One other thought… has anybody checked the version of “Titanic” streaming on Netflix in the UK and Canada to see if it is the pre-2012 version?
One thing to add. At least in the USA well into the 1980’s some local stations did air movies (and TV show reruns) from 16mm copies in some cases. If a station wanted to show say “I Love Lucy” or “Andy Griffith” they would call Viacom (at the time) up and they would ship them a 16mm copy of every episode. They then either transferred those to videotape themselves and aired from that, or broadcast using the 16mm equipment utilized before videotape. I actually have several video recordings from the 1970’s time period of “Andy Griffith” show episodes aired in this manner. I know of at least one local station that continued to air Andy Griffith from 16mm copies (transferred to beta sp in their station) up until the time close captioning rules made them switch in the early 2000’s
It would be rare for a network broadcast to have been from 16mm in that era though.
Just to keep the discussion alive I’m still interested in trading for any foreign (or domestic) HDTV airings of “Titanic” that are
A.) Complete and uncut versions of the pre-2012 version
B.) Any version that is completely edited of bad language, the drawing scene, etc.
C.) The old “Telecine” version with different coloring mentioned in a previous thread that seems to be impossible to find.
Is that version censored or is it complete? Did you capture it?
Does anyone out there have any experience in converting true movie theater DTS discs to .WAV, .AC3 or similar formats?
I’ve searched the web and nobody seems to have a set solution. Many talk about converting consumer DTS discs, but not the REAL ones that come from theaters that use to accompany 35mm releases.
I can’t offer any help with obtaining a film print but I’m very much interested as to why you feel the H.A.2 Blu-ray is poor quality. The only information I’ve been able to find so far are here: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=12922453&postcount=69 and then very briefly, here: http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/2548/homealone2.html
Can you elaborate about the problems please?
What about the HDTV broadcasts? Are they an improvement or have they been sourced from the same master?
Like many on the forums have complained the film has a ton of grain and the bitrate is really starved compared to the Home Alone 1 release. The colors look dull, nowhere near the way I remember seeing the original in theaters. I’ve recorded several HDTV broadcasts, and I do have a 10gb HBO capture that I would rate as being a little better but they clearly still haven’t done a re-mastering of this film. It’s a shame too, considering this would be the 25th anniversary.
While I know most don’t like this film as much as the first in the series I’m a huge fan of “Home Alone 2”. I also know that both the international and the domestic Blu-Ray discs of the film are rather poor in quality overall. For some time now I’ve been looking for either a 35mm release print, or a 16mm backup print (I know some of these exist, I saw a 16mm print screened back in high school as a student).
Have any others considered any “Home Alone” projects, and/or could anyone possibly point me to a print of this film?
I’m really surprised there aren’t more showings of “Titanic” this month with the anniversary coming up. Only one here in North America scheduled at the moment. I’m even more surprised that with this year being the 20th anniversary of the movie’s release they’re not planning to bring it back to theaters. Seems like a missed opportunity to cash in to me. Possibly a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release is around the corner? Wishful thinking I know, but we can hope
Update time: the recording is underway and there’s good news and bad news…
The broadcast is to my surprise, uncensored with the expletives “bastards” and “horse shit” included but the first couple of minutes are missing because C4 began the broadcast earlier than billed (and even earlier than my PVR’s “padding” compensation feature). If I’d realised in time, I would’ve grabbed the time shifted +1 broadcast an hour later.
Sorry, cpalmer2k - no TV cut this time round and for everyone else, it’s uncut but missing a couple of minutes. 😦
I could always try again in a few months when the next repeat comes round or it winds up on 4SevenHD.
That would be my luck. Thanks for trying, please do keep your eyes open for the other version should it air again.
It’s the bit in big red capitals, so easy to miss. The print is listed for $650, exactly as I mentioned in the post you quoted!
Well I re-did my registration, but still no approval. I guess they consider “gmail” as disposable. I’d love to discuss this print with the person listing it as that is a great deal, but I have no way of contacting them.
