A Dead Poets Society Special Edition/Director's Cut DVD

Dead Poets Society Special Edition DVD

Dead Poets Society is a wonder, intriguing, and brilliant film. It has been available on DVD for quite some time now but the lack of special features, etc. does the film no justice. The film proved to be a success upon its original theatrical release and has gained a tremendous fan following. A Special Edition of sorts has been released but is only available in DVD Region 2. It would only be proper to release a Special Edition or Directors Cut DVD containing various Special Features that would be available to the many fans around the globe. The Special Features should include but not be limited to:

- The Extended Version of the Film containing the inclusion of the cut and extended scenes. On the currently available DVD, these scenes are cut. On a laserdisc edition of the film and when the film is aired on USA Networks, the film is shown in its entirety containing these cut scenes. If these scenes were added to the film, many questions would be answered to the viewers and the original integrity of the film would be properly maintained. On the DVD, the viewer will have the option of watching the extended or theatrical version.

- Original theatrical trailers. There were a number of interesting trailers, with some trying to make the film out as a serious drama and others passing it off as a complete comedy.

- Selectable Audio commentary by director and/or actors.

- Behind the scenes featurettes.

- Past or present interviews with the actors.

- An isolated score of the film by Maurice Jarre.

- Poems from the film.

- Various language tracks.

According to David Nicholson who runs a fantastic Dead Poets Society fan website at http://www10.pair.com/crazydv/weir/dps/, The Region 2 Special Edition Contains the following:

- Scrapbook: A very interesting set of interviews (26 minutes worth) with various cast members reflecting on their experiences on the film. (with Robin Williams conspicuously absent for some reason)

- Raw Takes: A set of unedited rough footage, (8 minutes) involving a visit to the cave after Neil's performance. Keating joins them there and eventually coaxes them outside to a frozen waterfall. In the earlier drafts of the screenplay, these scenes were intercut with the scenes involving Neil returning home and his eventual suicide.

- Alan Splet Tribute: An 11 minute tribute to the supervising sound editor who worked on the film and died several years later.

- John Seale's Master Class: A 21 minute behind the scenes with director of photography John Seale, focusing on the lighting of the scenes involving Neil and Todd's dorm room.

- Theatrical Trailer: Different from the one I have one the web site.

- Audio Commentary: Peter Weir, John Seale, and Tom Schulman comment throughout the film. Unlike most commentaries, this one does not seem to involve the filmmakers actually sitting down and re-watching the films to make their comments. Some of their comments are scene specific but many of them are just comments on the creation of the film in general. Regardless, it is quite interesting, and well worth checking out.


If Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures were to release a long awaited Special Edition/Directors Cut DVD, the humongous number of fans would sincerely be appreciative. I know I would. If you are a fan of this spectacular film, now is the perfect time to show your support. If we get enough signatures maybe someone at Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures will take notice and hopefully we can get something done about it. Such a poignant film as this deserves a Special Edition DVD release. If Supergirl can warrant a Special Edition DVD complete with commentary, interviews, deleted scenes, etc. why cant this film have one available to its many fans?