• Title: Daredevil bespoke edition 
• Format: 2 x Blu-ray and 1 x DVD 
• Country: UK / Region B / Region 2
• Certificate: 15
• Contents: Daredevil – Theatrical Cut, Daredevil – Director’s Cut, and Elektra.
• Features running time: 5hrs 18mins + bonus material

In 2003, 20th Century Fox in association with Marvel Entertainment released the comic book movie, Daredevil. The film – directed by Mark Steven Johnson – told the story of a blind lawyer named Matt Murdock, who doubles up as the superhero, Daredevil.

In the film, Matt spends his days fighting cases in the courtroom and his nights fighting crime on the streets of New York. Each day he takes on the low-level scum of Hell’s Kitchen, who are in-turn overseen by Wilson Fisk, the villainous Kingpin of crime.

Starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, and Michael Clarke Duncan, Daredevil received mixed reviews upon release but it was a moderate box-office hit which developed a loyal fanbase. And as a comic book fan who was craving comic book movies in the early ‘00s (particularly Marvel movies), I lapped it up.

Over the years I’ve retained a soft spot for Daredevil, so while piecing together my physical media collection, I felt like adding the movie to my shelf. But I didn’t want to just add a standard copy of Daredevil and leave it at that, I wanted a little more. 

So I put together a bespoke three-disc edition set. The set incorporates a Blu-ray of the original theatrically released film, along with a DVD copy of Daredevil: Director’s Cut, and a Blu-ray of spin-off movie, Elektra.

First up, I began with a Blu-ray copy of the theatrical edition of Daredevil. This is the version of the film which played in cinemas back in 2003.

Daredevil has been released multiple times on physical media including DVD and UMD for the now defunct PSP (remember that?), but the highest quality edition to date is the Blu-ray. A 4K edition may follow one day (although it might not), but for now the Blu-ray edition is the best there is on physical media.

For disc number two I picked up a copy of Daredevil: Director’s Cut on UK DVD. This is an alternate cut of the 2003 movie, which was released in 2004.

Daredevil: Director’s Cut is a significantly different version of the film, and includes around 30 minutes of additional material not included in the theatrical edition. The material includes a new plot, as well as a new character (played by Coolio), and when it was released in 2004 it was well-received by fans and critics.

Daredevil: Director’s Cut has only ever been released on DVD in the UK and is no longer in print. The film is also not available to buy on digital or streaming platforms, so as far as I’m concerned, this DVD is essential for the set and owning a copy is a great way to preserve this cut.

I should note, the Director’s Cut is available on Region free Blu-ray overseas, so I could have opted for the film in HD if I was willing to ship a disc to the UK, but the cost is significantly higher than the DVD. For example it cost me £1 to buy the UK DVD, whereas the US Blu-ray would have cost £30 + shipping, and that’s simply more than I wanted to spend.

Onto the third disc in the set, and this space is reserved for the comic book movie, Elektra. For those with short memories (or who simply weren’t around at the time), Elektra is a Daredevil spin-off movie starring Jennifer Garner.

You see, rather than produce a sequel to Daredevil, 20th Century Fox opted for a spin-off film instead, and that spin-off was Elektra. The film debuted theatrically in 2005 with Rob Bowman on director duties and Goran Višnjić and Terence Stamp amongst the supporting cast.

I’ll be honest, Elektra isn’t a great movie, but it is fine for a bit of nostalgic fun every once in a while and more importantly it is an extension of the Daredevil universe. When putting together a bespoke Daredevil set it made sense to include Elektra, so it had to be given a place alongside the other discs.

All three discs were bought separately and all were on the cheap. They were picked up on the secondary market, either through eBay, charity shops, or CEX etc, and none were difficult to come by.

The Elektra Blu-ray was the most expensive of the three, presumably because fewer copies were sold first time around. The other two discs were very inexpensive.

Once I had gathered together all three discs, I placed them inside a new, three-disc Blu-ray case. This case was picked up from eBay for £3.95 (including postage).

In total, I spent around £15 to put together this set. Not bad for a three-disc, space-saving boxset of nostalgic Marvel movies.

In terms of the cover sleeve, I retained the artwork from the original Daredevil Blu-ray and used this as the main cover for my bespoke Blu-ray. I then placed the Elektra sleeve on the reverse, so I still had access to all the information should I want it, plus it decorates the inside of the case perfectly.

And finally, for those interested, here is a list of all the content and special features contained within this bespoke set:

Daredevil

• 1 x copy of Daredevil in HD
• Audio commentary with writer/director Mark Steven Johnson and producer Avi Arad
• Trivia track
• Beyond Hell’s Kitchen – The Making of Daredevil
• Easter egg gag reel
• Jennifer Garner screen tests
• Featured villain: Kingpin
• Daredevil HBO first-look special
• Moving Through Space: A Day with Tom Sullivan
• Giving the Devil His Due
• Daredevil/Kingpin takes
• Elektra/Bullseye takes
• Man Without Fear: Creating Daredevil
• Shadow World Tour
• Music videos
• Music promotion spot
• Trailers

Daredevil: Director’s Cut

• 1 x copy of Daredevil: Director’s Cut in SD
• Audio commentary with writer/director Mark Steven Johnson and producer Avi Arad
• Giving the Devil his Due – The Making of Daredevil: Director’s Cut

Elektra

• 1 x copy of Elektra in HD
• Deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Rob Bowman and film editor Kevin Stitt
• Alternate/extended scenes with optional commentary by director Rob Bowman
• Showdown at the well – multi-angle dailies
• Relentless: The Making of Elektra – Part One: Production
• Relentless: The Making of Elektra – Part Two: Post-production
• The Mythology: Elektra Incarnations

Total cost: £15

—

Thank you for taking the time to read this post on HOME VIDEO HAVEN. For more posts, please check out the recommended reads below.