity of the stunts, and the whole star driven experience will just never be replicated on this size. Wonderful review! I was happy to hear your thoughts on this home video release.
Wild that "Waterworld", "Showgirls" and "Cutthroat Island" were all released within 6 months of each other.
Always enjoyed Waterworld. 👍
I think Waterworld is a home run, especially the Ulysses cut. Theatrical cut is fun, but the Ulysses cut is brilliant. Can’t get enough of Waterworld.
Same I love it.
I bought this terrific set as well. I am a fan of the movie. I saw the film in theaters back in '95 and like you, I've owned it on every format. I genuinely feel it's a quality movie. I also think there was a great reason why Kevin Costner was the biggest star at the time. It was about the films he was making. From 1987 to 1992, he made some of the greatest films made. The Untouchables, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves and JFK are tremendous films. Love them all and then in between all that, he made some entertaining genre films like No Way Out, Robin Hood and The Bodyguard. I think it's pretty clear why he was a megastar. That body of work is pretty unrivaled.
OOP; Arrow LE is now insanely expensive.
First of all - it's always good to see someone wearing a decent shirt! 👍
Very nice unboxing/review of this Waterworld - release. That is truly a nice edition, some nice little extras like the book and the card, but not overblown with nonsense and as big as a shoe box.
And of course it's great there are three cuts of the movie in there!
I am looking forward to unwrap that Arrow - release and watch all the stuff inside.
So, thanks for the nice video (it *was* a bit long, but ok), you have a new subscriber.
Great unboxing. This is why arrow has been my favorite company for years . For what you get the price is worth it to me . Scream,vestron especially needs to take tips from them. They charge almost same prices on there releases and dont even get close to this . Great video once again. Also I'm a fan of waterworld. I saw it in theaters. Yes I bought that edition. It's to stunning not too.
I saw it in the theaters, too! I've basically been wanting to love this movie since 1995. Arrow is fantastic, and I agree, Arrow offers huge return on investment that some of the other companies don't. If you're going to charge a premium, offer a premium product.
New Scream releases are too expensive for too little. Arrow kills it. I just hate it when Arrow gets region B only and Scream gets the region A rights.
The Arrow Video release is an huge upgrade over the DTS Laserdisc release and DTS DVD release (even though I have second thoughts on buying this film). DTS-HD Master Audio in this Blu-ray release is the closest to DTS Digital Sound we can get.
The review I was waiting for!! One of my favorite movies alongside The Postman. This edition i will need to have in my collection. It's a masterpiece of the era it was made. I don't think in this era it would have done good box office wise, but in the 90s it was a blockbuster in my opinion. Physical media is never going anywhere. I believe it's just that retail stores are told what to sell and it seems to me they are being swayed away from physical media which in my opinion sucks lol
Damn you...now I have to add this to my Amazon wishlist! I have always absolutely loved this film. Saw it in theaters back in the day and have always been a defender of how awesome it is. Its not for everyone but I will always be a fan. Love The Postman as well. Great video as always.
I heard it sucks but I absolutely LOVE the soundtrack
It's weird cos, for me, Costner is too stoic to be a leading man (in these kind of movies), yet somehow he was. Robin Hood is an excellent example where everyone is basically outclassing him in the acting department and I guess his performance just doesn't get in the way so it works. He is kind of a charisma vacuum in Prince of Theives, yet I really like the movie.
At 11 years old I didn’t realize how mediocre his performance was in robinhood. But it’s still better than the other’s made since.
I've always appreciated this movie for what it is. Like you said, certainly not good, but not all bad, its waterworld. I just ordered the arrow edition, excited for all the bonus content! Great video Heath.
I picked this up recently too and I was impressed with how good the transfer was. This is an awesome release.
Arrow video is awesome! Plus anything with Dennis Hopper is always great
Wonderfully done review, brother.
Subscribed!
Thanks for the sub!
I have always been a fan of this movie since I was in the 5th grade (95-96) and nothing has changed for me. It was my first taste of a post apocalyptic themed movie. I very much enjoyed your review.
