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Karen's voice is easily the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. In her version of "(They Long to Be) Close to You," she can effortlessly convey flirtatious innocence, sensual longing and wistful world-weariness in the span of a few notes. Her vocals on "Solitaire" are breathtaking and...

Very interesting poll, and the results aren't surprising to me given the HTF audience. I would be interested how other, more average and casual film buyers would respond. I'd wager most have the attitude that film grain is like dirt on a windshield that needs to be wiped away - and anything that...

Yes, Coppola asked Spielberg to convince Paramount to restore Godfather back in '07 or thereabouts, that was the origin of the Robert Harris restoration from that time.

I'd wager that most filmmakers (and artists in general) view their works as 'living documents,' never quite finished, and they can't resist the urge to tinker and experiment. (Coppola himself probably started the trend way back in '77 when he released The Godfather Epic chronological version for...

The Australian label Imprint released David Mamet's The Winslow Boy - my all-time favorite film. Sure, the transfer is a bit dated, but it's a huge step above the old DVD, which had a transfer that made the movie look as if the camera had been coated in Vaseline.

I know - that's why I still have mixed feelings about the 2022 version, although I do like it in a lot of ways. Yes, it has a grain-less, clean, modernistic sparkle that's attractive in its own way. But it departs from the look intended by Willis in '72 and which was captured in your great '08...

That's a good point, hadn't thought of that Storaro example. His Univisium aspect ratio, though, from what I gather, was retroactively applied to the DVD release and wasn't what the movie originally used. In the case of The Godfather, since Willis' 'four points yellow, one point red' look was...

That's an excellent point - when the ultimate author of a work approves a particular version of the work, it's hard to argue that version is incorrect, a betrayal, or whatever. This isn't a case of a home video label releasing something without the director's input. And if Coppola himself isn't...

The 4k version is attractive, but I think it would be more embraced if Gordon Willis hadn't designed the photography and post-processing to achieve a very specific look that the new version departs from. I agree with you, changing the tint/coloring doesn't alter the power of the film at all...

Since so many home video releases of movies over the years have been subtly or not-so-subtly changed over the years (color timing, different aspect ratios, etc.), it makes me wonder how truly important cinematography is to many directors. I'm sure it is important and they all value great...

It almost seems as if home video executives feel that in order for older catalog titles to compete better in the marketplace, films like The Godfather need to have much of the clarity, sharpness, lack of grain, etc that modern movies have. I admit to being often susceptible to thinking a version...

Aside from the movies themselves, what I'm most looking forward to in this set is the special feature on the latest restoration process, which should be a good bookend to the fascinating "Emulsional Rescue" feature from the original bluray set. I wish more releases had these kind of features...

I had the same reaction. I didn't think it was anywhere near the quality or tone of Chinatown. Chinatown had a low-key subtlety that made it seem realistic; Two Jakes felt too overblown, like it was trying too hard. For one example, there's a scene in which Jake goes ballistic on someone in a...

Wholeheartedly agree. I think with the technological advances of this modern era (4K digital restorations, etc.), we know there is the capacity for a near perfect presentation of a movie, so a lot of people automatically expect that every blu-ray release will be near perfect. It's a complete...

Excellent points. The book and the film are trying to achieve different goals, and they use different methods to achieve those goals. I used to think the novel - and novels in general - was "better" because it could easily show the thoughts and feelings and memories of the main character. While...

My feelings as well. In fact, for me, the most haunting and memorable parts of the novel of The Shining are Jack Torrance's often self-pitying and tragic internal monologues and memories of his abusive childhood - stuff that would be impossible to effectively translate to the screen. To me, that...

Even though I think Pacino is okay in the role (but definitely subdued and even bland), I think the role just didn't fit him and didn't bring out his strengths. The role of Steve Burns is mostly a passive, watchful role, a lot like Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now. I remember reading that Coppola...

I wonder if this doc will ever get a real special edition physical release, with commentary and other special features. It really deserves it, although I suppose it will depend on how well the current edition sells. I think this doc should be seen as important as Al Reinert's For All Mankind...

It certainly does. It almost seems like something out of a myth or a wild Biblical story, because no other event in history comes close to its grandeur and audaciousness. The Apollo 11 documentary has quickly become one of my all-time favorite films. I've enjoyed many other Apollo documentaries...

I've watched the blu-ray 3 times over the last week, and it's become one of my favorite films of the last few years. I think it edges out the Al Reinert doc For All Mankind (which is very, very good) because it's more immersive and focused on one mission rather than the entirety of the Apollo...

'Lost' isn't the correct word - 'rarely seen' would be more accurate. But the overall point is that Warner seems to be indicating that this will be 2 minutes longer than all the existing US home video releases... but if it does indeed have footage that's never before been available in a US home...

The Warner press release makes it sound like the new version will include the 'lost' 2-minute hospital scene that was cut from the film in the few days following its initial premiere (the US home video release has always been 144 minutes): The 4K remastering is of Kubrick’s original 146 minute...

Over the last few years, I've gotten the feeling that Lucasfilm's attitude toward the original trilogy is fairly lukewarm. Which makes a certain amount of sense - I guess, as a business, it makes sense to push the new products, to push the future rather than the past, especially since they've...

Good point. And thanks for providing those numbers, I didn't know those sales figures! Although I think there are many fans/collectors out there that routinely double-dip (getting special edition steelbooks of movies they already have, for instance), I doubt the studio would get all 6 million...

That's a logical prediction. Maybe 12-15 years ago it would have sold phenomenally, but overall physical media sales have softened considerably, many longtime fans already have the fan restorations, and there may be some Star Wars fatigue setting in - all of which would tend to dampen sales a...

Good suggestion - it seems strange to me that Odyssey Three hasn't been made yet. It would definitely be an "event" type movie that studios love and would bring in the sci-fi fans. I'm surprised Ridley Scott or James Cameron or Christopher Nolan - all Kubrick fans - haven't done it yet. But then...

Also, 2001 is probably the only sci-fi movie (at least to me) that has conveyed the sheer alien strangeness of an extraterrestrial intelligence - and it does it without even showing the aliens. This is most apparent when Bowman ends up in the hotel suite and there are those eerie, unintelligible...

For me, most of the time I use the various cable channels, like HBO or Showtime, as a means of trying out a title. Several years ago I caught the Colin Firth movie "A Single Man" on cable and liked it enough to buy the blu-ray. Pretty sad that I've gotten so lazy that I can't even be bothered to...

That's nearly every night for me. Just last night I spent 20 minutes looking at the titles on my shelf... and then I finally settled on watching 2001, which I've seen probably 100 times. Somehow, with the blu-ray format, I became less willing to try new titles or good-but-not-great titles. Maybe...