DVD Review HTF Review: Schindler's List (Highly Recommended!) (1 Viewer)

[Rob Gillespie]

Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me for stating my opinion. :rolleyes

 

[WillG]

Sorry if I offended you. I wasn't trying to attack you personally. There have been lots of complaints.

 

[Bill J]

I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I find that watching the film without any breaks is a much more enjoyable viewing experience. For several years I was stuck with the flipper version of The Right Stuff, but after Warner released the SE of the film a few months a go I developed a stronger appreciation for the epic scale of the film. Watching it with a break, although extremely short, almost made the film feel like a two part made for TV miniseries.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I find that watching the film without any breaks is a much more enjoyable viewing experience. For several years I was stuck with the flipper version of The Right Stuff, but after Warner released the SE of the film a few months a go I developed a stronger appreciation for the epic scale of the film. Watching it with a break, although extremely short, almost made the film feel like a two part made for TV miniseries."

Many movies have intermissions built into them, from Gone With the Wind, to Ben Hur, to Lawrence of Arabia, to 2001 and Patton, to Branagh's Hamlet. When I saw Amadeus in early 1986, it had an intermission just after Wolfie found his father was dead. Part Two began with Don Giovanni. The DVD and home video versions have no break, so they're not the original version I saw in the theater.

Intermissions are really no different than putting a book down so you can go stretch your legs or take care of your biological functions. As long as they are put into the right place, they don't bother me. A bad side break, though, is indeed annoying.

There has never been a home video version of Schindler's List that didn't feature an interruption. VHS hd a tape change, the LD had two side changes and a complete disc change. I think - unless I'm wrong - Spielberg even put an intermission into the film for it's NBC premiere. I might be wrong on that point, though, as I didn't watch it.

 

[Ray_R]

I'll put down the full on deposit for this and not care whether it's a DVD-18 or not.

 

[Bill J]

Well the main problem with The Right Stuff disc was that the break was forced and came at a location that impacted enjoyment of the film. In Lawrence of Arabia the break was built up to and came at a turning point in the film. I would call LOA and films that handle the intended the intermission efficiently exceptions.

 

[Shaz_M]

Hi Jason

Thanks for the review.
Are you sure it has English Subtitles?

This page has the information, it is the actual page from Universal Studio's web site.
It clearly states it doesn't have subtitles in English.

homevideo.universalstudios.com/details.php?childId=34526


Please advise.

Regards,
Shaz

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

I really love the sense of humor on this forum.

Regarding the DVD-18...

You guys crack me up!

Of course, I still am truly curious where the break is.

 

[WillG]

Well I would guess that it comes in the same place that the VHS version has it. Why not? Wasn't that right after the scene with the train carrying the Jews (cannot reacall the exact context of the scene offhand)

 

[Jough]

Perhaps you two haven't heard, but Universal is ALREADY putting out two different versions (three if you count the boxed set) of the film: one in OAR and one in "Full Sceen." Two SKUs, more money in manufacturing, and stores will have to decide how many of each to stock.

The cost of producing two DVDs with disc art is LESS than producing a DVD-18. So that shoots down that argument.

It doesn't make any sense. Someone made a bad decision. Universal Studios apologists aside, they're already spending more and putting out two different versions of the film. Why not nix the Pan & Scan version and put out a version with the film on one side with no break and no DTS, then put out another one with the DTS?

Why not? Because someone decided not to. Or just didn't really think it through.

I'd love to hear from the disc's producer on this.

 

[Carlo_M]

Well, as much as we like to think we're winning the battle of OAR...there are still a lot of people who get angry if "their screens aren't filled up."

A studio, like any business, assesses its risks vs. its costs. Now it's already been proven that WalMart (the J6P champion) prefers MAR'd versions to fill up the screen. Well, it makes financial sense to make it, then, since they're the 800lbs gorilla on the block.

