Blu-ray Review My Fair Lady: 50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Joseph Bolus]

Thanks for the review!


"My Fair Lady" is one of my family's favorite movies of all time!

We skipped the first Blu-ray due to the poor reviews; and we've had this one on pre-order for what seems like a year. So it's terrific to hear that the presentation will be worth the wait!


Can't wait for next Tuesday!

 

[Joel Arndt]

Thanks for the review!


"My Fair Lady" is one of my family's favorite movies of all time!

We skipped the first Blu-ray due to the poor reviews; and we've had this one on pre-order for what seems like a year. So it's terrific to hear that the presentation will be worth the wait!


Can't wait for next Tuesday!

It has been over a year. Ron Epstein started the HTF pre-order thread on 9.17.14!

 

[Matt Hough]

Matt,


What are your thoughts on the packaging? Some folks (that go their hands on it early) are not happy with the quality of the packaging. One mentioned that there was glue on the disc.


Mark

I'm not a super fan of the packaging. I prefer discs on spindles rather than tucked into a slot with a small cardboard rim, but that's me. There was no glue on any of the discs I reviewed.

 

[Citizen87645]

I had a chance to look at the packaging on the meet. The tuck-in disc holders are kind of annoying and not the easiest to get discs in and out. The case halves hold together with magnets, I believe, but they are a little strong and with the coated cardboard a little difficult to get a grip on the halves to open up. The shiny silver cardboard is also a fingerprint magnet.

 

[Robert Harris]

God review Matt. Pretty much jibes with what I saw and heard at the Meet last Thursday night. I did notice some blooming in Col. Pickering's white shirt and scarf in the opening scene, but the overall presentation is a triumph.

I am impressed that you got thru a discussion of the clash between Audrey Hepburn's and Marni Nixon's voices without once mentioning Julie Andrews. Well done!

The "blooming," as you call it is as photographed. Probably from specific filters. To me it adds an almost orthochromatic look, the stock which Mr. Stradling used early in his career.

Think Jolson's gloves in The Jazz Singer,

 

[warnerbro]

I'm interested in knowing how many folks are keeping the old MY FAIR LADY bluray just for fun. It also has some supplements that weren't included on the new version I hear. Matt Hough, or anyone else know what else is not on the new version besides the commentary?

 

[GlennF]

I am keeping the old blu-ray of MFL and of SPARTACUS just so I can show people the difference before and after the restorations. (It is quite dramatic for SPARTACUS both in detail and in colour. Haven't seen MFL yet.) And what a studio can do if someone has the time, patience....and, unfortunately, the big caveat, the money to restore a film properly.


Besides, what else are they good for, besides drink coasters?

 

[davidmatychuk]

I'm going to think of the old "My Fair Lady" Blu-Ray as "Robert A. Harris & Friends: A 'My Fair Lady' Roundtable Discussion", one of those Blu-Ray Audio discs.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I may keep the 1998 DVD of MY FAIR LADY for the commentary track.


CHEERS!

 

[Citizen87645]

I still have the 1998 MFL DVD that came in the WB snapper case (the first DVD I ever owned), as well as the 2004 two-disc edition. I've thought about putting both in a shadow box for display purposes.

 

[Malcolm Bmoor]

.......though Rex Harrison’s live recordings of his vocals still sound just the tiniest bit arid and electronic ......


I first used radio mics in 1970 and the early small personal mics were rubbish. The VHF transmitters/receivers were erratic and tempremental and therefore highly risky for theatre use. Passing taxis & metalwork in the sets anyone? Obviously, studio work allows retakes.


Had I been asked even then, let alone in the mid-60s, to use such a system in a major feature with the mic concealed in a button hole ...... just as well they didn't!!


Everyone involved, including the most recent restoration engineers, achieved miracles and although Mr H can never have the benefit of the latest systems with the present generation Sennheiser or DPA mics we're fortunate that his insistence upon live vocals was met so well for the era.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

I still have the MFL LASERDISC as it came with a CD soundtrack and the box fits it nicely.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

I still have the MFL LASERDISC as it came with a CD soundtrack and the box fits it nicely.

