TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC [1982 / 2011] [The Original Classic] [Blu-ray]
A Milestone In The History Of Computer Animation!
Experience the original landmark motion picture that inspired a new generation of digital filmmakers and became a favourite of fans and critics across the world. Relive the electrifying thrills of ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ with an all new, state-of-the-art digital restoration and enhanced high-definition sound.
When a brilliant video game maker named Kevin Flynn [Jeff Bridges] hacks the mainframe of his ex-employer, he is beamed inside an astonishing digital world and becomes part of the very game he is designing. Complete with hours of never-before-seen bonus material, it’s an epic adventure that everyone will enjoy!
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1982 Guinness World Record Award: Win: First Use of Computer-Generated Animation for Steven Lisberger (Director). 1983 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Costume Design for Elois Jenssen and Rosanna Norton. Nominated: Best Sound for Bob Minkler, James LaRue, Lee Minkler and Michael Minkler. 1983 BAFTA Awards: Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Special Visual Effects for Harrison Ellenshaw and Richard Taylor. 1983 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films: Win: Saturn Award Award for Best Costume Design for Elois Jenssen and Rosanna Norton. Nominated: Saturn Award Award for Best Science Fiction Film. Nominated: Saturn Award Award for Best Animated Film. 1983 Young Artist Awards: Nominated: Best Family Feature for an Animated, Musical or Fantasy.
FILM FACT No.2: The soundtrack for ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ was written by pioneer electronic musician Wendy Carlos, who is best known for her album Switched-On Bach and for the soundtracks to many films, including the Stanley Kubrick-directed films ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and ‘The Shining.’ The music, which was the first collaboration between Wendy Carlos and her partner Annemarie Franklin, featured a mix of an analogue Moog synthesizer and Crumar's GDS digital synthesizer, which is a complex additive and phase modulation synthesis, along with non-electronic pieces performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (hired at the insistence of Disney Studios, which was concerned that Carlos might not be able to complete her score on time). Two additional musical tracks ("1990's Theme" and "Only Solutions") were provided by the American band Journey after British band Supertramp pulled out of the project. An album featuring dialogue, music and sound effects from the film was also released on Long Play Album by Disneyland Records in 1982.
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes, Dan Shor, Peter Jurasik, Tony Stephano, Craig Chudy, Vince Deadrick Jr., Sam Schatz, Jackson Bostwick, David S. Cass Sr., Gerald Berns, Bob Neill, Ted White, Mark Stewart, Michael Sax, Tony Brubaker, Charlie Picerni, Pierre Vuilleumier, Erik Cord, Loyd Catlett, Michael Dudikoff, Richard Bruce Friedman, Rick Feck, John Kenworthy, Lisette Kremer (uncredited) and Jerry Maren (uncredited)
Director: Steven Lisberger
Producers: Donald Kushner, Harrison Ellenshaw and Ron Miller
Screenplay: Steven Lisberger (screenplay/story), Bonnie MacBird (story) and Charles S. Haas (screenplay) (uncredited)
Composer: Wendy Carlos
Cinematography: Bruce Logan, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1 (Super Panavision® 70)
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French: 5.1 DTS Surround Sound
Italian: 5.1 DTS Surround Sound
German: 5.1 DTS Surround Sound
Spanish: 5.1 DTS Surround Sound
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, English: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Icelandic and Português
Running Time: 95 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Buena Vista Distribution Co., Inc. / Walt Disney Productions
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: With the film ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ [1982], make sure you've got the popcorn ready popped, a soda in hand, and a comfy seat, because once you enter the grid you won't want to leave, because Walt Disney Productions brings you the ultimate film experience right into your living room and it will definitely not disappoint you. Sadly the film never received critical acclaim at the box office it so deserved, but of course over time it has developed a very strong fan base followings who wish they could enter “the Grid.” But with this stunning Blu-ray disc release, Disney is not only giving fans the chance to experience a totally unique film again, compared to what I viewed on my inferior DVD release, but the Blu-ray disc also offers you lots of additional entertaining special features for extra enjoyment. What is especially spectacular is at the start of the film where you view totally amazing different colourful graphics and the way they move about the screen you get a near on spectacular 3D visual effect treat that really sets you up for the rest of the film.
‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ film was released in the early 1980s, at a time when computers were new and frightening to many, not yet having found a place in people’s homes. ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ was far ahead of its time, predicting a world in which people would interact in cyberspace by way of alternate personas. The film was the first to extensively use computer graphics, seen by Hollywood at the time almost as “cheating,” with traditional artists and model-makers afraid for their jobs. As with the film today, ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ still stands out as being far ahead of its time. Its CGI special effects may look slightly dated, but one of course must appreciate for its cinematic accomplishments and for general geeky nerds, has kept this film desirable for decades.
‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ is one of those films that brought forth so many new ideas, and did so many things in a different way from anything that came before that it’s tough to quantify its impact on film. Its novel combination of hand-drawn animation techniques, optical techniques, and computer generated imagery to create a visual representation, accuracy aside, of how the computer world works is something that’s permeated pop culture on a scale that is nearly unprecedented. You can see popular elements of ‘TRON’ in computer games, music videos, TV shows, and even other films.
And yet, even though today its achievements are well known, the film kind of flew under the radar at the time of its release in 1982, making little more than a small splash in a big pond, which is kind of surprising, considering everything it brought to the table. I mean, it was a big special effects science fiction blockbuster, released by a huge company in the post ‘Star Wars’ era, starring a relatively well known star in Jeff Bridges. ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ was enthusiastically reviewed by critics too, with endorsements from big named, who gave it a perfect score. I guess the idea of computers being portrayed in such a grandiose way just didn’t resonate well with the cinema audiences of the early 1980s. ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ was labelled as a financial disappointment by Disney, and swept it under the rug for nearly thirty years.
That being said, ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ is an excellent film. It follows the exploits of genius programmer Kevin Flynn [Jeff Bridges], a man who’s greatest and most profitable achievements have been stolen from him by a less talented co-worker. Kevin Flynn spends his free time trying to hack into the system of his former company, designing different computer programs to break into their computer systems to find evidence to return his property to him. Kevin Flynn enlists the help of his friends, who are still programmers who work for that company, to help him break into the computer network from the inside. In an attempt to defend itself, the computer’s defence system uses a conveniently placed laser device to suck Kevin Flynn into the computer network. There he embarks on an epic quest to defeat the computer program that’s trapped him, enlisting the help of the computer programs that have been trapped inside the network, as well as those designed by his friends on the outside, including TRON himself. From there they face lethal computer games, and an army of villainous defence programs that try and stop them from achieving their goal. The story isn’t exactly the most ground-breaking, but its strength lies in its execution, which TRON does in a nearly flawless manner.
‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ is an absolute blast from start to finish and Jeff Bridges truly embraces the role of computer programmer turned computer program, bringing an incredibly enthusiastic performance to the role of Kevin Flynn, one that could have easily turned cheesy, or boring in the wrong hands. Jeff Bridges supporting cast follows suit, with all-star performances from David Warner as the Master Control Program’s right hand man Saark, and Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley the hero of the computer world, and the title character TRON. You can tell that this cast really enjoyed making this film, as there is a lot of passion that is presented throughout the film that you view on your TV screen. Their performances are accompanied by an appropriately 1980s techno sounding synthesized soundtrack, and while it’s incredibly fitting, it definitely enhances the enjoyment of the film, especially in the dramatic computer battle scenes.
‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ is a visual tour de force, that uses a combination of traditional methods and primitive computer effects to create a world that was unlike anything that came before it, and a world that is spectacle and impressive and has never really been replicated, even by its own sequel. ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ is a product of true cinematic vision, and manages to innovate while being incredibly entertaining at the same time, not an easy feat, but the Disney organisation as always does a very professional job.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Walt Disney Productions presents us with a stunning 1080p image presentation and especially in the unusual 2.20:1 aspect ratio. ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ [1982] was prepared for a 70mm and 35mm theatrical. The film was scanned and restored in 4K, and then scaled down for a Blu-ray presentation experience. But of course parts of the ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ film will never look as detailed, or as sharp as a modern Hollywood production. ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ was shot on 65mm film negative, in full colour for majority of the scenes that take place in the real world, and 65mm in black-and-white for the scenes shot with actors that take place in the computer world. Those scenes that take place in the computer were then printed down to VistaVision, a horizontal 35mm film format, where each scene was hand tinted, and combined with effects sequences that were generated by the computers to create the unique visuals of the film. Once these scenes were finished, they were blown back up to 65mm film negative and combined with the 65mm colour negative sequences to create a Super Panavision® 70 and 35mm prints for theatrical distribution. Did you catch all of that? Vast improvements have been made to enhance the overall feel of the original ‘TRON’ for this Blu-ray release. For a film that was released in 1982, and the 1080p picture quality is so strong that seeing it with this Blu-ray disc format is like literally seeing it for the first time and in doing so you can see all the limitations in the hand-done technology, yet it only serves to add even greater appreciation for the way things were created, and the attention to detail here is breath-taking. Earlier releases of this film on the inferior DVD format suffered from flickering wherever the colourful lines of light were composited onto the frames as part of its original production. But this new release greatly reduces that flicker, creating a far more enjoyable viewing experience. The effects themselves remain the same, meaning they are totally spectacular and the film ‘TRON’ looks totally enhanced, despite the age of the film and of course overall, it looks better than ever.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Walt Disney Productions brings us with an equally stunning new 5.1 DTS- HD Master Audio experience, and especially as ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ [1982] was released to cinemas with a 70mm six track Dolby Stereo soundtrack, which has been remixed and presented here via a 5.1 DTS-Master Audio soundtrack. ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ soundtrack is just as much of an experience as its visual counterpart. You will experience ambient sound is constantly coming out of every speaker. Voices are panned all around the sound stage, moving from left to right, and even spending some time in the surrounds. Things are constantly crashing into walls, and being blown up as the action unfolds, and the sub-woofer responds with an impressive amount of force. Voices are never lost under the intense sound design of the world of ‘TRON – THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC.’ Add to all this, the awesome Wendy Carlos music film score that adds to the ambience of the film, and you’ve got a film that was not only ground-breaking at the time it came out, but will continue to be for those who are willing to take a journey and overlook some of its narrative flaws. Overall, I was blown away by just how good ‘TRON – THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ sounds and I wish more soundtracks were this well mixed. Even with the dominant music, dialogue and clarity never gets overwhelmed, and there are plenty of moments of quiet reflection to complement the bombastic parts of the film. I am always continuously surprised and pleased by many of the audio offerings you get to hear throughout the film and the audio matches its picture perfectly throughout the film ‘TRON – THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC.’ So all in all this is an awesome sound experience you have been waiting to hear, because surpassed my expectations. Sure, after well over 30 years you can definitely hear the age in this mix, but really, it fits in wonderfully with the look of the film.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: THE ‘TRON’ PHENOMENON [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [9:45] The cast and crew of ‘TRON’ discuss the legacy of film in this recently produced exclusive special feature. We also get to view old 1982 film footage of the boffins at the MAGI SynthaVision Computer Company. They all give great praise towards Steven Lisberger on how ahead of his time he was in making the film ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ and we see him being interviewed in a rare 1982 film footage. We also get to view some stunning images of Syd Mead’s amazing conceptual artwork, as well as some stunning early computer graphics test animation. Contributors include: Jeff Bridges [Kevin Flynn], Bruce Boxleitner [Alan Bradley], Joseph Kosinski [Director], Sean Bailey [Producer of ‘TRON LEGACY’], Michael Sheen [“Castor” of ‘TRON LEGACY’], Justin Springer [Producer of ‘TRON LEGACY’], Edward Kitsis [Writer of ‘TRON LEGACY’], Olivia Wilde [“Quorra” of ‘TRON LEGACY’], Garrett Hedlund [“Sam Flynn” of ‘TRON LEGACY’], Steven Lisberger [Writer/Produder/Director] and Syd Mead [Visual Futurist Conceptual Artist].
