Almost Famous Director's Cut (1 Viewer)

[Anthony_J]

After having the DVD for more than a year, I finally got around to watching the "Almost Famous" Director's cut DVD. Much to my dismay, the movie froze in one place and had numerous spots of pixellation, etc.

When I took the disc out of the player, I saw what appeared to be the dreaded disc separation thing happening, similar to what others have seen on certain pressings of "Gladiator".

I know I can't return the disc due to the time that's elapsed since purchase, but I wanted to see if it was indeed disc related, and not a software compatability issue with my player (Pioneer DV-333). The movie froze during chapter 27 at 140 minutes into the film, with slight skips and pauses throughout the entirety.

Anybody else experience this with disc 1 of the set? If so, it looks like I'll be purchasing "Almost Famous" for the third time.

 

[ChuckDeLa]

Yeah, I had the same problem, with the same player you have.

 

[EricW]

i have the same player, but didn't have any problems with the disc.

 

[Joshua Moran]

You sure there isn't just a white cloud on the disc? Try wipeing that off. I've had a couple disc's develop this and once I wiped the cloud off it worked just fine. I think it is a chemical from the pressing plant that breaks up after time.

 

[Anthony_J]

Yeah, tried wiping the disc until my arm was sore. The haze looks like it's between the layers.

 

[Brian Ruth]

Anthony:

Sorry to hear about the disc. It's one of the most treasured titles in my collection. I'd probably go through the roof if the disc became seperated like that.

I was hoping this was a thread discussing the DVD itself, in which case I was going to advise everyone to promptly add this cinematic treasure to their collection. I guess I did that anyways.

I did a quick check, and Best Buy, Circuit City, and Amazon all have it for $29.99. Of course, if you don't plan to trek out to a store, I humbly suggest buying from Amazon. Note that the possibility of a commission for me makes absolutely NO DIFFERENCE as to which store I recommend.

 

[Michael Hall]

Can anyone tell me exactly what I should be looking for in terms of physical characteristics that would signify this problem on the "Gladiator" disc? Since I have a pretty hectic life, I don't have the time to sit down and watch the movie all the way through to see if mine is affected.

On preliminary inspection, it looks like there is a "wave" looking pattern on the data side of the disc. I tried to wipe it off, but it didn't go anywhere. Is there a certain chapter or time I should check to see if I do indeed have a defective disc? And if so, would DreamWorks offer a replacement disc, even though it's been since November of 2000 that I've had the disc?

(Thankfully, my copy of AF: Bootleg Edition seems okay, at least cosmetically but the "Gladiator" disc has me worried)

 

[John Alderson]

Does anyone have any pointers that show scans of the problem that's reported here? I own several discs that look like something is funny beneath the surface, but they all play fine. I'm just wondering if the apparent layer separation you're noticing is related to the problem, or if maybe there's something else wrong.

I've had one disc bad out of the box that I got new (The Usual Suspects). I couldn't see anything physically wrong with the disc itself, but it pixellated at the same spot every time. I returned it, and the replacement worked fine. *shrug*

 

[teapot2001]

I had problems with this disc--twice. The first disc I bought had some kind of stain and wouldn't get passed the Dreamworks intro. With the second disc I bought, I opened it inside my car because of the problem with the first one, and it had a huge scratch on it. The third disc was fine.

~T

 

[Michael Hall]

Well, I just finished watching "Gladiator" and even though it had that weird cloudy wave on the data side, the movie played as well as it did the day I got it back in November 2000. Good movie too.

I'm going to have to check my "Almost Famous" Bootleg cut disc tomorrow night. I'd hate to have to replace it, as it's in my short list of favorite DVDs. Is the problem only on the Bootleg cut, or does it appear on the Theatrical cut disc as well?

 

[Nathan V]

Mine works fine. BTW, buy this dvd NOW if you haven't seen the movie. Absolutely amazing writing.