comment #1

Ray DeRousse says ...

What an amazing visual statement. You can almost sense that Disney thinks they didn't take this new film far enough in the right direction.

comment #2

Terry McCarty says ...

Maybe Disney could have re-edited the original film and overdubbed a Daft Punk score (kidding).

comment #3

ChancetheGardener says ...

Rickety? Eat your words, sir...that is some brilliant shit right there...brilliant.

comment #4

Carl LaFong says ...

How long will the clip last on YouTube? Well, when you click on it you'll see that it has been posted since December 22, 2008, with almost 147,000 viewings. Disney doesn't seem to care...

comment #5

Markj74 says ...

Best scene from Tron is the lightcycle one, visually stunning.

Of course the new film is going to be awful. It was greenlit because the daughter of Disney's CEO was a fan of the original, not through any strength of the screenplay (which is from the writers of One Tree Hill).

comment #6

LexG says ...

One Tree Hill isn't so bad. Sophia Bush = YEP YEP.

I never, ever understand why some stuff gets pulled from YT with the quickness, while other things stay up for YEARS. Seems like some networks and studios are WAY more on the lookout for that kinda thing than others.

Now I kinda wanna see this again, for the first time since I was ten. Is the SD DVD out of print?

And did anyone else notice at some point in the last year, almost EVERY library title has gone OOP on DVD?

comment #7

corey3rd says ...

This might be the first relaunch of a film that they didn't do any DVD promotion with the older version. Was wondering why I wasn't getting bombarded with emails from Disney about Tron on Blu-ray.

comment #8

Raising_Kaned says ...

Markj thinks every single film released after 1985 is awful -- unless of course it's directed by James Cameron, in which case it's a "new classic."

He seems like the kinda guy who still buys new albums by Ratt, and then goes into a mild state of shock when he attends a New Year's Party not only can't find his favorite "deep track" off their new album in the karaoke machine, but can't even find the band listed alphabetically under the list of artists ("Hey -- there's 'Body Talk,' but it's listed under Robyn...is that like the 'Show Me Love' bitch?").

comment #9

G.N.A. says ...

I remember being 11 years old when TRON came out and being so excited to see it. I made my dad take me on opening day and I was bored out of my mind and wishing I had gone to see Poltergeist instead. Fool me once . . .

comment #10

Raising_Kaned says ...

Like Lex, I'm kind of curious as I haven't seen this film in a dog's age -- anyone watched this recently? I get a little nervous re-visiting the "classics" from my childhood. Popped in The Last Starfighter about 5 years ago, and uhhhhh, that was a big mistake -- so much for my nostalgia-tinted glasses for that flick!

Somebody at Disney didn't really think out the release strategy for this properly at all. Tron's 30th anniversary is in 2012, which would have made a nice excuse to re-release/re-master it for a nice, new commemorative Blu-Ray special edition (esp. since the last one is indeed OOP). But now with the remake/re-imagining/whatever coming out in late 2010, it doesn't make any sense to wait the extra year for that release.

From a marketing perspective, this new movie is coming out exactly one year too soon. Not that I give even the slightest fuck about any of this, but in this day and age where it's becoming increasingly difficult to get people to actually BUY video, this strikes me as a pretty big blown opportunity for Mouse House Inc., which is usually unbelievably savvy about this sorta shit.

comment #11

Raising_Kaned says ...

"David Warner sets the screen ablaze."

Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

comment #12

RMB says ...

Folks,

Geez, all this negativity towards TRON, a film which, by all rights, shouldn't exist at all. For the currently OOP 20th anniversary DVD of TRON, I wrote, edited and directed an 88 minute feature-length "making of." The story of how the original TRON was made is really pretty incredible. This wacky bunch of animators from the east coast, none of which had ever made anything more substantial than ANIMALYMPICS, convinced Disney to let them make the film, which, at the time, no one had the slightest clue how to actually accomplish.
That Disney made a film called TRON: LEGACY, a direct sequel, yet doesn't even want to admit there is a first film, strikes me as one of the greatest blunders in the history of Hollywood. I certainly hope the film delivers on some level. I have tremendous love for what is now a franchise and I certainly wish all the filmmakers the best.

comment #13

the analog kid says ...

Caught it on HDNet several months back. Hadn't seen it in years. Thought the HD transfer looked and sounded pretty good.

And to my surprise I actually enjoyed the movie after remembering it being a snoozefest when seeing it as a kid.

But my expectations were zero this time around...

comment #14

Eloi Wrath says ...

Didn't they release some big old Batman boxset right around the time of Batman Begins? Surely if anything would have killed BB dead, it was memories of the still-rotting corpse of the previous Bat-franchise. But audiences don't care. Disney are daft not to cash in now on old-Tron nostalgia.

comment #15

nemo says ...

Well hell, I missed the Harry Potter thread. But something LexG said struck a chord with me, so I have to respond to it somewhere, and this TRON thread seems as good a place as any.

"... I try imagining my Korean War veteran uncles who look like Robert Loggia seeing me sitting there watching this at rapt attention and just fucking embarrassed."

"I remember a couple years ago when one of the Fantastic Four movies came out, telling my awesome old man I had just come home from seeing that. He laughed and laughed incredulously and asked "SERIOUSLY? How old are you?" like I just had polished off a dinner of Gerber's while playing with my Tinker-Toys."

Your old man and your Robert Loggia veteran uncles ARE awesome. I bet they have the same reaction to anyone who uses Twitter or Facebook. SERIOUSLY? How old are you?

comment #16

Daviddb says ...

