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A Few Words About A few words about...™ Casablanca (70th Anniversary) -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

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Patrick Donahue

Keep in mind though that it says the offer expires April 24th so I doubt it would drop down to $9.99 that quickly...
 

Aaron Silverman

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rsmithjr said:
I recently saw Ben-hur at a Century theatre using their "XD" projection. Basically, it is a 2K Barco DLP projector with a larger bulb for a brighter picture.
The quality of the picture seemed to be slightly better in resolution than the original 35mm dye-transfer prints, which I saw a number of times during original release. The color balance and blacks were, however, better on the 35mm prints, although the DCP was entirely acceptable.
However, it was no match for the look of the 70mm projection of this film that I saw at several theatres, none of which still exist. One theatre, the Capri in Des Moines, was specifically built for Camera 65/Ultra Panavision 70, used Norelco DP-70's, and was simply spectacular.
I have similar thoughts about West Side Story and The Sound of Music, both of which I have now seen in DCP.
It is sad to think that my own house now can rival theatres in presentation, and I don't have a particularly expensive system (Mitsubishi 1080 DLP projector). It is also sad that the original look of these films is not available anyplace at all on anything like a regular basis. (I do attend special presentations in LA and other places.)
Can I just say that I am baffled and amazed at the way some of you guys remember films from 50 years ago in such precise detail? I watch a BD at home 6 months after seeing the flick in the theater and don't notice any real difference.
Not that I'm doubting you. . .bear in mind that I can hardly remember what I ate for dinner yesterday. :)
 

It reminds me of my memories of seeing "The Amityville Horror" at the drive-in in 1979. I was 4. I remembered for years that the during the opening credits, the house changed colors, all the colors of the rainbow. No one could tell me any different....fast forward to the dvd era and I was shocked to see that it was just changing from red to white. Memories are strange things.
 

Charles Smith

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I have an aural memory of echo like that, from seeing "Psycho" at the Fox Venice Theater (L.A.) one night in 1973. There weren't many people there, but I think that place was rather cavernous anyway. In those years I was always thrilled by every opportunity to see the film and hear that score, and the sound of the theater that night simply burned itself into my memory. To this day, wherever or however I'm watching "Psycho", I think back to that night and make a brief mental comparison of what I'm hearing now to what I remembered. Actually, now that I think about it, one reason I may have recalled that night so strongly is that in those days I sneaked a portable cassette recorder into theaters a few times and taped the soundtrack, or parts of it, for myself. I think I listened to that tape quite a bit before the advent of home video. Now this has me wanting to play with the ambient effects (a place on the receiver that I virtually never go) next time I pop that one in.
 

AnthonyClarke

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Strange thing is, that early memories are more vivid as you get older ... I went last weekend to our Astor Theatre here in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia, to see on the big screen the Cinemascope version of 'Oklahoma!' in a 2k digital projection.
I saw this move at least four times when I was around 12 - 13 years of age, and I can still remember the sharpness and the vibrancy of the image. I saw it mostly in Cinemascope, and at least once in its separately-filmed Todd-AO version.
The experience last week showed me that from now on I'll avoid these big-screen revivals until they can replicate the film experience. The image was indistinct and fuzzy for much of the time except in close-ups, but even then the colour palette lacked sophistication .. a lot of ruddy flushing of faces. My daughter, whose idea it was to see the movie, wasn't too upset as she's never seen it on the big-screen before .. but I'm surprised and upset that it was made available for commercial screening in this form. Ah well, I have my memories ...
Anthony, Woodend, Vic Australia
 

Scott Merryfield

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Patrick Donahue said:
FYI the "Casablanca" blu is available at Target in a 1 disc, regular blu-ray case version for $19.99. It has the 2 commentaries, documentaries, deleted scenes, shorts, etc, and some pretty decent cover art to boot.
I should also note the sticker on the cover says "exclusive offer expires April 24, 2012"
I picked this version up on the way home from work today and watched it this evening. The transfer looked wonderful.
I normally do not bother detouring so far out of my way for these retailer exclusives, but Casablanca is a special case. Thanks for the heads up on this version.
BTW, this is my very first "double dip" with the Blu-ray format, as I also own the single disc version of the first BD release. I hopefully will not be doing this very often, but as I said, Casablanca is a special case.
 

Charles Smith

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It is indeed. Quintuple dip: VHS, Criterion LD, 2-disc DVD, first "Ultimate Edition" BD box, and now this one, which I had at first sworn wasn't going to happen -- but then I read here that the improvement is worth it, and I wanted the extra discs, and it looked like there was a decent book along for the ride...

The two big boxes will be stored somewhere, with the digi-packs kept on the shelf. The LD with Ron Haver commentary isn't going anywhere... I'm not exactly throwing off ballast here, folks.
 

I think I bought:

1. 50th Anniversay Collector's Box vhs
2. VHS clamshell box
3. DVD one disc
4. DVD Special Edition 2-disc
5. Blu-Ray UCE
6. Blu-Ray 70th Anniversary


....I'm done!
 