$650 + postage (in the US). Good overall condition. It’s over 3 hours though, so even the most affordable scanning options would still cost about $1K.
I’ve created an account over there twice now. Both times it says “awaiting approval”, but it never gets approved.
Did you read the rules? You have to register under your real name with a non-disposable email…
Honestly I missed that part. I deleted my most recent registration and re-did it. How much is the print listed there for?
Thanks for that. 😃 It took a workaround before I was able to view the clip, as FOX had blocked it in the UK, “on copyright grounds” because as we all know, James Cameron’s Titanic has been completely prohibited from sale and viewing in the UK… 😮
You have a deal, I’ll update you once I’ve been able to review the broadcast and confirm its status.
Sounds like a plan to me. Just keep me posted.
There’s a print for sale on 35mmforum if you guys are interested.
I’ve created an account over there twice now. Both times it says “awaiting approval”, but it never gets approved.
If possible, can you share some screen images of this please and can you elaborate more about this alternative take? I’d certainly be interested on a sheer curiosity level to gauge the quality and technical details, such as the aspect ratio. Is it pan & scan, 2.35:1 or cropped 16:9?
After realising that the recording was censored, I erased it but as you know, there will be another airing in a few days. We can do a trade if you like… 😃
I’m surprised that you didn’t show your students the “edited for content” NBC and ABC Family broadcasts if the “mature themes” are an issue. What age range are they? Could the parents not sign waivers? I remember one teacher who did that in order to sidestep any potential repercussions.
Here is a short YouTube clip of the scene that is edited on the TV version: https://youtu.be/utG9tdw3QJg . I have confirmed based on the screenshots on Movie Censorship of the star fields, mountains and sun behind Jack that this ABC Family airing is the “old” version and not the 2012 version.
If you could record the re-airing I most certainly would trade. I checked and the TV version I have is from ABC Family but airing I have is not edited for language. Unfortunately I don’t have the NBC airings, I wish I did. One of my hobbies is collecting different versions of “Titanic”, which is why I’d love to have the Channel 4 version you mention.
Also I’m happy to record any upcoming broadcasts of “Titanic” or Titanic documentaries here in the USA for anyone who is interested in exchange for international broadcasts of Titanic for my collection.
I have a copy of “Titanic” from the US TNT broadcast. It uses an alternative take of the “drawing” scene, so it might still be the original pre-2012 version if that would be any use? I doubt they re-edited the film after the re-release for that as most of the other channels air it unedited. I would be happy to share it if you want to check it to see if it could be of use?
Also could anyone share the censored “Channel 4” HDTV version with me? It would be interesting to add to my collection. I’ve never seen the language in “Titanic” censored before. I’m a history teacher and often at the end of the year when most of the academic stuff is over my students will ask to watch historical movies. Titanic is one of the most requested films, but I have never allowed viewing because of the “drawing scene” or language.
Who produces the DVD set you have? There was a 4 disc US set produced by a company called Oasis DVD that was sold on Amazon. I almost bought it several times, but decided against it because it looked like they had crammed too many episodes onto discs. I checked and it isn’t currently available. Is this the one you were using?
I have stills of actual film frames from 35mm release prints and have seen a telecine version made from the release print, recorded inside a movie theatre, which shows deeper blues hinging slightly towards purple in the night scenes, and a golden-warm palette in the day scenes. Same as the 35mm film frames from Cameron’s ‘Aliens.’ I could upload the pictures here, but OT doesn’t have such a feature.
Do any of you actually have a DVD/VHS of that telecine? If so I would love to have it. I had a VHS of that TC back in 1998, it was the first time I actually saw “Titanic”. Unfortunately the tape was lost over time and I’ve never found it again.
To answer an earlier question I’m currently still working on converting the Titanic “Academy Award” Screener tape over. Unfortunately it has macro vision protection on it, so I had to purchase a device that removes that as the tape is played back. This also means I had to find a suitable VHS deck that could play the tape into that device, and out to my DVD recorder. I’ve recently acquired two VCRs in good shape so I’m hoping to work on it this weekend.