I have the LD box set as well.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

Does anyone know why Theadore Bikel's credit states his character's identity? I find it very odd- I don't think I've ever seen such a credit for such a minor role by a virtually unknown film actor- it's not like he was some famous star from the past. Eleanor Parker as "The Baroness" in The Sound of Music I can understand as she was a star of many films.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

.......though Rex Harrison’s live recordings of his vocals still sound just the tiniest bit arid and electronic ......


I first used radio mics in 1970 and the early small personal mics were rubbish. The VHF transmitters/receivers were erratic and tempremental and therefore highly risky for theatre use. Passing taxis & metalwork in the sets anyone? Obviously, studio work allows retakes.


Had I been asked even then, let alone in the mid-60s, to use such a system in a major feature with the mic concealed in a button hole ...... just as well they didn't!!


Everyone involved, including the most recent restoration engineers, achieved miracles and although Mr H can never have the benefit of the latest systems with the present generation Sennheiser or DPA mics we're fortunate that his insistence upon live vocals was met so well for the era.

If anyone ever deserved an Oscar it was he for this role- no matter how many times he did it on stage. That one long take in "Why Can't a Woman be More Like a Man" is absolutely brilliant. And it's all toned down for the screen. Amazing.

 

[usrunnr]

Does anyone know why Theadore Bikel's credit states his character's identity? I find it very odd- I don't think I've ever seen such a credit for such a minor role by a virtually unknown film actor- it's not like he was some famous star from the past. Eleanor Parker as "The Baroness" in The Sound of Music I can understand as she was a star of many films.

Theodore Bikel was the original Captain Von Trapp in the original Broadway production of "The Sound of Music" with Mary Martin. He is not unknown.

 

[Rob_Ray]

Theodore Bikel was the original Captain Von Trapp in the original Broadway production of "The Sound of Music" with Mary Martin. He is not unknown.

And while I'm not sure about this particular case, these billings of "And So-and-So as Blah-blah-blah" are often the sort of star billing perks that agents like to insist upon for their well-known clients who are taking a non-starring part. Bikel was not a movie star, but he was a well-known and respected musical talent of the entertainment world of the mid-sixties.


In a similarly strange billing note, I always wondered why Jonathan Harris was billed as "Special Guest Star" on LOST IN SPACE, when he was a cast regular. One of the commentaries on the new box set answered that question: since he was a latecomer to the cast (his role was created after the original pilot was shot), all the other stand-out billing perks such as "Starring" were taken and Angela Cartwright had the "And/as" spot, so "Special Guest Star" was the only special billing not yet taken.

 

[Cineman]

One of the most interesting casting/credit tid-bits regards a character in MY FAIR LADY who is heard speaking lines but who is so tangential to the scene he doesn't warrant a meaningful placement in a medium shot much less a close-up. However, he is definitely seen and not just heard. The actor playing the role doesn't get a credit in the film, nor would most people expect him to get a credit for such a tiny role. Quick and sharp eyes might recognize the Footman at the Ball (IMDb), the fellow who greets and announces the guests as they enter the ballroom, as Ben Wright, who had by then only racked up a couple of film credits in small roles, but tons of tiny uncredited roles and quite a bit of television work.


The following year Ben Wright would appear in another Best Picture Oscar Winner as the memorably sinister and evil Nazi official, Herr Zeller, in THE SOUND OF MUSIC. For that movie, his role was so prominent he not only got a credit in the film but he was also photo/bio-featured in the roadshow release program. And, I might add, his performance could not have been more perfect in the movie.


I've mentioned this to many long time fans of both movies, people who had seen each a half dozen times or more who had no idea that same actor appears in both, uncredited in MY FAIR LADY one year and prominently featured in THE SOUND OF MUSIC the very next year.

 

[usrunnr]

I had a chance to look at the packaging on the meet. The tuck-in disc holders are kind of annoying and not the easiest to get discs in and out. The case halves hold together with magnets, I believe, but they are a little strong and with the coated cardboard a little difficult to get a grip on the halves to open up. The shiny silver cardboard is also a fingerprint magnet.

I agree. My discs are going into a standard 3-disc blu-ray case.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

I agree. My discs are going into a standard 3-disc blu-ray case.

THE worse packaging of the year and worse special features. I would have preferred just the film for $20- no DVD and no rehashed features from 20 years ago. The packaging looks like a Gillette Track 2 case.
Other than that- excellent.