Scott Merryfield

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I also owned this film in other formats too, but in this case I was referring to buying it multiple times in just the BD format. That is a first for me in four years purchasing Blu-ray discs, which is much better than with SD-DVD, where I cannot even begin to count the number of titles I purchased multiple times due to transfer improvements.
 

Craig Beam

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I'm planning to pick this up today at Target (still on the fence if I want the box or the single-disc), so this'll be my first blu-ray double dip. I'm not counting The Seventh Seal, which I bought first as an import, then supplemented with the US Criterion edition (I still have both). Hey, it's freakin' Casablanca.
 

David Weicker

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Craig Beam said:
I'm planning to pick this up today at Target (still on the fence if I want the box or the single-disc), so this'll be my first blu-ray double dip. I'm not counting The Seventh Seal, which I bought first as an import, then supplemented with the US Criterion edition (I still have both). Hey, it's freakin' Casablanca.
I picked up the Target 1-disc last night. I owned the previous 1-disc. I am using the Amazon Trade-In on the prior release which should give me an $11 credit, so the upgrade will only cost me about $10 with tax.
David
 

DavidJ

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I am temporarily in possession of both this edition and the previous ultimate edition (I also have the HD DVD---as Craig said it's freakin' Casablanca :)). I haven't compared the discs yet, but I have compared the packaging and I think the previous version is more elegant and looks better on the shelf.
 

dpippel

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FYI, I up picked the 1-disc at Target today and the price has dropped to $14.99. Combine that with the $10.25 trade-in value that Amazon is giving for the 2009 Blu-ray, and you can "upgrade" for only $4.74 + tax. Not bad.
 

Robert Harris

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Originally Posted by dpippel /t/319152/a-few-words-about-casablanca-70th-anniversary-in-blu-ray/150#post_3912453
FYI, I up picked the 1-disc at Target today and the price has dropped to $14.99. Combine that with the $10.25 trade-in value that Amazon is giving for the 2009 Blu-ray, and you can "upgrade" for only $4.74 + tax. Not bad.
That's the way to do it!
 

David Weicker

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If you happened to buy the Target 1-disc at $19.99 last week, just take in your receipt this week, and they will refund the $5.00 difference.
David
 

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Worth said:
It's impossible to have a release print taken directly from the original camera negative - at least, it was until the arrival of 4K digital post production. At minimum, an interpositive had to be created from the edited negative, then an internegative - or series of internegatives - were created from that interpositive. Release prints were then struck from the interneg. And any opticals in the film - fades, dissolves, process shots etc., would have been a further generation removed from the negative.
So what you eventually saw in the theatre was at the very least three generations removed from the camera negative.
Actually that's not always true. Roadshow films (at least in the major cities) made prints directly from the OCN, which is why the more popular the movie, the worse shape the negs are, for the amount of use. Back when I was in somewhat closer proximity to such things, I learned that, and that even non-roadshow movies were often struck from the OCN for larger cities like NY and LA. I believe Mr. Harris can attest to that (if he hasn't already, I'm coming onto this thread a bit late)
 

Worth

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NY2LA said:
Roadshow films (at least in the major cities) made prints directly from the OCN, which is why the more popular the movie, the worse shape the negs are, for the amount of use.
I still don't understand how that can be possible - any optical work doesn't exist on the negative and the OCN hasn't been properly colour timed. How can it be used to strike release prints?
 

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rsmithjr said:
But part of the overall exhibition is, of course, the theatre itself: screen, sound system, curtain, seating, lobby, general care taken into things. Amenities like the organ, nice posters in the lobby, chandeliers. It all adds up.
I only know of a few theatres that come close to what we used to have routinely.
Hear! Hear! Absolutely.
Care to list those theatres?
 

Peter Apruzzese

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NY2LA said:
Hear! Hear! Absolutely.
Care to list those theatres?
My self-serving post :)
The Lafayette Theatre, Suffern, NY,
70a62f03_JN_layfayette_theater_11b.jpeg

WEBSITE
First run movies full-time; classic films on Saturday mornings. New season of classics starts Saturday, 4/7 with "Pride on the Yankees" presented in 35mm. Organ music starts at 11, movie starts at 11:30.
 

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JoeBond said:
Totally agree with Mr. Harris's post. Well amazon.com is currently offering $15.75 for trading in the 2008 Blu-ray in like new condition but you get an amazon gift card not cash.
Trusting Mr. Harris as my system is quite nice but not extreme enough for the differences he mentions to matter.
Re Amazon, trade-ins do not yield the financial benefit of getting a (free) Amazon merchant account and simply listing an item for sale. I keep my discs in as close to pristine condition as possible, and can list them as "like new." The result of these sporadic sales, and careful handling, earned me a 100% 5 star merchant rating so i can sell at the top or upper range of what others are priced at. They take a commission, but pay for postage. Upgrading this way often pays half or more of the price for the new version, especially when I keep an item I want in the shopping cart a while before buying it, because each time you click back to view the cart, a banner appears with any price changes. I usually wait until a boxed set drops in price, and eventually they do, often dramatically.
 

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