This is topic Gone With The Wind/Wizard of OZ on Blu-ray in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=12;t=000724

---

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-07-2009, 04:16 PM:
 
Anyone else anticipating these releases this fall? I read George Feltenstein at WB said GWTW was getting yet another pass through their "ultra-resolution" process to take advantage of the latest enhancements. Not sure if he indicated WOZ was getting the same. They both looked great on TNT in HD even with the limitations of cable and the existing transfers so I can't imagine how great they might look on Blu-ray.

While I am waiting for the official specs on these "collector's editions" I hope at least they package it so that I can extract the discs from the "toys" in a serviceable package that will securely house them on a shelf with the rest of my collection. Actually I would prefer a discs-only package (these are titles where I want the supplemental video material) than a gaudy box with things like miniature reprints of a poster or the original theatrical program - both of which...in the case of GWTW...I already have real items of in my collection.
 

---

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 04-07-2009, 09:14 PM:
 
Joe,

I have been enjoying my new HDTV and have been very impressed watching scenes from several of Warner Brothers classic films on DVD especially GONE WITH THE WIND and can hardly wait for the Blu Ray. I promised myself I will not replace my DVDs with Blu Ray when I am set up for it with an HDTV but I am beginning to realize it is a tough promise to keep now that I have the system. I just watched the first 30 minutes of David Lean's RYAN's DAUGHTER last night on DVD and it was very beautiful and now cannot wait to get my hands on the BD because I know it will be breathtaking because of the use of the original 65mm elements that was used to create the DVD. Although I have the recent multi disc deluxe set, THE WIZARD OF OZ is not and has never been a favorite of mine. I probably will rent it when it comes out on Blu Ray. What I really want now are movies that were originally photographed in 65mm such as LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, HELLO DOLLY, MY FAIR LADY, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, BEN HUR, RAINTREE COUNTY, THE AGONY & THE ECTASY, CLEOPATRA and VistaVision films including VERTIGO, WHITE CHRISTMAS and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS to name a few. I know THE SEARCHERS is already out and have heard only good things about it. I just bought the BD of PATTON today from Target and look forward to see it sometime this week. I recently rented this disc a few weeks ago but I did not have HD yet so I only saw parts of it in analogue. I know Robert Harris did not like the BD of PATTO because of the way the image was over correctred. By the way, was a 70mm print used for the BD of PATTON?

-Claude
 

---

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-08-2009, 10:51 AM:
 
Claude - At the link below you will find an index of interesting articles written by Robert Harris dating back to 2002. Apparently Patton was scanned from the 65mm elements. I can also vouch for "The Searchers". I had rented it (in HD-DVD in fact) from Netflix and was very impressed. I also have in HD-DVD "The Sting" and I would highly recommend that once Universal releases it on Blu-ray. Like you I am also holding off on "Wizard of Oz" as it was never one of my favorites but I might give in once a lower-priced disc-only version is released.

I am looking forward to many of the films on your list. Under the VistaVision list I would add "To Catch A Thief". Do the actual large-format elements still exist for most of those films? I seem to remember thinking that the "Ten Commandments" DVD could have looked better. I am embarrassed to admit I have never seen "Lawrence of Arabia" and since I am not likely to catch a 70mm screening I will wait for the Blu-ray. "Ben-Hur" is high up there for me.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/robertharris/index.html
 

---

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 04-08-2009, 01:33 PM:
 
Joe,

There were two versions of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS on DVD. The first one was not bad but the last one, a special edition that was released in a digipak is fantastic especially when viewed on a HDTV. You never saw LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in 70mm? What a shame! When the movie played it first run engagement at the Kuhio which was 70mm equipped, it only played in 35mm and mono- grrrrrrrr. It was in early 1963 and I saw it after my friends and I got to see President Kennedy' in a Honolulu motorcade that day. LOA looked very nice in 35mm but nothing special. I was very fortunate to be in San Francisco when the restored version by Robert Harris in 70mm was playing at the defunct and now demolished Northpoint Theatre about twenty years ago. All I can say about seeing it for the first time in 70mm was an experience I will never forget. I saw it two more time here in Honolulu in 70mm. It played at both the Kapiolani and Cinerama. Yes, the Blu Ray should be awesome, especially when it will be from a 70mm print. Ben-Hur should also be great and hopefully it will retain it's original Ultra Panavision 70 (Camera 65) aspect ratio.