Congratulations on the find of the 35mm print at an affordable price as well. If there is an a effort undertaken to scan/preserve it I will contribute to the pot.
I signed up for the 35mm forum, but my membership was never confirmed. Talk about a shady looking forum. It doesn’t even give you a place to contact the administrators. Working from a source like that would be ideal, but again you have to consider the costs/challenges. Now you have to ship a massively heavy print all the way from Italy, you still would have to find a way to transfer it on your own since no commercial house would do it, then you have to locate and have a way to transfer the DTS discs. The scope of the project is just massive. Unless someone with the capabilities steps forward to help.
FrankT the cover of the screener is very plain. It basically is just a black box with “For your consideration” on the front. I’m still trying to get that project off the ground I haven’t been home long enough on a weekend to play with it yet.
I’m hoping to get some help from someone out there who can actually print on inkjet printable BD-R discs. I collect TV series on DVD & Blu-Ray and recently bought a complete series set from Germany. When it arrived I discovered that “Season 1”'s 2 discs only worked on “Region B” Blu-Ray players, but the rest of the seasons were region free and played fine on U.S players.
So, I burned my own copies of the Season 1 Blu-Rays that will play on my Blu-Ray player. The only problem is they of course are plain discs. I’m looking for someone who can print the art from the original discs onto my play copies so they match the rest of my set?
I will supply the discs, and pay you for your time/ink and shipping if you can help me out.
So presumably Grex has a macrovision defeater installed?
Yes, from what I’ve read the Grex is the “Gold standard” for dealing with issues like this. It should arrive today, so I’m hoping to play with it this weekend.
While I work the lead on the 16mm print of “Titanic” I’m going to complete the “Screener” project we discussed last week. I just bought a Grex video device that will go between my VCR & DVD recorder to remove the copy protection from my “Titanic” Academy Awards screener.
I’m doing XP Mode transfers of each tape to a DVD-R Dual Layer disc, and then will combine the two tapes on my PC into a single Blu-Ray disc.
I’m also going to include the two TV specials that aired around the time the movie came out, HBO First Look: The Heart Of The Ocean and the Fox Special Breaking New Ground to help fill space. I realize a BD-R might be overkill, but I want the quality to be as high as it can be.
I was sad to see it go too. I bid, but the guy came in and outbid me at the same time I was bidding. We did finish 2nd, according to eBay’s bid listing. Having an actual print of “Titanic” has long been a goal of mine, but it went higher than I thought. From what I understand the 16mm print is scope, the same ratio, and I was told the quality was beautiful. It is the same 10 reel set as the 35mm version.
I know 35mm would have been better, but it presents an entirely new set of issues. To turn the 35mm print into a workable project we would’ve needed a setup similar to the one team negative1 used with a projector, camera, etc to capture each frame individually because no production house would have touched it.
16mm is different. I know several places that will readily accept and make HD transfers of the 16mm reels and provide nice high resolution ProRes (or similar) files that can be manipulated with PFClean, etc if we can find somebody with access to that.
Sorry guys, the bidding got too rich for my blood. Some folks brought out the big money on that auction. I have been working some contacts though, and I have a good lead that might net a 16mm print of “Titanic”. I realize 35mm would make for the ideal restoration, but the 16mm print has been described by several as “beautiful”. I think an HD transfer of a 16mm print would be a nice project, and much easier to work with? It could be the Puggo Grande of Titanic?
Hmm. Of course.
Honestly I wish there was more interest, but it seems like we’re the only two right now Papai2013 😦
The auction just entered the final 24 hours. I have a dollar amount in mind that I’m willing to invest in this, so if it stays within that I plan on bidding on/buying the film. Once (or if I should say) that is successful I’ll be talking to more of you with interest in the project on a plan to move forward with it.