Special Feature: PHOTO TRONOLOGY [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [16:37] Here the Writer/Producer/Director of ‘TRON,’ Steven Lisberger and his son Carl Lisberger, visit the Walt Disney Archives in search of the original production stills, principal photography, large colour transparencies, colour tests, conceptual art and rare note book materials the studio saved from the original ‘TRON’ film.
Audio Commentary with Director Steven Lisberger, Producer Donald Kushner, Associate Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor Harrison Ellenshaw and Visual Effects Supervisor Richard Taylor: Here Steven Lisberger welcomes us to this audio commentary, next up is Donald Kushner, next up is Harrison Ellenshaw and finally to introduce themselves is Richard Taylor, and here they are to provide us with some audio commentary on the film ‘TRON.’ They inform us that the origins of ‘TRON’ dates back to the early days work they did on the animation of characters made out of light imagery, and what also helped is that they tried to keep up-to-date on the early computer graphics that started to emerge in the 1980s period. We hear that the person that owned the Laser Laboratory was in fact Lawrence Livermore of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory which is situated in 7000 East Ave, Livermore, CA 94550, USA. Who was very enthusiastic in allow them to film ‘TRON.’ By the way, when you see the three actors turn up at the big door at ENCOM that was a real radiation door to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and is 12 feet thick. When you see Jeff bridges gets zapped into the TRON computer games world and you see everyone’s clothes glowing with bright colours, we get explained in great detail the technical side of how the effects were produced. When you see the LIGHTCYCLE’s escaping and being chased by the computer tanks, both were designed by the brilliant futuristic graphic designer and Conceptual Artist Syd Mead. When you see the breath-taking scene in which a Solar Sailer zips across the virtual world of the Grid on a beam of concentrated energy, while trying to escape, they mention that down below that at one point the Solar Sailer flies over a lake, that actually has the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head. They also comment that they wished that had available at the time today’s modern bicycle helmets of making the picture, and they also comment that it is very funny today how the bicycle helmet around the world wear these types of helmets and also spandex clothing and they didn’t realise at the time that the people involved with the film were the pioneers of roller blading and bicycle technology. What has made me really angry is that one of the audio commentators says, “It is one of these sequences where you can see the subtlety on this LaserDisc of the variations in colour and just the difference in the tone of his overall body costume and the difference of the tonality of the whites of the head gear.” Well I think this is very unprofessional attitude, because this same audio commentary was included in the inferior DVD release, and now it has been included in the Blu-ray release, well again I think this is a very unprofessional attitude of the Walt Disney Productions, as it should have done a new recordings to include the word DVD release or Blu-ray release.
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ORIGINAL DVD FEATURES: Here we get to view nine separate features and they are as follows:
DEVELOPMENT: Here you get to view five individual special features, which are as follows:
EARLY LISBERGER STUDIOS ANIMATION [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [00:29] Using conventional animation, Steven Lisberger produced an animated logo for his LISBERGER STUDIOS INC., which was licensed as advertising to several radio stations around America. This was the first appearance of a character Steve that was called “TRON.”
“COMPUTERS ARE PEOPLE TOO” [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [4:28] Original aired in May 1982; “COMPUTERS ARE PEOPLE TOO” presented a look at the [THEN] current State-Of-The-Art in computer graphics. That program includes sneak preview of ‘TRON,’ which was to be released in theaters in August that same year. What you get to view is the ‘TRON’ segment of the program, which includes interviews with writer/director Steven Lisberger and co-supervisor of special effects Richard Taylor.
EARLY VIDEO TESTS [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [0:30] Uncertain that the proposed special-effects techniques would work on the film ‘TRON, The Walt Disney Studios commissioned Steven Lisberger to create a short test reel. The thirty-second film was shot in both VistaVision and 35mm anamorphic formats using actors dressed in light grey costumes against white backgrounds. There is no sound.
INTERACTIVE ART GALLERY: Here you get to view a selection of four individual special features relating to the film ‘TRON,’ which are as follows: DESIGN [130 images]; EARLY CONCEPT ART [9 images]; PUBLICITY AND PRODUCTION PHOTOS [33 images] and STORYBOARD ART [44 images]. It give you instructions on how to get to view the best out of this special feature, so happy viewing.
