In my search for a better secondary source for Uproar In Heaven I came across these...

Ginseng Fruit (1981) ~44 mins.

The only version that seems to be available of this is on vcd. This is definitely better!

Subtitling is about 90% done.

I also found a third version of The Monkey King Conquers the Bone Demon (1985).

In some ways it is superior to both official dvd's.

It does however have a few problems - blended fields and aliasing... but still might be a nice alternate version.

It requires a lot of reworking of the subtitles though.

Screens - 1st theatrical version from official dvd, 2nd tv/episodic version from official dvd (notice how overcropped it is) and 3rd this new version (also the tv/episodic version).

'Ginseng Fruit' will definitely be done; the other - well I'd like to release it also, but we'll see...

If you're in Denmark you might have a chance to see Uproar In Heaven on the big screen...

http://www.dfi.dk/cinemateket/Program/Filmbeskrivelse.htm?id=f19971

It will be shown tomorrow (the 11th) and again the 28th of September.

It's an English 35mm theatrical version.

Of course I'll be going both times...

What a strange coincidence... and great opportunity. 8)

Tobbeo said:

Sorry I can't be of assistance (no experience), but impossible?

Every frame is intact (well almost) and originally intended to run in 24fps. PAL just plays it erroneously fast, there must be authoring programs that can correct this and convert it to BD(24p). (or will converting distort it unacceptably?)

Anyway reason I want BD 24 is mostly the audio pitch-up of 25, but also why watch films incorrect when there's a choise.

NTSC-film uses 23,976fps which is the same as Blu-Ray. Although basicly everybody falsly states BD is 24p it's actually 23,976. NTSC DVDs can also be played in so called 24p if player & display support this.

Another update:

I'm basically stopping the search for other and/or better sources for these movies.
I've been unable to locate the dvd of the Chinese bootleg version and the English narration audio.
I've spent a lot of time and money so far trying to get every version out there, but I have to stop sometime...

I did have a lead on the English narration but it seems unlikely I will get it at the moment... Oh well.

Since every version I have of the full version has various problems, the companion disc with the alternate version is on hold for now.
If someone can get me the Chinese bootleg dvd (error free) or a lossless vhs rip of the French version I will be happy to work on it... But it seems silly to work on it now, when I know there are better versions out there.

Maybe after the restoration is released someone will come forward? We'll have to wait and see I guess.

I'll post some mini-reviews later for all the Monkey King dvds I've accumulated so far, in case some of you were wondering which versions to get and where.
Also some notes about the theatrical version coming up..


Planned dvd specs:

The Monkey King - Uproar In Heaven (1965) FAN RESTORATION

PAL DVD5

Runtime: ~110 mins.

Audio:
Mandarin mono/stereo
Danish narration
Swedish narration
French dub

Subtitles:
Chinese Simplified
English (reworked fansub)
English alternate (reworked from Taiwan ed.)

- Stabilized and cleaned image
- Re-inserted 20+ mins. missing from the 40th anniversary edition
- Hand-cleaned/repaired hundreds of frames (There are still a few frames with writing on them remaining, some would basically need redrawing to fix)
- Color-corrected entire movie as best as possible (due to damage, it's basically impossible to make it completely consistent, but I've tried)
- Restored stereo audio from poorly faked 5.1 audio
- Tried to make the audio slightly less grating
- Added credits
- Added reworked fansub and reworked Taiwan ed. subs, including new subs for the added scenes

I'm sorry to hear that your quest for better versions didn't go that well, especially considering the amount of effort and time you've put in.

On the other hand, the hard work you've already accomplished so far is pretty darn impressive as it is! I hope everything works out smoothly for the rest of your project!

A few screens of color-correction.... DVD colors on the left, mine to the right.

A small note for Tobbeo (who was asking about the possibility of 24fps):

Having done a small bit of research, it might be possible to do a pal dvd with 24->25fps pulldown, also called a 2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:3 pulldown (google it for more info). Don't know that much about it yet, will need to do some testing. But could be a way to retain the 24fps...

Thanks for that image. I can't view that flash file myself for some reason, so I've never seen the big version. I like the airbrushed almost cg-like quality of it. I'm gonna have to use it for something...

Preview of the dvd-cover (not final yet):

Looks great!

Ok, time for another post..

@McPeter - Sorry, I don't have a facebook account and I'm not really in a hurry to get one. Hope you all can follow this thread instead. :)

It's been a bit quiet, mainly because of that pesky thing called 'real life'.. ;)

Anyway, the video will soon be locked, and what remains is fixing/syncing some of the audio and the subs. As mentioned before there will be a completely different translation other than the common fansub. It needs heavy editing though, as it's pretty bad in it's original form.

Also, I'm imposing a deadline on myself - I will release this just before Christmas at the latest.

This (Uproar In Heaven) will be the first in (hopefully) a series of releases called The Monkey King Fan Project, which will most likely be these:

Ginseng Fruit (1981) - Mandarin audio w/English subs, minor restoration/fixup

Monkey King conquers the Bone Demon (1985) (Alternate versions) - alternate versions of both the theatrical and episodic version w/fixed subs. Other language narrations exits for these but has not (yet) been found

There are three or four more cartoons, but they have only Mandarin audio and no subs of any kind. So for those to happen I would need the help of someone who could translate it..

...

The theatrical version... As said earlier, I was lucky enough to catch Uproar In Heaven on the big screen.

It was an English print (with the English narration) in very good condition. The colours were similar to what you may have seen on tv or vhs - heavy on the blue and red and lacking some yellow.

But there was so much detail, more than I've ever seen... Especially in the dark scenes you could see details not available on any transfer. I made me realize just how much the 40th edition is affected by crushed blacks - a LOT of detail is lost in the dark scenes. :(

For example, in the pills/elixir scene you could clearly make out all the details in the background, and in the furnace scene you could actually see everything that was going on.

But at least there are still prints in good condition around, this one at least, and most likely also some French ones. So it still possible that a better transfer can be made in the future..

The English narration was not very good to be frank. It skipped over a lot of the dialogue and finer points and most of the humour. To bad for all those in the audience who didn't know the story as well as me!

So, while I would like to include the English audio on my version, it's not a huge loss if it doesn't turn up.

The Danish and Swedish narrations are actually a lot better IMO... The Danish especially captures the humour well. The Swedish is a bit too 'childish' for my taste.

That's all for now!

Sounds great Satanika!

I can't believe how much work you've already put into just this restoration. Especially if you're serious about a series of releases called The Monkey King Fan Project.

You clearly love these films a great deal. While I was lucky enough to have seen the first film in a theatre when I was young, it's a real shame that they've pretty much been lost since then (I had no idea there were sequels). I hope your passion will bring greater attention to these genuine masterpieces of animation that they really deserve.

Best of luck on hitting that first deadline!

A little more news:

I finally managed to get the English narration. :)
So it will be included also. Thanks to Brumme for the lead, which ultimately worked out.

Another note for Tobbeo, who was concerned about the pal speedup:
Well, as you may know, I was able to attend a theatrical screening of this, and the funny thing is that it was the same pitch as most other versions I know of. The only version I have heard with a lower pitch is the Chinese ntsc bootleg dvd - even the official Taiwanese ntsc dvd runs at the same speed and pitch as the pal versions (may be due to shoddy manufacturing though). So it's not entirely clear how it's supposed to sound in the first place... Maybe what you'll be getting in my version IS the correct pitch?