I love Waterworld despite its flaws. The internal logic of the film fails on so many levels however if you switch off and go with the ride it's great fun. Having just watched Mission Impossible fallout and Tom Cruise throw himself out of a plane to make the audience know that what was happening in screen is real i wonder if Kevin Costner could have ended up doing that sort of thing if Waterworld hadn't bombed.
Kevin Costner post apocalyptic The Postman is worth a look though it doesn't do the book justice it's still enjoyable. Unlike you in not a fan of Prince of Thieves (I think the Patrick Bergin film that came out the same year is better) I do though wonder what Kevin Costner would have done if Waterworld hadn't reduced his bankability in Hollywood. Just for the record my favourite Kevin Costner film is Field of Dreams which is perfect imo. My favourite modern performance is his Clark Kent in Man of Steel ( though I seem to like that film a lot more than most people).
I'm no off to order this off Arrow.
Thanks for the link, now I have to get my hands on this. I saw Waterworld in the theater back in ‘95 and I actually enjoyed it despite all the hate that it got. I have not watched this in a good 20 years but would love to revisit it. I remember seeing snippets of the extended TV version back in the 2000s, which aroused my curiosity of seeing it in full someday.
Ordered this last night. I haven’t seen the movie for years, maybe decades. Can’t wait to watch it again.
I haven't opened my box yet so this was wonderful to watch over breakfast. :)
You have remarkable self control! :)
the arrow video version of waterworld is terrific
its amazing how there are Multiple cuts of the film
and honestly, i think that comparing each version can help provide context as to what scenes were not included in the original cut, for example, the tv cut probably does have some terrific additions
I think Costner was a huge star because of his appeal to both men and women.
I have always had a love for Waterworld since I saw it at the cinema, it falls for me under the category of fascinating failures (ok maybe the word failure is a little harsh, but I figure you'll get what I mean...) A film packed to the rafters with ideas and scope BUT doesn't quite know how to articulate them yet, to me, is still compulsively watchable! Going to get the UK edition of this set asap so thank you for the excellent review and as always keep up the brilliant work Heath and all the best to you and the Midnight family! :)
I almost bought the paramount version.😅 Thankfully I watched your review along with others. Great boxset and restoration from Arrow again.
Amazing review!
Great release from Arrow Video.
I just got this today. I ordered it from England.
Great overview. I caught the movie in the theater and enjoyed it but wasn't blown away. I've seen it twice since then and still see it as a good movie but not great. There are scenes that have a grand spectacle about them but don't fully achieve the vision in my eyes. I'll be putting this on my wishlist. Do you happen to know what the print run is? Thanks.
I don’t know how many copies of this limited edition version have been produced. I don’t believe they are numbered anywhere, or at least mine doesn’t seem to be. But maybe someone can weigh in with more info. I do know that these are selling rapidly, though.
You remind me that i never finished watching the documentary
I think the Ulysses Cut is the better one, partly because of the reveal at the very end (might also be in the TV cut)
I think there's a better version of the movie to be edited together that cuts out some of the meandering and repetitive scenes, adds back the plaque scene and the Ulysses scene, and comes in at about 2 hours. But that's just me. We could call that the "Cereal" cut. I know some people really like living inside the world of movies for 3 hours or more, though, so I'm glad the different cuts are now finally commercially available.
@@CerealAtMidnight you know what I like the choice to watch either 3 cuts haven't yet but my choice to thats what I like about physical, for example Birdbox used some stock footage that they weren't allowed to, so that movie has already been re-edited and doubt we will ever see its original form again and ultraviolet digital has just announced its closure.
I know, it was crazy about Ultraviolet. Well, not crazy, it was expected, but I thought they'd last longer. Just a reminder that physical is the only real ownership.
Did not know the little girl tina played in Napoleon dynamite
I was impressed before I saw the booklet and the contents of it. When I saw that, my heart skipped a beat.
I do remember watching this in the movie theater when it came out and I did enjoy it for what it was. With that said, I have never owned Waterworld on any kind of media. In fact, I can't remember the last time I watched this. I might have to go back and revisit this.
