As the original mono has been botched for this (and last) release of GB&U on BluRay (the included mono track is a downmix of the 5.1 upmix with new replaced sounds etc.) I was wondering:
Has anyone undertook the effort to restore the English mono track for MGM's Extended cut of the film already?
If not, I would probably give it a try.
There is an issue with the current Little Mermaid Blu-Ray (here are the details). However, just today Disney announced a replacement program for at least the first two main errors. As for the others - I don't know if they justify a preservation effort.
Ah, I see. Maybe this could be merged with the other thread somehow.
Also, as I just found out, Disney actually started a replacement program for at least the Part of the World/Scuttle error under:
http://www.disneystudioshelp.com/ContactUs
800-723-4763 (U.S.)
888-877-2843 (Canada)
The latest Blu-Ray release of The Little Mermaid features a great video transfer and a great sound. However, there are issues with this release as well. I suppose someone could give it a try to re-create the original version.
The following issues have been identified so far:
Here is a side-by-side comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5vHZH-YJQA
Disney has actually already reacted:
_"In preparation for its Blu-ray release, THE LITTLE MERMAID went through an intensive re-mastering process. Unfortunately, a minor oversight led to a switch of two small cuts during the “Part of Your World” scene.
There is no impact on the quality or overall experience of the film."_
The intro credit “Walt Disney Pictures Presents” has been moved. For the 3D version of the film, an additional “3D presentation” credit was added in its stead; the original “Walt Disney Pictures Presents” was moved earlier in time. For the 2D version, however, it was not moved back! So there is a “Walt Disney Pictures presents” quite early in the film, then there is an empty space, and then comes the title.
There is a fade transition missing from the first appearance of Scuttle.
The end credits, even in the 2D version, are modified to include the 3D conversion credits.
The kneecap of the priest (which looked like an erection in theatres and has been edited out from several versions including this one): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InFLnzeQjWw
Here is the side-by-side comparison (of some of the errors):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uDnSSnyW0Q
Some of the errors in this video are actually none; for instance, the color of the shells is said to be original (as opposed to the DVD where it was changed for some reason).
The most important error (1) is actually easiest to solve by just swapping the two shots around. The others, however, would require using footage from other sources.
As I cannot do that myself, I still would like to start a discussion. Also, maybe someone could take this thread as an inspiration for a cinematic restoration of TLM.
For a Few Dollars More - Uncut version (1965)
As a matter of fact, the new German BluRay is fully uncut, including 1 second missing from the Italian BluRay and all the cuts from the MGM source.
The only thing wrong with this release is the German intro text ("Where life had no value...").
Well... actually I'm glad about 2.1, because the 2.0 felt too much off color-wise when watching the whole thing on my TV. The 2.1 version goes in the right direction.
marvins said:
Here are the french ending credits redone :
Very nice! However, it would help adding a bit gate weave to this, it looks too clean this way. :)
I hate being the only guy against it, but I personally think the stars are in fact too bright. To the amount that they start to distract from the actual text.
Harmy said:
I was never quite happy with this shot but I tried to fix it a few times and never successfully and now I finally managed (well, it's still not perfect but at least the things that bothered me most are gone):
The background behind the Jawa when he starts hugging the speeder seems to wobble, or is it just my eyes?
Yup, v.1.0 looks more natural.
Why not meet somewhere in the middle? I mean, to reduce the amount of the shake so it doesn't jump into one's eyes (then it'd be just right).
Incidentally, that difference filter view is a pretty sweet logo
Somehow it reminds me of the modern Lucasfilm logo. :)
Harmy, there is still one rather important point for your upcoming 1.2 or 2.0 versions.
- The alien dialogs are subtitled in a wrong font. You use the Franklin Gothic font (which was used for the textcrawls as well as in the SE editions) but in the original theatrical versions Trade Gothic was rather used (it's less round). Laserschwert had found the correct font for his German version, so you might ask him which font he exactly used.
Well, the German was obviously ripped from the GOUT R2 DVD, so it should be quite optimal. Waiting for the subs!
PS: with Subtitle Workshop you can easily filter out all the "Hard of Hearing" subs (I do hate it when the only English subtitle option is the Hard of Hearing one - there should be two).
Also, for German subs, there should be two versions. One for when using Harmy's Edition (including Textcrawl and alien dialogues) and one for the upcoming Laserschwert German edition (excluding textcrawl and alien dialogs, as they already in the picture).
The one scene which I think could profit largely from re-sourcing it from the BluRay would be the Bespin Lightsaber Duel in TESB, as the HDTV compression was quite noticeable in that steaming environment.
I can help out with German.
Anyway, Laserschwert, this is really good work. :)
Well, Laserschwert, now you have no excuse for excluding the German credits given that you have a template now. :)
I never liked it back then, but I think it's important now. :)
Although I've stayed true to the theatrical crawl, two things still bother me: The logo standing still for a few frames
Actually, that was the case in the original German textcrawl - the logo was in fact standing still on STAR WARS for a few frames. I am in favor of keeping this for nostalgic reasons.
Same is also valid for the French version: there the logo also stands still for a moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFg6iMK3ikM
I am rather displeased that the slight warping of the image (like a really tiny pillow effect) is not there.
Once more nice work, but what did you change with this re-created crawl in comparison to your first version?
The former version was from SW:ANH SE. It had a different "Krieg der Sterne" logo and the text was reset (by increasing space between single letters it became rather less legible).
The new version was re-done by Laserschwert based on the original German text crawl appearance from the 1977 Star Wars and the old "Krieg der Sterne" logo.
I am not sure if the speaker infos are listed after the credits of the 2004 DVD (when playing German version). The infos about the dubbing studios are listed definitely, but I am not sure if this is also true for the German speakers.
My recreation of the German theatrical SW crawl:
Really nice job. The little movements of the gate add to the realism and analogue-ity. :)
Albeit, some of the lettering in the crawl (starting at 01:00 occasionally drags some sort of color-smear behind them (probably due to encoding problems?).
Didn't occur on my system.
I'm very much interested!
As far as I recall, there are clean sounds for such training droids in the LucasArts computer game "Jedi Knight", or probably, in one of the sequels.