A Few Words About A few words about...™ My Fair Lady -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by Mark-P /t/315932/a-few-words-about-my-fair-lady-in-blu-ray/60#post_3867410
Remember when DVD first hit the market, everyone thought that the DVD logo guaranteed quality? How quickly that was debunked as decades-old transfers, and public domain companies hijacked the format.

As good as laser was at the time, there were a lot of pan-scan transfers during the first couple of years of the format. Of course it was later with that format with the use of Letterbox that I finally saw films like, Gypsy, The Music Man, The Alamo, The Haunting and many more for the first time in their OAR. What difference that made.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Most large format film has a slight bit, but between the 2.21:1 aspect ratio, which does a slight crop of the sides, and the contrast of print stock, it becomes invisible.
My guess would be that in the creation of the 35mm reduction element, the optical printer may have been ever so slightly off, yielding a bit less exposure at the sides.  This becomes more obvious in a digital scan, but can be dealt with in a few different ways.
RAH

Mr. Harris, do not take this the wrong way, but I don't think anything they'd do without your participation would make you happy. You're the one who spent countless hours restoring that film, and you're the one who has 100% knowledge of its flaws and limitations, no matter the medium. If they're smart, they'll let this current release stand for 3 more years and then re-release it as a 50th anniversary set, get off the dime, and have you take another crack at it.
As for me, I'll probably buy it simply because I'm on bluray now with a huge tv screen and the old dvd doesn't look all that hot on my screen. I'll put up with it, but for a film of this caliber, I very much doubt this particular blu-ray will be the final word for My Fair Lady on home entertainment.

 

[marsnkc]

Ethan,
If you take a gander at MattH's post #11 (his 'disappointment' with the disc after a cursory glance) and Mr. Harris's comments in his post #62, I think you'll agree that the latter's take is not entirely subjective.

 

[pizzmoe]

"On a 55" LED/LCD the image looks very nice"
I haven't seen any movie look good on an LED TV yet, Blu or otherwise. What adjustments do you make so that films actually look like films?

 

[Robert Harris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ethan Riley /t/315932/a-few-words-about-my-fair-lady-in-blu-ray/60#post_3867650
Mr. Harris, do not take this the wrong way, but I don't think anything they'd do without your participation would make you happy. You're the one who spent countless hours restoring that film, and you're the one who has 100% knowledge of its flaws and limitations, no matter the medium. If they're smart, they'll let this current release stand for 3 more years and then re-release it as a 50th anniversary set, get off the dime, and have you take another crack at it.
As for me, I'll probably buy it simply because I'm on bluray now with a huge tv screen and the old dvd doesn't look all that hot on my screen. I'll put up with it, but for a film of this caliber, I very much doubt this particular blu-ray will be the final word for My Fair Lady on home entertainment.

Sorry, but you couldn't be more wrong. My "participation" is quite irrelevant to what I'm seeing. And after comparing transfers earlier today, I believe I understand what's occurring. But I'm going to stand down at this point, and allow others to make comparisons.

For the record, I would have been absolutely thrilled to pop the new Blu-ray into a player and be amazed by its quality. It gives me no pleasure not to be able to do so.

RAH

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by pizzmoe /t/315932/a-few-words-about-my-fair-lady-in-blu-ray/60#post_3867703
"On a 55" LED/LCD the image looks very nice"
I haven't seen any movie look good on an LED TV yet, Blu or otherwise. What adjustments do you make so that films actually look like films?

Calibration.

RAH

 

[Dick]

As I noted above, for a limited time, you can look to Sony, Fox, Criterion and Blue Underground.

I have great hopes for Warner's MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, due to arrive shortly.

 

[Dick]

6. Spartacus? An utter travesty of course. But, slowly, Universal is learning the ropes I think.

While they are "thinking," it would not surprise me to see Criterion bring out their own editions of SPARTACUS and BRAZIL, as they have with several other Universal titles already released by the studio on Blu-ray.

 

[Robert Harris]

Please check back with my initial post in this thread for an update.

RAH

 

[Mark-P]

As a final note, I believe that I've now figured out the overriding problem with the Blu-ray of My Fair Lady, and why it doesn't look nearly as good as releases like The Sound of Music or West Side Story.  Just for fun, I'm going to keep this one to myself for the time being to see who else will figure out the great My Fair Lady mystery.
RAH

Here's my guess: Is it that the transfer was sourced from the 1994 35MM restoration print and not the 65MM materials?

 

[marsnkc]

Here's my guess: Is it that the transfer was sourced from the 1994 35MM restoration print and not the 65MM materials?

I agree (though a blind guess, of course!). See RAH's #24 response to Willy Tass where he says that the lack of resolution points to 35mm elements being used. If memory serves, 'Music' and 'WSS' were sourced from 65mm.

 

[Mark-W]

Robert,
Thanks for the very detailed and precise explanation of your assessment of the forthcoming Blu-ray.
Your reviews very much impact my purchasing decisions.
Once again I find myself wishing some studios would spend a little bit of time and money letting transfers be reviewed by a panel and
then assessing what can be done and related cost analysis before sending out a sub-optimal product, particularly for a film
that is likely to be purchased by film buffs with an eye for detail..and properly calibrated home theater systems.

 

[Robert Harris]

Top of thread updated 11/7.

RAH

 

[warnerbro]

So, I would love a little clarification: is the print used for the blu-ray different or not as good as the one used on the Warner Bros. DVD? Does it not look as good as the Warner Bros. DVD?

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by warnerbro /t/315932/a-few-words-about-my-fair-lady-in-blu-ray/60#post_3868421
So, I would love a little clarification: is the print used for the blu-ray different or not as good as the one used on the Warner Bros. DVD? Does it not look as good as the Warner Bros. DVD?

Appears to be same film element. But as noted earlier, Blu-ray is a very poor platform for transfers that are not well produced, as it shows all of the flaws in the transfer element.

Yes, you have six times the resolution, but here, it giveth and taketh away at the same time. One of the overriding problems is the field issue in the element, which was dealt with on the original laserdisc, but not on the DVD (different transfer). That same problem rears its ugly head once again in the Blu-ray. And for the record, that is not a problem in the restoration or preservation elements, solely in the 35 IP which was sourced for use at 480i -- not above.

Note added: To be clear the field problem was not a real problem on the DVD, and therefore didn't need correction as one could not see it at DVD resolution. I don't want it to sound as if WB did not do something up to spec. They did.

RAH

 

[warnerbro]

Thanks, Robert. You are an American treasure and this forum is fortunate to have you. I'd hate to think what would have happened to this film and others if you hadn't been there.

 

I'm still getting this. I like the film, but it isn't my favorite movie musical. I think I will be okay with the disc.

 

[Mark-P]

Bluray.com has a review up. They give it very high marks though they admit it is just short of perfection. The screen captures (which I know it's an absolute no-no to go by) look sumptuous!

 

[willyTass]

Soft is the other word with S i'd use

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Mark-P /t/315932/a-few-words-about-my-fair-lady-in-blu-ray/90#post_3868718
Bluray.com has a review up. They give it very high marks though they admit it is just short of perfection. The screen captures (which I know it's an absolute no-no to go by) look sumptuous!

The images look sumptuous because there is little that one can do to the brilliant cinematography, production design and costumes of My Fair Lady that will take that away.

Except for the sides of the image, where it fades out by 50%.

BTW, another added note to the top of this thread.

RAH