Airwolf Season 1-3 (1984-86) UK HD-DVD Box Set 2014

UK Region 2 Box Card Front

Airwolf Season 1 to 3 HD DVD Box Set

This set should NOT be confused with the "Universal Playback Release" 

This  New Set   Released In April 2014 by Fabulous Films is a Remastered release to accompany the Blu-ray release as shown here.

Many thought this "dvd" box front was faked from the blu-ray and was being used to sell pirate versions of the playback release, which in some instances... it was...  But we can confirm that this remastered dvd set is a genuine product that is available and has its own UPC code.

The card sleeve houses 3 pretty proper sturdy DVD boxes and each box also has a booklet, detailing the episodes & cast members. It's a pretty nice looking package first glance.






Season One:
Boxed with a 12 page booklet (6 double sided pages) featuring promo photos along with information about the episode and cast listing.  Season 1 comes on 3 duel layer dvd discs that are single sided... so they have artwork on one side.  Menu options for disc 1 and 2 consist of "Play All" and  "Select Episode"
Disc 3 is the same but also has an "Extras" button.
Upon selecting the episodes their is information about the episode and an option to play. There is no menu for chapters within the episode.  The extras on dvd 3 (season 1)  has cast bio screens with some text regarding the person,  oddly that list includes Caitlin from season 2 & 3.

Cast Bio Screen

The Main Menu design is semi static and semi animated..
IE: the main rotor spins and the clouds move...
Maybe when they researched it, what they watched was my video...
Where i took airwolf through the stargate.. or maybe the gfx editor was a sliders fan lmao.

Season One - Disc 1 Main Menu - Disc 2 Is The Same

Season One - Disc 3 Main Menu Has The Extras Button

The Cast Bio Screen Is Above

Episode Information screen is pretty nice, although ide of done it like a top secret file (almost like flashpoint briefings on a clip board) with "Top Secret" and "The Firm" and the firms logo, like the dvds are top secret them selves.  JMV seams to be the featured character on all 3 discs for episode selection.

Episode Selection Screen

Episode Selection Screen

Episode Selection Screen

Season Two:
Boxed with a booklet again.. 16 pages (8 double sided pages) featuring episode information and promo photos again. If you own the "Airwolf The Movie" on dvd or blu-ray you will of noticed a lot of the promo shots in these books are included on those disks in their extras menu and one starts to wonder could they not of been linear kinda notes from actual guest stars on the show, mini photo and a few paragraphs of what they thought of the show. Season 2 comes on 5 Discs, Duel Layer Single Sided bearing artwork.

Season Two - Disc 1 Main Menu

And you guessed it.. The Episode Selection Screens are the same to

Season Two - Disc 1 Episode Information

After that menu disappointment im going to head straight to Disc Five... to check the extras
(ide of expected at least an alternate tint to its menu)

Oooo nooo... Guess what the extras are on Season 2 disc 5

Season Two - Disc 5 Extras Menu - Same As Season 1

Season Three:
Boxed with a booklet again.. 16 pages (8 double sided pages) featuring episode information and promo photos again..... So guess what the menu looks like... Guess what the extras are...
Note that all 3 disks (the menu music)  is the music used when Driving to the Lair.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
We may of found a problem with these Episodes to...  As you know it was made for Tv and at times the screen will go black then come back on.. This we know is from the Ad Break Moments right....
But that doesn't explain why their are scenes "MISSING"   For example  "Bite Of The Jackal"
18.39 (approx)  into the Original Episode & Playback Releases..
Santini Fires a Flare Gun.. then says   "I Don't Like The Look Of This"
That line and the following 3/4 scenes are CUT on the HD release and the Blu-ray... WTF
(now im wondering how many other scenes are cut)
And this has also been verified as a problem ..with the HD-BluRay releases  :'(

Season Four:
Not Included...


Discs and Box Art:
So the artwork is not bad i guess, though i am confused as to why...
They re-used the season 2 image on the season 3

Essentially The Same As The Blu-ray

Books DON'T Fit The Holding Clips :(

Packaging wise.. it could of been a lot worse and we know it could...

