A director pal once joked that a film is never done, but you have to give the studio what they’ve contracted you to deliver. In the case of The Cotton Club, Francis Ford Coppola had to deliver to Orion a version of his film that ran a little over two hours. Running times matter to a studio/distributor since that determines how many times a movie theater can run the film during the weekend. They have to start earning their money back eventually. The story goes that in 2015, Coppola found a Betamax tape with a earlier edit of the film that was longer. He realized this was the story he wanted to tell and so he spent a few years going back and recutting the film. This wasn’t just tossing in a few bonus scenes. Now the fruits of his labor can be enjoyed cut that runs 139 minutes. The Cotton Club Encore: 35th Anniversary Edition arrives on Blu-ray this Tuesday. Here’s the press release from Lionsgate:
Street Date: 12/10/19
Blu-ray™ Combo Pack + DVD + Digital SRP: $19.99
DVD SRP: $14.98
Digital 4K Ultra HD™: $12.99
Digital SD/HD: $9.99
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Francis Ford Coppola’s Academy Award®-nominated epic gets its definitive cut when The Cotton Club Encore: 35th Anniversary Edition arrives on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD & Digital), DVD and Digital 4K Ultra HD™ December 10 from Lionsgate. Boasting an all-star cast, The Cotton Club Encore: 35th Anniversary Edition stars Golden Globe® winner Richard Gere (2003, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Chicago), Tony Award® winner Gregory Hines (1992, Best Actor in a Musical, Jelly’s Last Jam), Academy Award® nominee Diane Lane (2002, Best Actress, Unfaithful), NAACP Image Award® nominee Lonette McKee (1999, Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series, “As the World Turns”), Golden Globe® nominee Bob Hoskins (2006, Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, Mrs Henderson Presents), James Remar (TV’s “Dexter,” “Sex and the City”), Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage (1995, Best Actor, Leaving Las Vegas), Tony Award® nominee Maurice Hines (1986, Best Actor in a Musical, Uptown… It’s Hot!), Academy Award® nominee Laurence Fishburne (1993, Best Actor, What’s Love Got to Do with It), Golden Globe® nominee Jennifer Grey (1988, Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Dirty Dancing), Grammy Award® winner Tom Waits (2000, Best Contemporary Folk Album, “Mule Variations”), and more. Story by William Kennedy & Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo, screenplay by William Kennedy & Francis Ford Coppola, and produced by Robert Evans.
Directed and co-written by Academy Award®-winning writer-director Francis Ford Coppola (1970, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay–Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced, Patton; 1972, Best Writing, Screenplay–Based on Material from Another Medium, The Godfather; 1974, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted from Other Material, The Godfather: Part II; 2010, Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award), The Cotton Club Encore: 35th Anniversary Edition will be available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD & Digital), DVD, Digital 4K Ultra HD™, and Digital SD/HD for the suggested retail price of $19.99, $14.98, $12.99, and $9.99 respectively.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
In this lavish, 1930s-era drama, Harlem’s legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide. Now, Francis Ford Coppola’s extraordinary film is brought to vivid new life in The Cotton Club Encore. Featuring never-before-seen scenes and musical sequences that deepen the story lines, this remastered and beautifully restored version represents Coppola’s fully realized vision of The Cotton Club.
BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES
Introduction to The Cotton Club Encore by Francis Ford Coppola
The Cotton Club Encore Q&A
CAST
Richard Gere Chicago, Pretty Woman, Shall We Dance?
Gregory Hines Waiting to Exhale, Running Scared, History of the World: Part I
Diane Lane Under the Tuscan Sun, Unfaithful, Man of Steel
Lonette McKee Brewster’s Millions, Honey, Malcolm X
Bob Hoskins The Long Good Friday, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mona Lisa
James Remar TV’s “Dexter,” “Sex and the City”,
Nicolas Cage Face/Off, Next, Leaving Las Vegas
Laurence Fishburne Contagion, The Matrix, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Allen Garfield The Majestic, The Ninth Gate, Beverly Hills Cop II
Fred Gwynne Car 54, Where Are You?, Pet Sematary, My Cousin Vinny
