Customer Reviews

The Transformers - The Movie (International Version) [VHS]

5 star:		(438)
4 star:		(96)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

No doubt hidden in the 271 reviews that precedes my own you will find many of my ideas and thoughts about this movie. No matter, I still feel obligated to share what this movie meant and continues to mean to me. To begin, credit must be given to the composer and artist of this film. While, although sometimes a bit cheesy (ie. that same choo-choo-train sewer music playing whenever unicron appeares, which is borrowed from from ROCKY IV), the music does energize the film at times and makes for a great soundrack. Next, despite what some others have said, the animation for this film was great for its time. I mean, who could ever forget that scene when Optimus decides, "Megatron must be stopped--no matter what the cost," and leaps into action blasting away. That's the stuff great memories are made of. Conversely, however, the plot of this movie made perfect sense when I was ten years old, but now seems a bit weak. But what can you expect? After all, it IS--or WAS--a childrens cartoon. More than anything I think this film represents the end of an era. While kids still have vivid imaginations and continue to love cartoons, I wonder if they will obsess over them (running home from school to make sure you didn't miss a minute) like we did. In these days of powerfull computers, DVDs, and Wallmart(hehe), I don't know if things will ever be the same. Bottom line, I love this movie not only for what it is( a childrens cartoon), but for what we made it( a legend that defines a generation). Autobots, transform and roll out.

This is the release of the Transformers animated motion picture in celebration of it's 20th anniversary as well as a prelude to the release of the Transformers Live action motion picture that will be released in 2007. Let us take a look at the details of this dvd release which will help buyers in making the choice as to whether or not to make this film part of their dvd library.

Firstly, this dvd is released by Sony BMG Music Entertainment, as therefore those who might be expecting a dvd release of the animated film together with the live action film later in 2007 will be sorely disappointed as the property doesn't belong to the same distributor.

Secondly, this dvd release is a 2 disc release featuring three versions of the feature film, commentary tracks and interviews, a sneak peak at the live-action movie.

A breakdown of the dvd details are as follows :

*Brilliantly remastered and color-corrected

*16x9 widescreen presentation, which has not been seen anywhere since the movie was in theatres twenty years ago

*Full screen edition as well

*Commentary tracks

*Interviews with director Nelson Shin, story consultant Flint Dille and voice actress Susan Blu

*Autobot Matrix of Knowledge Presentation: Truly showcasing the pop culture phenomenon that is The Transformers, Sony BMG has created a special version of the film for the DVD release.

*The `Autobot Matrix of Knowledge' will feature trivia and fun facts about the movie itself, the Transformers brand, and the pop culture references in which Transformers has been spoofed/tributed. Approximately one hundred fun facts will show up on screen throughout the movie. Many of the factoids were provided by fans through a special DVD site created by Sony BMG to solicit input--marking the first time that the huge
Transformers fan base has ever been asked to participate in the creation of a Transformers home entertainment release.

*Original commercials for the toy line and movie

*Behind-the-scenes sneak peak at next summer's highly anticipated Transformers live action movie event. The special feature segment on the DVD will include comments from Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg who share their vision and passion for Transformers

*Collectible `transforming' cover

My personal view is that for this price, and the amount of special features thrown in, this dvd is a real bang for your buck. If you are a Transformers fan, this is a must buy. If you wanna have a Transformers history lesson and get hyped up before the movie release, this is also a worthy consideration.
If you belong to none of the people in the category above, you might wanna stay away. But this is darn good entertainment whichever way you look at it. This deserves 5 stars, no doubt!

TransFormers: the Movie. Mmm. Real good treat. I cannot explain howmuch I love this film, but it's simply the best. Infinitly superior to any other children's flick ever; there's action, guns, explosions, adventure, lots of death (although not all good), a good sci-fi script that makes sense (ish), sexiness (Arcee, oooh), the best hand drawn animation that makes Disney look like a Sunday supplement failed comic book artist, A Monty Python geeza (Eric Idle, probably needed the money), arguably the best actor of the 20th C amongst the cast, Spock, a very good soundtrack considering it was the 80s, the original Matrix (of Autobot leadership), good jokes, and the single most tear-jerking scene in cinema history that even on its current 65th watch reduces me to big-man blubber. The nostalgia element's important too, of course. Count how many times you come out in goose-pimples. So really, it is probably THE best film ever. The most important episode in the TransFormers saga/legend/thing. All this praise and the damned thing's still not out on DVD. Que? Make no sense to me. Let them roll-out now and light our darkest hour!

One for the old die-hard fans, those who watched it when they were young, and for those who are only just understanding the brilliance of 'robots in disguise' via Beast Wars it equals an entertaining history lesson. Don't watch it, however, if you're over 10 and have never experienced the thrill of the TransFormers, you may disappointed and if you do actually enjoy it that'll mean more harm than good.

