captainsolo

zombie84 said:

skyjedi2005 said:

Remember when zombie84 reported on his site that the 2004 versions were only done in a resolution of 1080P.  Not exactly blu ray reference quality. 

 This doesn't cut it for a theatrical release, but it shouldn't make a difference on Blu Ray.

Problem is, Lucas has basically made the Blu Ray resolution the negative, which is downright retarded. Even if he re-scanned the footage in 4k or 8k, all the additions done for the 2004 SE would be in 1080 because they were done on a 1080 negative and you will never change that. I realize the additions are few, but this means that even if they re-scanned the film in 8K for a theatrical showing, the prison cell shootout scene, the binary sunset shots, certain Mos Eisley shots, the Jabba scene, the Greedo shooting scene, certain shots from Ben's duel, the scene where Darth Vader meets the Emperor, the scene of Vader's unmasking, and the shots of the three Jedi ghosts--these will always be 1080 lines of resolution. Plus, every SE enhancement from 1997 will be in 2000 lines of resolution. How much footage does that amount for in ANH? Like 25% of the movie? So unless Lucas completely redoes the SE--which will never happen--the "definitive" version of the movie will always have a quarter of it in 1K/2K, even if being projected at 8K. Which is a little sad. 2K I could handle, because that's sort of the same degradation as optical compositing, but 1080? Ugh. Going to be interesting to see how theatrical screenings hold up.

That's probably why there haven't been any screenings since 97. Wonder what that Empire charity screening will look like.

To be honest, I would think that hopefully some version of the OOT would be included in a Lucasfilm "complete" set. Even if it is just a anamorphic, HD version of the GOUT. Oh boy. Wouldn't that be just wonderful. "Then you've got a virus again and..."

I've yet to even think about it. I'm sure if I did...MY EYES WOULD EXPLODE!

That is why I refuse to even think about tween angst fantasies.

Couldn't agree more.

Yay!

Did the files etc. all get lost?

At least it's something. They didn't wait till the format was seven years old this time.

What is a good way to edit and sync 5.1 ac3 to an LD capture? (Am using DE's 97 5.1 rips which are separated into 3 sides each.) I captured LD footage into FCP and of course Final Cut doesn't allow ac3 files.

Did anyone here post any of the glowing reviews on Amazon.com for the gripping, illuminating, no holds barred intensity of the greatness of YESTERDAY WAS A LIE featuring PETER MAYHEW coming soon to DVD!

I just thought it had been watered down for the official release instead of going from the masters.

What you knew yesterday....was a lie...featuring Peter Mayhew...coming soon...to DVD.

You scream in delight upon discovering the AOTC RLM review is out and feverishly let all of the parts load on youtube. You watch them with friends who laugh occasionally and look at you oddly because you are hysterical and laughing so hard that you can't breathe.

Oh dear god...it's finally here!! Up to part 7 now and eating pizza rolls obviously.

Why do we always have to go from one format to one that has less quality? It's the same way with music. Vinyl-Cassette-CD-downloads. Can't people just leave things alone in transfers?? (That's you Lowry digital!!)

There is just something about a print that is so much more raw and real in feeling. LD feels a bit better than most things just because it is so outdated. Nothing will ever compare to viewing a favorite on a large screen in 35mm. People should just save for an actual home theater setup. I remember reading somewhere online about someone attending a party where a friend showed a 70mm print of SW in their living room. That is what I dream of.

C3PX said:

I just don't get what people see in that movie. I have heard several Bond fans proclaim OHMSS to be their absolute favorite. I thought it was beyond awful. Simply can't stand it. But I also can't stand AVTAK or ALTK either.

The thing is that the film comes closest to a Fleming novel, and is made by the classic team. GL may not be everyone's favorite Bond, but he does a very credible job at pulling off the most demanding 007 performance. My big like for the film comes from it's decision to stay close to the book, Barry's best score, the fact that Peter Hunt was finally allowed to direct, the return to more Earth-bound stories, the opening, the ending, oh damn I just love the film. I can't really play favorites though. If I had to choose one it would be LALD (yes I know that completely goes against my above arguments-OHMSS is in my top 5 though.)

They Drive By Night-really enjoyable and unexpected. It's as if two or three films were combined, and for once in a movie before stardom Bogart doesn't get the axe halfway through!!

Is there a big difference between this and the PWNGE? Love the fact that these have a higher quality transfer of the 93 audio straight from the LD instead of the crappy GOUT audio.

Wait-OHMSS doesn't belong in that category-at the very least it's better than AVTAK, LTK and others.