Box Front's Inc Card Sleeve

Box Back's Inc Card Sleeve

DVD COMPARISON IMAGES:
Ok i guess this is what your waiting for (please note the frames are NOT exact) so please don't assume the remasters have been cropped, you are looking for colour clarity and each image description.  Also note that these are shots when VLC Media Player is paused, some do it justice and others do not, depends how vlc is feeling when you pause it & what movement is going on upon the screen as its paused.

Remember...
Screen Shot (left) = Universal Playback DVD Release 2007
Screen Shot (right) = Fabulous Films DVD Release 2014

Click Them To Enlarge..

In Episode CRT & Projector Visuals Are Much More Clear

Colours Are Much More Vibrant

Such Clarity In This ADF Shot Its Stunning

Surprising thing with this shot is how clear hawkes left hand is

Birds of paradise season 3 sure has that miami vice look to it

My screen shot just didn't do this one justice

They also fixed the really bad greasy smears (approx 39) mins into moffets ghost

Nice Work...


FINAL NOTES:
Little note to these Graphic Designers hired to work on Airwolf stuff..
Read My Lips.... Them Lazar Cannons you keep assuming are on the Nose...
On The LEFT is a Mid Air Refuel Nozzle..
On The RIGHT is a Radio Arial ..
The Weapons Are Not Even Deployed On The Image... Research People...
You can tell that some work has gone into this release, which is unusual, its not fantastic (when it comes to extras or the menus, but the episode visual quality is better than the playback releases)
I guess we should just be happy for the booklets when it comes to added bonuses.....

Ide rate this Box Set pretty high, and although i am critical of certain aspects....
I can still say though that "Fabulous Films" went further on this release than most companies do
and for that i am eternally grateful.. but one wonders what other scenes are missing!!!!
Let us know if you find any others missing in the comments PLEASE...

..To this day.. AirSwe... had the coolest looking dvd menu design demo i have ever seen


UPC: 5030697026750
ASIN: B00IGRO3TI
STUDIO: Fabulous Films
RELEASE DATE: 14 April 2014
RUN TIME: 2599 minutes
AUDIO: Stereo 2.0
VISUAL SIGNAL: PAL
REGION: 2
DISC COUNT: 13

Although this box set has no subtitles it does support  Closed Captioning, so in theory if your watching it on a tv with tellytext then it should essentially show subtitles if you click on tellytext and type in  888


Review by TheWraith517


We have Emailed Fabulous Films "18th May 2014" and we await their response to our questions

Hi, i am known online as  TheWraith517  in Airwolf circles and have been an avid fan since day one in 1984.  I was delighted to see your HD release for season 1 to 3 and jumped on both the R2 DVD and the Region B Blu-Ray releases. Ive just finished writing a review that was very much in favor of the Fabulous Films Release over the Universal Playback (for sheer visual quality)  But i have found an Issue upon the DVD and the Blu-ray and would like to know how your company responds to this issue...

The Issue is as follows..
Season 1 Disk 1 Episode "Bite Of The Jackal"
Roughly 17:58  you removed an important scene (setting up the perimeter line)

To verify this issue, if you In-cert Season 1 DISK 2 of the Universal Playback release and skip into the episode to 18:43 you will see the scene you folks have lost...
where did it go.. why is it missing.. and begs the question what else have you cut?

I am unsure if their are more problems with the release as ive yet to nit pick them all  :'(

Yours.. feeling sadly disappointed.. Bob

ps
I await your response, as do many fans who read our Airwolf blogs..

They never got back to us.. 24th August 2014  :'(
17th May 2016 and still Nada...
Gawd its july 2018 and still no reply....

