Sony to release Wells' last movie in a 2 disc SE

[Cyberstrike]

SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT USHERS IN A NEW ERA OF TRANSFORMERS-MANIA WITH TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION DVD

Icons OPTIMUS PRIME and MEGATRON Star in Special Edition DVD to Hit Retail Shelves This Holiday Season

New York, New York, May 30, 2006 - When MEGATRON said, “It’s over Prime,” he had it all wrong. This fall, the home entertainment group of SONY BMG Music Entertainment pulls out all the stops for the 20th Anniversary of the pop culture phenomenon and original theatrical release, TRANSFORMERS: The Movie with an explosive special edition DVD.

The new DVD marks the return of the out-of-this world animated big screen bonanza that catapulted the likes of OPTIMUS PRIME, MEGATRON, STARSCREAM, SOUNDWAVE and even the DINOBOTS into pop culture icons. The TRANSFORMERS: The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD will be packed with premium features and behind-the-scenes footage developed with input by and for TRANSFORMERS fans across the country.

TRANSFORMERS: The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD will tap into the huge, multi-generational TRANSFORMERS fan base. The special edition DVD will power into retail stores across North America in November 2006 -- just in time for the holiday gift giving season.

“The TRANSFORMERS franchise continues to thrive across multiple platforms, and we are excited to celebrate this pop culture phenomenon with a compelling new DVD tribute,” said Jim Wilson, Executive Vice President, General Manager of Home Entertainment for SONY BMG. “By teaming with TRANSFORMERS fans, we have developed an exclusive product with premium content and special features that will be sure to attract fans of all ages.”

The 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD includes never-before-seen footage, exclusive interviews, interactive games and collectible packaging. The film features the voice of Orson Welles in his final role, as well as stars Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Casey Kasem, Robert Stack, John Moschitta, Peter Cullen, and Frank Welker. The DVD also features a winning soundtrack featuring the iconic theme "The TRANSFORMERS" performed by Lion, and the popular "The Touch," performed by Stan Bush.

For more information on TRANSFORMERS: The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD log onto www.TRANSFORMERSthemovieDVD.com.

To coincide with the special edition DVD release, this fall Hasbro will pay a special tribute to the rich history captured in the saga that is MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE with the TRANSFORMERS Classics line of figures. Available in November 2006, these new figures will feature updated versions of the first generation of TRANSFORMERS (or “G1”), inspired by the look and spirit of the original figures and characters.

About SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT is a global recorded music joint venture with a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars, as well as a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. SONY BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann A.G. and 50% owned by Sony Corporation of America.

About Hasbro

Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.

[maxrael]

i've never seen TRANSFORMERS... is it any good?

[Cyberstrike]

i've never seen TRANSFORMERS... is it any good?

If you're expecting an action packed (and somewhat violent)
sci-fi comdey action movie, then yes.

If you're expecting a thought provoking movie, with complex 3-dimenional charatcers then no.

[tadao]

Haven't ever seen the film, but an article about Welles by Damon Wise in the May 2006 UK edition of "Empire" magazine had an interesting word about it:

It seems fitting that, despite its ludicrous premise, Transformers: The Movie might say more about Welles than the work he cared so passionately about. As he took the pay cheque, and if only for a second, Welles must have seen the irony. Although compared to his early work it was junk, Unicron followed firmly in the lineage of his more famous roles, from Kane, through The Third Man's Harry Lime, to Othello, as a creature driven by ambition - voracious and insatiable.

Macbeth might be a more apt role than Othello in terms of ambition, in fact I'm not sure that the writer isn't confusing the two. Don't know about "might say more about Welles than the work he cared so passionately about" either, I'm sure no-one here would consider it more telling than F For Fake, Don Quixote, or The Other Side of the Wind, but an interesting statement nonetheless.

[DexyMan]

I picked up The Transformers SE DVD, yes I am desperate for official releases of Welles movies...

Anyway in the commentary they talk about how they heard the famous peas outtakes where Orson rips into a producer and were very nervous about him coming in to the studio. To their surprise they said that he was very friendly and they actually asked him how he felt about the peas outtakes going around the scene. Orson said that he liked it because people were intimidated by him before he even showed up. They also said he was very weak and he wheezed throughout his performance which is why they used a synthesizer on his voice. I was happy to hear what they said about him because this is what he said about the movie according to McBride's book:

He told Barbara Leaming "voice dripping with contempt":
I play the voice of a toy Some terrible robot toys from Japan that change from one thing to another... all bad outerspace stuff. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed...I tear myself apart on the screen."

Anyway, always nice to hear positive things about Orson!

[Cyberstrike]

I think that while Mr. Wells was probably thinking more about
the size of his pay check than anything else, I would think that TF: TM is just as inspirational to legions of Transformers fans as Citizen Kane was to others.

Simply put if it wasn't for TF: TM I wouldn't known or much less really would have been interested or cared in Orson Wells' life and career, and I wouldn't be posting this on this site

As the voice of Unicron, Orson Wells helped to create a character that depending on what version of the Transformers myths, who gravitate towards Unicron has been a space monkey's WMD, an evil god (basically the Transformers version of the devil), to weapon factory and more.

His first appearance in TF: TM was a such a powerful force on the screen that when he was announced that the character
would make a return towards the end of the God-awful Transformers: Armada TV series, that there are many fans who hated that series that have said that it was Unicron's appearances was some what redeemed that mess.

In his final role he helped to fire up the imaginations of hundreds of thousands fans who have grown up to be storytellers in various other medias.


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