"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" coming from MGM/UA to Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[RobertSiegel]

Originally Posted by GMpasqua Now that Chitty has come out, the first classic musical from the United Artists library, I am really hoping for Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story. Fiddler has been running on MGM HD and looks quite nice plus the soundtrack has been beautifully remastered. I can imagine how nice it would be with lossless audio. I would also love to see Man of La Mancha, which is another UA film but chances for that one are not nearly as high as the other 2. The singing in La Mancha isn't great but Peter O'Toole's performance is in my opinion one of his best.

Robert, "Man of La Mancha" is one of my favorite films - true the singing could be better - but the film is very well done and the acting is excellent. THe film didn't run long in theaters and the last DVD looked great. The Blu-ray should also look great! I only hope it comes to blu-ray and that the overture is included with the film and not as an extra




Greg, wow, I haven't come across many fans of this film, one that easily brings tears to my eyes at the end. I think the performances are great and the score is fantastic. I do think they should have dubbed Sofia Loren's singing though. In any case, this has been run on MGM HD and I think Cinemax HD or one of those. The quality is fantastic, so I hope a Blu-ray comes out one day.

 

[GMpasqua]

Originally Posted by RobertSiegel Now that Chitty has come out, the first classic musical from the United Artists library, I am really hoping for Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story. Fiddler has been running on MGM HD and looks quite nice plus the soundtrack has been beautifully remastered. I can imagine how nice it would be with lossless audio. I would also love to see Man of La Mancha, which is another UA film but chances for that one are not nearly as high as the other 2. The singing in La Mancha isn't great but Peter O'Toole's performance is in my opinion one of his best.

Robert, "Man of La Mancha" is one of my favorite films - true the singing could be better - but the film is very well done and the acting is excellent. THe film didn't run long in theaters and the last DVD looked great. The Blu-ray should also look great! I only hope it comes to blu-ray and that the overture is included with the film and not as an extra

[/QUOTE]


Greg, wow, I haven't come across many fans of this film, one that easily brings tears to my eyes at the end. I think the performances are great and the score is fantastic. I do think they should have dubbed Sofia Loren's singing though. In any case, this has been run on MGM HD and I think Cinemax HD or one of those. The quality is fantastic, so I hope a Blu-ray comes out one day.



Robert - I alway felt "Man of La Mancha" was an excellant film - but one that was unfinished.

The acting is better than "South Pacific" and even "West Side Story" - both films which were heavily dubbed. If MOLM was also heavily dubbed it would have been just as good - A better dubber for O'Toole and one for Loren, Coco and Harry Andrews would have helped. (Also a little trimming here and there)


But Acting wise - it's probably one of the best acted muscials ever. But every time O'Toole opens his month to sing "Here Me Now" your heart falls - and it's not even his own voice (though the orchestration are beautiful - better then the broadway scoring!

 

[Steve...O]

Mr. Jenks - thank you very much for helping bring CCBB to market in such high quality and for particpating on HTF. As a classic movie fan, I have to ask: are you related to the marvelous character actor of the same name?


Thanks,


Steve

 

[John Nelson]

I remember my mother taking me to see this in the movie theater as a child and loving the experience. I've seen it occasionally on TV since and own the DVD, but now this Blu-ray really brings this film to vivid life.

Thanks for all your efforts and those of your team Mr. Jenks! I have one year old twins at home and this is the version of the film they will be raised on!

 

[MrScan]

No relation but I've been told my dry sarcasm/humor is a dead ringer to Mr. Jenks. To consider the possibilities I was born after Mr. Jenks passed...

I do sometimes wonder why as the proud son of a Craftsman and a Nurse from a small town (Apple Valley, CA) I was so drawn to the production craft, Hollywood if you will.
At the age of 47 I do have an unexplainable affection for 30's/40's era motion pictures and radio broadcasts, In fact I listen to The Jell-O show so often that Jack, Mary, Don and Company are literally alive to me!

My prior career position was as the lead technologist/GM for a custom B&W cine laboratory, that, my passion for photography and my affection for classic motion pictures all have pointed me to my current position.

I am extremely happy that the end product has been so well received. I love this title and really wanted to make sure everything was right and good with the >4K 65mm capture.

Again, I am but one member of a hard working team who did a great job in a very short amount of time. They all deserve credit, from scheduling to shipping.

For myself I thank you and all of the forum members for the valued words of appreciation which I will proudly share with my co-workers.


Frank Jenks

HTV / illuminate Hollywood

[email protected]

 

[Crosley Carpenter]

When I saw the film theatrically back in 1968, the lights in the theatre were full up and the curtain remained closed as the roars of the racing cars darted about the auditorium. The lights slowly started to dim but the curtain did not begin to part until there was an image on the screen. It was a thrilling bit of showmanship.

Yes!


What a thrill to receive the Chitty BD this week and like many others, be very impressed by the results. I haven't watched it all yet, but I quickly came up with the presentation suggested above, the idea jumped out at me before I read the post. I feel a bit like a spoilt child, being able to achieve this. The MGM logo didn't present any problems, I paused the disc after the logo, closed the screen curtains, brought the house lights up, pressed play, (the car sounds are now stupendous, coming from the speakers all over the room), listened for the musical cue and as the picture hit the screen, dimmed the lights and pressed the 'open curtains' button. Heaven !


It's a shame the disc doesn't seem to have the Intermission as I remember it. I'll assume for now that it's operator error. But for now, I'm still pretty happy.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by Crosley Carpenter



It's a shame the disc doesn't seem to have the Intermission as I remember it. I'll assume for now that it's operator error. But for now, I'm still pretty happy.