Airwolf The Movie (1984) UK DVD 2011

(c) Universal Studios & Fabulous Films Limited

Back of Box:
Airwolf The Movie is a futuristic high action adventure about an awesome billion dollar helicopter equipped with a twin-turbine drum rotor system capable of propelling it to 300 knots, plus 14 firepower options. When the helicopter is purloined by Libyan mercenaries, Michael Archangel (Alex Cord), project director of the CIA, enlists the help of Vietnam veteran Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent) and his father's best friend Dominic Santini (Ernest Borgnine) in an attempt to recover the Airwolf.
A deadly mission takes them to the Middle East, where they come face to face with the enemy in a dirty battle to repossess the deadliest aerial weapon ever made.


Special Features:
Fully Restored Uncut Original Feature
Chapter Points / Stills Gallery







Fans petitioned Universal Studios for a long time to get the Series released in full on DVD, oddly the movie came out much later. Most fans who managed to already get the movie either had the VHS Public Release or the VHS Video Rental release for the lucky few who could find it back when video rental stores sold it on along with Airwolf II and Airwolf III (which were both just double episode tapes in no specific order)
And also the Columbia House Collection which was a form of "collect one a month" from a Video & later DVD publishing house a bit like Britannica, although im unsure if they officially released the R18 movie version, as i have yet to see a Columbia House dvd or vhs cover for "the movie" that didn't look doctored in a image editor, meaning the Movie CH DDVD is no doubt just the pilot cut.

Sadly this UK Region 2 Release didn't come with the "Ernest Borgnine" Interview as the R1 USA release did, but it did come with what they falsely represented as a "Stills Gallery" And is in fact more of a "Publicity / Behind The Scenes Photos"  which shows some photos many of you will of seen before and also photos many of you have not seen before.   I have yet to see just how many photos are on the R1 release, but this UK R2 release contains 107 Photos in the gallery, at least 5/6 i had never seen before, although i had seen variations of 3 of them.

You may of also noticed that the USA R1 release also has Santini on the box front unlike the R2.

The UK R2 release has a partial animated menu that plays behind the main screen, the music on that is Gabrielas theme from when they fly over whats left of moffett's smoking jeep.

Packaging:

Just The Box & Disk, along with the Flyer Posted At The Bottom

Animated Menu:

Screen Shot Of The Animated Menu

Screen Shot Of The Animated Menu

Scene / Chapter Selection

Chapter Menu 01

Chapter Menu 02

Gallery:

The Gallery Has A Disclaimer

David Hemmings In Airwolf

Ernest Borgnine & Jean Scot Bruce Outside Jetcopters

Santini Air Hard Top Jeep

Why Own The Movie Version?
The movie is rated 18+ and contains swearing, it also featured a few extra scenes padding out the action. It was also cut in places removing the pilot ending at the cabin, so when Airwolf fly's over the water at after hunting Moffet, it ends right there, But the pilot edition shows hawke back at the cabin with a visit from archangel leaving him with a case for the series to begin. The Redstar start up sequence also features a different music score in the Movie Cut.
The movie is shorter than the pilot, but can be watched as a stand alone film that ends where it ends.

Please be aware this release is Not remastered..

Still Taken from the FF UK R2 DVD

People may post comments below with any additional information....


Other Details:
DVD Release Date: 28/FEB/2011 
Aspect Ratio: 4.3 Full Screen 1.33:1
Running Time: 82 Mins Approx
Region Code: Region 2 UK PAL DVD
UPC: 5030697019585
ASIN: B004IZDV9A

Oddly when bought it came with an double sided Advert Inserted in the box.....
Featuring two other shows from back then, just a shame it didn't also have a double sided inlay with Knight Rider and The A-Team... 

It would also be great if anyone in the world bought either of them sets and could get in touch and send us a nice image scan of the "Airwolf Advert Card"  which i assume would of shipped with either of them sets...

For other information on the R18 movie, read here.

People may post comments below with any additional information....

