A Few Words About A few words about...™ Citizen Kane -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Richard--W]

I'm counting the days until Treasure Island (Disney) finally arrives on Blu-ray. Freddie Young's work on that film is extraordinary. What keeps coming to mind are the shots of Bobby Driscoll hiding the apple barrel. What gorgeous cinematography!

And all shot with a behemoth camera.

RAH

Oh, Disney's TREASURE ISLAND is a life-long favorite. The DVD is a knockout. I didn't know a Blu-ray had been announced, but I can just Imagine how brilliant the picture will look. I miss this kind of color and the aesthetic of the mind that creates it. Of course it could not be achieved today because of the change in technology, but the inclination to go for it seems to have gone, if you know what I mean.

 

[Vincent_P]

The point I seeing being raised more often than not is about bokeh.  Shallow seems to be in.

Which is so ironic, isn't it? Shallow depth-of-field is supposed to direct the viewer's attention to the in-focus part of the frame, and yet these folks go on and on about how beautiful the "bokeh" (out of focus part of the frame) is. Shouldn't that be a contradiction?Vincent

 

[Brandon Conway]

Can someone comment on the packaging.

Looking at the picture below, it appears that the white box has all the discs in it, while Ambersons is in a regular keepcase. Is it easy enough to set all the extra paper product aside and just put those two items on a regular DVD shelf?

Thanks!

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway /t/314260/a-few-words-about-citizen-kane-in-blu-ray/30#post_3846456
Can someone comment on the packaging.

Looking at the picture below, it appears that the white box has all the discs in it, while Ambersons is in a regular keepcase. Is it easy enough to set all the extra paper product aside and just put those two items on a regular DVD shelf?

Thanks!

The white box is actually a folder. Same old dust problem.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Thanks Robert.

Just saw this post on bluray.com: http://forum.blu-ray.com/5150429-post210.html

I can handle that. I will order it. A little bulky for my tastes but not Wizard of Oz / Gone with the Wind bulky.

 

[Charles Smith]

Is the documentary worthwhile? I don't believe I've ever watched it.

 

[JoHud]

I can handle that. I will order it. A little bulky for my tastes but not Wizard of Oz / Gone with the Wind bulky.

Yeah, I didn't expect something I could actually put slide into a shelf. It looks roughly the same dimensions as The Jazz Singer box set a few years back, which is okay by me.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Glad to hear the rain is back in the window. I presume the parrot's transparent eye remains unmolested as well?

 

[montrealfilmguy]

Good heavens,you people simply amaze me every time with all the knowledge.
Some threads should be made into a book.
thank you all .

 

[dpippel]

^ Indeed!

 

[montrealfilmguy]

May i just add that although i'm probably the only guy here to say this,but in the Kane Trailer where he introduces all the players,i find that Agnes Moorehead
looks quite lovely.For comparison's sake the only other times i've seen her were The invaders episode from Twilight zone,Bewitched and of course Kane.So
it's a shock to see her in such a beautiful light.
There,i've said it.

 

[Charles Smith]

I always (fondly) remember a gasp going up from the audience when he introduces Agnes Moorehead in Kane.

 

[Spencer Draper]

I am so incredibly relieved to see that the Lowry transfer was not simply re-used. (although it was only in SD, so it couldn't have been.) I dug out my DVD last night for one more watch before this Blu release, and I'm really glad to be able to retire it. It will be fantastic to see an image closer to the original theatrical presentation instead of an over-zealously scrubbed DVD.
That Ambersons is being released at all is great news. Since nothing had happened after the Warner announcement of working on both Ambersons and Journey Into Fear, I had wondered if they might be eventually released through the Archive. It will be nice to see in NTSC and clearer than the old LDs.
The packaging looks like they didn't get too carried away, but I'm not really that big of a fan of the puzzle motif. I had originally thought the cover was a simple version of the illuminated title card.
Looking forward to noticing even more new facets in HD!