According to an IMDB poster (and yes, I realize how "reliable" they are), Disney is going to pull a George Lucas and re-do the original VFX on the old "Tron" and release it to DVD & BR when Tron: Legacy is also released on DVD/BR.

comment #17

Eloi Wrath says ...

How can they re-do the original effects on Tron without reshooting the entire film?

comment #18

scooterzz says ...

it struck me as interesting that, during the friday press day, bruce boxleitner kind of apologized every time he referenced the original film...it didn't really register until this post and the possibility he was instructed to limit his responses....makes sense now....

comment #19

Eloi Wrath says ...

Abby Elliott is so hot. What is she doing with Fred Armisen? Lunacy.

comment #20

Ray DeRousse says ...

@ Eloi - He's funny. Sort of. That's why.

comment #21

Eloi Wrath says ...

holy shit, hathaway's holmes impression is good. that was way better than her entire rachel getting married performance.

i'm mashed.

comment #22

Krillian says ...

I showed it to my older kids last year, ages 15 and 11. They liked it, and I liked it too, the dated FX notwithstanding.

comment #23

Tom Stokes says ...

When TRON came out and being so excited to see it. I really enjoy it.
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comment #24

DiscoNap says ...

the new TRON should have been a Charlie Kaufman movie about Walter Cronkite visiting the set.

comment #25

MathewM says ...

This is ridiculous for Disney to be shunning the original. I know that they have a lot of money riding on this but have the balls to back up your franchise. Yes, it is dated but remember that Tron came out in 1982. Back then Donkey Kong was cutting edge and it was two years before Neuromancer being published.

comment #26

ledbulb says ...

Maybe Disney could have re-edited the original film.
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comment #27

berg says ...

Fritz Lang is taking a shit in his shit

comment #28

Movie Watcher says ...

CitizneKaned , I haven't head anyone mention RATT in what, 15 years? That was funny! I remember seeing the original, and I guess Disney should have put it out on dvd by now. I watched the trailer for the new Tron and how does he turn the power on if nobody's been there for 20 years?

comment #29

Absinth Quell Pro says ...

Jackie Weaver looks like the one-eyed lady in The Dark Crystal. Just sayin'.

comment #30

Ray DeRousse says ...

@ Absinth - She does look like Augra!!!

comment #31

MDOC says ...

I have a fondness for the original, it's dated but wholly original. I have the DVD and revisit it at least yearly. It probably worth noted my wife will not watch it and I have never heard the work Tron mentioned by a female.
If Disney wanted to distance this new project from the original maybe they should not have made it a direct sequel.

comment #32

Raising_Kaned says ...

You know, all this discussion (esp. MDOC) reminds me of an old futuristic 3-D Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" episode from my youth where Homer -- stuck in another dimension -- asks everyone back in "reality" if they've seen the movie Tron:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMCSekVob2o

(It's obviously in Spanish, but if you have even a rudimentary grasp of that language, you'll get the gag).

comment #33

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

Eloi, I bought that Batman boxed set because Joel Schumacher LEGITIMATELY apologizes on the commentary AND in the special features. I don't think he knows exactly what he's apologizing for, but it's enough.

As for the original Tron, are there really a few people here who haven't seen it? It's totally humorless and a bit turgid, but visually it's unlike anything you've ever seen. Tonally, the thing is so funereal and dour that you wouldn't be surprised to find out how poorly it did at the box office, but there's lots of exciting bits, Bridges and Warner are great, its plenty ponderous, and has a constant air of doom that NO kiddie film of that era wanted to replicate. It's ridiculous if your mind strays from the story and you realize what these actors are really doing, but if you commit to the Tron world, it's pretty entertaining. Not "this needs a $200 million reboot" entertaining, but a cool view all its own.

I'm going to out myself a whole fucking lot here, but I feel like it's sort of the equivalent to the weirdly serious/weirdly silly Speed Racer movie a few years back. Which I kinda thought was a masterpiece of feuding tones and ideas.

comment #34

Edward Havens says ...

You don't spend 200m+ to make a sequel for a film you're embarrassed about. Nope.

comment #35

Markj74 says ...

@CitizenKanedforNappingWells: Just checked my DVD collection and i've hundreds of films released after 1985, so stop talking out of your ass. Why not commentate on why you think Tron: Legacy will be good, as opposed to doing a weak variation of LexG's schtick and mocking people who hold a genuine opinion?

I don't have any JJ Abrams films on the shelves though, as I tend to buy only good films. And it's 99% certain Tron: Legacy will not be good, so it won't be going on the shelves either.

comment #36

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

"Oh, I buy only good films! Pass the caviar!"

comment #37

SolarTheSign says ...

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/blog-post/inside-story-how-tron-legacy-came-true-22601

comment #38

crazynine says ...

CitizenKane, I re-watched it about four, five months ago with the GF. She saw the trailer for the new one, acknowledged she had never seen the original, so we got caught up.

It's very... Eighties. As in, light as a feather, dorky in the way movies about new cultural trends can be ("Computers are crazzzzy cool, the kids all love them!"). Much of the movie is plenty cheesy.

That said... the art design remains iconic for a reason, it's *damn* good. The CGI is primitive, sure, but it works as symbolism, i.e. watching it you don't care that it's not photorealistic, modern CGI. That modern stuff usually bumps up next to the uncanny valley anyway; Tron can be appreciated almost as an animated film (which it was, of course, though not even the Disney stamp made folks appreciate that at the time).

I'm curious about the sequel, but not THAT curious. I'm hoping for a fun film, but people MUST be honest: it won't take more than an inch of extra depth to beat Tron's wafer-thin characterization and plot. So, the bar *should* be low for the sequel-- alas, it probably won't be, given the memories of a bunch of impressionable kids from the '80s.