Classic DVD consumer guide rundown

[MK]

Notes on a handful of titles, what to get, what to expect:

The Classic James Bond films (before Pierce Brosnan):
MGM first restored the original negatives and struck new prints. Then they re-scanned the original negatives and supposedly have prepared high-quality DVD transfers (reported by Fred Kaplan of slate.com, NY Times). MGM acknowledges all this, but will not give any hints of a release date. Speculation is next year at the earliest, so wait for those.

Persona:
The new MGM DVD is better than other versions around the world. Some initially complained of cropping image, and true, there is a very small extra amount of image around the frame on the international DVD release, but it doesn't add anything (it's such a small amount, the framing is never thrown off, nothing like characters ever seem cropped), and those international DVD's are WAY too bright with poor translations for subtitles. The new MGM DVD is a proper transfer taken from the original sources, and for the first time EVER, you get ACCURATE English subtitles that aren't censored or watered-down (plus a scandalous shot in the opening montage is restored; it was cut for American release). The new MGM DVD is the one to get.

The Night of the Hunter:
Again, this was beautifully restored with Martin Scorsese's help. MGM did NOT use the restored version for their DVD. No plans to re-do.

Red River:
Straight from the film preservationist's mouth, MGM used his restored print for the DVD.

Citizen Kane:
John Lowry admits he did it too bright and cleaned away the grain. Overdid everything out of 'inexperience' (one of the first DVD's he did). Hopes one day to re-do it. Latest version still the best, taken from a better source than past video releases.

M:
Criterion Collection just re-issued a new version. Their previous one was poorly done, but this new one is a great improvement in terms of transfer. Subtitles still could be improved.

Lawrence of Arabia:
Superbit version (silver border on cover) has correct color. No bonuses like the previous deluxe edition but much better quality in general.

Unforgiven:
Original DVD issued in 1997. Transfer had problems, some sloppiness. 5-6 years later, an excellent, new transfer made for new DVD.

Hamlet (Kenneth Branaugh's version):
Never officially released on DVD, Warner now has plans to collaborate with Branaugh on a 10th anniversary edition set for 2006. If you want the 1948 classic starring/directed by Laurence Olivier, Criterion Collection's edition is excellent.

The Godfather trilogy:
Reportedly, Paramount made new digital transfers, but these were never issued on DVD, even though they were available when Paramount issued the separate DVD versions following the big box set. Who know if they'll ever be re-done?

Last Emperor:
First DVD sloppy work, still available. Latest DVD is new transfer from Bertolucci's personal print.

[Ess Ay Cee Dee]

Persona:
for the first time EVER, you get ACCURATE English subtitles that aren't censored or watered-down (plus a scandalous shot in the opening montage is restored; it was cut for American release).

So the erection is back, eh?

Thanks for the mini-review. I have the old Persona LD, but I haven't picked up the DVD yet (partially because of the negative things I'd read about the transfer).

The first transfer of that film I saw had to be the worst ever. It was a VHS tape from some Swedish-American label that I got on an inter-library loan. It looked like they used a 16mm print that had been shown about 10,000 times and then set on fire. Even so, it still had a tremendous impact on me.

[MK]

Yup, the boner's back.

Here's some more really quick:

New DVD releases from WB/Turner:
King King tentatively due in Nov. 2005
5 Astaire & Rogers musicals for '05, 5 more for '06
Garbo box set including Ninotchka
Peckinpah box (new two-disc WILD BUNCH: SE, PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID, THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, THE GETAWAY: SE)
James Dean box (new two-disc SE's with new transfers of Rebel, East of Eden, possibly Giant - could be the same Giant SE already available)
A truckload of John Wayne/John Ford westerns including new transfer and Special Edition of "The Searchers"

And yes, ANOTHER FREAKIN' WIZARD OF OZ DVD, with ULTRA-RESOLUTION RESTORATION, due October 2005

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, also U-R Restoration, due '06
4 disc Ben-Hur due 9/05, presumably the Wyler/Heston version
Dog Day Afternoon remastered for 05
Body Heat remastered for 06
New remasters of Bullitt, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Bonnie & Clyde, all in production

[Rspaight]

Thanks for the run-down -- very helpful.

