MovieChat Forums > Merlin (1998) Discussion > Another 'NEW DVD' ques - length of movie

Another 'NEW DVD' ques - length of movie

posted 18 years ago by divechaz
4 replies | jump to latest

I recently ordered the special edition DVD, and i was wondering if this is the version I'd originally seen...
I had the old VHS for the UK (channel 4) and in that the movie had been split into Part 1 and part 2.. it also featured the scene with Maab giving Rutger Hauer the tear, and then when he dies, there's a voiceover that "his pride had cast the tear away".
(I think there were a couple of other similar very minor tweaks that were missing on the original US version release)
So my question now is about the special edition DVD; does it feathure those "cut" bits as well, or is the film itself identical to the version released earlier in the US on VHS and DVD? Thanks!

[–] sintancos_empress 18 years ago

I'm working from memory, not actually owning the SE DVD myself. I own the DVD of the UK version (me living in the UK), which id the bog standard normal one, and that contains the scene in question.

According to amazon.com, the SE DVD is about 2 mins shorter than the one I have, which could be explained by something I read saying that 30 mins have been removed from the film and replaced by 27 mins of footage that was filmed but cut out of the TV version. I'm not sure whether that's true, don't take my word for it. Also according to amazon, the SE version contains an audio commentary and a Charlotte Church music video.

Hope that helped!

Try not to panic. Just think of it as landing a little more vertically than usual

[–] divechaz 18 years ago

Hi there! Thanks a lot for all the info... I appreciate it! (I actually hope the "27 minutes" they're referring to is similar to the stuff they cut out of the original US release...

The big joke is I actually went ahead and BOUGHT the DVD from Amazon already, and its been sitting on my shelf for the last week with one raised eyebrow, waiting for me to pop it in and watch it...but I haven't had a chance yet :( ...
Oh well, maybe today...then I'll update this thread with my oh so important thoughts and opinions hehehehhe

[–] sintancos_empress 18 years ago

Yay! Please tell us if there's any good stuff not in the original version!

Try not to panic. Just think of it as landing a little more vertically than usual

[–] divechaz 18 years ago

Well, first things first...if you don't own a copy yet, I DEFINITELY recommend this version (the Merlin Special Edition DVD"). It includes all the stuff I remember from the original European VHS I used to own. The US VHS definitely had a lot cut out (basically, I think the 182 minute complete movie was cut to 158 minutes or so!) The DVD is great, the video transfer is pretty clean.

The following scenes, which i THINK were mssing from the original US version, are now included (I believe they were always included in the UK version)...

The Scene where Mab give Vortigan the tear to protect him
The voiceover about Voritgan after he dies, that he cast the tear away...
The beginnings of King Arthur's round table on the battlefield, where he stops the war before he ascends the throne.

I think there are probably a couple of other little things too that I can't quite remember. Basically though, I think this may be the most complete DVD version we'll ever get to see of Merlin. The DVD also has a director's commentary (haven't watched it with that yet). Just a personal opinion, but it might have been fun to see some bloopers/outtakes too :)

So yeah...if you own a copy of Merlin already, perhaps just rent this version, and check it out to see if you want to shell out the extra cash. If you DON'T own a version already, I'd say DEFINITELY go for this one!!!!

(oh, one last rather thing..not a problem, but rather just a bit of confusion... in the scene selection menu onscreen, the chapter titles are different from the titles that are printed on the insert included with the box. I'm sure we can all live with that without killing ourselves over it though hehehe)