Ah, yes! Anyone who was a kid in the 1980s should be quite familiar with Transformers. The series was great, although it suffered from choppy animation. In 1986, the Transformers was treated to the big screen with almost universal pans from critics....but critics don't buy tickets, the rest of us do! The movie is almost non-stop action, with death and destruction on both sides of the coin, speaking of Autobots and Decepticons of course. The most memorable scene (and controversial) would have to be the death of Optimus Prime. That one still gets to me after all these years. That being said, the rest of the movie is a lot of fun to watch and there's a little bit of humor in it to ease the intensity...which is good for the younger viewers. As for the quality of the movie, the animation is more polished and the colors are bit more metallic, giving it more realism. When this is released on DVD, I hope they improve the soundtrack on all counts because the VHS release was weak on the sound effects especially. The explosions were like pop guns and the rest of the sounds just didn't do the movie justice. The music and dialog was better, though not by much. If the the soundtrack is improved upon the DVD release, you better keep your hand on the volume control because it WILL shake your home apart! For the rest of you, enjoy!

Just watched the DVD edition of Transformers: The Movie and was very impressed with the audio/video and overall presentation of the movie. Although the audio is 5.1, it seems as if the front and rear channels are almost identical. I guess we shouldn't expect much from such an old movie. I would have preferred a widescreen presentation (none available) but the video is otherwise very crisp and clear. Any fan of the original 1980's show will want to pick this DVD up. When the theme song (in rock form) comes on during the menu, you'll feel like you're 10 all over again, waiting anxiously for your favorite transformers to lighten up your day after a hard day at school.

This is one of the cartoons that set the standard in the 80s. The Joes are definitely right up there as well. The excitement behind the Transformers seems to have been lost, with the Beast Wars cartoon offering a pale comparison to the 80s splendor involved with the original crew of Optimus, Megatron, Soundwave and the rest. Transformers: The Movie sent the Autobots and Decepticons in a new direction, with prominent characters dying off from both sides, and a new enemy being revealed. Vince DiCola offers a soundtrack that is total cheese, but fits quite well with the 80s glory that was the Transformers. The list of guest voices is quite impressive as well: Frasier's Dad, Monty Pythoner Eric Idle, and that fast-talking guy from the old Micro-Machines commercials are just a few. So be sure to pick up this DVD to relive the simplistic after-school enjoyment of the Transformers from when you were a kid, or get it for your own kids to show them what cartoons could be if some effort was still placed in creating them.

You MUST get this! I've loved Transformers since I was a kid! New Transfan? GET IT! Older Transfan? GET IT! I didn't see the movie in theaters when I was younger, although, this DVD will feel close enough to the theater. Oh yeah, be a nice girl/guy and click "YES" on "Did this review help you" Please! :)

I REALLY hate these reviewers saying this is a bad dvd. For 20 bucks, you get enhanced visuals and sound, a commentary from the composer [Music is halfthe movie, after all!], AND the uncut edition you'd previously have to buy through Canada or bootleg! Rhino could've sold this at 30 bucks-like most dvd's-but they're LOSING money by selling it to the fans at vhs retail. If you think Lucas will give you a better deal, then don't buy this and wait another decade for the Star Wars trilogy! And yes, I consider this the best deal I've ever had on a dvd! It's perfect, exactly like I remembered it, but with the curse words I missed the first time around. It almost makes me feel like I'm watching Macross Plus; that's how good it looks and sounds. Transformers fans-like myself-MUST own it. DVD's like this are reasons I'm glad to own a dvd player. Now let's hope the He-man movie on dvd happens too. (And I mean the animated movie, not the horrible live action-flick with Dolph Lundgren.)

This movie is historic because it was the first time a lead character was killed off in a cartoon series intended for kids. This resulted in 1000's of letters from angery parents and kids and led to a script rewrite for GIJoe the movie (another classic).

80's rock soundtrack really adds to the experiences, the movie stands fairly well on it's own, but will holds special meaning to long time fans of the series.

Cartoons have pretty much gone to hell these days, The Transformers was epic, the show only lasted four seasons (98 episodes), but it was complete in the end, with the final 3 episodes concluding the series with the bad guys defeated. This movie takes place somewhere in the middle of the series, it picks up about 13 years after the cartoon series left off (at the end of season two) in the year 2005, many new transformers are introduced, old characters are killed off, and the leadership roles are changed out for both good and bad. The seaons that followed continued on with the story and eventually was concluded due to a drop in ratings, the series continued on in Japan into the early 90's with three more seasons.

I wish Rhino would put this out on DVD, It would also be great if they would release a box set on DVD (like was done in Japan on Laserdisc) with the first two seasons and the last two seaons.

After 15 years of bootleg and censored VHS formats, we finally will get a chance to see Transformers: The Movie as it was orignally released.

This film stands out for many reasons. The highest note would probably be that Orson Welles led an all-star cast as the voice of Unicron, unfortunately he died before the film was finished, so Leonard Nimoy had to finish the voice-overs for Unicron. Few will remember Transformers as a film in Welles' career, but it stands as the last film he made. Secondly is the all-star cast which includes Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, John Moschitta, and Lionel Stander.

The film is a non-stop action epic, which only stops for the death of Optimus Prime, and speeds right past the death of other major characters like Iron Hide and Jazz. If you liked Transformers when you were a kid, this film will only bring back great memories.