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| Images courtesy of Toy Robot Video |
Here we are, it’s 2026, a new Masters of the Universe
movie has been released and with it, people are loving He-Man and his history
all over again. Luckily for us, this also means that forgotten or ignored parts
of that history get to be in the spotlight again. Toy Robot, that new subsidy of Arrow Video
delivers amply with their release of Masters of the Universe from 1987.
Credited as the movie that was the final nail in the coffin of Cannon Films, Masters
is far from what fans of the 80’s wanted out of a movie featuring their
favorite musclebound hero. It had a
lackluster script that was being edited as the film was shot including an ever-tightening
budget that didn’t allow for them to do a lot of the things that were planned on.
Toy Robot in their new collectible 4K UHD disc set delivers
two versions of the flick, the original theatrical and an expanded cut that
adds about four minutes of footage. While not exactly enough to make it go from
being just a cultishly loved film to something that has gravitas and weight to
it, it does give us expanded performances. Personally I think most of the real
improvement in the longer cut goes to seeing more Frank Langella footage with
his scenery chewing Skeletor featuring more dialogue and reaction shots lending
additional weight to what was already the best part of the movie. Little else
has changed since most of what was missing from the movie wasn’t edited out, it
was simply never shot.
The transfer is beautiful, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it
look this good and I have owned it on every media as well as seeing it in
theaters on release. Crisp colors, I couldn’t see any issues with motion or
frame rates it really added a lot to the quality of the picture. Masters might have been made on a crazy
budget but it was always a beautiful movie with glorious costumes and overall
production design with this transfer accenting it perfectly. Again the sound on the release seems to be
pretty amazing, I don’t have the best home theater but it works well enough and
this sounds as good as anything I’ve watched on it.
The bonus features are not to be missed, great interviews
and behind the scenes footage. The theatrical cut has the same commentary that
we’ve already heard but the preview cut has a brand-new commentary. Overall this set is loaded with extras making
this already must-buy a bigger get. The
Toy Robot release is outperforming what was expected and selling out
everywhere, if you can get it and are a fan of the franchise get out there and
pick it up. I’ve viewed a couple of the
Toy Robot releases so far and they are absolutely top notch. I can’t wait to get more this label has moved
up to a must buy for my collection, I strongly recommend you consider adding it
to yours too.
--Trevor West
-Andrew Kotwicki