As far as VistaVision movies are concerned, if three strip 35mm elements were created from the original camera negatives, Blu Ray movies should look fantastic because of an image that is double the size of a 35mm film frame that will be used to create it. I have not seen SPARTACUS in BD but I have SLEEPING BEAUTY on Blu Ray and it is just gorgeous. Both of the movies were photographed in Technirama, a process similar to VistaVision but the only difference was the use of an anamorphic lens instead of spherical during principle photography

-Claude
 

---

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-08-2009, 02:46 PM:
 
Claude - I have "Spartacus" on HD-DVD and while it is obviously better than the standard DVD it probably should have been better. Let's hope they create a new master for the Blu version.

Have you seen Casablanca in HD yet? Both HD disc versions are amazing. I am glad Warner Brothers is so diligent about restoring and preserving their library as they have so many of my favorites. "Mister Roberts" would be great to see after a full restoration (though the DVD is quite respectable). Also "Yankee Doodle Dandy", "Citizen Kane" and Hammer horror films are high up on my want list for Blu-ray. Oh, and the Universal classic monsters as well. I hope we see something from them to coincide with the theatrical release of "The Wolf Man" remake this year. It certainly is a great - and expensive - time for movie lovers.
 

---

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 04-08-2009, 04:47 PM:
 
joe,

I have YANKEE DOODLE DANDY , CITIZEN KANE as well as CASABLANCA on Warner Brother deluxe edition DVDs Among the three only CASABLANCA is out on Blu Ray and I am not sure I will get it yet because it cost more than $50.00 at Best Buy where they have it in stock. I will consider getting it if WB releases it in a standard edition and priced at about $15.00 like their BD of CLOCKWORK ORANGE and THE SHINING. I heard Errol Flynn's ROBIN HOOD is coming out in BD soon and that should look fantastic. I am not too sure about MISTER ROBERTS on BD because it is not considered mainstream. Do not get me wrong because I love the movie especialy when James Cagney says "All Right, who did it? Who did it?" when his beloved palm tree was thrown overboard in the movie.

I only saw HDDVD in stores but how is it compared to BluRay? I actually thought that system was going to win the HD disc war but what do I know. Among the titles that was originally released on HDDVD, and now on Blu Ray, I have U571 and KING KONG. The submarine movie's image on BD is just average but KING KONG is awesome in Blu Ray and so is the sound. Sorry to hear SPARTACUS did not look too good on the defunct system. I thought it was already out on Blu Ray. By the way, I saw a few minutes of PATTON in HD last night from the BD i bought and it looks great!

-Claude
 

---

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-08-2009, 05:23 PM:
 
Claude - maybe we should get a room!

I forgot the blu-ray version of Casablanca was only available in that over-priced package. I suppose GWTW and WoZ will suffer the same fate - at least for a while. The HD-DVD disc of Casablanca is the same material and transfer as the BR disc but it's just in standard packaging. If a BR and a HD are created using the same master there is no discernible difference in quality. For what it's worth I also thought HD would win...and I have about 50 discs in that format as a result. If you are a fan the Harry Potter films are beautiful in HD as well.

As for "Adventures of Robin Hood" it is indeed out now in Blu-ray. It is identical to the HD-DVD disc in content and quality. It has a little more film grain than I expected but after seeing a theatrical viewing of the restored print about a year ago I know that it was inherent in the material which, of course, I already knew. The detail in background is amazing and the Technicolor photography is perfectly replicated. You won't be disappointed.

You are probably right about "Mister Roberts" - as great as it is and beloved by it's fans it doesn't rate in popularity with titles like "Ben-Hur" and "My Fair Lady"...it might be a while before we see the likes of that on blu-ray. On the other hand George Feltenstein mentioned there were some Hammer horror films being looked over for blu so you never know. Yes, the old man loved his palm tree, didn't he? I thought Jack Lemmon stole the show which is saying a lot as he was just a young actor at the time playing with stalwarts like Cagney and Fonda and Powell. You may recall that Lemmon won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for that role. A real gem of a film and a powerful ending.
 