The Classic James Bond films (before Pierce Brosnan):
MGM first restored the original negatives and struck new prints. Then they re-scanned the original negatives and supposedly have prepared high-quality DVD transfers (reported by Fred Kaplan of slate.com, NY Times). MGM acknowledges all this, but will not give any hints of a release date. Speculation is next year at the earliest, so wait for those.

Bah. Some of the Connery movies could really benefit from this, but I really don't wanna buy all that stuff AGAIN. We'll see how they do.

M:
Criterion Collection just re-issued a new version. Their previous one was poorly done, but this new one is a great improvement in terms of transfer. Subtitles still could be improved.

That's one for the shopping list.

Lawrence of Arabia:
Superbit version (silver border on cover) has correct color. No bonuses like the previous deluxe edition but much better quality in general.

Yes, I believe the Superbit got Robert Harris's Seal of Approval. I might have to upgrade (I have the original "cloth-bound" disc.)

King King tentatively due in Nov. 2005

King Kong, I assume? Cool.

Ryan

[krabapple]

Yup, the boner's back.

Here's some more really quick:

New DVD releases from WB/Turner:
King Kong tentatively due in Nov. 2005

Fucking ABOUT TIME.
But I am still currently pissed off that 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' never appeared two weeks ago when it was supposed to ...and is now scheduled for Xmas season 2005.

And while I'm at it, where's the Olivier/Garson 'Pride and Prejudice' (script by Aldous Huxley)?

[Rspaight]

Just occurred to me that MGM (soon to be part of Sony) is likely going to debut these new Bond masters on Blu-Ray HD disc.

Whew. I have have no intention of investing in either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD until either (a) a clear winner is established or (b) universal players are cheap and commonplace.

Ryan

[Rspaight]

From Robert Harris:

A Few Notes on Lawrence of Arabia: Superbit

About a month ago I spent a rather long day - 13 hours to be exact - making near final color and density changes on the High Definition master of Lawrence of Arabia.

It was no secret that the previous release was problematic, but with new faces within Columbia's home video area, and a Herculean effort from Columbia's Asset Protection guru, Grover Crisp, who had been instrumental in the re-timing and creation of the new batch of 70mm release prints, Lawrence as a video project was taken back to the drawing board.

The main effort took us all the way back to the "uncorrected" high definition transfer created several years ago, which was derived from a restored 65mm interpositive.

Earlier audio anomalies were eliminated as Mr. Crisp came forth with the original 6 track masters created in 1988 for the restoration.

The starting point removed layers of color and density correction as well as additional (and unnecessary) electronic sharpening added along the way.

New digital processes added secondary color controls, which were not available to a HiDef large format transfer at the time that the earlier work was created.

After having spent weeks making certain that the new 70mm prints were properly corrected, Grover was very aware of the proper look of the film.

A great deal of time was put in doing the first pass at color and density for the new release, overseen by Sony mastering supervisor Jim Ward at Complete Post in Hollywood, literally starting from a fully uncorrected master.

After this pass, the studio shipped the master east where we spent our day at a new mastering facility in Manhattan, further correcting and honing the image on a shot by shot basis.

At the thirteen-hour mark, my eyes began to go, and with that caveat, the master and its clone were shipped back to the studio for further work, especially on the final reels.

Now in compression and authoring, the release should be a version on video as close as possible to that which we created for the restoration fifteen years ago with David Lean and cinematographer Freddie Young overseeing the final production process.

It has been confirmed that there will be no new electronic sharpening.

Although there is some question as to whether the final compression will allow the first half of the film to run to completion on disc one, the overriding factor must be one of quality and not quantity.

The image of the transfer as viewed on a 32" high definition monitor is like looking through an open window to the desert; a testament to both the pin-registered transfer device via which it was mastered to video and to those who oversaw the actual film to tape transfer.

Sony Pictures and Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment have given their full support and cooperation to this project. Enough cannot be said of the extremely diligent efforts of Crisp and his team, without which the production of this DVD would not have been possible.

I fully expect this to be an awesome release.

Robert Harris

And later...

I should make a short mention regarding the new SuperBit release of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia*. With the help of Columbia's Grover Crisp, and the cooperation of CTHE, the new release is a proper representation of the filmed original. I'm pleased to finally be able to place an asterisk after this title. Upgraded at the same time were Hook* and The Professional*.

