I have a very high resolution scan of that poster image. I was debating on that one since it's used on the Australian Blu-Ray release.
So, any suggestions on what artwork I should look at using for the cover?
Do you have the LD box sets?
I now have the the 1080i version. It has the EPIX TV logos that appear briefly from time to time but the quality looks good overall. I don't see any signs of DNR or EE but I can't tell if it was mastered at 1080p resolution or at 720p and then upscaled. I can pull some screenshots if you want.
Does the 2010 box also have the Unicron Prototype photos? Also, are the photos in the original Takara release or the Pioneer release. I have a friend who has the LD set (not sure which version though), so I might be able to get scans of the photos, after all.
There is a 12gb 1080i HDTV rip of the movie floating around as well as a couple of 720p versions that are between 4GB and 6.5GB in size. All of them have been posted to usenet.
It looks like I might also have the sticker album along with a full set of the stickers to add to the extras.
The Headmasters LD box set had photos of the prototypes from the Takara Museum. I know there are photos of protos for Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Gnaw. There are possibly a few others, as well. I've yet to find the photos in any other publications and the images I've found online are really tiny with the text generally cut off or unreadable.
I know this is a long shot but does anyone happen to have access to the Japanese Transformers: The Headmasters laserdisc box set? The book that came with it has some photos of some early toy prototypes. I would like to get high resolution scans of these photos and their accompanying Japanese text, if possible.
_,,,^..^,,,_ said:
Look at this screenshot comparison between the UH 2D Vs 3D: in particular, Arnold's hair and the tree on the center-right... any explanation?
The hair and tree changed shape to allow for some of the 3D effects.
Here are a couple of photos of the blu ray and case. Sorry for the poor quality. The second photo shows the double-sided case insert and mini lobby cards.
Here are a couple of quick photos of the blu ray package. Sorry for the poor quality. The second photo shows the reversible cover.
I wanted to include a lot of extras in the character galleries including model sheets, character art, early designs, and pictures of the toys. I'm still trying to find good photos of some of the toys in their original boxes.
I could use some feedback on one of the features. I plan to put together character galleries with information on the main characters in the film. Currently, I only have the new characters introduced in the movie along with Optimus Prime and Megatron. Should I include bios and info on the pre-movie characters as well? I would probably have to split up the characters among multiple slideshows if I did include them.
Without a source print or negative to compare it with, the 4K does look like the best presentation overall. The MGM BD was an upscale from a 720p source and the Criterion DVD was from an SD transfer with a more restricted color range.
Several brief scenes were cut after the initial release:
1 - The gorilla picking up Eddie by the lapels after the line "Who are you calling a chump, chimp!
2 - The beginning of Roger's reaction as the weasels cross the road to Eddie's office
3 - A brief dialogue exchange between Eddie and Smartass while Roger is hiding in the sink
I had actually looked into these scenes. There is no solid evidence that they were changed from the theatrical version of the film. IMDB is like Wikipedia in a lot of areas in that users can edit sections without any major moderation, so incorrect information can make its way into various sections.
1 - The gorilla does grab Eddie by the lapels in all video versions and then the scene cuts to Eddie being thrown out the door. Bob Hoskins isn't wearing a harness so there really isn't much that could be done beyond what is seen in the film before the cut and the scene after the cut is not composed to show the gorilla picking him up.
2 - Roger's reaction appears to be complete in all video versions. There isn't anything that could be added to the beginning of the animation since it starts with a couple of frames of him looking out of the window after the cut.
3 - There isn't any dialog in any of the scripts for the film that would indicate that dialog was missing during the scene where Eddie hiding Roger by pretending to wash his socks in the sink.
On top of that, the edits that Disney made were all due to material that was considered objectionable. None of the edits listed would make sense in this context.
As far as the phone number in the bathroom, there has been more evidence submitted that it's a false rumor than any evidence to prove that it actually existed. Every time someone claims they have a video with it, I ask for proof in the form of a screenshot of some form. I've yet to see ANYBODY pony up a screenshot, but a TV special that was shown during the time the film was first released in theaters has the scene as it appeared in all video versions, so I still have to believe it's a false rumor until valid proof otherwise is presented other than "I saw it there!"
One thing I did notice in the segments I sampled that could explain the sync troubles is that it looked like some of the dialog might have been overdubbed, especially in the scenes that appear to have been shot outdoors. Maybe there were sound issues that forced them to have the actors go back and re-dub a lot of their lines.
Actually, Hot Rod was supposed to be light magenta based on the original cels used for the animation. They changed him to red in the cartoon series to reduce the color palette needed for painting the cels.
That being said, the DVD and blu-ray releases all seem to be over-saturated, which leads a lot of colors to come out way too bright, including Hot Rod's magenta.
Also, the Australian Blu-Ray is region free. The only issue is that all the extras are in PAL and most of them suffer from field blending.
I haven't had the time to watch the movie all the way through, but I've skimmed through the film, checking out the different audio tracks and general quality. The picture quality is good though I did notice a few short scenes where there was a lot of grain and noise, no doubt due to limitations in the available source materials, but overall the picture quality is really good, given the age of the film. The audio came out better than expected after the issues with the 5.1 track and digital capture of the laserdisc analog audio were worked out and provide a good variety for all tastes.
The printing on the inside of the cover with the track listings and additional artwork was nice and the miniature lobby cards was a nice touch. I'll post some photos when I get a chance to take a few pictures.
Also, it seems like all the racy scenes are conveniently marked with chapter stops. I'm not sure if these were the chapters on the DVD/LD release or a creative decision by Team Blu. ;)
I got my copy and I've had a chance to skim through the film. The picture quality is really good, given the age of the film and the available source material. All of the audio tracks sound really good and I didn't see any noticeable instances of sync errors, so it looks like that was fixed up. The extras are kind of limited being only the theatrical trailer but that's mostly due to the lack of extra material being available for the film, in general.
The reversible cover is a really nice touch, as well. I'll post photos when I have a chance.
I got the Intrada CD in the mail today. It's really nice and definitely a worthwhile purchase for any fans of the movie that don't have the original Botcon releases of the score. That being said, it's missing two short tracks (Destruction Of Moon Base 2 - parts 1 & 2) and the remaster doesn't really sound any better or worse than the "Lighting Their Darkest Hour" release, so at least I won't have to re-do the isolated music and score track.
I guess that would explain why the movie isn't even available in HD on sites like VUDU, Amazon Streaming Video, Netflix Streaming Video, or iTunes.
My guess is that Paramount and/or Michael Bay don't want people to see "The Transformers: The Movie" and confuse it with "Transformers".
Well, maybe that's why the movie hasn't been released, then. The rights keep swapping hands and Hasbro hasn't decided how to deal with releasing the film for a US blu-ray release.
I think Sony has the distribution rights for the movie in the US but Metrodome has the original transfers and source material. The Sony DVD transfer is different from the HD transfer used on the UK and Australian Blu-rays. Maybe Sony has been unable to reach an agreement necessary to acquire the HD transfer or maybe they are just waiting a couple more years so they can release it as a "30th anniversary edition".
Sunbow is now owned by TV Loonland, so Sony would probably have to license the title from them.
Intrada just released the score CD through their site this evening. I will have to compare it to the Botcon release to see if I need to redo the isolated score using the newer master.