Compare that to the people who will complain over the flipper, 2 discer, separate DTS releases, etc. I would be willing to bet that if you added all those complaints up it wouldn't equal the "my screen ain't filled" complaints. Remember we here at HTF are still a minority in the DVD buying world.

 

[Robert Anthony]

" Universal Studios apologists aside,"

whoa, whoa whoa whoa..since when did some of us become "Universal Apologists?"

I dont' really CARE if there's a side break. That doesn't make me an APOLOGIST. and on the flip, someone making a one line post referring to the flipper doesn't make them Universal attackers, either. I don't think anyone's especially HAPPY about it, but then again, it's a pretty small thing to get worked up about, aint it?

This whole thing is just nutty to me. This is one of the more important motion pictures of recent history, definitely one of the most anticipated. This is one of the first reviews of this long awaited title anywhere on the net, spawning a 5 page discussion, and 4 of those pages are long, drawn out arguments about the fact you have to get up and FLIP THE DISC OVER?

There's transfers to discuss, the cinematography, the sound design, how this will translate--what the content of the documentaries might entail, what we might learn from them, how it's going to look on our displays, which scenes look stunning, how the music sounds in the mix...

..and we're hung up on flipping the disc over. and not just mildly hung up, if all you did was read this thread, this flipping the disc over is THE DEFINING, MOST IMPORTANT feature on the entire disc.

I just want to know when to expect it, and if it just cuts hard to black, fades out, or what.Beyond that, I look forward to actual discussion of the contents of the disc itself soon.

Thanks, will, for your speculation. I had forgotten where the side break on the VHS release was. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Michael Lee]

The end of side 1, Chapter 27, has Fiennes, Neeson, and another person (German Officer) having a discussion over tea. Side 2 begins with a cloudy sky (lots of stuff in the air in a park) and gives the setting as "Chujowa Gorka, April 1944".

 

[Ray H]

At least there seems to be a lot of chapters on this release. I'm sick of some of the Universal titles I've seen with 15 chapters for a 2 and a half hour movie.

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

Well, that sounds like a pretty reasonable spot at least.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Yeah, I'd say they're different. I've picked books or magazines up and read them straight through on occasion; the option was available to me. An intermission is a defined break-point for everybody, and in this case one is being added where there wasn't one before.

 

[greg_t]

I'm sure that Universal Home Video has not done research on the dvd buying habits of the public and have no sales figures or anything. I'm sure they just release dvd's on a whim.

Carlo above is right. Home theater enthusiast are not the majority. They are not making releases to suit the whim of home theater enthusiast. We are a small segment of the overall public. It is all about minimizing costs and maximizing profits, like any other business.

 

[Jough]

With Universal's past poor decisions (Back to the Future, E.T., no inserts, etc.) I'd wonder if they do actually do any market research.

You can do the legwork and call a DVD pressing facility if you want to find out the costs of pressing a DVD-9 over a DVD-18. Why do you think 2-disc sets are so common and DVD-18s aren't?


You're just not listening.

I'm not saying they should put out three versions - I'm saying they should have not put out a Full Frame/Pan & Scan version. They're already putting out three versions: I'm saying that it would be better if they only put out two.

Disney put out "Pirates of the Caribbean" in widescreen only - and it's a FAR more mainstream title than "Schindler's List" and far more likely to be bought by families and watched by children.

My point was that they didn't *have* to break the film in two. They could have released a version with only the Dolby tracks and the film all on one platter.

 

[WillG]

I checked this out. It was the scene where Schindler requested that the Jews packed on the train be given water (in the form of a firehose) Then the train starts to pull away - Fade to black. The movie resumes on an exterior shot of Schindler's factory.

 

[GuruAskew]

Well, considering how DVD-18-crazy Universal has been these past few months, between "Schindler's List", their "Franchise Collection" discs, the Abbott & Costello set and the upcoming Universal Monsters releases, I'd say the cost has probably dropped and Universal is taking advantage of it. That's the only real explaination I can thnk of as to why they've been embracing the DVD-18 so much so recently.