[Request] The Big Blue - US Theatrical Cut

[Bigrob]

I have the material to get this kickstarted that i can share but my laptop is not powerful enough nor do I have knowledge to do this but I would absolutley love for someone to restore the US Theatrical cut of Luc Besson's The Big Blue featuring the alternate score by Bill Conti.

I have the following on my laptop

The Big Blue - US theatrical version (HD 720p MKV from rutracker) but with agressive cropping
The Big Blue - original Motion Score by Bill Conti (FLAC)

I also have the US Laserdisc and the VHS as well but have no means of ripping the Dolby Surround track sadly.

I do mention this over at OT.com but there wasn't any uptake on it even though i did hear that someone did restore it but didn't share it for some unknown reason but considering it's never been released since it's original VHS and laserdisc and from what i heard that Luc Besson won;t actually allow this cut to be released in the future due to his dislikign of how it was changed, it's a pretty solid title for preserving i think?

[jonno]

Hey Rob, if you want to get your laserdisc over to me I can rip it for you.

Isn't there a release with a digital track though? One of the Japanese discs perhaps?

[Bigrob]

Hey Rob, if you want to get your laserdisc over to me I can rip it for you.

Isn't there a release with a digital track though? One of the Japanese discs perhaps?

All the Japanese discs are Besson's European / French Cut with the Eric Serra score. the US cut was only released by RCA Columbia on LD and VHS in 1989. Every release since has been the director's cut from 1992.
and yeah, I'll get that over to you in the new year! Another item for the preservation archive!

if someone wants to preserve the shorter 120m European cut in widescreen as well, give me a shout since i've got that on DVD but it's pan and scan only. The only editions released on DVD in widescreen were the 168m Director's Cut and the 136m French Theatrical cut.

[The Aluminum Falcon]

This would be a solid preservation. There was a 2-disc BD set available on MySpleen for a couple of hours, but then it got yanked down and was never shared again. IIRC that project had the US Cut HDTV Rip in 1080p (possibly just the 720p file upscaled and put on a BD) and the US Cut recreated with the European BD.

Personally, I don't mind the 720p file; it really looks like a 35mm print scan and has an overall nice look to it, minus the cropping you note.

[Chewtobacca]

It's on my to-do list, but it's not a priority for me and is unlikely to be done any time soon.

[bendermac]

According to dvdcompare.net the UK and Australian BD contain the original theatrical and Director's Cut

[Chewtobacca]

They contain the French theatrical cut. This thread's about the US theatrical cut.

[Bigrob]

Original and widley seen version

Title sequence with original score

rarely seen US theatrical Cut

Title Sequence with Bill Conti score


US Theatrical cut ending

[klezmer41]

I'm definitely interested in a copy of the laserdisc rip if and when this happens!

[letsjet]

Hi, did anyone ever follow through with this? The US version is one of my favorite movies and I just can't find it anywhere. Any help would be appreciated. I thought the cinematography was fantastic...