A Few Words About A few words about...™ Gangs of New York -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Michael Reuben]

I'm sure he cares. But Miramax/Disney owns the film, and they can release it however they want.

M.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I agree Michael, I am sure that the director did not have the last say in how the transfer was done. But I feel that we can send a message that we will not spend our money on transfers like Gangs Of NY, Patton or The Longest Day. I did have Gangs Of New York on my purchase list but after reading the review I will not own this title until a new transfer is done.

 

[Michael Reuben]

The one thing has nothing to do with the other. I wasn't opining on whether anyone should or shouldn't buy GONY (or any other film) in its current incarnation on BD.

M.

 

[Felix Martinez]

I guess he doesn't like watching his own films...?

 

[Michael Reuben]

It probably has more to do with corporate alliances. Paramount has the rights to West, and it also happens to be producing Scorsese's next film, Shutter Island. Scorsese's connection with Miramax ended when the Weinsteins left.

M.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I realize that and I though I was agreeing with you about the director not being responsible for the transfer. I was just commenting on the use of DNR and the bad review it seemed to get. I guess I should have seperated that comment from my agreement. I am not very happy with the use of DNR to take out film grain and I think many of us here can agree with that. There are other titles that have not had DNR applied that I would rather spend my money on.

 

[Rachael B]

I rented the BD and it has more edge halos than I've seen a BD in recent memory. I rented the DVD back when it came out. Despite no vivid memories of the DVD, I'm quite certain the BD is better but again I won't be collecting it. I can wait till Disney gets it right. I got BD to get away from DVD's, to be fair, even worse haloing. I don't wanna see much of that and Gangs....had it in galore.

I never saw the theatrical presentation and have no strong opines about other aspects of how the film should look. I sure as hell know that characters shouldn't look like angels of the Lord, wearin' halos though....even if they are Dead Rabbits.

 

[Brian Husar]

I know this thread is old but I just recently bought the BD, if nothing else because I have other Scorsese BD titles. I needed to also see the issues for myself. It's good to have the film on BD, the power of the film still does shine through, but this is appaling. Who at Disney allowed this to go out and why has it not been corrected. Every other title has been amazing from Disney. If nothing else I would recomend the disc because the whole film is now on one disc and you do not have to change discs. The film was not designed to have an intermission.

 

[Jefferson Morris]

I'm just waiting for a re-do of this one...which may never come in this format. How a Scorsese film can be treated this way is mystifying, while I'm sure Paul Blart: Mall Cop will have a flawless transfer (not that it shouldn't have one...but still...)

Oh, and while we're on the subject, where the f**k is Kundun? We never even got an anamorphic transfer of that on SD-DVD, let alone a blu.

--Jefferson Morris

 

[Brian Husar]

Not only Kundun, but The Color of Money (the box says 16x9 but that is false), and New York New York, the DVD was released letterboxed but not 16x9.

 

[Paul.S]

Don't get me started (again) on all those Disney titles that hit DVD in 1997 through I think early 1999 when they weren't doing anamo transfers and which have never received an SE re-release that corrected the error. HORSE WHISPERER, QUIZ SHOW, ARMAGEDDON, HE GOT GAME, WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, BELOVED, LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE . . .

NIXON used to be on that list; that's part of what makes that Election Year Edition BD that dropped last fall so sweet.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Still waiting for a better version of The Horse Whisperer. I would really love to see a Bd release that does this film justice; along with all of the other titles mentioned.

- Walter.

 

[Robert Harris]

I'm hearing that the coming release of Gangs, due Feb 2nd, is is a full remaster, going back to film, re-scanning and continuing through the entire process.

Disney has a superb track record for quality, with the exception of a titles done at this specific facility.

This release should make amends for the original problems, and hopefully with some sort of rebate for those who inadvertently purchased coasters.

Those who felt that the original was up to proper Blu-ray quality need not upgrade, as the original was obviously "good enough" or "better than standard def." They should not be affected by a proper release.

EDIT:

I'm now hearing from others that this may be a re-tread, so it SHOULD NOT BE PRE-ORDERED until there is a confirmation.

RAH

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Thanks for the good news, RAH!

Maybe they'll even include a $10 upgrade rebate for DVD owners (like they've done for quite a few other catalog titles).

_Man_

 

[Bleddyn Williams]

This is exciting news! The DVD was bad enough - I didn't go near the BD

Now if only the same happened for ROBOCOP!

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Excellent news! My BD of this title is still sitting on my shelf unopened, in the hopes of a better edition. Looks like I'm getting my wish.

 

[JediFonger]

THank you for letting us knoW!!!!! =D. i didn't grab the BD because of issues like that =). i luv scorsece's work and i luv his passion/enthusiasm for films and its preservation. Gangs of NY is finally getting its comeuppance =).

Originally Posted by Robert Harris

I'm hearing that the coming release of Gangs, due Feb 2nd, is is a full remaster, going back to film, re-scanning and continuing through the entire process.

Disney has a superb track record for quality, with the exception of a titles done at this specific facility.

This release should make amends for the original problems, and hopefully with some sort of rebate for those who inadvertently purchased coasters.

Those who felt that the original was up to proper Blu-ray quality need not upgrade, as the original was obviously "good enough" or "better than standard def." They should not be affected by a proper release.

I look forward to this Blu-ray.

RAH

 

[Robert Harris]

The news is becoming more grim. It now appears that an actual remaster may be months away, with the Feb re-issue being just that -- a re-issue with a new award jacket.

I'd love to see Disney get their act together on this, and am still hopeful that the marketing people may not be in the loop.

As it stands, this is not a pre-order.

RAH

 

[Vincent_P]

That you heard rumblings of a new film scan is a good sign at least, even if it doesn't make the February date.

Vincent

 

[Bruce Morrison]

It seems that Disney are cynically trying to maximise their revenue from this present disaster of a transfer by re-releasing it in new packaging to unsuspecting purchasers a few months before (presumably) releasing their new transfer. And Amazon.com have misleadingly included "rmast" in their product description - they should be told to remove that.