MY FAIR LADY 4K restoration completed! Dec. 9th release announced (Post #299) (1 Viewer)

[atfree]

But there hasn't been a Blu-ray announced...has there? No mention of
any planned Blu-ray release.

Only thing I read is that a 4K restoration has been completed.

I know quite a few films that have gone through a 4K restoration that
may never see the light of day on Blu-ray. Stuff that we have been
looking to see released, in fact.

So perhaps we have the whole story. Perhaps we don't.

So, yeah, what happens next could still be a secret. Maybe not.

No use of getting expectations up until the studio decides what they
want to do with their restored print.

Quick question from someone who doesn't pretend to know all the ins-and-outs....

Other than preservation, for what purpose would a 4k restoration be performed? It's not like the old days when studios actually re-released movies, so other than for preservation (or a few showings in certain limited areas like NY or LA) I can't think of a reason.....except for physical media (or, I guess, downloads).

 

[EddieLarkin]

Chuck has a valid point though...if this information has already been posted to a website which is publicly accessible via Google search, then what's so "secret" about that? I mean, if websites wish to retain propriety over W-I-P news such this, they should be subscription-based with non-disclosure syle user agreements. Otherwise, once information gets into the 'Netsphere, it's out there.

Nor did Chuck say that he has any information that this IS coming to Blu-ray, only that a new restoration has been done. Information which is plain to see on The Reel Thing website. This clearly wasn't the secret many are trying to portray it as being.

 

[atfree]

Not to take this off-topic, but I think the studios/distributors of BD's could take a lesson from the console gaming industry from the 90's/2000's:

1- Software developer announces game for release within 1 year time frame (Christmas release)

2- Gamers go crazy

3- 6 months later, software developer announcing that game will be delayed 3 months past original date

4- Gamers go crazier

5- Teaser "in-game" footage is released via sites such as IGN, CNET, etc

6- Gamers pummel message boards, either praising or criticizing the footage.

7- Software developer announces game will be delayed another 6 months (Christmas 1 year after original release date) in order to give gamers the "absolute best gaming experience" (in reality, the software is buggy as hell, and they need to basically re-write hours and hours of code).

8- Gamers gather pitchforks and torches

9- Fully 18 months after the initial announcement, the game is released.

10- Software developer makes S*&^load of money.

Rinse and repeat every 3 months with a new title.

 

[haineshisway]

How many of you went to The Reel Thing website prior to this thing being posted here? Answer - zero. How many of you would have gone to The Reel Thing website prior to this thing being posted here? Answer - zero. How many here know what The Reel Thing even is? Answer - one. The original poster. Mr. Harris is right, and the little blurb on The Reel Thing's website could mean any number of things and frankly I would posit that the original poster didn't even know it was on the website until AFTER he'd posted here and saw Mr. Harris's comment and mine. There is no spin on this - they said at the thing the CBS was NOT ready to make an announcement and the event was an industry event, not a public one, at least as I read Mr. Harris's post. Seems pretty simple to me, but then maybe that's just me. When I found out about this months ago I was told CBS was not ready to make an announcement and I guess I understood what that meant, so while I could have run or even done it from my iPhone right then and there, I did not.

The companies doing these things are spending a LOT of money and sorry but they have the right to be the ones to decide when and how things are announced. And as this thread has already proved, people now want to know when the Blu-ray is coming. Well, oops.

And after reading the blurb, all it says is recent work on Lawrence of Arabia and My Fair Lady will be discussed. It says NOTHING about a NEW 4K scan of that film - nor has any "new" work been done on Lawrence. Well, I'm sure the point is obvious and, for me, while it's fun to be the first to get to post something, I'm sure CBS and The Reel Thing consider it bad form.

 

[Cine_Capsulas]

Well, I was ready to gush at the prospect of buying a new BD edition (four days after I almost bought the current one) and then... Bucket of cold water!

 

[Stephen_J_H]

What Bruce said is spot on. So they showed some 4K clips of MFL; what does that even mean? It simply means work is being done on MFL--there is NO indication that the work is completed (poor form in the thread title, TBH), and CBS is not ready to announce anything yet. Yes, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the theatrical release of MFL, and yes, it would be nice to have a sparkly new restoration in 4K, updating the work done by messrs. Harris and Katz, but we don't know where they are in the timeline, and CBS isn't forthcoming with that information. They don't have to be. We should all let cooler heads prevail; the home entertainment industry is not a democracy, and agitating in favour of a release will do NOTHING to ensure we get what we really want.