Review by TheWraith517

Airwolf Complete Season 2 (1984-1985) UK DVD 2007

(c) Universal Studios

Back of Box:
Get ready to take off for action and adventure as all 22 one-hour episodes of Airwolf: Season Two soar onto a spectacular six-disc DVD set for the first time. Cruise the skies once again with Airwolf, the cutting-edge, high-tech surveillance and defence helicopter of the future, and Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent), Its reclusive renegade pilot, as they take on dangerous secret missions from Afghanistan to the jungles of Central America. From drug runners to dambreakers to demented businessmen, there's no one who can hide from the Airwolf teams high-tech gadgetry and fighting power. Co-starring Ernest Borgnine and Alex Cord, this suspenseful and daring Emmy -nominated series from TV producer Donald P. Bellisario (Magnum P.I, Quantum Leap) is sure to be a thrill ride fans won't want to end!

Special Features:
Chapter Points / Animated Menu






I liked the second season, although it lacked the whole "cold war" aspect which was sad, it became more of a domestic problem solver, most of which was based in the U.S.  Series two does however bring a few classic episodes back into our hands such as "Moffetts Ghost", "Sweet Britches", "HX-1", "and "Severance Pay"  yes i liked that episode, it kinda brought us into the firm and where the people in white got all their Intel.  I also liked Inn at the End of the Road...
(that was the one with the "Lokie" device and doc gifford flying airwolf)
I always though they only brought him in to kinda slap J.M.V into touch... that whole "listen buddy.. your replaceable.. so get it together" But that's just my thoughts on that scenario and not an official thing.

Episode List:

                       Original
Episode #   Prod #    Air Date    Titles

_________  _______   __________   ________________________

13   2-01   58801     22/Sep/84   Sweet Britches 
14   2-02   58803     29/Sep/84   Firestorm 
15   2-03   58805     06/Oct/84   Moffett's Ghost 
16   2-04   58802     13/Oct/84   The Truth About Holly 
17   2-05   58810     20/Oct/84   The Hunted 
18   2-06   58811     27/Oct/84   Sins of the Past 
19   2-07   58804     03/Nov/84   Fallen Angel (a.k.a. Angel Of Mercy) 
20   2-08   58807     10/Nov/84   HX 1 
21   2-09   58816     17/Nov/84   Flight #093 Is Missing 
22   2-10   58819     24/Nov/84   Once a Hero (a.k.a. Heroes) 
23   2-11   58813     08/Dec/84   Random Target 
24   2-12   58818     05/Jan/85   Condemned 
25   2-13   58817     12/Jan/85   The American Dream 
26   2-14   58823     26/Jan/85   Inn at the End of the Road 
27   2-15   58824     02/Feb/85   Santini's Millions 
28   2-16   58825     09/Feb/85   Prisoner of Yesterday 
29   2-17   58830     23/Feb/85   Natural Born 
30   2-18   58827     02/Mar/85   Out of the Sky 
31   2-19   58832     16/Mar/85   Dambreakers 
32   2-20   58806     23/Mar/85   Severance Pay 
33   2-21   58829     06/Apr/85   Eruption 
34   2-22   58831     13/Apr/85   Short Walk to Freedom 

Packaging:

Card Box 3 Slim Cases

Card Box 3 Slim Cases

All 6 Discs Ber The Same ArtWork

DVD Main Menu

Disc ONE Also Features The Universal Playback Trailer

Discs TWO to SIX Just Feature Play All & Episode Selection

Episode Selection:

Episode Selection Screen

Random Note:
Such a shame the companies don't bother with any extras or truly high-tech menus that the likes of these dvd creation programs can export. This set doesn't even have chapter selection, only episode choice.  All 6 Discs feature the same 52 second animation while irrelevant numbers scroll across the screen. The Music playing is just the airwolf opening theme music. The animated menu on all 6 discs is the same clips.

Warning Before Buying:
There is two different variations of this region 2 release (so be careful before you buy)
I found the season 2 i purchased, the box its self, the "whole" box front is glossy
where as my season 1 & 3 are a mat finish and ONLY the 3 character images & airwolf are glossy
This variation between Mat finish and Glossy finish also means the AIRWOLF down the box spine is the Wrong Way Around...  Making it look really stupid on your shelf...
See both images below...

