Criterion Press Release: It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (Dual Format) (1 Viewer)

[Doug Bull]

Doug, The Oppo are by far the best multi zone players and are easily obtainable here in Australia. I have the 105. You just enter the code to change zone. They also do 3D if that floats your boat ( it sinks mine).

Thanks for that John.
As a 3D fanatic, being able to play region A locked 3D movies would be the only reason I would want to upgrade from my older region A non 3D Sony blu-ray player.

I can buy a new region A Sony 3D capable blu-ray player from BW for AUD $147 landed here in Australia.
Not sure how that compares with the OPPO. I'll certainly check it out.

I still have over 10 years of back issues of "The LDN". Always read it cover to cover when the postman delivered it each month. Let my subscription lapse back in the late nineties when the immediacy of the internet pretty much ended my waiting for printed media to arrive.

Happy to see that Mr. Pratt still publishes the newsletter

Same here Reed.
Now that really brings back wonderful memories.

Doug.

 

[davidmatychuk]

I still have over 10 years of back issues of "The LDN". Always read it cover to cover when the postman delivered it each month. Let my subscription lapse back in the late nineties when the immediacy of the internet pretty much ended my waiting for printed media to arrive.

Happy to see that Mr. Pratt still publishes the newsletter (in .pdf format I believe?) And I see that he even has some BD reviews online over at a site called Movie City News.

My most recent two-year subscription ends after the March issue. I'll be renewing, even though the cost for mailing it to Canada is now the same as the international rate. My collection of newsletters is complete all the way back to 1990, and I have both of his Laser Disc books and his two-volume DVD book (and a PDF of the DVD book). What can I say; I like hard copies and I like getting Mr. Pratt's newsletter in the mail every month. His reviews are always well-reasoned and insightful, and the breadth of his knowledge about the arts is as amazing as his longevity. Also, since the loss of Roger Ebert, there is no other movie reviewer whose work is so obviously the product of a person who loves movies.

 

[ahollis]

I still have over 10 years of back issues of "The LDN". Always read it cover to cover when the postman delivered it each month. Let my subscription lapse back in the late nineties when the immediacy of the internet pretty much ended my waiting for printed media to arrive.Happy to see that Mr. Pratt still publishes the newsletter (in .pdf format I believe?) And I see that he even has some BD reviews online over at a site called Movie City News.

Still have every issue from the Laserdisc days. I loved it but like you let my subscription lapse. Mostly because I found this forum and it gave me information I needed.

 

[Gary16]

Also, since the loss of Roger Ebert, there is no other movie reviewer whose work is so obviously the product of a person who loves movies.

Leonard Maltin is a movie reviewer who loves movies.

 

[Doug Bull]

Back to IAMMMMW.

I loved this photo of the Stuntmen/Women featured in one of the Criterion disc's excellent documentaries.

Who is whom? Anybody able to find Ethel Merman's stunt double?

Doug.

 

[davidmatychuk]

Leonard Maltin is a movie reviewer who loves movies.

You're right. Mr. Maltin is truly passionate about movies. His Classic Movie Guide is great. I should have added that Douglas Pratt also reviews discs of TV shows, concerts, and the arts, and his ability to assess the qualities of these, combined with his passion for every type of movie, makes him a peerless critical polymath.

 

[TomTom]

Sorry for the repost ….but does anyone know?

Another question for Mr. Harris or anyone in the know:

What was the other film that is mentioned in the restoration part about the "color solution" for a black & white image? This is in regard to the SD color for an HD picture.

 

[Charles Smith]

I'm with you guys on fond remembrances of the newsletters. I had a few of the later years, and several years ago gave them to someone who was developing an interest in collecting LDs. My justification to myself was that I was mostly done acquiring LDs, and at that time, you could still access most of the main reviews on his website......which then proceeded to go away shortly after I gave the issues away!

Oh well. There are still a few other zines and newsletters and magazines that you will NOT pry out of my warm live hands. I, too, still love the hard copies of this kind of thing, on a few different subjects, and the ones I've still got now are keepers.

 

[ahollis]

Back to IAMMMMW.

I loved this photo of the Stuntmen/Women featured in one of the Criterion disc's excellent documentaries.

iammmmwstunts.jpg

Who is whom? Anybody able to find Ethel Merman's stunt double?

Doug.

It's like looking in a mirror.

 

[ahollis]

I'm with you guys on fond remembrances of the newsletters. I had a few of the later years, and several years ago gave them to someone who was developing an interest in collecting LDs. My justification to myself was that I was mostly done acquiring LDs, and at that time, you could still access most of the main reviews on his website......which then proceeded to go away shortly after I gave the issues away! Oh well. There are still a few other zines and newsletters and magazines that you will NOT pry out of my warm live hands. I, too, still love the hard copies of this kind of thing, on a few different subjects, and the ones I've still got now are keepers.

I have all issues of Perfect Vision and it's fun to go back and read an issue on certain film company's releases. Today I would not part with an issue if Cinema Retro for anything.

 

[davidmatychuk]

I have all issues of Perfect Vision and it's fun to go back and read an issue on certain film company's releases. Today I would not part with an issue if Cinema Retro for anything.

Despite downsizing from a big house to a two-bedroom apartment, I kept my collection of "The Perfect Vision". That magazine was published erratically and it was distributed eccentrically, but the great Harry Pearson had a vision, and in its way it was perfect. The article about watching Criterion's CAV laserdisc of "West Side Story" with a few select friends is a classic.

 

[Dee Zee]

Just got the 2 disc soundtrack from lala land records. Can't wait to fire it up. Anyone else have this? I have the original one disc release too but that's only 44 minutes long.

