Info Wanted: 'Magnificent Ambersons' - Criterion LDrip - has anyone done this?

Did anyone ever do this? I heard the transfer is fairly good.  I was wondering how it compares to the current DVD releases which I heard are all bad.

Read up a bit more about the LD and apparently it had a cracking set of extras too (as you would expect from Criterion).  A complete preservation would be fantastic!

The transfer on the Criterion LD was good for it's time, but was struck in the late 80s.  We're talking a 30-year old transfer.  I know TCM had a much improved transfer that they used to run, but I don't know how often they play it.  

The best idea would be to capture it from TCM-HD next time they air it, and take the supplements from the Criterion LD. 

So do the DVDs have a particularly bad transfer, or is it just people that people want the extras?  A good HD source would be best.

edit - Well, going by this, it seems that the transfers are pretty shoddy.  They are more or less OAR though. 

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews21/magnificent_ambersons_dvd_review.htm

The link doesn't review the region 1 release, though I don't suppose it's any better.

Well I see a HDrip out there. It has an AAC audio track so any chance of getting a PCM audio rip from the LD?

Extras would be nice too. 

captainsolo said:

I've recently stumbled across a great number of titles that have either been buried with mediocre DVD transfers or poorly released-all in web DL HD versions of varying quality. I take it that m,any of these are being found on Amazon/itunes etc.?

Some are upscales, but some seem to be genuine higher quality copies straight from whatever master was generated. I just watched a wonderful 720p version of Son of Frankenstein that was a genuinely higher res version of the same print found on my defective DVD.

The pubHD 720p version of Ambersons I found has the Criterion LD commentary synced to boot. It looks like an upscale of the WB DVD that should have been a Blu-ray and not bare bones, that they of course made us shell out $20 for.

I have the Criterion CAV, and on a good CRT, it holds it's own and displays that even the DVD is far from what it should be in this day and age. The DVD seems to be from the same source as the PAL DVDs that have been around for years, just with proper frame rate. The Criterion was at least supervised by individuals who attempted to master it correctly and not just dump it to a disc. Comparing the two reveals the DVD format's better blacks and overall detail, but the LD feels more natural. This is the same phenomenon I get with Criterion's CAV box of It's a Wonderful Lifeversus the Paramount DNR DVD/BD. The LD may have contrast boosted, be a bit fuzzy, have only analog sound, print damage-but when properly viewed the experience is far greater.

If we can sync a copy of the Criterion PCM mono, that will get this release as good as it ever will be short of a new scan. Then every one of us could send our pathetic single layer DVDs back to WB and demand a proper release after all these years. This is a perfect title for their Archive division.

The PCM is only on the rarer later CLV reissue. We should also do a full scale capture of the CAV features, but alas I can't get my stupid ATI card to ever work.

Either the Archive should re-issue this title, or better yet allow Criterion to regain another lost from its LD days. And perhaps someone could be allowed to search for the lost materials again. Despite some interest in the past, there has never been a cohesive and invasive search across all parties, whether still in existence or not. If the missing parts of Metropolis were found....there's always hope. (And of course, no one ever cares about finding the cuts from The Lady from Shanghai.)

 You can find my mega-torrent of Ambersons which uses all of the best sources, and all of the extras you can think of, including preserving the Criterion laserdisc extras, and Bogdanovich's full 4 hour interview with Welles, if you go to sites that rhyme with Bleen, Faragarga, and Grinematik.

Elmo Oxygen said:

 You can find my mega-torrent of Ambersons which uses all of the best sources, and all of the extras you can think of, including preserving the Criterion laserdisc extras, and Bogdanovich's full 4 hour interview with Welles, if you go to sites that rhyme with Bleen, Faragarga, and Grinematik.

 Hi Elmo, as much as I looked for it, I could not find it. Is it still around?

Thanks for your help

Chewtobacca said:

So do the DVDs have a particularly bad transfer, or is it just people that people want the extras?  A good HD source would be best.

edit - Well, going by this, it seems that the transfers are pretty shoddy.  They are more or less OAR though. 

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews21/magnificent_ambersons_dvd_review.htm

The link doesn't review the region 1 release, though I don't suppose it's any better.

 

 

The DVD Beaver link does list a R1 release by Warner (its screen grabs are below the French and UK shots and its specs are on the tip right). Looking at the grabs of the WB release, it looks pretty good to my eyes (maybe a shade of EE?).