Excellent review! This is how you do it folks!
How was the transfer? How was the sound? Compared to VHS, LASERDISC, DVD, 4K? Totally useless review!
You guys, Daniel Griffith, the filmmaker who created the feature-length documentary on this set, is showing love to Cereal At Midnight on Twitter. Please help me return the love by following him @ballyhoofilms and retweeting! And if you don't follow @CerealMidnight, now is a great time to start! Thanks!
Physical media is great! Especially with Ultra Violet closing down (yes, I know you can link your account with other vendors, but who’s to say they’ll last any longer than UV did?).
Agreed. Ultraviolet closing should be a wake up call. Yes, you can link that collection to another service, but it's just another one of the dominoes falling. Ultraviolet was HUGE. It was supposed to be the clear and preferred way to collect films digitally, and now it's gone, or will be soon. We have VUDU, but VUDU won't last forever either. Nothing will. Putting your digital collection in the hands of third parties that rise and fall in the span of a few years seems like a very shaky proposition to me.
i have the hd-dvd version which i feel is the purest version of it.sound is better than bluray
Cool, we are going to get that edition.
This was a great review. You have a very clever angle on your appreciation of the history of the movie. You love all stories behind the production involved; set construction, stunts, lack of cgi, the cast, the craziness of it being filmed on all water, and the maelstrom of just about everything that could go wrong went wrong with this film. I like it too that you really want this movie to be great, but in the end you’re honest and you admit the film is just okay. I find the film always gets a bad rap. Yes it’s not a great film but it’s not terrible either, not the way many people make it out to be. At the time it came out to video, my one friend had no idea about the production behind it or the reviews, and he really liked it whereas my other friends though it was garbage but they both agreed his trimaran was awesome!
Thank you! The word of mouth around a movie can absolutely kill it, and I think that's very true for Waterworld, though I also think expectations were so high that it never could have lived up to the hype. In my experience, very few movies are either really great or really awful. The truth is always in the middle, and that's where the most interesting conversations start. For some reason, modern society seems obsessed with "best" or "worst" when really almost nothing fits into those two categories or is that simple. We're all just doing our best. The people on Waterworld were doing their best, too. Geez, I feel like I'm giving a public service announcement...#TheMoreYouKnow!
That's a damn fine attitude to have Heath. I find going into a movie I don't really know too much about I tend to always come out of it enjoying it more than knowing "how good" it's going to be. My friends and I call it the 13th warrior effect.
I LOVE THE 13TH WARRIOR. I told everyone I could about that movie at the time and even dragged a skeptical friend to the theater to see it. Of course he thought it was great. Worth mentioning that The 13th Warrior is still unrepresented on Blu-ray in North America.
"Lo there do I see my father; Lo there do I see my mother and my sisters and my brothers; Lo there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning. Lo, they do call to me, they bid me take my place among them, in the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live forever."
It is an awesome movie. It gains such lore among my friends as we all individually rented when it first came out as a "blind rental" and just loved it. Since then saying a movie is "13th warrior good" means you had low expectations for a film and it ended up being amazing. I always liked it how the movie conveyed learning a new language, how at first hero has no idea what any of the vikings are saying and neither does the viewer. LOL I checked to see if it was on blu ray after I posted the comment too!
"13th Warrior good!" I'm gonna have to remember that. There's an all-region German Blu-ray going for about 9 Euros. I'm trying to slow down on my spending, but whenever I do place an order from Germany (there's a few Elvis movies only they have on Blu), I'm going to have to include that one.
I have to get this!
You have it on "every format"? The laserdisc?
Does this box set come with a digital copy?
Hi Heath excellent review I have picked up this release new and done my own unboxing I very rarely by new but this one I had to have worth every penny as for the movie itself i enjoy it, there are some questionable bits but overall i like it, I really hope The Postman is done in the same way I think its better than Waterworld. If physical media goes this way more than happy.
