captainsolo

FanFiltration said:

"The Anderson Tapes"

Someone mentioned this film a few days ago, and I had not seen it in about 27 years. Forgot how great the film was.  I love movies shot in Manhattan in the early 70's. Movies like "French Connection", "Shaft", and "Dog Day Afternoon". They have such a great ambiance. 

Glad you liked it! It's got that unmistakable early 70's grime and the location shooting by Lumet in his hometown can't be beat. I've always been of the opinion that Lumet and Scorsese are the true "New York" directors. I'm still flabbergasted at Martin Balsam in the film though. Totally unexpected.

Exactly. That's something a restorer like Robert Harris is loathe to do if the negatives can be used. Every time a copy is made there is some kind of generational loss.

The LDs certainly destroy the GOUT. I can only speak from going between the Faces ROTJ and the GOUT. No comparison at all!

Moth3r said:

captainsolo said:

... LD is about 420i and VHS is about 240i IIRC. ...

Sounds like you are confusing video modes with analogue resolution.

Standard definition NTSC video is 480i - that includes VHS, LD and DVD. The video signal contains 480 horizontal lines of picture information (vertical resolution).

The ability of each of these lines to resolve fine detail is dependent on the analogue bandwidth - this can be measured in terms of horizontal resolution (vertical lines on the screen).

Roughly:
VHS = 3MHz, or 240 lines
Laserdisc = 5.5Mhz, 440 lines
DVD = 6.75MHz, 540 lines

You should never confuse this with digital resolution which is simply the number of discrete pixels, e.g. 720 x 480.

You're right. That's what I meant to say essentially. Somehow it got stuck in my head the other way.

SilverWook said:

If collecting LD's is a fetish, does that make one a pervert? ;)

Nope. ;)

I got my Pioneer 704 repaired and refurbished earlier this year by these guys...

http://www.laserdiscservice.com/

I had almost written off my player as scrap before I found them. I actually think it runs better now than when it was new!  (The THX-1138 LD capture I sent to myscamore has benefited from it too.) They also sell refurbished machines. Well worth checking out.

Wow! An actual LD repair center! My player has a few hiccups here and there so I might send it in at some point. About how much do they charge to take a look?

1. Use George's Tech IB print of SW.

2. Also sync the 77 Mono which you have in your digital storage now AND the 70mm 6 track.

3. Use your best condition stored prints of ESB and ROTJ. Use the 80 Dolby Stereo and 83 Dolby Stereo.

4. Also sync the 70mm mixes for both ESB and ROTJ.

5. Fix any splices/tears/fading/damage.

6. While you're at it scan the 97s too.

It's that simple. Just release it as the LFL Archive Edition. MOD just like the MGM and Warner Archive. That way whoever wants the OT can order it-and you lose no money whatsoever!

THIS ISN'T THAT DIFFICULT!!

Why does that smearing make me feel like laughing?

Good news about the OT deleted scenes though. LFL's ultra-expensive THX film scanning process is good for something at least.

Try it first if possible. LD is about 420i and VHS is about 240i IIRC. I have grown to really enjoy LD. You can't beat the Digital soundtracks. My player is a Pioneer CLD-D702 that I picked up via craigslist for $25.

Shot on 35mm for Scope ratio. Visual effects done on VistaVision.

Final release prints in both 35mm and blown up to 70mm.

woo!

Congrats Silver!

Apocalypse Now-finally sat down with my 91 LD. Really enjoyed this version with little tinkering. Great soundmix of the original. And still mystical.

The Grapes of Wrath-occasionally a little heavy handed, but strongly reverential film that I caught the restored 35mm version of. Deserves its classic status, and of course plays with a greater weight today. Fonda's Tom Joad is a striking presence. And once again I was reminded of how Gregg Toland is probably the greatest cinematographer who ever lived. Just stunning.

Psycho. saw this later that night outside projected on the theater wall in 16mm. The print was in decent shape-lots of scratches but only one splice-and in open matte!! The film really looks better this way due to its TV production. Of course the shower scene was slightly cropped. But this was only done in some shots-and done quite badly. It was kinda funny. You'd all of a sudden see a giant black bar thrown up on the bottom half of the frame for a shot, part of a shot and then it would magically disappear. Weird. The mono sounded good, but occasionally bled through in loud moments. Great experience though. I do wish that Universal would give the option to see the film in full Academy though. It does look better than 1.85.

All three have immortal full ball ratings.

Yeah, I finally watched all the way through the 91 disc, and compared it to the 97. Unlike the Dossier DVD it just felt right.

I think the 91 sound is about as close as we can get to the original mix since the 6 track masters have now been lost. The only downside is that it's in the 2.00:1. Ever since the Blu screencaps came out with the full 2.35:1 I can't watch any other version the same way. But that has some DNR applied. Can AN ever be done properly?

Really? !

You bet. This is how I watch the 97SE, and I have the 95 Faces Disc of ROTJ.

Nothing was thrown out. There's no way anyone could be that stupid.

All that really needs to be "fixed" is the contrast levels so that the garbage mattes are not visible. Heck, in this day and age-the fact that these are still there is ridiculous. Why worry about Ewok eyes, fake rocks or other crap when stuff like this is still present in every version?