 

[Robert Harris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spencer Draper /t/314260/a-few-words-about-citizen-kane-in-blu-ray/30#post_3846750
I am so incredibly relieved to see that the Lowry transfer was not simply re-used. (although it was only in SD, so it couldn't have been.) I dug out my DVD last night for one more watch before this Blu release, and I'm really glad to be able to retire it. It will be fantastic to see an image closer to the original theatrical presentation instead of an over-zealously scrubbed DVD.
That Ambersons is being released at all is great news. Since nothing had happened after the Warner announcement of working on both Ambersons and Journey Into Fear, I had wondered if they might be eventually released through the Archive. It will be nice to see in NTSC and clearer than the old LDs.
The packaging looks like they didn't get too carried away, but I'm not really that big of a fan of the puzzle motif. I had originally thought the cover was a simple version of the illuminated title card.
Looking forward to noticing even more new facets in HD!

Interestingly, Lowry's take on Kane was a real effort to make it look great. They used everything in their power at that time. All that they lacked was a good reference. Lowry has some wonderful technology, which can now do wonders.

As to "new facets," you're going to inundated by them.

RAH

 

[Brandon Conway]

Originally Posted by Chas in CT /t/314260/a-few-words-about-citizen-kane-in-blu-ray/30#post_3846528
Is the documentary worthwhile? I don't believe I've ever watched it.

I remember it being pretty good, but not amazing.

 

[David_B_K]

Is the documentary worthwhile? I don't believe I've ever watched it.

The Battle Over Citizen Kane? I did not care for it. It concentrates solely on the conflict between William Randolph Hearst and Welles and the parallels between Hearst and Kane. Welles is shown in a negative light, while Hearst is depicted as the poor li'l millionaire whose privacy is invaded.
I would have preferred a doc on the actual making of the film. There was a British documentary a decade or more ago on the history of RKO. The episode on Welles making Kane and Ambersons would have been ideal as a supplement.

 

[Hollowbrook Drive-In]

Indeed shallow depth-of-field has its place, but reading most DSLR forums you'd think it's the ONLY thing that matters. A lot of those folks have no sense of film history.
Vincent

ABSOLUTELY!!! I'm really sick of this obsession with "shallow depth-of-field", specifically among so many DSLR users. I find deep-focus to be a hell of a lot more impressive and interesting.
Vincent

The human eye obviously is no more equipped to created-deep focus than a manufactured camera lens...but the human brain compensates for that by making the viewer think everything's in focus, from the front of his or her field of vision, to the back (unless he or she consciously concentrates on perceiving depth of field). That's why deep-focus is so profoundly useful: it simulates the working, not of the viewer's eye, but his or her brain and the natural perception of his or her surroundings. Perhaps even more importantly, humans remember it all being in focus, even if it really wasn't, which is what movies are really about: the remembering, not the actual experience of watching them.
Oops Department: I shouldn't have cited Super Panavision as the wide-screen process in my set-lighting example of my previous posting. Super Panavision is, of course, a non-anamorphic 65mm process, so comparing it and a camera photographing 1:1.37 Academy aperture is the proverbial apples and oranges. Of course a 65mm negative, with about three times the area of an Academy frame, is going to require more light for a proper exposure! Please drop the "Super"s from the above paragraph, then.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

I had cataract surgery a few years ago and the doctor implanted multi-focal Restor and ReZoom lenses in my eyes. As a consequence, my eyes are now equipped to see deep focus. If I stare at my finger and it is in focus, everything in the background is also in focus. I mentioned to the doctor afterward that it was like having Citizen Kane's deep-focus cinematography in my head at all times. Crickets.

 

[Robert Harris]

I had cataract surgery a few years ago and the doctor implanted multi-focal Restor and ReZoom lenses in my eyes. As a consequence, my eyes are now equipped to see deep focus. If I stare at my finger and it is in focus, everything in the background is also in focus. I mentioned to the doctor afterward that it was like having Citizen Kane's deep-focus cinematography in my head at all times. Crickets.

How does affect triangulation and depth perception?

 

[montrealfilmguy]

there would have been no crickets if you had also told him you could also see the ceiling at the same time.