It really is an incredible package, and I would support a similar version of The Postman, too!
Waterworld rocks is my opinion.
It didn’t have enough Bryan Adams love songs to succeed.
I'm curious why you didn't get the 4k? Great breakdown, by the way.
This video predates the 4K release by several years.
@@CerealAtMidnight haha oh my bad
“I wanted to love it.” Sums up my relationship with this movie. Kevin Costner, a poor man’s Mel Gibson.
Do you know if its possible to watch the feature length documentary anywhere online? Have you uploaded it anywhere? Would you be willing to? I love this movie (and behind the scenes docs in general) and cannot find it anywhere online. Its impressively hard to find, actually.
I don’t know where else you can watch it besides the disc. Our pal Daniel Griffith worked very hard on the doc, and this edition of Waterworld is well worth a purchase for all his supplemental material. Supporting the package supports his work.
@@CerealAtMidnight If I was aware of this release back in 2018 I would have bought it at release, for sub $50. It's now $130 and I just can't bring myself to pay quite that much. I own about 650 BluRays and enjoy collecting them and supporting their creators. Sorry if my asking offended you, I just want to enjoy this doc and don't have $130 to blow on discs.
It's $27.99 on Amazon right now. The limited edition that included the book and poster is no longer available, but this special edition includes both discs and ALL the special features, including the Maelstrom documentary. No need to resort to piracy, it's readily available. amzn.to/3bgRb0v
As a true fan of Waterworld, I've ignored all the negative reviews and shall continue to do so. It is an amazingly entertaining popcorn movie that just gets better every time I watch it. The stunning photography, the over the top stunts, the incredible underwater visit to a lost world, and the sheer determination of humanity to survive against all odds are reasons why this remains a favorite film of mine. There are only a handful of movies that I've watched more times. The Fifth Element, Blade Runner, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Wizard of Oz, and Ghostbusters -- just to name a few. They are classics and Waterworld deserves to be on that list as well. It was decades ahead of the times and now it looks as if it may well have prophesized our actual future.
Too bad that it's notoriously called a Mad Max rip-off. If anything, it's an homage to the post-apocalyptic movie genre.
Right on!
Great review fella but, "I've bought this movie on every format that it's come out on"... Did ya buy it on Laserdisc?
While I don't believe this is the best movie ever made, I do think it is a fantastic movie! I have never understood the general negativity surrounding it. I admit that nostalgia is a contributing factor for me. I was just shy of entering my teenage years when it came out, and it owns a specific piece of my movie heart. It's one that I come back to time and again. I am VERY excited to watch the television version and the Ulysses cut. Arrow has spoiled us with all of the supplements, including the book. And to top it off, the poster and the actual packaging. This is among the nicest packages I have in my collection, for sure! Although I adore so many of the Criterion releases (I have nearly 100 of them), Arrow is the best in the biz with their collector sets.
I believe you're the first person to smile whilst holding Waterworld. You're a legend chap.
Costner equals instant add to the shelf. I’m 3 flicks away from complete movie catalog. Alas I doubt the last three in the 3-5 dollar range I limit myself to specific pick ups
I wish dances with wolves would get this treament. Its my favorite movie and it has a few editions but nonthing as packed with features as this one has.
They releasing this again soon as "limited edition" but they don't ever say how it's limited
Mines coming in the mail. It says it's only 2 discs though. But it IS the Arrow Video release of Waterworld. So, hopefully it's actually 3 discs.
Also, I don't know what the big fuss is about. I saw Waterworld 9 times, it rules!
Just bought this Arrow version over the new 4K disc!
When I get home I have this waiting for me. Whoever made the thumbs down unsubscribe, I love watching this channel.
I agree its a flawed movie but at the same time the amount of money spent make it a spectacle, I love Dennis Hopper but in this move I would have preferred someone that could be a villan without looking like the guy from Easy Rider. I love Gary Oldman, because he looks like differnet guys when playing different roles and I love when he is a villan.