 

[ROclockCK]

How many of you went to The Reel Thing website prior to this thing being posted here? Answer - zero. How many of you would have gone to The Reel Thing website prior to this thing being posted here? Answer - zero. How many here know what The Reel Thing even is? Answer - one. The original poster. Mr. Harris is right, and the little blurb on The Reel Thing's website could mean any number of things and frankly I would posit that the original poster didn't even know it was on the website until AFTER he'd posted here and saw Mr. Harris's comment and mine. There is no spin on this - they said at the thing the CBS was NOT ready to make an announcement and the event was an industry event, not a public one, at least as I read Mr. Harris's post. Seems pretty simple to me, but then maybe that's just me. When I found out about this months ago I was told CBS was not ready to make an announcement and I guess I understood what that meant, so while I could have run or even done it from my iPhone right then and there, I did not.

The companies doing these things are spending a LOT of money and sorry but they have the right to be the ones to decide when and how things are announced. And as this thread has already proved, people now want to know when the Blu-ray is coming. Well, oops.

And after reading the blurb, all it says is recent work on Lawrence of Arabia and My Fair Lady will be discussed. It says NOTHING about a NEW 4K scan of that film - nor has any "new" work been done on Lawrence. Well, I'm sure the point is obvious and, for me, while it's fun to be the first to get to post something, I'm sure CBS and The Reel Thing consider it bad form.

But in the year 2014, no one needs to be familiar with that site Bruce. Any fan of the film simply Googling "My Fair Lady" + "4k" gets you straight to The Reel Thing's abstract via the first page of results*. Unless there's an 's' after the 'http' nothing is truly invisible for those inclined to idly search the 'Net for information on a fave topic.

I mean, that's why they call it the "World Wide Web".

* Pushed down to the bottom of the page by all of the discussion which has occurred here and elsewhere since this not-so-secret "secret" was revealed (or strongly hinted at) by The Reel Thing's own website. They are the reason this got out.

 

[haineshisway]

But in the year 2014, no one needs to be familiar with that site Bruce. Any fan of the film simply Googling "My Fair Lady" + "4k" gets you straight to The Reel Thing's abstract via the first page of results*. Unless there's an 's' after the 'http' nothing is truly invisible for those inclined to idly search the 'Net for information on a fave topic.

I mean, that's why they call it the "World Wide Web".

* Pushed down to the bottom of the page by all of the discussion which has occurred here and elsewhere since this not-so-secret "secret" was revealed (or strongly hinted at) by The Reel Thing's own website. They are the reason this got out.

No, they are not the reason this got out, sorry to tell you. Why? Because NO ONE searched, and even IF they searched, no one came up with that website, and therefore NO ONE posted here asking the question, "Is there a new 4K scan coming?" That at least would have been a QUESTION. I understand what the World Wide Web is just as you understand the real point here - which is simple and stated by both Mr. Harris and myself. I'm sure you've read the blurb by now, too, so you know what that says. There was no question posed in this thread - there was only someone attending an industry event who within a short time of having attended it and despite the admonition that CBS was not ready to announce anything came directly here and announced it. Until that time, no one had searched for what you are saying, come up with that site, and then posted here. It's pretty simple and no amount of dancing around it is going to have anyone come to any other conclusion.

 

[haineshisway]

What Bruce said is spot on. So they showed some 4K clips of MFL; what does that even mean? It simply means work is being done on MFL--there is NO indication that the work is completed (poor form in the thread title, TBH), and CBS is not ready to announce anything yet. Yes, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the theatrical release of MFL, and yes, it would be nice to have a sparkly new restoration in 4K, updating the work done by messrs. Harris and Katz, but we don't know where they are in the timeline, and CBS isn't forthcoming with that information. They don't have to be. We should all let cooler heads prevail; the home entertainment industry is not a democracy, and agitating in favour of a release will do NOTHING to ensure we get what we really want.

You'd think it would be obvious, but to some apparently it isn't. Thus - the Internet.

 

[ROclockCK]

Then a little friendly advice about using the Internet from someone who was logging into ARPANET (with high levels of security clearance) before the WWW ever existed: "If it aint ready for prime time, then don't post the durn thing on the 'Net." It will get out. Always.