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Special Feature: DIGITAL IMAGERY: With this special feature, you get to view five individual features, which are as follows:
BLACKLIGHT ANIMATION [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:39] Here you get to see how the live action was filmed in black-and-white, separated and finally turned into colour images. Contributors include: John Scheele [Effects Technical Supervisor].
DIGITAL IMAGERY OF ‘TRON’ [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [3:44] This features Richard Taylor [Co-Supervisor of Visual Effects] and Bill Kroyer [Computer Image Chorographer] who talks about all the companies who helped to do all the special effects.
“BEYOND TRON” [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [4:00] Here we get to view is an excerpt from the American TV Special entitled “BEYOND TRON,” that features an in-depth look at the MAGI SynthaVision Computer Company who provided some of the special effects for the film ‘TRON’ and we get to see some sample computer images from the company MAGI. Contributors include: [Founder of MAGI/SynthaVision] and Steve Lisberger [Writer/Director].
ROLE OF TRIPLE I [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [00:34] Here we get a short look on the importance of the special effects company. Contributors include: Richard Taylor [Co-Supervisor of Visual Effects].
TRIPLE I DEMO [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:15] Here we get to view a longer version of the amazing early computer graphics demo reel, that you viewed briefly in the previous special feature.
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Special Feature: THE MAKING OF ‘TRON’ [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [88:21] With this special made-for-video documentary treats science fiction fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of ‘TRON’ Disney's classic live-action film about a programmer who must fight for his life against killer programs after being pulled inside of his company's computer. It also includes interviews with the cast and crew of the film that share their experiences from working on this unique project, as well as discuss the special efforts that went into bringing it to completion. It was also so cool to see Jeff Bridges put back on his own personal TRON helmet and says, “When I have it on all day, it seems to bring me peace.” As a bonus we get clips from Steven Lisberger’s early animation entitled “Cosmic Cartoon,” as well as lots of rare clips from the 1980 animated television film “Animalympics” that was produced by the Lisberger Studios, Inc. On top of all that, throughout the made-for-video documentary, it gets broken up with insert headings, which consist of THE ORIGINS OF TRON; THE WARRIORS OF TRON; THE WIZARDS OF ‘TRON’ and END OF THE LINE . . . ? Contributors include: Steven Lisberger [Writer/Director], Roger Allers [Conceptual Artist], Donald Kushner [Producer], Andy Gaskill [Storyboard Artist], Dick Cook [Chairman of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group], Richard Taylor [Visual Effects Supervisor], Harrison Ellenshaw [Associate Producer/Visual Effects Supervisor], Bruce Logan [Director of Photography], Jeff Bridges [Kevin Flynn/Clu], Bruce Boxleitner Alan Bradley/Tron], Barnard Hughes [Dr. Gibbs/Dumont], Cindy Morgan [Lora/Yori], Dan Shor [Ram], Tia Kratter [Background Painter], Bill Kroyer [Storyboard Artist/Animator] and John Lassetter [Director of ‘Toy Story’ and ‘A Bug’s Life’].
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Special Feature: MUSIC: Here you get to view two individual special features that are at the same time linked, especially with regards to the film music of the film ‘TRON,’ and they are as follows:
LIGHTCYCLE SCENE WITH ALTERNATIVE WENDY CARLOS MUSIC TRACKS [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:46] The music for ‘TRON’ was composed by Wendy Carlos, and the composer’s original music was deleted from the final version of the film. Here you get a reconstruction of the LIGHTCYCLE sequence with its original musical underscore. Wendy Carlos had originally composed an electronic score to accompany the LIGHTCYCLE sequence. The music was not used in the final version of the film. The final soundtrack features only the character dialogue and the sound effects of the LIGHTCYCLE.
END CREDITS WITH ORIGINAL WENDY CARLOS MUSIC [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [9:15] Here we are presented with the only segment of Wendy Carlos’s end credit music that is featured in the final-release version of the film ‘TRON.’ The second half of the end credit score was replaced by the song “Only Solutions” that was contributed by the Rock Group Journey. The following clip we get to view presents Wendy Carlos’s original end credit music in its entirety.