I feel the same way as you about this one, I like the IDEA of the movie more than the actual movie itself. So much potential that just didn't fall into place. But still like you said an "important" movie for the 90's genre nonetheless. So what's your take on "The Postman?" I like that movie 100 times better than this one.
BTW, I like your longer format analyses of things like this where you can go into more depth.
Thank you for the feedback on the format, Michael. I was wondering what the reaction to this video would be. As for The Postman, it's been many years since I've watched it (20?), but I feel like my reaction to it was similar to Waterworld. I need to revisit it. We're all hoping Arrow will give it a similar treatment to what they've done here.
I've read that Mark Isham did the original score for Waterworld, but Costner rejected it because it was too bleak or something. Now I can't seem to find it anywhere, I was hoping it was in this box, but perhaps it's lost or simply kept private. I like the score of Waterworld, but Mark Isham has done some of the best music for film, especially when it's bleak.
Mill Creek The Shield complete series was well done too!
That's good to hear! I still have the complete series on DVD and haven't upgraded yet.
Certain episodes unfortunately have been censored from the DVD versions.
I'm reading information about that online right now. How bizarre.
Nothing wrong with waterworld. It's probably one of the first films to be trial by media before it was released that we see so often now.
However always preferred the postman as the quintessential costner post apocalyptic film.
That was a film that would work now but back then it was ahead of its time.
Heath is it way worth getting the LE 3 disc set or the 2 disc set?
I think the two disc set is fine. The three disc set is great for completists who want every cut available for the film, but two cuts plus the Maelstrom documentary is more than enough for all but the most die-hard of fans.
Nowhere close to a masterpiece. You pretty much hit the nail on the head on all points. Definitely a fun movie. I still make fun of "smeat" to this day.
I am in the same boat! Love the movie and hate it at the same time.
💯💯💯💯
As you know I have this set and I agree it's a very nice set.
Uh... Costner didn't direct anything. The movie was done. Reynolds had his director's cut complete with a score by a different composer. They wanted him to re-cut it, he refused and quit. THEN Costner oversaw what ended up as the theatrical cut we know. I honestly love the movie, and always have. The visual spectacle is off the charts and is a movie that will never be made again. I think you're wrong about "playing the victim" regarding the bad press. I lived through it, and the negative press was crazy, all of which was nonsense. Everyone believed the Atoll set sank, which was bullshit. All of the reviews had a presumption of it being a bad movie going in. Everything on the doc about negative press was spot on.
Excellent review. Such a nice edition. By chance have you seen or read Waterworld: Children of Leviathan from Acclaim Comics?
I have not read the comics. Have you? Someone should reprint them now that we are all taking about this movie again.
@@CerealAtMidnight A reprint would be cool in a TPB but I'm not sure who owns the rights to the materials. Acclaim bought Valiant Comics but then filed bacnkruptcy. Valiant has restarted but been bought and sold a few times since.
It would probably be a licensing nightmare. You're right, Valiant is now owned by an entirely new outfit, and the original characters from the 90s, like Turok, went back to Dreamworks. Between that and Universal, who knows? Better to just track down those four issues, I suppose.
Waterworld has been my favorite movie since seeing it on its opening day at my local Main Street theater in LI,NY.. my theory: was after all the hype leading up to Waterworld being released in theaters, and how it was the most expensive movie EvER Made.. on & on.. etc.. (this was WAY before $100 mil. was even heard of in Hollywood having to do with a film) and the hype around this movie before it even started filming was being talked about.. like this dude said - Costner was the Top guy in Hollywood at the time, on the Dances with Wolves wave & his Oscar wins... anyway - people went into this movie expecting to see something life changing, and would set a new bar, for Movies to be changed from then on.. and there was no way to live up to the mythical proportions that "seemed" to have been promised. The movie was its own worst enemy and has gone down in history as a BaD Movie, which just isn't accurate. - sure.. maybe they could have given the main character name.. ;) at least they never called him "The Mariner" (us real Waterworld fans know- "he doesn't have a name, so death won't find him")
Great Movie! (would be an amazing movie if the original had tightened up about 30 - 35 minutes off the ending, the movie could've ended a half hour before the actual credits.