---

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-08-2009, 05:37 PM:
 
Other than the larger package for "Casablanca" in Blu-ray, it includes a second disc with the bonus feature documentary "Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul" (104 minutes). Everything else is the same as the HD-DVD release edition.
 

---

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-09-2009, 01:09 PM:
 
I forgot about that Jack Warner disc. I would like to see that. I guess TCM is the best bet since I am not planning to buy Casablanca again and Netflix doesn't list the second disc (meaning they bought just the movie - probably for a fraction of the price...lucky bastards). They (Netflix) did, however, have something called "The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman" which I added to my queue.
 

---

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 04-09-2009, 02:10 PM:
 
Joe,

Another disc I would like to see is a documentary about the Warner Brothers Studio. I read discussions about it at a DVD forum and people said it was very good. I had something similar about the history of 20th Century-Fox but it was among many cherished DVDs I lost when a burglar took them and the DVD player I was using at that time. Has that ever happened to you or anyone else?

I watched DOUBT on Tuesday night and YES MAN in Blu Ray last night and I enjoyed both of them very much. After watching the Meryl Streep movie, I thought she was robbed when she did not win for Best Actress at this years Academy Awards. YES MAN reminded me of LIER, LIER, one of my favorite Jim Carrey movies. Watching these movies in Blu Ray was the next best thing to seeing them at a cinema. The picture and sound quality was awesome and now regret very much I did not get an HDTV and Blu Ray much sooner.

-Claude
 

---

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-09-2009, 02:47 PM:
 
Didn't the WB set with "Yankee Doodle Dandy", "Adventures of Robin Hood" and "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" come with a disc called "Here's Looking At You, Warner Brothers" or something like that? If so I have it somewhere. I haven't seen one of Fox and fortunately I have never been burglarized. Sorry to hear about that.

I saw "Yes Man" last night and thought it was just OK. My favorite Jim Carrey films are "The Mask", "Dumb and Dumber", "Liar Liar" and "The Number 23".
 

---

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-09-2009, 03:03 PM:
 
Yes, That box set came with that doc. on Warner Bros. There a good one called "MGM: When the Lion Roars" out on dvd now too.
 

---

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 04-09-2009, 09:39 PM:
 
yes, WHEN THE LION ROARS is excellent. I have the DVD and it took me two nights to watch all of the stuff on it. I also have the multi disc Laserdisc box set .

-Claude
 

---

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 04-15-2009, 09:19 AM:
 
Claude - Amazon has "The Searchers" on sale for $11.99 on blu-ray if you are interested in picking one up.
 

---

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 04-15-2009, 06:36 PM:
 
Thanks for the 'heads up' on THE SEARCHERS at Amazon, Joe.

I ordered it today and I should receive it in a couple of days. By the way, did you take advantage of Target's sale during the past two weeks. They had a "buy One Blu Ray-Get One Free last week and I paid for WALL-E and got THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA-PRINCE CASPIN for free. This week's special sale was Buy two and get one free and I paid for TROY-The Directors Cut and got Stanley Kubrick's CLOCKWORK ORANGE and THE SHINING for free. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

-Claude
 

---

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 04-17-2009, 09:46 AM:
 
Where are you guys purchasing your BluRays? Are retailers all pretty much selling them at "suggested retail" or are some vendors giving better prices than others?

Also, how is Fox doing with their library in terms of releasing on BluRay? There are a few of my favorite titles that I would really like HD versions -- THE KING AND I, CAROUSEL, OKLAHOMA! SOUND OF MUSIC, SOUTH PACIFIC....hmmmm, I guess I AM a R&H fan. I know about THE ROBE which will be nice to have even though personally I am not a fan other than for its historical significance and the Alfred Newman score (mostly stolen note for note from his earlier score for HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME). Is Fox as forthcoming as Warner with their biggies?
 

---

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-17-2009, 10:03 AM:
 

quote: Frank Angel

---

Are retailers all pretty much selling them at "suggested retail" or are some vendors giving better prices than others?

---