What do you mean not as you remember it? It is in the place that I remember it. As a child I was upset when the intermission appeared as they were falling to their deaths and thought the movie was over. LOL

 

[Crosley Carpenter]

Originally Posted by ahollis



It's a shame the disc doesn't seem to have the Intermission as I remember it. I'll assume for now that it's operator error. But for now, I'm still pretty happy.

What do you mean not as you remember it? It is in the place that I remember it. As a child I was upset when the intermission appeared as they were falling to their deaths and thought the movie was over. LOL

[/QUOTE]


Sorry ahollis, I wasn't clear enough in my post. Of course I thought I knew where it should have been, but as I had been playing around with the disc, ( like a big kid ) rather than sitting and watching the sequence in total, I thought I may have been mistaken. Eureka ! I've found it, where it should be. I will look more closely next time !

 

[RobertSiegel]

I always wondered why they chose to have the sound of the cars racing so loud compared to the music in the opening overture. I absolutely love that entire opening musical sequence but at times it is really drowned out by the cars, and that's how it has always been. Unfortunately, there has never been a CD release that had this great long overture on it. I wonder if the music masters are destroyed.

 

[John Morgan]

Originally Posted by RobertSiegel

I always wondered why they chose to have the sound of the cars racing so loud compared to the music in the opening overture. I absolutely love that entire opening musical sequence but at times it is really drowned out by the cars, and that's how it has always been. Unfortunately, there has never been a CD release that had this great long overture on it. I wonder if the music masters are destroyed.

This is only a guess, but maybe the volume was originally higher because the curtains were closed during this portion.

I love this release, but I have always had a problem with these MGM releases where their modern logo sound is so loud and placed so close to the original opening of the film (and at the end of the movie), I find it annoying and kind of ruining the mood of the film. I can't blame them having their logo, but I wish they would leave a bit more time before and after the film is completed before it comes on. I remember hating this from the old laser days!

 

[RobertSiegel]

Originally Posted by John Morgan

I always wondered why they chose to have the sound of the cars racing so loud compared to the music in the opening overture. I absolutely love that entire opening musical sequence but at times it is really drowned out by the cars, and that's how it has always been. Unfortunately, there has never been a CD release that had this great long overture on it. I wonder if the music masters are destroyed.

This is only a guess, but maybe the volume was originally higher because the curtains were closed during this portion.

I love this release, but I have always had a problem with these MGM releases where their modern logo sound is so loud and placed so close to the original opening of the film (and at the end of the movie), I find it annoying and kind of ruining the mood of the film. I can't blame them having their logo, but I wish they would leave a bit more time before and after the film is completed before it comes on. I remember hating this from the old laser days!

[/QUOTE]

John, would they have had the curtain closed during the opening credits? The music I am talking about is the racing after the blank screen racing sounds, where the credits roll and the music is playing, it's a great 6 ot 7 minute overture that I wish one could hear more or at least have available on a CD without the cars racing on top of it.

 

[John Morgan]

Originally Posted by RobertSiegel




John, would they have had the curtain closed during the opening credits? The music I am talking about is the racing after the blank screen racing sounds, where the credits roll and the music is playing, it's a great 6 ot 7 minute overture that I wish one could hear more or at least have available on a CD without the cars racing on top of it.

Oh, I see what you mean. You're right, the credit music is somewhat under the sound effects.

 

[Brian Sharp]

IIRC the music over the credits was somewhat muted though we only played it with 4 track mag.

 

[andydj]

You are indeed correct. There are a few audio problems, not least of which the wrong musical blast for intermnission and the lip-sync problems you refer to.

I discovered that the English Stereo alternative soundtrack is a considerably better mix. It was the mix taken from the 70mm source material for the laser disc release in the early 1990's and is afr superior. It is also without the lip sync problems, and has the correct musical stab for intermission with a slight gap between that and the Entr'Acte. Also, when you listen to both versions, the DTS-HD soundtrack lacks the bredth and lushness of the orcxhestral string section, and lacks the brightness and excitement of the woodindf and brass. In short, the DTS-HD soundtrack has been compressed to hell, removing a considerable amount of the excitement and at times pushing the incredible musical underscore (a feature of the movie) behind the sound effects instead of amrrying the two elements.

 

[John Morgan]

What format is the alternative English stereo soundtrack in? Is it plain 2 track stereo, 5.1, Dolby? High Definition sound?

Originally Posted by andydj

You are indeed correct. There are a few audio problems, not least of which the wrong musical blast for intermnission and the lip-sync problems you refer to.

I discovered that the English Stereo alternative soundtrack is a considerably better mix. It was the mix taken from the 70mm source material for the laser disc release in the early 1990's and is afr superior. It is also without the lip sync problems, and has the correct musical stab for intermission with a slight gap between that and the Entr'Acte. Also, when you listen to both versions, the DTS-HD soundtrack lacks the bredth and lushness of the orcxhestral string section, and lacks the brightness and excitement of the woodindf and brass. In short, the DTS-HD soundtrack has been compressed to hell, removing a considerable amount of the excitement and at times pushing the incredible musical underscore (a feature of the movie) behind the sound effects instead of amrrying the two elements.

 

I still don't like the way that the Entr'Acte card is on the screen until Act 2 pops up. They should have faded that title out sooner.

 

[GMpasqua]

Originally Posted by Eric Scott Richard

I still don't like the way that the Entr'Acte card is on the screen until Act 2 pops up. They should have faded that title out sooner.

In the scheme of Life there are worse things not to like

 

You are right. I'm just pointing out the only negative from a release that is almost perfect.

 

You are right. I'm just pointing out the only negative from a release that is almost perfect.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Eric Scott Richard

You are right. I'm just pointing out the only negative from a release that is almost perfect.

But why? That's the third time this thread you've pointed out that same issue. Nothing's changed.