Thanks for that tip. Just ordered. A few years ago I bought a mint vinyl album still in shrink-wrap. Ive been loving this soundtrack since 1964 and have had various versions of it through the years.

 

[Dan_Shane]

Just got the 2 disc soundtrack from lala land records. Can't wait to fire it up. Anyone else have this? I have the original one disc release too but that's only 44 minutes long.

I do not believe you can be a true IA4MW fan and *not* own the 2-disc soundtrack. It gets fairly regular play on my machines.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Thanks for that tip. Just ordered. A few years ago I bought a mint vinyl album still in shrink-wrap. Ive been loving this soundtrack since 1964 and have had various versions of it through the years.

I have it, but I am told that it was a studio re-recording, not an actual film soundtrack. I like it primarily for the Shirelles numbers.

 

[mercyflight]

I'm not sure that The Shirelles actually play on the motion picture score album. Are they listed on the album anywhere? The versions are great, but I've always been curious if UA Records had the rights to use them.

 

[rsmithjr]

I have become very unhappy about the Laserdisc Newsletter due to its lack of support of the Blu-ray format.

I was one of the initial subscribers and read the LDN from cover to cover each month. In the early days, they were very concerned with technical quality, and refused to consider VHS because of its obvious problems.

When DVD came along, they were slow to show an interest. When Blu-ray arrived, it was years before they even reviewed a single Blu-ray disk.

The entire attitude has become almost nostalgic about LD and DVD and failed to embrace Blu-ray. Lists of coming titles do not show Blu-ray titles, for example.

I wrote to Doug Pratt with my concerns on several occasions. Finally, this last fall, I did not resubscribe. I still like his reviews and appreciate what he has to say, but the technology has moved along and the LDN has not.

Blu-ray is the finest thing that has happened to home video and it deserves our complete support, I believe.

 

[Nicholas Vargo]

Just got the 2 disc soundtrack from lala land records. Can't wait to fire it up. Anyone else have this? I have the original one disc release too but that's only 44 minutes long.

I have it, and it is extraordinary. You'll want to retire the Ryko disc or the other reissue from a few years ago for this (Save for the dialogue bits from the Ryko release, which you can save in your iTunes library). Just to have the score as heard in the film in some form is a miracle onto itself. How they did it (as detailed in the liner notes of the package) is even more remarkable. Plus, you still get the re-recorded album score as well. It's a real winner!

 

[davidmatychuk]

I have become very unhappy about the Laserdisc Newsletter due to its lack of support of the Blu-ray format.

I was one of the initial subscribers and read the LDN from cover to cover each month. In the early days, they were very concerned with technical quality, and refused to consider VHS because of its obvious problems.

When DVD came along, they were slow to show an interest. When Blu-ray arrived, it was years before they even reviewed a single Blu-ray disk.

The entire attitude has become almost nostalgic about LD and DVD and failed to embrace Blu-ray. Lists of coming titles do not show Blu-ray titles, for example.

I wrote to Doug Pratt with my concerns on several occasions. Finally, this last fall, I did not resubscribe. I still like his reviews and appreciate what he has to say, but the technology has moved along and the LDN has not.

Blu-ray is the finest thing that has happened to home video and it deserves our complete support, I believe.

If what you want is Blu-Ray comparisons, the LDN is not really the place to find them. Mr. Pratt reviews a lot of Warner Archive titles, TV series box sets, documentaries, and arts programs, and many other titles that are only on DVD. He does cover Blu-Ray releases of major titles, but not with the kind of expert technical opinion (often from opposing viewpoints) that you'll find in the Home Theatre Forum. I've been reading Mr. Pratt's reviews for over 20 years, and it's his writing about what's on the discs that keeps me reading. Originally, it was his analysis of the quality of the laserdiscs he was reviewing that was the main attraction for me, and in 1997 he wrote a DVD round-up when Warner began test-marketing that format, after which I purchased one of the new DVD players (the Pioneer) and drove to Bellingham to the nearest retailer that was allowed to carry the Warner DVD's. So he did cover DVD right from the start, and completely nailed the ways that DVD would be superior to laserdisc at a time when state-of-the-art home theatre was based on laserdiscs, line doublers (or quadruplers), and front projection (two projectors "stacked", anyone?). When he began with 11 Blu-Ray reviews in his July 2008 issue, his explanation of why he admittedly "was dragging his feet in covering Blu-ray DVD's for several reasons" was cogent and prescient. I completely support Blu-Ray with my money and my time, of course, but I completely support Douglas Pratt's newsletter for what it is, and I'll continue to do so. Long may he review!

 

[haineshisway]

I have it, and it is extraordinary. You'll want to retire the Ryko disc or the other reissue from a few years ago for this (Save for the dialogue bits from the Ryko release, which you can save in your iTunes library). Just to have the score as heard in the film in some form is a miracle onto itself. How they did it (as detailed in the liner notes of the package) is even more remarkable. Plus, you still get the re-recorded album score as well. It's a real winner!

While I do have an obvious horse in this race, I could have issued what they did a year before they did - I chose not to because I thought the sound quality was just not up to my standards and that's not the way I want to hear that score. We did a major remastering of the rerecording for our release and it sounds spectacular (and doesn't have the irritating dialogue from the Ryko) - we also included a handful of tracks from the film itself, all of which sounded great. I know people are starved for this stuff, but I just couldn't in good conscience issue something that sounded like that. Obviously, the subsequent label had no problem doing so and just as obviously some folks love it, so it's all good. Our issue sold out instantly, but I still get e-mails about copies every day, because they've heard the sound is so good on ours.

 

[Tino]

Wait....there's another soundtrack out there ??