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Special Feature: PUBLICITY: Here you get to view seven individual features and they are as follows:
NATO [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [5:02] After finishing the live-action photography for the film ‘TRON’ where the filmmakers assembled a five-minute sample reel to be shown at the National Association of Theater Owners [NATO] convention. The reel you get to view, took six weeks to produce, served as a trial run for the visual effects procedures to be used in the post-production work.
WORK-IN-PROGRESS [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:26] Here we get to view the “Work-In-Progress” trailer. It is of particular interest to note that it contains the original Black-and-White production footage, plus the production audio, as well as amazing early tests of computer animation.
THEATRICAL TRAILERS: Here you get to view four individual theatrical trailers for the film ‘TRON’ that amazed audiences in 1982 and they are as follows:
THEATRICAL TRAILER #1 [1982] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:35]
THEATRICAL TRAILER #2 [1982] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:34]
THEATRICAL TRAILER #3 [1982] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:01]
THEATRICAL TRAILER #4 [1982] [480i] [1.3:1] [1:34]
INTERACTIVE ART GALLERY: Here you get to view four different categories and they are as follows: DESIGN; EARLY CONCEPT ART; PUBLICITY AND PRODUCTION PHOTOS and STORYBOARD ART. It also gives you instructions on how to view each individual item you want to view. So happy viewing folks
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Special Feature: DELETED SCENES: With this particular feature, you get to view four individual items and they are as follows:
INTRODUCTION BY WRITER/DIRECTOR STEVEN LISBERGER [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:18] Here Steve Lisberger goes into great detail why certain scenes in the film ‘TRON’ got deleted because he felt they did not suit the flow of the film. But Harrison Ellenshaw was very disappointed and upset the certain deleted scenes were not included in the film; at least he is very pleased they are preserved in the following deleted scenes and there was definitely a clash of personalities. Now it is entirely up to you to decide whether Steve Lisberger was right or wrong to delete the scenes you view. Contributors include: Steve Lisberger [Writer/Director], Harrison Ellenshaw [Associate Producer/Visual Effects Supervisor] and Bruce Boxleitner [Alan Bradley/Tron].
TRON AND TORI’S LOVE SCENE #1 [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:56] The so called “LOVE SCENE” between TRON and YORI features some of the most extensive backlight compositing in the film. Over forty separate elements were generated to create the final composite background of YORI’s “TRANSFORMED” apartment, This scene was deleted so late that it has its complete effects animation, as well as full music score and sound effects.
TRON AND TORI’S LOVE SCENE #2 [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [00:44] The second scene in YORI’s quarters, commonly referred to by the filmmakers as the “MORNING AFTER” scene, and was also deleted from the film. The scene you view was originally intended to follow Kevin Flynn’s journey in the “RECOGNIZER.” We are informed that the audio track did not exist, apart from other certain scenes you see in this clip.
ALTERNATE OPENING PROLOGUE [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:21] In order to clarify the INTERACTION OF THE ELECTRONIC WORLD the REAL WORLD of ‘TRON,’ an Opening Prologue, consisting of three paragraphs of text was added to the film. This prologue was included in the International English language release print and subsequent domestic prints for the film’s wide release in the United States.
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Special Feature: DESIGN: Here you get to view six individual features, which are as follows:
INTRODUCTION BY WRITER/DIRECTOR STEVEN LISBERGER [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:10] Here Steven Lisberger explains how he wanted the LIGHTCYCLES to look a specific way, especially related to a game grid scenario and an arena setting, which was inspired by the original ATARI Video Games.
INTERACTIVE ART GALLERY: Here you get to view again four different categories and they are as follows: DESIGN; EARLY CONCEPT ART; PUBLICITY AND PRODUCTION PHOTOS and STORYBOARD ART. It also gives you instructions on how to view each individual item you want to view. So happy viewing folks.
