Fox Numbered series

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justeleblanc · #1 Post by **justeleblanc** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 2:15 am

Besides the Film Noir and Studio Classics collections, Fox seems to have at least two other series, that feature Alien, Planet of the Apes, and now the new Fly discs. Does anyone know where I can get a complete list of all of their series?

Cinephrenic · #2 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 2:19 am

I think it is time for a Fox Classics section as we do Warner. I would be more than happy to work on the thread.

DrewReiber · #3 Post by **DrewReiber** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 5:02 am

JusteLeblanc wrote:Besides the Film Noir and Studio Classics collections, Fox seems to have at least two other series, that feature Alien, Planet of the Apes, and now the new Fly discs. Does anyone know where I can get a complete list of all of their series?

No, because Fox screwed their 2-disc system up that I believed caused them to ultimately abandon it. I don't think anyone ever figured out what number 8 or 9 was, which many have assumed (due to design) was the There's Something MORE About Mary edition of the film. Then they just flat out forgot what number they were on and duplicated 15 twice, I think with the Commitments and Predator. Again, I might be getting numbers mixed up, but this is the gist of what happened. I don't believe they've re-activated the 2-disc set numbers since then.

You might be able to find the Fox Classics line of numbered titles on Home Theater Forum, but you may have to do a search for it. I think that's still ongoing as a series.

justeleblanc · #4 Post by **justeleblanc** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 5:19 am

Looks like the brought it back.

DrewReiber · #5 Post by **DrewReiber** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 5:57 am

Ok, so what happened with their 15 or 16 duplication discrepency? Did they renumber and re-issue the titles? Anybody?

manicsounds · #6 Post by **manicsounds** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:32 am

They never fixed it, so both Commitments and Predator are 15,
and number 16 doesn't exist
but recently I Robot CE, Man On Fire CE, and Day After Tomorrow CE
are also numbered.

1- The Abyss
2- Cast Away
3- ID4
4- Planet of the Apes
5- Sound of Music
6- Moulan Rouge
7- Die Hard
8- There's Something (More) About Mary
9- Fight Club
10- Alien
11- Aliens
12- Alien 3
13- Alien Ressurection
14- Planet of the Apes (1968)
15- Committments
15- Predator
17- i, Robot
18- Man on Fire
19- Day After Tomorrow

justeleblanc · #7 Post by **justeleblanc** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 3:25 pm

Thanks!.... As far as I can tell, there is absolutely no logic to this series. The inclusion of Burton's PLANET OF THE APES is puzzling and the duplicate 15s are just ridiculous. Plus, aren't most of these also available in seperate special editions? (DIE HARD's & SOUND OF MUSIC'S 5 Star Series, MOULIN ROUGE's Red Curtain Trilogy)

THX1378 · #8 Post by **THX1378** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:23 pm

I never could understand why Fox started to number some of there DVDs in the first place. This had to have started after they decided to rerelease some of their 2 disc sets that they took off the market, then let Best Buy have the rights to be the only place that could sell these 2 disc sets *The Abyss, Cast Away, ID4, Planet of the Apes, Sound of Music, Moulan Rouge, and Fight Club 2 disc sets can only be found at Best Buy now*. The numbering never started I think until the Best Buy rereleases came out because my original Fight Club, Abyss, and other DVDs off that list have no numbers on them. I have both the Commitments and Predator disc and never bothered to check the number on the side. Isn't Predator 2 numbered also then? It wouldn't make sense at all to number Predator and not number Predator 2.

dx23 · #9 Post by **dx23** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 8:04 pm

Predator 2 is not numbered. I believe Fox was aiming at the collectors and the completist market when they decided to number some of their DVDs. Besides the Studio Classics, the other Fox numbered releases have no logic. Some of them are re-releases of Special Editions, like Fight Club, Moulan Rouge, Castway and The Abyss. Other are re-releases of former 5-star series and the include, Die Hard and ID4. Number 8 was supposed to be either Die Hard 2 or Speed, but something happened along the way and it was forgotten. The #15 thing just proves that Fox isn't paying attention to what they release.

If they regroup, Fox could have a decent collector series of their big movies, but that will be unlikely to happen anytime soon.

justeleblanc · #10 Post by **justeleblanc** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 4:20 am

Maybe they'll give it another go with Hi Def, thanks for all the info.

justeleblanc · #11 Post by **justeleblanc** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 9:13 pm

I got an email of the complete list of special editions from Fox. Certain titles are oddly missing:

Day After Tomorrow
I, Robot
Man On Fire
Abyss
Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Alien Resurrection
Cast Away
Commitments
Fight Club
Die Hard
Independence Day
Moulin Rouge
Planet of the Apes 35th Anniversary

dx23 · #12 Post by **dx23** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 1:29 am

got an email of the complete list of special editions from Fox. Certain titles are oddly missing:

Day After Tomorrow
I, Robot
Man On Fire
Abyss
Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Alien Resurrection
Cast Away
Commitments
Fight Club
Die Hard
Independence Day
Moulin Rouge
Planet of the Apes 35th Anniversary

Where is the Sound of Music? Predator? They clearly have a number and are special editions. This prove that Fox doesn't know what the hell they are releasing.

justeleblanc · #13 Post by **justeleblanc** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 4:24 am

Honestly, you can't say they don't mean well. So they're disorganized. You know THE FLY discs are tied with some of Criterion's best works, and you can't beat the price. And at least they aren't releasing a "Holy Schnikes" Edition anytime in the near future.