Gaffer Tape said:

(Oh, and the deletion of the cobra reflection DOES bother me, every single time!)

Same here. Every single time. I've got the LD on my wishlist primarily for this one issue.

I think they still have the 97 SE elements sitting around in the vaults. The way things were cut into the negative....it's painful to think about. They did the same with Apocalypse Now Redux. Ugh.

I really hope the 3D idea is over. No 3D editions to make more money? George: "No! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

I saw that as well at a second run, but it only had a slight skip.

No one cares about aspect or presentation anymore. Any place that still does 35 will just throw up something and try to mask it on the fly. Even at my local arthouse Academy ratio will have spillover on all sides. They started using the smaller, longer theater which has a screen sized for about 1.85 and basically just pillarbox in the curtain on all sides.

The 97 PCM is indeed the same mix as the 91 LD. I do think there was some slight processing done, as it seemed like it peaked more and that it was slightly less detailed than the 91 version.

The 97 overall is an improvement of the same transfer. Pressing done by Pioneer, THX certified disc-but there seems to be a slight amount of DVNR and a touch of smearing occasionally.

I prefer the 91 disc overall. Kinda feels like the film a little more.

Here's an article from the time of Redux that goes into every nauseating detail of every AN sound mix.

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_apocalypse_redux/

Very technical, but a great read/resource. I just watched my 91 LD and will check out my 97 remastered disc to compare the PCM tracks. The sound was supposedly sweetened and remixed for discrete 5.1 on that disc but I don't know how the PCM was done. The back cover gives the same credits as the 91 mix so I think it should be the same one-but it might be different somehow.

After revisiting the LD, I think this master was reused for the original Paramount DVD release. Colors are the same and they're both the weird 2.00:1 ratio. The DVD simply uses the 5.1 created for the 1997 LD.

The Technicolor IB printing process used the original film negative to generate the three strips for coloring. the differences I noticed on the Complete Dossier are revealed on the Blu-ray as simply greater detail and clarity brought out by the best possible photochemical process. The Redux IP that was generated at at the end of the process for the new cut was just too detailed for the original Dossier DVD release. The Blu-ray source was exactly the same IP and because of great advents in technology, the result looks outstanding and completely replicates the theatrical experience.

What worries me is how the extra footage was cut in and how the 79 theatrical was recreated. I really hope it isn't another case of splicing new footage into the original negative and that the theatrical version is only recreated by editors.

I'm basing this stuff off of screencaps and reports of the new DTS lossless mix. Does anyone who has or seen the Blu have any insight? How's the sound?

The Anderson Tapes (1971)-A few words: Lumet. Connery. Walken. Martin Balsam as a gay antiques dealer. (Threw me for an absolute loop. Imagine Arbogast...no wait....there couldn't have been homosexual subtexts in Psycho could there...oh dammit there's another Hitchcock study to do...)

An absolute little gem of a movie. Everything is firing on all fronts, and it really makes for one of the oddest caper films I've ever seen. And did I mention IT HAS CHRISTOPHER WALKEN pre-Annie Hall??

3 1/2 surveillance cameras out of 4 Connery/Lumet projects (I still really want to see The Offence!)

The real question is: what the heck is up with the "Martini Movies" DVD series? Why spend the money on that crap when you could have done something more useful like...a dual layer transfer!

Ziggy Stardust said:

RedFive said:

The Prestige

Being now the fourth or fifth time I've seen this, I still find more perspectives and understand different characters better.  The whole movie is a magic trick!  Easily one of my all-time favorites.

10/10 dead birds.

Meh.

If they would have had the whole movie be about Bowie playing Tesla, the movie would have been better.

Fixed.

Is this still available anywhere?

I've always wanted to give this series a shot, but not in an edited version.

God, the sound in that is so fantastic especially in light of the fact that THAT IS AT LEAST HOW THE FILMS SHOULD SOUND!

The dialogue is a bit wonky, but I like their enthusiasm.

Anyone here ever try to follow up on this guy:
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-141011.html

I've read that thread 1,000 times. If only...!

skyjedi2005 said:

Well in the novelization and the screenplay was not Ben supposed cut the guy in half, into two gruesome sections from chin to groin.

This like Vader ripping the rebel troops arm off, or stormtroopers heads exploding were toned down for the film.

 

Since this scene is borrowed from one of Kurosawa's film where Mifune kills the guy with his Samurai sword the cut in half part was probably too graphic, and the spurt of blood etc.  In the Kurosawa film it is more implied you don't see the guy literally cut in two.

 

I cannot remember which of the two films the scene was in its either Yojimbo or Sanjuro.

Believe you're referring to the end of Sanjuro.

The EOD doc is the only reason why I didn't immediately dump my 04 box set. And so it still sits on my shelf for me to glare at.

GLARE!

The GOUTs can still be found in some stores for 10-15 each. I still see them in Targets occasionally. They are now mixed in with single 04 discs as well.

Hasn't this only happened once? I thought no theater could even book the SE at all. If any are allowed it's for the digital 04 version. That ROTJ screening might allow for an opening however. I'd just like to see a film version of SW again.