Airwolf Name Back To Front Right Way Up

Airwolf Name Right Way Up Age Logo Oops

Other Details:
DVD Release Date: 12/MARCH/2007
Aspect Ratio: 4.3 Full Screen 1.33:1
Audio: 2.0 Mono 
Subtitles: None
Running Time: 1105 Mins Approx
Region Code: Region 2, 4, 5 PAL DVD
DVD Count: (6) Six Discs
UPC: 5050582471533
ASIN: B000EMI5M4

Review by TheWraith517

Airwolf Complete Season 1 (1984) UK DVD 2006

Back of Box:
Keep your eyes to the skies for non-stop action as the complete Season One of Airwolf soars onto dvd for the first time ever!

Jan-Michael Vincent stars as Stringfellow Hawke, a reclusive renegade pilot who's assigned to top-secret missions for the CIA by a mysterious "Archangel" (alex Cord) hawke's weapon of choice is the high-tech battle helicopter of the future.

Airwolf Loaded with cutting-edge surveillance equipment and unbelievable firepower. Airwolf takes hawke and his friend Dominic (Ernest Borgnine) around the globe in search of dangerous international spies and criminals. Ride along guest starts Lance LeGault, James Whitmore Jr, Shannen Doherty and David Carradine on all 11 episodes, including the thrilling two-hour pilot of this amazing action-adventure series.



Special Features:
Chapter Points / Animated Menu



The region 2 release came almost a year after the region 1, leaving people in the UK waiting, wondering and completely unsure if NBC would ever release it within the UK in region 2 format. Clearly the long time Airwolf fans just jumped on the .com seller sites rather than the .co.uk and just bought the R1 release after about 2 months of waiting for an official R2 PlayBack release. (this is only advisable if you have a region free dvd player, almost every dvd player can be unlocked) Knowing this Universal clearly decided to re-package the actual DVD Menus and include an animation, probably in the hopes anyone living anywhere would spend more cash to get the R2 set, as many long time fans also did. Although it comes with an animated menu (unlike r1 release) but sadly it lacks the r1 episode summary screens.

Episode List:
                                         Original
 Episode #       Prod #        Air Date     Titles
__________ _________  __________ ___________________

01   1-01          58201       22/Jan/84     Shadow of the Hawke (1)
02   1-02          58276       22/Jan/84     Shadow of the Hawke (2)
03   1-03          58208       28/Jan/84     Daddy's Gone a Hunt'n
04   1-04          58205       04/Feb/84    Bite of the Jackal
05   1-05          58207       11/Feb/84    Proof Through the Night
06   1-06          58209       18/Feb/84    One Way Express
07   1-07          58211       03/Mar/84    Echos From the Past
08   1-08          58218       10/Mar/84    Fight Like a Dove
09   1-09          58216       24/Mar/84    Mad Over Miami
10   1-10          58217       31/Mar/84    And They Are Us
11   1-11          58221       07/Apr/84     Mind of the Machine
12   1-12          58210       14/Apr/84    To Snare a Wolf 

UK Region 2 Plexi Box & Cardboard Sleeve

4 Plexi Trays Hold The 4 DVD's Outside The Sleeve

As They Are Single Sided Each DVD Bers The ArtWork

What You Get In The UK Region 2 Set

How The DVD Loads & The 3D Model Hovers Down Into View

Animation Phase

Animation Phase

The Animation banks from left to right in a video looping motion until you select an option, then it turns side on and flys off to the left and presents the episode list or plays all.

DVD 1 Episode Selection Menu

DVD 2 Episode Selection Menu

DVD 3 Episode Selection Menu

DVD 4 Episode Selection Menu

Inside Cover of Plexi Tray

 Other Details:

DVD Release Date: 3/APRIL/2006
Aspect Ratio: 4.3 Full Screen 1.33:1
Audio: 2.0 Mono 
Running Time: 592 Mins Approx
Region Code: Region 2 UK PAL DVD
DVD Count: (4) Four Discs 
 UPC: 5050582383041
ASIN: B000EMI5M4

Review by TheWraith517