(Harris puts stars after DVDs he feels are worthy of purchase.)

Ryan

[lukpac]

I honestly find the whole film/DVD restoration process somewhat fascinating. With audio, you play the tape back, possibly add some EQ, and...that's it. "Restoration" really doesn't exist in the majority of cases. With film, though, you might be using the original negatives, a print of some sort, an existing film->video transfer, etc. It might require endless restoration, both in terms of digital cleanup and actually making sure the film doesn't fall apart on you. And then there's the whole issue of the soundtrack...

[MK]

I'm glad to see they used "no new electronic sharpening" though there's a DVD review somewhere that says it looks a little sharpened. Maybe it was their TV or something else...

[MK]

Yeah, hearing the guy from MGM talk about his restoration of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" was cool, not to mention the RESTORED, UNCUT version of "Heaven's Gate" by Michael Cimino and Bergman's "Persona."

"Persona" was more about getting a definitive prints and then a definitive DVD transfer (he says the home video people and the archives are SEPARATE, which makes things a little more difficult for DVD releases to be done right). "Heaven's Gate" was a nightmare, but should be REALLY cool. I've heard film curators at the Eastman House and I think UCLA talk about the full cut being a 'lost masterpiece,' but this is the first time it's been given a proper restoration.

The soundtrack is a mess because it was never properly mixed, at least for the full version - that was screened once, with the sound going from stereo to mono, and of course the parts that were ultimately cut for wide release were never properly mixed to stereo. Then (I hope I'm not mixing this up with another movie he talked about), the color was off on some parts because I think one of the three 'separates' was either unexposed or turned off, so that threw whole reels out of whack. This is all from memory, but I'm sure there will be a detailed explanation soon enough when the movie comes out.

Also, for "GB&U," he restored the recent version that was first shown in theaters then put on DVD. Just like "Lawrence of Arabia," he got surviving actors to redub dialogue for restored scenes where no English soundtrack was extant. This meant working with Wallach and Eastwood. Pretty cool, eh?

[Dob]

This meant working with Wallach and Eastwood. Pretty cool, eh?

Eastwood referred to this in a recent interview in Entertainment Weekly. He said it felt strange to be dubbing in dialogue for a guy that was younger than his oldest son is now.

[MK]

If you like Cronenberg's "Dead Ringers," a new 15th Anniversary Edition was released in Canada back in December - the film originally came out in 1988, but somehow it counts as 15. Go figure.

This DVD hasn't been issued in the U.S., and is still a little pricey, but it's worth noting because it's virtually a clone of the Criterion Collection DVD. If you haven't noticed, a large number of poor bootlegs and home-made copies of the Criterion edition - long out-of-print - have deluged ebay, but this new DVD actually licensed Criterion's work and used it. Criterion did it because they most likely will never get the chance to re-press their own DVD again (after license expired, it was made clear they wouldn't be getting a renewal - U.S. distributor would prefer to make their own DVD, even though they haven't done that yet) so it's either license it to the Canadian distributor or let their work sit in their vaults, collecting no profits.

The only thing changed is some of the menu graphics, which adds the Canadian distributor's logo, but everything else is an exact clone. 1.66:1, Criterion never did an anamorphic transfer, but it's not too bad with a 1.66:1 ratio and the quality is still better than other DVD's produced outside the U.S., having been supervised by Cronenberg himself.

The great audio commentary and extras, etc., again, all there.

[krabapple]

Wow...I have the original Criterion DVD -- didn't realize it was a collector's item.

[dudelsack]

Bah. Some of the Connery movies could really benefit from this, but I really don't wanna buy all that stuff AGAIN. We'll see how they do.

And some of those Connery movies are going to look WORSE in better quality, thanks to cheesy production values (You Only Live Twice, here's looking at you).
Thunderball, restored in HD, would be quite nice, though. Actually any of the first four, but especially Thunderball...

[Rspaight]

And some of those Connery movies are going to look WORSE in better quality, thanks to cheesy production values (You Only Live Twice, here's looking at you).

The cheesy stuff will be more obvious, but I'd think the HD version wouldn't necessarily be any "worse" in that regard than the actual film.

For someone that had only ever seen it on NTSC video, though, it probably will be a shocker.

Ryan