Why isn't Tron out on DVD?

[Greylock Crescent]

I thoroughly enjoy the first film -- and think it's a classic on its own merits. Let people pump their chest at enjoying the next-gen version of the concept at the expense of the old. Makes them feel better than they probably are. Besides Legacy will definitely look better. Heck, it might even tell a better story. Still doesn't change the original, which the Big Mouse will certainly re-release in the not-too-distant future ...

 

[The Lensman]

I don't understand the attitude in regards to the original Tron. The computers then were clunky relative to today, so the world of Tron should seem that way compared to the world of Tron:Legacy. I would expect someone in the film (Flynn perhaps) to make a comment about how far computers have come, and what is now possible in the digital world.

 

[SicOne]

Hey...Tron IS out on DVD.

What? No, I didn't read the last seven pages of posts. I was too busy getting stoned. Thanks for the update.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I don't understand the attitude in regards to the original Tron. The computers then were clunky relative to today, so the world of Tron should seem that way compared to the world of Tron:Legacy. I would expect someone in the film (Flynn perhaps) to make a comment about how far computers have come, and what is now possible in the digital world.

Yeah, exactly. The slamming of the first film is rather awkward, considering the first one was considered quite an accomplishment in special effects. It was largely considered to be the first movie to use CGI. It's not only that they're slamming it, but it feels like they're sneering at it. For its time, the original was quite groundbreaking, and I think the use of modern CGI has a lot to thank Tron for. I'll put it this way. Sometimes there are movies certain generations will never really understand, much like painters during the rennaissance period. Some go their whole life studying these artists trying to find out what made them tick. I see Tron much in the same way. It may not have been a great movie, and it may have flopped at the box office, but it left behind a legacy, much in the same way the painters left their legacies, and a movie like Tron leaves behind several clues which people in the future might look at and study, and as such, the movie is more the sum of its parts. I think the press needs to realize this, that they need to look beyond what's on the surface, beyond the logistics of the first movie and see it for what it is.

 

[The Lensman]

And, really, though I've never been stoned I can't see there being much "stoned-worthy" elements in the original Tron.

That's where you're wrong amigo. Many's the time, back in the day, when I'd watch this film lit to the gils, sound down, and Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" playing. I'd time "Welcome To The Machine" for Flynn's arrival...and yeah, the album got a couple of run through's, but totally fit the movie in terms of trippy music and trippy visuals. At least, that's just like, my opinion, man.

I don't understand the attitude in regards to the original Tron. The computers then were clunky relative to today, so the world of Tron should seem that way compared to the world of Tron:Legacy. I would expect someone in the film (Flynn perhaps) to make a comment about how far computers have come, and what is now possible in the digital world.

Yeah, exactly. The slamming of the first film is rather awkward, considering the first one was considered quite an accomplishment in special effects. It was largely considered to be the first movie to use CGI. It's not only that they're slamming it, but it feels like they're sneering at it. For its time, the original was quite groundbreaking, and I think the use of modern CGI has a lot to thank Tron for. I'll put it this way. Sometimes there are movies certain generations will never really understand, much like painters during the rennaissance period. Some go their whole life studying these artists trying to find out what made them tick. I see Tron much in the same way. It may not have been a great movie, and it may have flopped at the box office, but it left behind a legacy, much in the same way the painters left their legacies, and a movie like Tron leaves behind several clues which people in the future might look at and study, and as such, the movie is more the sum of its parts. I think the press needs to realize this, that they need to look beyond what's on the surface, beyond the logistics of the first movie and see it for what it is.

Exactly! I see Sky Captain as a sort of modern Tron. Story was nothing special, action was alright, technique and style was everything. Many reviewers, especially traditionalists, lambasted the all green screen approach. Yet that looks to be the future....Sin City, Avatar, etc.

Tron paved the way. While I don't think it was the first to utilize CGI, (Black Hole's opening was CGI) it was the first to use it to that extent. Something like 95% of the movie was CGI.

 

[Corran Horn]

There were two version of TRON released on DVD...a single disk (possibly) non-anamorphic version, and a two-disk version that's pretty sharp and has some great extras. I have the latter.

Now, off to ebay!

(I kid)

 

[davejames]

I thoroughly enjoy the first film -- and think it's a classic on its own merits. Let people pump their chest at enjoying the next-gen version of the concept at the expense of the old. Makes them feel better than they probably are. Besides Legacy will definitely look better. Heck, it might even tell a better story. Still doesn't change the original, which the Big Mouse will certainly re-release in the not-too-distant future ...

Well I do have to agree with the critics that the story for the original does seriously drag when I watch it now (even when you account for longer attention spans back then), and I don't deny that there's definitely a nostalgia factor involved.

But as far as the effects and design work goes, I actually find them to be as cool as ever.

 

[Owain Taggart]

While I don't think it was the first to utilize CGI, (Black Hole's opening was CGI) it was the first to use it to that extent. Something like 95% of the movie was CGI.

Oh yeah, I remember the opening. I actually bought that movie at the same time I bought Tron. With Tron, however, it was the first extensive use with 15 minutes of computer animation. To put it in perspective, that same year, WoK came out and CGI was used for the Genesis effect,which only lasted a few seconds. So, Tron had quite a shift in its use. It's hard to understand how the critics can undermine that achievement.

