"My Fair Lady" Blu-ray November 15th (1 Viewer)

[GMpasqua]

"My Fair Lady" is finally up for pre-order at Walmart. Release date Nov 15th $29

Should be a great week for classic 70MM films - also coming around that time: "West Side Story" and "Mutiny on the Bounty"

 

[Brian Sharp]

Is this going to be a WalMart exclusive?

 

[Alan Tully]

I think this is going to be the best Blu-ray Christmas yet! So many great catalogue titles released.

 

[Matt Hough]

Very excited about this news! I'm really looking forward to a stunning Blu-ray picture.

 

[Charles Smith]

And just below this thread, I see Little Big Man coming up as well. Amazing!

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Very excited about this! One of my favourite films of all-time.

 

[Citizen87645]

I always get a bit nostalgic about My Fair Lady. Out of all the DVDs I could have bought for my new Toshiba DVD player in 1998, it was the first My Fair Lady release. Sometimes I think about putting the thing in a shadow box and hanging it on my wall. Looking forward to this being in HD!

 

[trajan]

Is this release going to have the correct 2.20:1 aspect ratio for Super Panavision 70?

 

[GMpasqua]

Roadshow Ad

 

[GMpasqua]

It would great to have an alternate track to watch the film with Audrey Hepburn's original vocals of the songs.


I have heard tapes of Audrey singing to a piano playback and she sounds okay (better than on the Laserdisc issued in 1994).

She's about 80% there, much would have to be sweetened with todays tech and maybe some high notes dubbed over with Marni Nixon's originals.


Audrey will never sound like a Legit Sophrano, but her voice is passable and real and would make an interesting feature on a Blu-ray. Plus she acts the role a bit better than Marni Nixon. Plus is would add sales value for all the Hepburn fans


If today's techonogly can make someone like Renee Zellweger or Johnny Depp sound passable, they could do the same with Audrey Hepburn


General Release:

 

[MatthewA]

Originally Posted by GMpasqua

It would great to have an alternate track to watch the film with Audrey Hepburn's original vocals of the songs.


I have heard tapes of Audrey singing to a piano playback and she sounds okay (better than on the Laserdisc issued in 1994).

She's about 80% there, much would have to be sweetened with todays tech and maybe some high notes dubbed over with Marni Nixon's originals.


Audrey will never sound like a Legit Sophrano, but her voice is passable and real and would make an interesting feature on a Blu-ray. Plus she acts the role a bit better than Marni Nixon. Plus is would add sales value for all the Hepburn fans


If today's techonogly can make someone like Renee Zellweger or Johnny Depp sound passable, they could do the same with Audrey Hepburn

IIRC, the 30th anniversary laserdisc had this on the analog track for the two songs they had found. But if even they have those vocals, they have not found individual music and effects stems or an M&E track (CBS probably tossed it). If they included it as an alternate track I would rather they not try to correct anything. It would work better to hear her voice as it was, warts and all.


Even so, I have high hopes for the transfer and hope that the extras from the Warner 2-disc set are ported over.

 

[Ethan Riley]

OMG--I want specs, and I want 'em now! Is this a port from the dvd? Is this the same restored version from 1993? Was Robert Harris involved? Were any changes or upgrades made? A $29.00 price point makes me think that this is at least a two-disc set, but other than that it is as yet impossible to guess what this release will really be. Come on, Wal-Mart...give us the details!!!

 

[GMpasqua]

Quote: Originally Posted by MatthewA IIRC, the 30th anniversary laserdisc had this on the analog track for the two songs they had found. But if even they have those vocals, they have not found individual music and effects stems or an M&E track (CBS probably tossed it). If they included it as an alternate track I would rather they not try to correct anything. It would work better to hear her voice as it was, warts and all.


Even so, I have high hopes for the transfer and hope that the extras from the Warner 2-disc set are ported over.


warts and all might work an an extra, but to watch with the film - the vocals need to be re-mixed and sweetened.


When I've mixed singers we always punch in better notes from different takes and sweeten the sound. They is so much you can do today


It was never planned for Audrey to sing the entire score - the high notes were always to be dubbed. For every line of music Audrey hit's all the notes, but the higher ones she can't sustain and some do not sound pretty. You can hear where she knew they wouldn't use the high notes as she doesn't sing them as loud. But much of the lower register sounds fine.


Her version of "Wouldn't it Be Loverly" sounds better than Marni's version, to bad they can't find the original track she filmed to - but who knows it could be out there somewhere.


Her version of "I Could have Danced All night" sounds okay, but she can't hit the high notes gracefully - but this would be easy to fix.


"Without You" sounds good (again the high notes kill it but they could be fixed) and this song and "Just You Wait" are funnier with Audrey's entire track. Audrey had a great sense of comic timing.



If you don't mind her singing in "Funny Face" you may like these. Her tracks would sound similar since she sings with a breathy voice and not a legit soprano


The only song she can't pull off is "Show Me" and ironicaly that is the only other vocal included on the laser disc


But since Hepburn seems to increase in popularity each year and is one of Paramount's top selling actresses on catalog video, it would be worth the small investment to someday put together a Hepburn Track . If they could piece together Marlon Brando in "Guys and Dolls" they could do the same here


In the end, you would always have Marni Nixon's wonderfully sung version to watch the film with, as Audrey's take is completely different ( but so was Barbra Streisand's vocals on "Hello Dolly" her songs were completely re-arranged and Streisands never sings them in the style of Carol Channing

 

[GMpasqua]

Criterion Theater

 

[dana martin]

thank you Paramount, man that list is starting to come true, my question is this, i know that theis is the Paramount release of this, how long are the rights reverted to Paramount? the reason is that WB had the wonderful 2 disc SE dvd and anyone expecting those extras ported over might not get what they want. but this seems to be a solid release, lots of surprises and every one of them welcomed

 

[MatthewA]

Originally Posted by dana martin /forum/thread/313919/my-fair-lady-blu-ray-novmeber-15th#post_3840985

OMG--I want specs, and I want 'em now! Is this a port from the dvd? Is this the same restored version from 1993? Was Robert Harris involved? Were any changes or upgrades made?

A $29.00 price point makes me think that this is at least a two-disc set, but other than that it is as yet impossible to guess what this release will really be. Come on, Wal-Mart...give us the details!!!

For that money it should be 3 discs, considering the MGM exclusives were $10.


At the very least, I have high hopes for the transfer considering Paramount's stellar work on The Ten Commandments and White Christmas as well as Fox's discs of The Sound of Music and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Before the restoration it was "worst laserdisc of the year" 2 years running, hopefully this will be among the best Blu-Rays of 2011.

 

[GMpasqua]

 

[montrealfilmguy]

I will be happy to purchase this as i have never seen it. Ever. I was looking for a microscopic Nina incorporated somewhere into that Hirshfeld poster,perhaps Rex Harrison's fine combed hair,but i found it and it couldn't be more obvious.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Great news, of course. Really strange that Paramount threw

this title to Walmart as an exclusive. Doesn't sound like the

type of title that would go under the major release radar like that.

 

[Robert Harris]

This is interesting news. I last had contact with techs from CBS/Viacom a couple of years ago, at which time I made them aware that the elements produced in 1994, were in several ways not ready for Blu-ray consumption.


We were a bit ahead of the game 17 years ago, but were still constrained by both asset and early digital anomalies.


These need to be corrected for the film to be in absolute top shape for Blu-ray image and un-compressed audio.


RAH