The quad gun test sounds terrific on my baby 5.1s.

bkev said:

Thunderball awhile back. Sorry, but I honestly prefer Never Say Never Again. At least a little less boring.

WHAT?!?!?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Ok, I'll admit that NSNA has some value for me (guilty pleasure in spots) and the fact that Sean is back and actually seems to enjoy hmself. Kersh is not allowed to do anything and the whole film is completely lifeless. 

Thunderball may move slowly (due to infusion of an island laid-back charm), but it is one of the classics and a Terrence Young Bond film. SC is great, it's the first Panavision Bond, the underwater sequences are really good, the colors are a new pallette for the series, this features Ken Adam at his best and has the talents of John Barry and Peter Hunt. Also, Largo is one of the few villains that actually pose a formidable threat to 007. He could actually take on Connery with his bare hands. He leads his men personally, and when he comes at Bond underwater with nothing but a knife you actually feel the malice. (As opposed to Donald Pleasance, Charles Gray, and others.) This is a lost art: having the villain be imposing and formidable either in intellect or power or both. The film is a classic, full of memorable scenes (for instance the skyhook which was supposed to be so original when featured in The Dark Knight some forty odd years later) No contest. This is one of the films that form the essence of cinematic 007. How is Thunderball boring??

People say that FYEO is tepid and that Octopussy is ridiculous. This may be true but at least they are still Bond films and not the horrible mess that is NSNA. The "Bond War" of 1983 could have easily gone either way, but rightfully went to the official series which had firmly established itself as an institution. Needless to say, neither film was particularly good at all.

The fact that NSNA makes any coherent sense is a tribute to the cast and crew that prevented it from being unwatchable. This could easily have been the Kevin McClory version of the 67 CR. (a very very guilty pleasure and leading candidate for most incoherent film ever.) It is more modern, and a bit easier for today's audiences to swallow. This has led to it being shown more often in TV reruns etc. and the placement amongst the general public's Bond knowledge. Otherwise it would have sunk back in to the no man's land of pop culture.

NSNA: the script is uninteresting, this is the bad parts of Thunderball re-hashed with very dated elements of the early 80's, the elegance is gone, the underwater sequences are primarily gone, the location is moved, the film is boring and worse: tedious. Kim Basinger is tepid and annoying, Rowan Atkinson is not the worst part of the movie, Max Von Sydow is in there for two seconds as an ineffective Blofeld, Edward Fox make sM a ineffectual bigot, the score is ill-fitting in most parts, the title song is pretty bad, and to sum it up the whole exercise just feels like one of the old producers of 60's 007 ripoffs got a bunch of money in the 80's and made another Bond knockoff, but was able to use the name, Connery, and base it on Thunderball. Granted, the film has some good scenes, Brandauer makes a very credible villain, some efforts were made to make a decent and different film, the new Q was a nice touch, and Connery looks better here than he did in DAF.

Worth watching as a curio.

Kiss Me Deadly.

Moth3r said:

Milk and cookies kept you awake, eh, Sebastian?

YES! My thoughts exactly-hopefully none of you are Rutger Hauer...

tehparadox.

Glad to see Live and Let Die has finally been given proper treatment, but Thunderball just seems to get worse over the years. I remember first popping in the UE and expecting it to blow away my letterbox VHS. Yes it was pristine, but the colors were way off and muted not to mention the soundtrack had the different cues. YOLT has almost all of the color stripped out when compared to previous versions. At first I just thought I was used to a dirty video master or something, but then I saw the UE of LALD and the awful tinted opening on OHMSS-these have led me to question things.

Did this project ever get anywhere? I see it was canceled for being too close to an official release, but this would actually be a preservation of a LD restoration from 1995 and not the SE DVD or Lowry UE and Blu ray. They are entirely different transfers/masterings. Or is the original SE disc of Thunderball sourced from the LD master? I don't own it so I can't compare. It doesn't have the original mono though.

YAY! LALD is back..with original mono!!! I just may have to get my first blu ray. (still without a player. This reminds me of the early days of DVD with having a few DVDs to look at and no player..not to mention my new LD ebay purchase...)  I didn't know much about the THX editions and was hoping that Spy had the original Dolby stereo track.

Hopefully the issues will be fixed for all the Blus.  This seems to be the case, and especially since the most problem ridden ones (ex. AVTAK, OHMSS, TSWLM, GE) still haven't been announced for BR. 

The R2s of the UEs had a few issues and those were corrected for the R1 release (plus the addition of original audio for every film but TSWLM!!) Most of the problems hopefully arose from the down conversion to standard def.

Why does the film have to be in 2.00:1?