Special Edition DVD

A perfect edition would include the film, the butchered cut, Final Cut documentary, and plenty of other information, including providing a modern critical take - from both the films champions, as well as the dissenter who managed to avoid the hysteria and remain even-handed, like Dave Denby - the chance to reevaluate the work. That's at least three discs, if not four. Too say nothing of the footage from the original cut if it still exists.

We're lucky if the studios give this movie an HD restoration a few years down the line, nevermind three discs.

And despite a few critical champions, mostly abroad, but a few vocal ones in the English-speaking world (David Thomson, Tarantino, even Scorsese has said kind words about it, and I know there's more who simply haven't had the chance to put it on record), there isn't enough of a critical cache for Criterion to be interested. Not yet.

Surely the studios have moved on by now!

Actually, I did a little more research, and it turns out a Special Edition was planned a few years ago. MGM actually have made a HD transfer of the film (which pops up time to time on MGM-HD), and the Final Cut documentary was commissioned as an extra. The theatrical revival a few years back was suppose to be the first step of some form of critical reevaluation for the release.

Unfortunately, management change, and the ritualistic destruction of any project related to the former regime that comes with it, caused it to be thrown on the back-burner. With MGM in dire straits right now, I doubt we'll see anything for years.