The Reel Thing should have been w-a-y more discreet about what they said in their (unsecured) events abstract. Although I agree that those re-posting that information should have also exercised more discretion.

Moot point though. Sitting as it was on an open page, somebody - somewhere - would have eventually stumbled upon that tidbit via search and eventually posted it on a message board.

 

[Robert Harris]

I suspect you are out of luck with the flowers since they did not exist in the Robert Harris restoration. That is why they used the stills. If they couldn't do it back then because the material was beyond repair, can't imagine it 20 years later. It would be nice though.

The floral prologue was never missing.

RAH

 

[haineshisway]

Then a little friendly advice about using the Internet from someone who was logging into Arpanet (with high levels of security clearance) before the WWW ever existed: "If it aint ready for prime time, then don't post the durn thing on the 'Net."

The Reel Thing should have w-a-y more discreet about what they said in their (unsecured) events abstract. Although I agree that those re-posting that information should have also exercised more discretion.

Moot point though. Sitting as it was on an open page, somebody - somewhere - would have eventually stumbled upon that tidbit via search and eventually posted it on a message board.

The moot point is being missed - they didn't. Not a one and that includes you. What would have happened eventually is anyone's guess, but had it happened the post would have been posed as a question due to the way that blurb is worded. None of us need to be lectured about how the Internet works as if we were idiots. This thread is not a result of someone searching and posting on a message board, is it? No. Once you admit that simple fact, then the point of all this is very clear.

 

[ROclockCK]

Well, there's no parallel universe handy where we can test this theory Bruce, but yes, instead of someone racing in here post-event, I believe this information would have been discovered via search...then as you say, questions would have been asked...hints would have been given...more questions...more hints...and eventually someone would have spilled it.

And yes, all because of that tidbit of not-so-secret "secret" information innocently provided by The Reel Thing themselves. I've seen employees 'walked' for less.

 

[GlennF]

No, I agree the flowers in the prologue have always been there....absolutely, I was referring to the fact the titles had to be redone, as Mr. Harris describes in the commentary on the Blu-ray, using cells that had been taken from the original titles so they don't look quite the same, especially when I saw them on a 70mm screen. (At least that is what I got from the comments.) I might be wrong. God knows, people will tell you it isn't the first time.

 

[EddieLarkin]

I don't think whether or not anyone had actually seen the website before now is really relevant Bruce. The fact is, this was public information before Chuck said anything, not "insider" information as many keep repeating. Once it's on the net on a publicly available website, that's it. If the fact some "new" work had been done on the film was such a huge industry secret, why was it on there at all?

It would of course been more tactful for Chuck to just refer to the website instead of mentioning being at the event, but the effect would have been the same (well, other than the confirmation that this is 4K, but that's just semantics).

 

[smithbrad]

Well, there's no parallel universe handy where we can test your theory Bruce, but yes, instead of someone racing in here post-event, I believe this information would have been discovered via search...then as you say, questions would have been asked...hints would have been given...more questions...more hints...and eventually someone would have spilled it.

And yes, all because of that tidbit of not-so-secret "secret" information innocently provided by The Reel Thing themselves. I've seen employees 'walked' for less.

This all reminds me of the CBS Syndication Bible often referenced within the TV forum. It is obviously made available for those in the Industry and not the general public, but in similar fashion it exists for all to see. Someone found it, and now it has been a useful resource within the forum as to what CBS shows and seasons may be released sooner than later based on what has recently been remastered in HD.

There are no secrets on the internet when the information is publicly accessible. It will be found sooner than later by someone.

 

[ROclockCK]

It's a paradox for sure Brad.

To this day, in IT and Government alike, most security leaks can be traced back to mishandling by those specifically responsible for maintaining that security.

 

[atfree]

The website aside.....this situation is like me inviting 100 friends/relatives to a cookout, telling them a "secret" that's not to be told, then being surprised when word gets out. For Jiminy Christmas Sakes, we're talking about the 4k restoration of a movie, not plans for the overthrow of the free world.

 

[Simon Massey]

All in all Im just glad that it seems like something is being done to restore it and I will hope for a release in the future if it happens.

 

[FoxyMulder]

we're talking about the 4k restoration of a movie, not plans for the overthrow of the free world.

Bond found out about Blofelds latest plan for world domination by reading Blo's blog, that'll teach him not to publish everything.