THE VEHICLES: LIGHTCYCLES: SYD MEAD DISCUSSE LIGHTCYCLES DESIGN [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:52] Here we get to see a very young looking Syd Mead Designer] explaining about the design of the LIGHTCYCLES and also about the evolution of the vehicle. Syd Mead also talks about the technical problems in coming up with the designs of the LIGHTCYCLES, especially with the limitations of the computers at the time they made the film, and also the limitations of the amount of money they were going to be allocated to process the special effects scenes in the film.
LIGHTCYCLES MAGIC ANIMATION TESTS [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [00:16] Here you just get to view a very basic animation test clip and is mainly in black-and-white, and for some unknown reason there is no sound provided in certain scenes.
RECOGNIZER: SPACE PARANOIDS VIDEO-GAME – LETTERBOX [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [00:16] The footage was originally created by MAGI as a full-frame image, but was later stretched to a Widescreen image to accommodate close-up, and here we view the Letterbox version, that is presented here in its entirety.
RECOGNIZER: SPACE PARANOIDS VIDEO-GAME – FULL SCREEN [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [00:16] The footage was originally created by MAGI as a Full-Frame image version, that is presented here in its entirety.
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Special Feature: STORYBOARDING: Here you get to view six individual features, which are as follows:
THE STORYBOARDING PROCESS [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [3:52] Bill Kroyer [Computer Image Choreographer] shows us the very basic storyboard drawings of the LIGHTCYCLES when TRON and another two are in a race to get away and the storyboard process for the introduction to the film as well as some of the LIGHTCYCLES sequences, and then we get to actually see clips from the film ‘TRON.’
CREATIONS OF ‘TRON’ MAIN TITLE – MOEBIUS STORYBOARD [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [00:15] Here we get a quick look at a gallery of additional very detailed storyboard drawings and is shown like a slide show and in the background you hear the composed music for the film ‘TRON.’
INTERACTIVE ART GALLERY: Here once you get to view four different categories and they are as follows: DESIGN; EARLY CONCEPT ART; PUBLICITY AND PRODUCTION PHOTOS and STORYBOARD ART. It also gives you instructions on how to view each individual item you want to view. So happy viewing folks.
STORYBOARD-TO-FILM COMPARISON: INTRODUCTION BY STORYBOARD ARTIST/ANIMATER BILL KROYER [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [0:51] Here Bill Kroyer explains that you will be viewing the storyboard for the LIGHTCYCLE chase, and they had to pre-visual in their the sequences and not in the computer, and warns it is a little crude, but it is pretty clear that it was a blueprint for the final animation and here you get to view the two items he was talking about and they are as follows:
LIGHTCYCLE CHASE STORYBOARD ONLY [2002] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:56] Here again you get to view the very basic pen and ink storyboard drawings, and at the same time you do get to hear the actual film soundtrack relating to what you view with the pen and ink drawings, and at the same time we get short clips from the film relating to the storyboard drawings.
LIGHTCYCLE CHASE FINAL FILM [2002] [480i] [1.33:1] [1:56] Here you get to see the actual final finished LIGHTCYCLE CHASE in full glorious colour that you saw previously with the very basic pen and ink storyboard drawings.
INTERACTIVE ART GALLERY: Here once again the last time you get to view four different categories and they are as follows: DESIGN; EARLY CONCEPT ART; PUBLICITY AND PRODUCTION PHOTOS and STORYBOARD ART. It also gives you instructions on how to view each individual item you want to view. So happy viewing folks.
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SNEAK PEEKS: Here you get to view six Trailers and they are as follows: TRON LEGACY [2010] [1080p] [2.35:1] [1:11]. THE INCREDIBLES [2010] [1080p] [2.20:1] [1:10]. TRON EVOLUTION: THE VIDEO GAME [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:01]. CARS 2 [2010] [1080p] [2.20:1] [1:14]. DISNEY NATURE [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:12]. DisneyNature: African Cats [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:12].
Finally, ‘TRON: THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC’ is for my money, an amazing masterful technical achievement, and probably now definitely a much better looking film to have in your Blu-ray Collection. The film is fun, never drags, and features some great performances from an enthusiastic cast. The Blu-ray takes full advantage of the film’s high resolution crisp images are only amplified now being a 1080p image format in being able see the visionary 1982 film in its finest spectacular image. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
