DVD Review HTF DVD REVIEW: The Thief of Bagdad (1940) (1 Viewer)

[RMajidi]

Thanks, Ramin.


There's also this Italian release that's region-free and readily available here I'm curious about. It seems like it might be identical to the German one, except for some minor details:


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GVHQEPG


I did also find a comparison of the Criterion DVD to the German BD (along w/ brief descriptions comparing the UK Network one) at DVDBeaver.


I'd prefer to get something region-A or region-free, but I did finally acquire a region mod for my Oppo 103 player, so if the UK Network BD is noticeably better than the others, I can certainly go for that instead.


And yeah, ToB (along w/ a few other Harryhausen flicks) left a lasting impression on me from childhood when I first saw it on the big screen (in some sort of theatrical reruns back in Hong Kong). I probably shoulda just bought the Criterion DVD when it was first released nearly 8 years ago, and don't want to wait too long yet again -- maybe I'll wait just long enough to hear back from your copy of the recent Aussie release before deciding...


Thanks again!


_Man_

Hi _Man_

This took longer than anticipated, but I finally got around to seeing the Aussie Via Vision Blu-ray of Thief of Bagdad.

I can confirm that the Oz release uses the exact same ITV transfer that was put out by Network on Air in the UK last year - even the menu is identical. There are only two points of differentiation:

• The Network release is region-B locked. The Aussie release happily plays in both regions A and B.

• The Network Blu cover is far more pleasing to my eye than the Aussie Blu; which might seem odd for me to say, given that my HTF avatar is the same image as that of the Aussie Blu.

The transfer is everything you'd expect from a 3-strip Technicolor of this vintage. Beautifully saturated colours that have withstood the passage of time, with occasional minor specs and seemingly some dupe sections mixed in.

The film itself needs no further comment from me.

Network UK version: http://networkonair.com/shop/2051-thief-of-bagdad-the-blu-ray--5027626702847.html

Via Vision Oz version: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/movies-tv...on-sale/adventure/thief-of-bagdad-the/697815/

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Thanks, Ramin.

I ended up just ordering the Network UK version a while ago and watched it recently w/ my youngest. And of course, loved it.

Would've been nice to have it region-free (or simply region A), but oh well. I did notice the Network UK version required my region-modded Oppo 103 to have its Auto-Resume function disabled for it to work, but otherwise, it played just fine.

IF Criterion ever comes out w/ a BD version, I'll probably double-dip for the extras and possibly better transfer. Until then...

Cheers!

_Man_

 

[Lord Dalek]

I suppose Criterion's waiting on Scorcese to finish some sort of massive 4k recombination of the YCM negs before putting Thief on blu-ray.

 

[Dean Kloss]

Purchased a copy of Thief of Bagdad DVD during the flash sale. It states on the case that the aspect ratio is 1:33:1. when i place it in my player, my 16x9 screen should show bars on both sides but instead it fills the screen. i have purchased other criterion dvds before that were in that aspect ratio and didn't have the problem. i have to alter my tv settings to have the disc display correctly.

 

[Jim Reid]

Purchased a copy of Thief of Bagdad DVD during the flash sale. It states on the case that the aspect ratio is 1:33:1. when i place it in my player, my 16x9 screen should show bars on both sides but instead it fills the screen. i have purchased other criterion dvds before that were in that aspect ratio and didn't have the problem. i have to alter my tv settings to have the disc display correctly.

I've seen blu-ray players that are not set up correctly. They will play BD discs perfectly but will stretch the picture on regular DVDs. Try changing the settings for aspect ratio on your player.

 

[Robin9]

I've seen blu-ray players that are not set up correctly. They will play BD discs perfectly but will stretch the picture on regular DVDs. Try changing the settings for aspect ratio on your player.

Yes, when I buy a new Blu-ray player, I make sure they are set up to display academy ratio DVDs correctly. So often, by default they stretch 1.37 DVDs to 1.85.

 

[Dean Kloss]

I've seen blu-ray players that are not set up correctly. They will play BD discs perfectly but will stretch the picture on regular DVDs. Try changing the settings for aspect ratio on your player.

Thanks very much, tried that and works perfectly. It's a shame that it doesn't default to that in the first place!!!

 

[Dean Kloss]

Yes, when I buy a new Blu-ray player, I make sure they are set up to display academy ratio DVDs correctly. So often, by default they stretch 1.37 DVDs to 1.85.

Thanks for the reply. I'm all fixed up now!!!