DrewReiber · #14 Post by **DrewReiber** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 6:40 am

JusteLeblanc wrote:Honestly, you can't say they don't mean well.

Oh c'mon, this whole line is nothing more but an attempt to elevate the interest in older titles while mixing them up with new releases. Burton's Planet of the Apes? I, Robot? The Day After Tomorrow?! They're just trying to co-opt the assumption by consumers that a collection set by numbers (like Criterion) infers a quality standard and turn it into a cheap marketing gimmick with little reason behind it and unsuprisingly, zero attention to organization. Their complete inability to run this line is only further evidence of how much true effort or value they place in this "series".

THX1378 · #15 Post by **THX1378** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 10:22 am

What I think is so dumb with what Fox is doing is that they tried to number some of the discs just like what Criterion has done, when Criterion proved that they know what their doing. I also hate that their doing the whole double dip deal with almost everyone of their new theatrical films. I wouldn't put it past them if latter this year Hide and Seek comes out in a new two disc edition with a damm number to go along with it.

DrewReiber · #16 Post by **DrewReiber** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 6:10 am

THX1378 wrote:I also hate that their doing the whole double dip deal with almost everyone of their new theatrical films.

Fox's problem has been the same throughout the short history of DVD. They have absolutely no sense of longterm planning. We could discuss for days how stupid their DIVX scheme was, but I didn't mind because once they came to DVD they hit the ground running. Then they started to exhibiting their typical short attention span by retiring their 5-star Edition line as relatively soon as it started.

For whatever reason, they torpedoed the line and then did very little to pick up the pieces. Not too long after, they re-introduced their 2 discs collectors series with this new numbering system. They created the appearance that they were putting thought into it, as they began transporting some of the previously 5-star Editions over along with a few newer titles.

Arguably, you could say Independence Day is somewhat of a modern classic that is still seen as a cornerstone in sci-fi blockbusters and then they followed up Burton's Planet of the Apes with the original. They put Die Hard into the line, but maintained the lack of inclusion for it's lesser sequels.

Then all of a sudden, gaps started to appear in the numbering system and the duplication popped up. Clearly they were getting sloppy because they were losing interest in the purpose of a collector's line. In no time flat, they started re-releasing BRAND NEW features six months after the standard editions with 2-discs added into this set. Now instead of being particular about adding Die Hard sequels, The Fly II is thrown in.

They threw out whatever agenda they had for the 5-Star Editions and original vision for this series. The titles and numbers are now completely arbitrary and whoever is running the show clearly assume that these spine numbers mean enough to the average that maintaining this pathetic charade without any organization is worth it. At least the Fox Classics line is still strong.

dx23 · #17 Post by **dx23** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 9:56 pm

From thedigitalbits.com:

In other release news, 20th Century Fox has finally announced their new 2-disc Sound of Music: 40th Anniversary Edition for 11/15 (SRP $26.98). We believe this will include the film remastered in anamorphic widescreen (2.20:1), along with English Dolby Digital 4.0 and 5.1 surround, as well as French and Spanish mono (with subtitles in English, French and Spanish). Disc One will offer an introduction by Julie Andrews, audio commentary by director Robert Wise, additional audio commentary with Andrews and Christopher Plummer, the film's score on an isolated track, a special song-access chapter listing (with a "play all" option) and sing-a-long subtitles in English, French and Spanish. Disc Two will add a second introduction by Julie Andrews, the A Few of My Favorite Things retrospective documentary, 3 additional featurettes (including On Location with the Sound of Music, From Liesl to Gretl: A 40th Anniversary Reunion and When You Know the Notes to Sing: A Sing-Along Phenomenon) a storyboard gallery, additional galleries of production photos as well as lobby card and one-sheet art, street test footage, and scores of theatrical trailers and TV spots (both new and old).

Fox is re-issuing or re-promoting a number of great catalog titles in November, including the original Fight Club: Collector's Edition on 11/29 (SRP $26.98) and the Alien Quadrilogy box set on 11/22 (SRP $79.98). Fox is also re-releasing the Star Wars Trilogy box set on 11/1 (SRP $69.98), along with Episodes I & II (SRP $19.98 each) as part of a cross-promotion with the new Episode III DVD (available the same day - SRP $29.98).

I don't know if they are going to continue with the number for the Sound of Music and if the Alien Quadrilogy is going to have a new number different from the individual releases, but FOX is going to continue this mess.

justeleblanc · #18 Post by **justeleblanc** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 10:52 pm

I'm actually beginning to enjoy watching Fox release special editions. You can't fault them for not producing quality DVDs or for not releasing their backlog. They're like that little kid who gets honor role in second grade, but who, for no real reason, shits a little his pants as he walks up to get the ribbon. When it counts Fox gets the job done, but they lack a certain functioning order that the other respectable DVD studios have. I wish they would accidentally mis-number their films again -- it's too funny.

manicsounds · #19 Post by **manicsounds** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 10:15 am

20. The Fly
21. The Fly II
22. Elektra
23. AVP - Alien Vs. Predator
24. The French Connection
25. MASH
26. Speed
27. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
28. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
29. The Omen

Looks like they still continue this, without logic,
while they start 'cinema classics' without numbers.

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