The length is my biggest criticism. It's just too long. There also does seem to have been an agenda from the media to smear it because of its budget. It was ahead of its time, for sure.
A fair assessment of the movie and a great-looking release, though I'm not such a fan of the film that I would buy it. I do have Arrow's LE of The Apartment which also came with a book and is fantastic. One question: this title does not seem to appear anywhere on Arrow's website and is not included in their new releases or LE releases. Why?
www.arrowvideo.com/product/waterworld/929
Hmm. I could not find the link you posted using Google. Apparently when you Google "Arrow Video" the first hit is arrowfilms.com (which doesn't list the title, even when you click on "Arrow Video") and not arrowvideo.com, which doesn't appear in the search results at all... a bit odd. Thanks.
OMG where did you get that shirt!?
If my memory is correct, it was made by someone on Etsy.
Thank you!
I consider myself a film buff, but somehow this movie slipped past me. I know of it's infamous legacy as a cinamtic bomb. But after hearing about your love hate relationship with this film I have a deep courousity to find out what I missed. I am going to order this realese as soon as I can.
I still need to see their follow-up "Hatfields and McCoys".
It's funny you say that, I've had the Blu-ray for years but I don't think I ever finished the whole thing. Also, isn't it weird that Reynolds and Costner seem to feud on their projects every time they work together, but keep coming back?
@@CerealAtMidnight Makes you wonder if they clashed on "Fandango" too.
not a fan of this film sai it theaters but you gotta give it up for packaging like this pretty awesome!
Is the picture quality an upgrade from the original blu ray?
Definitely! It’s a new 4K scan of the original negative. All three versions, too.
I bought this disc set, and the picture on the disc case is different than yours.
Is it a different edition? Does it still include the book, the poster, and the three different cuts? I believe this is a limited edition.
@@CerealAtMidnight Yes, I have the Arrow three disc set with the little booklet, and the foldout poster. My plastic disc case has the picture that is on the front of the cardboard box. I purchased it in July 2019.
Oh, I just reversed the artwork. The Blu-ray itself has dual artwork that you can pick from, so I reversed it to the alternate image from the one on the box for this video.
Release the Reynolds cut!
How come Arrow have the money to own the rights and make a decent collector version of Waterworld??!?? but for the movie the Hitcher the one with Rutger Hauer off course ;) they only have a booklicence and not the finance to release it on blu ray!!?!!! " is the rumor" While a little unknow company called Nameless media released meanwhile out of nowhere in multiple brd mediabook versions I think and go now between €50 till €150 on sites like Amazon!!!
Yeah, who knows what happened. Might not be about money, it might be about the license holder not playing ball.
Waterworld to you seems like what Escape from New York means to me! lol Escape never got very good reviews back in 1981 Waterworld got really bud reviews in 95 (Jeeze We were having our first daughter back then Time Flies lol) but as cheesy as these films are they just have a certin something Right?
I think Escape from New York is a much better movie than Waterworld, but then again, Kurt Russell is my favorite actor and John Carpenter is one of my favorite directors--if not my absolute all time favorite. I appreciate what Waterworld tries to do and the sheer level of accomplishment that all those dedicated cast and crew members achieved out there on the water. But I think something got lost along the way. It's a movie I will always appreciate, but probably never love.
Looks great. Too bad a don't like that movie
In my opinion, It's worth it for the documentary about what happened making it.
🌊⛵🐛🌏🏔
4K is coming so you need send to trash the Arrow :)
Ha! While the 4K might have a modest upgrade in picture quality, the Arrow edition has three cuts to the 4K UHD's two cuts, plus a feature length documentary (produced for Arrow, so it won't be on the 4K studio release), the booklet, the art cards...I actually may buy the 4K (I can't believe I'm willing to buy this movie yet again), but I'll be hanging on to the Arrrow edition for all the archival materials.
@@CerealAtMidnight yes I order the Arrow today haha.
It’s a fantastic release. You’re gonna love it.