It's quite interesting looking at the timeline on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_CGI_in_film_and_television

Interesting thought about Sky Captain. I never thought of it that way, but you're right. It might not be that much of a shift, but it does show what could be done much the same way Tron did.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

Well I do have to agree with the critics that the story for the original does seriously drag when I watch it now (even when you account for longer attention spans back then), and I don't deny that there's definitely a nostalgia factor involved

I felt the original story had a nice Disney charm about it, bunch of friends enter a magical world, to sort out a big bad magician, that kind of thing.

 

[Amaris]

Amazon has some for sale, from second party persons, for over $100. They're being sold for this price because they're no longer being made and "new copies" are scarce.

Or maybe you could stop being ignorant, and acknowledge the fact that Dimesdan pointed out, 4 pages ago, that you can get one for £20 off the UK Amazon site.

*cough**BPtoUSDconversion**cough*

 

[Greg Cox]

Or maybe you could stop being ignorant, and acknowledge the fact that Dimesdan pointed out, 4 pages ago, that you can get one for £20 off the UK Amazon site.

Yes, and its Region 2 which does most Americans, with only Region 1 players, absolutely no good.

It's been a long time since I came across a DVD player that was region locked, with no way for anyone remotely technically capable (i.e. can use Google) to unlock it.

To be fair, the world is full of middle-aged techophobes like me for whom that sort of thing is hardly second nature. It would never even occur to me to try to "unlock" a modern DVR and the very prospect sounds like way too much trouble. If a disk isn't compatible with my machine, I'm not going to mess with it. Not everybody is "technically capable" or should be expected to be.

(Then again, I still rely on floppy disks.)

As for the original TRON . . . I wonder if Disney privately conducted some test screenings and focus groups and discovered that the old movie actually made modern audiences less likely to see the sequel?

That would explain things.

 

[Mike Farley]

Or maybe you could stop being ignorant, and acknowledge the fact that Dimesdan pointed out, 4 pages ago, that you can get one for £20 off the UK Amazon site.

Yes, and its Region 2 which does most Americans, with only Region 1 players, absolutely no good.

It's been a long time since I came across a DVD player that was region locked, with no way for anyone remotely technically capable (i.e. can use Google) to unlock it.

In the US most DVD players are not region free and not easily unlockable. Plus you have make sure you get one that'll convert the PAL video to NTSC.

It's not that it's undoable, but it generally takes a lot more than a casual effort here in the States.

 

[The Lensman]

(Then again, I still rely on floppy disks.)

AAAAHHHHH KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!

But seriously.....you're still using floppy's? 3 1/2 inch or are you really kicking it old school with 5 1/4 disks?

 

[Immolatus]

it's too bad it's hard to get. I haven't seen it since it first came out and watching it again would be like watching it for the 1st time. my kids have never seen it and I'm sure they would love it. I wouldn't take them to see legacy until they've seen tron and since we can't see tron disney is out of luck (I have a large family).

 

[Greg Cox]

(Then again, I still rely on floppy disks.)

AAAAHHHHH KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!

But seriously.....you're still using floppy's? 3 1/2 inch or are you really kicking it old school with 5 1/4 disks?

3 1/2 (although my girlfriend recently convinced me to toss out a stack of the larger ones that had been taking up space in my office for years).

Apparently, I'm also one of the last sf writers on Earth who is still using WordPerfect . . . or so my editors complain.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

(Then again, I still rely on floppy disks.)

AAAAHHHHH KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!

But seriously.....you're still using floppy's? 3 1/2 inch or are you really kicking it old school with 5 1/4 disks?

3 1/2 (although my girlfriend recently convinced me to toss out a stack of the larger ones that had been taking up space in my office for years).

Apparently, I'm also one of the last sf writers on Earth who is still using WordPerfect . . . or so my editors complain.

But it works so well with daisy wheel printers!

 

[Sparky]

I've got the DVD, and I've got an HDTV rip too. It looks great in HD.

Same here.

It's simple. If the media is not directly available when you want it. Get it in another way.

 

[The Lensman]

I've got the DVD, and I've got an HDTV rip too. It looks great in HD.

Same here.

It's simple. If the media is not directly available when you want it. Get it in another way.

Looks like I'll be doing just that. I'd like to see the movie before Tron:Legacy.

 

[IcecreamLtDan]

Yes, and its Region 2 which does most Americans, with only Region 1 players, absolutely no good.

It's been a long time since I came across a DVD player that was region locked, with no way for anyone remotely technically capable (i.e. can use Google) to unlock it.

In the US most DVD players are not region free and not easily unlockable. Plus you have make sure you get one that'll convert the PAL video to NTSC.

It's not that it's undoable, but it generally takes a lot more than a casual effort here in the States.

I guess things must have changed a lot then, the old Phillips I have had a 4 digit code you typed in on the remote, then you went to the output section of the menu and changed it to PAL and there you are, it now it unlocked and plays Pal DVD's.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I guess things must have changed a lot then, the old Phillips I have had a 4 digit code you typed in on the remote, then you went to the output section of the menu and changed it to PAL and there you are, it now it unlocked and plays Pal DVD's.

The Phillips is an exception, I bought one because you could unlock it. Unfortunately, not the best unit. I later bought an Oppo that could do the same but there are a large number of DVD players that are not easily unlockable, at least at the time I picked these up. I