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A Few Words About A few words about...™ West Side Story -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

ijthompson

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I'm not convinced MGM/FHE would get loud about a 'fixed fix'. I mean, what would they call it - the 'We Screwed Up Twice but Third Time's a Charm!' campaign? :P Maybe I'm a cynic, but in my mind, the more quietly they do it, the fewer discs they have to replace... ergo, money in the bank.
But, I'm not here to argue with you. I've been lurking this thread from the beginning, and I've enjoyed your comments and expertise, and your obvious love of the film (which I share).
Bottom line is, I just wanna see video of what David's actually talking about.
 

haineshisway

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What you will see is exactly what you can see in the You Tube clip. Why do you suppose David hasn't been back? :)
If they were to do the necessary fixes, it would cost them quite a bit of money and I believe that would preclude silence in the long run. I don't think they're going to do it anytime soon. But no, no arguing - I just think his getting people's hopes up was peculiar and I am beginning to wonder why he kept at it.
 

JoshZ

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haineshisway said:
It would cost money to do it right and would mean a completely new transfer and scan.
It really wouldn't, though. We're dealing with very simple, static imagery. The sequence could very easily be fixed digitally by sampling a few seconds of the red frame and a few seconds of the blue frame, then creating a new dissolve between them. A college intern could clean this up with about half an hour on a laptop.
 

JamesNelson

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JoshZ said:
It really wouldn't, though. We're dealing with very simple, static imagery. The sequence could very easily be fixed digitally by sampling a few seconds of the red frame and a few seconds of the blue frame, then creating a new dissolve between them. A college intern could clean this up with about half an hour on a laptop.
I believe he is referring to more than just the opening titles as needing to be redone.
 

Robert Harris

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Originally Posted by JamesNelson /t/315747/a-few-words-about-west-side-story-in-blu-ray/810#post_3987184
I believe he is referring to more than just the opening titles as needing to be redone.
More than the opening titles would be necessary.

Personally, I'd begin with a new 8k scan of all available footage from the OCN, and then move on to other elements.

The "door charge" would begin at around 175k.

But I don't own the film. If I did, I put my own funds into its preservation.

RAH
 

Neil S. Bulk

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Maybe when the picture is re-transferred someday they can use the newly restored soundtrack that was inexplicably left off of this release.
 

rsmithjr

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Neil S. Bulk said:
Maybe when the picture is re-transferred someday they can use the newly restored soundtrack that was inexplicably left off of this release.
Sounds interesting but I am not sure what this means.
The original 6 track mag mix for WSS had a 5-channel front stereo soundstage and 1 rear. This is sometimes called "Todd-AO sound". The current industry standard is 3-channel front and 2 rear "surrounds", with 1 sub (assuming 5.1). 7.1 just adds two side channels but no more fronts.
Since no one is contemplating 5 channel fronts, the 5-channel fronts will just have to be downmixed.
But, as I understand it, the remix that took place in the late 70's was for exactly this reason: to move to a 3-channel front stereo soundstage.
It is therefore my hypothesis that the only practical use for the restored 6 track mix is the very few theatres that still have the option of such a setup. I am sure that the Schauberg can do this but not sure about other extant 70mm houses.
BTW: I much much prefer 5 front true discrete channels with directional dialogue etc. It sounded much better than anything we have had since. But, given the formats in use in most theaters and certainly homes, it seems like this is pretty much a lost cause. I don't even have 5 front channels, what would I do with them?
 

Robert Harris

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rsmithjr said:
Sounds interesting but I am not sure what this means.
The original 6 track mag mix for WSS had a 5-channel front stereo soundstage and 1 rear. This is sometimes called "Todd-AO sound". The current industry standard is 3-channel front and 2 rear "surrounds", with 1 sub (assuming 5.1). 7.1 just adds two side channels but no more fronts.
Since no one is contemplating 5 channel fronts, the 5-channel fronts will just have to be downmixed.
But, as I understand it, the remix that took place in the late 70's was for exactly this reason: to move to a 3-channel front stereo soundstage.
It is therefore my hypothesis that the only practical use for the restored 6 track mix is the very few theatres that still have the option of such a setup. I am sure that the Schauberg can do this but not sure about other extant 70mm houses.
BTW: I much much prefer 5 front true discrete channels with directional dialogue etc. It sounded much better than anything we have had since. But, given the formats in use in most theaters and certainly homes, it seems like this is pretty much a lost cause. I don't even have 5 front channels, what would I do with them?
Which is precisely why home theater audio should offer a 9.2 format, allowing accurate discreet reproduction, along with a boon for speaker manufacturers.
RAH
 

