I think the Blu-ray of The Robe looks simply splendid. I will be grateful if Demetrius and the Gladiators approaches it in quality. The DVD we have now is filled with dirt and debris.
As we all know now, the BD of Demetrius and the Gladiators was a big disappointment. I just viewed it and was not pleased. No clean-up work done and there were some color and resolution issues. It deserved the same treatment as The Robe, but didn't get it. I can't believe that Fox has no plans for it beyond the 2k scan done for this release. More asset protection work needs to be done, since I have a very hard time believing that any "restoration" was done on the title as described earlier in this thread. The audio is not configured correctly. It's L-R-LS-RS. Not L-C-R-S. A shame.MattH. said:I think the Blu-ray of The Robe looks simply splendid. I will be grateful if Demetrius and the Gladiators approaches it in quality. The DVD we have now is filled with dirt and debris.
The word on Demetrius was that the exisiting elements are dupes and the OCN is unusable, unlike The Robe and The Egyptian.Lromero1396 said:As we all know now, the BD of Demetrius and the Gladiators was a big disappointment. I just viewed it and was not pleased. No clean-up work done and there were some color and resolution issues. It deserved the same treatment as The Robe, but didn't get it. I can't believe that Fox has no plans for it beyond the 2k scan done for this release. More asset protection work needs to be done, since I have a very hard time believing that any "restoration" was done on the title as described earlier in this thread. The audio is not configured correctly. It's L-R-LS-RS. Not L-C-R-S. A shame.
The press release for the BD stated that the OCN was 'severely deteriorated'. The OCN on How to Marry a Millionaire was also severely deteriorated with severe vinegar syndrome and could still be used for an image harvest. I'm assuming that the OCN could not be used on the budget that the studio would alot for this. I'd like to her about what exactly the studio has done in terms of preserving Demetrius, such as creating a new IP for longevity's sake. Regardless, the BD should have looked better.John Hermes said:The word on Demetrius was that the exisiting elements are dupes and the OCN is unusable, unlike The Robe and The Egyptian.
I like this historical perspective Mr. Harris, and have used it myself, although not stated quite as succinctly. Some movies really do represent that kind of 'game change' in production/exhibition technology and effect on audiences, and I agree that The Robe was certainly one of them. In terms of cinema's meta timeline, there's "BR"...and "AR"* if you will. This Blu-ray release is also "special" in another key respect; the fact that The Robe was not only shot but also completed both spherically and anamorphically, with both versions available in this edition via the P-I-P feature. Seldom have we had the privilege of seeing what might have been had studio decisions about a new filmmaking technology gone the other way. The only other example that immediately comes to mind is The Big Trail, presented in both Academy and Grandeur formats**. The staging and performances, as well as the overall rythmn of scenes in the flat vs. 'scope versions of these films were markedly different during many stretches, and as a movie geek, I'm grateful to be able to finally see that. If nothing else, by including this 'parallel universe' flat version of The Robe Fox has provided a rare insight into how much of an effect the introduction of widescreen composition had on the 'feel' of the entire era of films that followed. * Cheesy pun intended, and hopefully forgiven. ** I suppose the recent aspect ratio buffet on Criterion's On the Waterfront Blu-ray would qualify, but I don't quite count it...even though its various framings played quite differently, they were not shot separately.Robert Harris said:No. The Robe is not now, nor will it ever be, the disc that you reach for to show off the wonders of Blu-ray, 1080p or 7.1 audio. As a 55 year old Eastman color production, and the first to be released in Fox's CinemaScope format, the elements had to sit in Fox's vaults waiting for technology to meet the needs of a major restoration project. Finally, over the past couple of years with our digital abilities in place, work could proceed. The result is far better than one might have expected. Anyone familiar with the original DVD of The Robe will know of its sad state. With this huge restoration effort now complete, both image and audio are back to an "honorable" state -- not perfect, and in many shots far from it -- but never embarrassing, and certainly far more than simply viewable. Those shots that survived from original elements tend to look very, very good, while dupes (based largely on the quality of the early 5216 stock) now appear far better than what they actually are. The Robe has an extremely important place in the history of cinema, not as the first wide-screen production -- but as the first modern movement into an expansion of the cinema as it attempted to fend off that enemy of the airwaves, television. One must look at this Blu-ray of The Robe not in comparison to anything else out there on BD, but as a totally separate entity with all of its various technical problems intact. In an effort to place things in perspective, I tend to look at film history in terms of dates on either side of the specific production. In that light, travel back 56 years from the release of The Robe and one finds oneself in 1897 -- eleven years before D.W. Griffith's first film and just in time to be able to view an early Lumiere or Edison production. The Robe is a very special Blu-ray. Just don't go in expecting perfection, which probably wasn't there even in 1953. Recommended. RAH
If it gets a reissue, it'd be nice to see a second disc included with the flat version. That way the film could be viewed in its entirety with sound synced. It'd also be nice to see a release of Demetrius and the Gladiators overseas in the UK. Even though I don't import titles, I would certainly make an exception for a superior UK release of Demetrius.Billy Batson said:I'm still hoping that The Robe gets a UK release (the US release is region locked). Two region locked Fox catalogue titles are at last being released in the UK this June, Patton & The Sand Pebbles. This is not a huge favorite of mine, but 50's ancient world epic, the first cinemascope film, plus extras, I'd just have to buy it.
That is one of the major reasons why I didn't buy it, since I wasn't sure if it would work on my player. Incorrectly configured audio and a disappointing transfer also were major factors in my decision not to purchase.eric scott richard said:I can't watch the Demetrius blu ray. The audio sync is just off way too much on my copy.
Personally, I love The Robe, great story, simply incredible score by Alfred Newman, the remarkable Caligula that Jay Robison contributed, Victor Mature in certainly his finest performance. The Fox restoration blu-ray is at the top of my most prized and re-watched. I'm also really pleased with the TT blu-ray of Demetrius (far more than Hawaii). I guess I'm just hoping for more of them to come out in HD, meticulously restored or not and maybe from the WB Archive, especially Robert Wise's fabulous Helen of Troy.