Previously one of the most divisive films based on a line of toys and now an adored cult classic, The Transformers: The Movie is going to be remastered in 4K ultra-HD for Blu-ray.
Boasting a star-studded cast like Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy and Orson Welles, the film looks pretty pedestrian from its theatrical release poster. Yep. Got it. It's a film about an alien race of robots that turn into cars and trucks and planes and it's targeting that audience. You'd be forgiven if you thought it'd be along the lines of Michael Bay's interpretation of Transformers - action-packed, bombastic, bright, humorous and with a happy ending that sets up a series to boot.
However... that would be completely and utterly incorrect. It was a box office flop, generating just $5.8 million of a $6 million budget. Part of that was due to the fact that The Transformers: The Movie competed with films like Aliens, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Labyrinth, to name but a few. The other factor was that it offed Optimus Prime in its first act, upsetting children and upsetting parents because they then had to console the upset children. This wasn't the choice of the director Nelson Shin, as he had been told by Hasbro to kill off the characters to "refresh the cast" and create opportunities to release new toys. Ice. Cold.
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Though it's not as old as Transformers, Mass Effect got a lick of paint and a host of gameplay improvements in its Legendary Edition, delivering 4K textures to a game which was developed when that wasn't even a thing. Did it look better for the makeover? Make your own mind up in our comparison video below.
"We heard about people leaving the movie," said Flint Dille, story consultant on the film, in 2013. "We were getting a lot of nasty notes about it. There was some kid who locked himself in his bedroom for two weeks." Yet, not unlike Optimus Prime, The Transformers: The Movie was revived thanks to a renewed appreciation for what it was in spite of the limits placed on its creative direction. Now, Shout Factory will offer the film in its most glorious form - 4K UHD Blu-ray - and there's a limited edition steelbook for collectors.
"I already have the DVD and Blu Ray versions but I think I may be triple dipping on this masterpiece of childhood nostalgia," said Reaper_64. "You got the touch, you got my wallet," added MobileSuitReactor. It goes on sale on May 24th.
Featured Image Credit: Sunbow Productions, HasbroTopics: Movies