JimmyK

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ijthompson said:
I'm not convinced MGM/FHE would get loud about a 'fixed fix'. I mean, what would they call it - the 'We Screwed Up Twice but Third Time's a Charm!' campaign? :P Maybe I'm a cynic, but in my mind, the more quietly they do it, the fewer discs they have to replace... ergo, money in the bank.
But, I'm not here to argue with you. I've been lurking this thread from the beginning, and I've enjoyed your comments and expertise, and your obvious love of the film (which I share).
Bottom line is, I just wanna see video of what David's actually talking about.
Perhaps they might do this "silently", but I bet sites like Digital Bits wouldn't be so silent and word would spread quickly through forums such as this.
A lone poster claiming to have something special without posting any evidence just doesn't cut it.
 

RapalloAV

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How come David who is the only person in the world with the "new" fixed copy of WSS has disappeared from the forum?
 

haineshisway

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RapalloAV said:
How come David who is the only person in the world with the "new" fixed copy of WSS has disappeared from the forum?
Exactly. I asked the same question above and I know I've drawn my conclusion.
 

Michael1

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Just thought you'd all like to know that yesterday (December 26), I saw a screening of a 70mm print of WEST SIDE STORY at the Walter Reade Theatre in New York as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 70mm festival. It looked and sounded great, and the really interesting news is that the colors in the overture sequence were as intended -- no jarring shift to green or fade to black before the pullback from the graphic and the appearance of the title. If people who knew what they were doing could get it right in preparing this beautiful 70mm print, there's no good reason why other people botched it for the Blu-Ray.
 

Charles Smith

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Sorry I had to miss that one!

Enjoyed Tati's PLAYTIME today, though. Print had some problems, but very satisfying seeing it on the big screen. Or, should I say, a fairly big screen.

I'm very tempted to take a chance on the MY FAIR LADY showing on Saturday.
 
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Dear Robert!! "My answer is that we're very much discussing the Mona Lisa, albeit a more modern version. West Side Story was the synthesis of an astoundingly good Broadway musical that was honed, by the best in the business into one of the greatest films ever created. " the whole of your article is to be quoted word by word ... you have said everything ,
When I first sow West side story on screen I kept on going to the same cinema day after day , I was amazed by the music, coreography, those strong intenssive colours.. and tecnology . Notice that no musicall in our days have recieved Oscar nominations though music and plots are high leveled (the phantom, Sweeney todd) becouse producers chose the wrong voices ,the wrong type of artists. I guess that "Les Miserabes" will join West Side Story due to its main roles and director .
I have Got West side story and My fair Lady as well as Gigi and South Pacific and I enjoy every minute Re watching them , making my pupils and friends aquainted with them .
Boaz Senator-- Milano
 

FoxyMulder

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I'm thinking of buying this for Xmas, i want to watch some musicals this year, any news on whether West Side Story has been silently fixed, or some of it fixed, or is it the exact same one as reviewed here. ? I have never seen this movie so would like to view it.
 

FoxyMulder

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davidmatychuk said:
I believe I'm qualified to answer this one: they "fixed it", but it still isn't "right".
What did they fix, more to the point what still isn't fixed. ?
 

davidmatychuk

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FoxyMulder said:
What did they fix, more to the point what still isn't fixed. ?
The opening New York City image doesn't fade to black in the "fixed" version, but whether even that is as it should be now I couldn't say. Nothing else seemed different at all, and given the disappointment with the transfer expressed by people in this thread, that is unfortunate. "West Side Story" deserves "Lawrence Of Arabia" treatment, but it hasn't happened yet.
 

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