• Title: Fantastic Four bespoke edition 
• Format: 2 x Blu-ray and 1 x DVD 
• Country: UK / Region B / Region 2
• Certificate: PG
• Contents: Fantastic Four – Theatrical Cut, Fantastic Four – Extended Edition, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
• Features running time: 4hrs approx + bonus material

In a previous post I discussed a ‘bespoke’ three-disc edition of the 2003 movie, Daredevil which I recently put together to create a space-saving copy for my shelf. As a quick reminder, I bought (cheap) second-hand copies of Daredevil and Elektra on Blu-ray, along with a DVD copy of Daredevil: Director’s Cut, and combined them as part of an ultimate combo-pack.

In this post, I want to talk about a similar project I’ve been working on to create a bespoke edition of 2005’s Fantastic Four. This is another space-saving, three-disc set which brings together a trio of titles in one case.

Now, as a reminder Fantastic Four is a super hero movie based on the Marvel comic book of the same name. Directed by Tim Story, the film starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, and Julian McMahon, and told the origin story of the super-group, while detailing their connection to the villainous Victor Von Doom.

Upon release, the critics didn’t look particularly favourably on Fantastic Four, however it was a box-office success. Produced on a budget of around $100 million, Fantastic Four grossed over $333 million and a tiny amount of that income came from me.

I went to see the movie during the summer of 2005, and while I believed it could have been a stronger film (and certainly a stronger adaptation of the FF mythology), I enjoyed it for what it was. Evans and Chiklis were perfectly cast as the Human Torch and The Thing respectively, and the movie contained some enjoyable moments of comedy and adventure.

And I pretty much felt the same way about its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Once again, it could have been a better FF movie, but it was enjoyable nonetheless and I’ve continued to find enjoyment in both movies ever since.

These days I have a nostalgic fondness for the films. As such, I like knowing I have access to them whenever I want.

So, when it came to owning the movies on physical media*, I wanted to ensure I had both films in my collection and on the best format available, which at present is Blu-ray. Neither of the two ‘00s FF movies are available on 4K yet, and who knows when or if they will ever make the jump.

*I should add here that I did originally own the FF movies back in the ‘00s on DVD, so this isn’t my first time owning them on physical media, but those DVDs went to the Music Magpie in the sky during a downsize and relocation. The only FF DVD that I retained from that time period was the Extended Edition, which I’ll discuss in more detail in a moment.

Now, while I wanted to own both FF films on Blu-ray it isn’t a simple job of just popping to HMV and buying a brand new copy of each film, because neither are currently in print. As such, any copies I buy would be on the secondary market, either through eBay, a charity shop, or a used goods store like CEX.

With this in mind, I hunted down a copy of each movie as cheaply as possible. And after a bit of searching I managed to find Blu-rays of both Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer for a couple of pounds.

The discs for each film were in excellent condition, but the Blu-ray cases were dirty and battered. This didn’t bother me in the slightest, as I had no plans to keep the shabby cases, as upcycling was on the horizon.

I then headed to eBay to pick up a cheap, three-disc replacement case. The case cost me £3.95, which included postage, and was my biggest spend on this project.

Once the new case arrived I removed the two FF movie discs from their old homes and placed them into the three-disc case, leaving me with one spare slot to fill. This slot was then taken by a DVD copy of Fantastic Four: Extended Edition.

For those unfamiliar with Fantastic Four: Extended Edition, this is a slightly longer cut of Fantastic Four which was released on home video back in 2007. This cut includes approximately 20 minutes of extra material blended into the film, which was not part of the original theatrical cut.

Is it completely necessary material? No, which is why it was cut from the cinema release.

However, in my opinion, the Extended Edition is a better version of the film if you’re a comic book fan. There’s a bit more meat on the bone, and on occasion a touch more fun and depth too with nods to the comics.

As this DVD copy of the Extended Edition was already in my collection, so I didn’t need to hunt one down. And the reason it remained in my collection is because the Extended Edition is in somewhat rarer than the standard cut.

Oh, sure, you can pick up a copy of Fantastic Four: Extended Edition on eBay without any problems, but it is still a lot less common to come across than a copy of Fantastic Four. To date, the Extended Edition has only ever been released once on DVD, and as there’s no Blu-ray, no digital copy, and it’s not available anywhere to stream (not even on Disney+), retaining it is important.

Without physical media, this version of the film does not exist. That’s why I kept hold of it, and that’s also why it needed to be included in this bespoke set.

Once I had all three discs in place, I took the cover artwork from the discarded Fantastic Four Blu-ray case and slipped it into place on my three-disc set. On the reverse (i.e on the inside), I used the cover art from Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

I now have a three-disc set, which brings together the two FF movies in HD, while preserving the DVD copy of the Extended Edition. Plus, it saves space on my shelf.

In total, to put this together (and taking into account I already owned the Extended Edition) it cost around £8. And for those interested here is a list of all the content/special features in the set:

Fantastic Four

• 1 x copy of Fantastic Four in HD
• Cast commentary by Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis and Julian McMahon

Fantastic Four: Extended Edition

• 1 x copy of Fantastic Four: Extended Edition in SD
• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer trailer 
• Silver Surfer featurette

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in HD

• 1 x copy of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in HD
• Strategy game: Who dares defy Galactus?
• Interactive trivia game: Saving the world one question at a time
• Extended and deleted scenes with optional commentary 
• Family Bonds: The Making of Fantastic Four: Rise of Silver Surfer
• The Power of Cosmic
• Sentinel of the Spaceways: Comic book origins of the Silver Surfer
• Character design with spectral motion
• Scoring the fantastic 
• Stills gallery

Total cost: £8

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