No buzz/reviews for the 9/30 Warner classics yet? (1 Viewer)

[Alistair_M]

First review of Treasure of Sierra Madre I've seen

http://www.dvdauthority.com/reviews.asp?reviewID=3475

another winner but shame about the print damage noticed in the review.

 

[oscar_merkx]

found the same review as well.

Looking forward to see Treasure real soon

 

[Eric Peterson]

What are the chances that major B&Ms will be carrying the boxset on release day? I'd prefer to just wait and pick it up on release day.

Any Best Buy employees lurking that know if it's going to make the flier?

I definitely want the boxset, as the documentary is pretty sweet and I'm buying all three no matter what.

 

[Terry H]

Well dvdfile
http://www.dvdfile.com/software/revi...robinhood.html
liked Robin Hood very much. I can't wait for this one.

 

[Mitch Kaufman]

Am I nuts, or do some of the screenshots in these reviews look way too pink (see the fleshtones in the first shot in the DVDFile review, and also in the two-shot of De Havilland and Flynn from the end of the film)?

The Basil Rathbone shot looks tremendous, but if the colors are this inconsistent, I just don't know.

Of course, if it's "not as good as the Singin' In The Rain disc," that's ominous news, because I wasn't too crazy about that one.

I will of course reserve final judgement until I see the disc myself, but unless I've missed it, I'm surprised no one has called attention to what looks to me like a rather blatant problem with some of the stills that have been posted. (If someone already has done so, then let me just add my concerns to the list.)

MK

 

[Bill Burns]

From that review:

"And there isn't a hint of edge halos." And this from someone watching on a CRT front projector! God bless Warner Bros. -- whatever their occasional misstep (non-16x9 1.66:1, non-3D 3D), they've long been one of DVD's very best friends; in fact, they've been this from the very beginning. I'm thrilled to hear that they've yet again continued their tradition of excellence.

The red push may be a problem with his capture card or compression scheme (I sound like I know what I'm talking about; I don't. But anyone who has tried to capture and post screen shots may have an informed answer for what we're seeing in those caps) -- all of the screen caps look very dark and very red.

I'm on pins and needles awaiting my copy of the set. Has anyone had a chance to view Yankee Doodle Dandy yet? RH and TotSM seem to currently preoccupy reviewer attention.

 

[Chris Farmer]

Wow, I've read canonization speeches that were less glowing then that review. Hurry up Tuesday!

 

[Tim RH]

Has anyone had a chance to view Yankee Doodle Dandy yet?

DVD Authority has a review up.

 

[Dan Ramer]

Yes, Chris, I really liked that DVD set.

Mitch and Bill, with regard to the photos in the review, they are not screencaps. Whenever I do include screencaps, I always state their locations in elapsed film time and describe any cropping or magnification I may have applied.

The images on the review page are stock Warner photos that we insert for visual interest. The visual quality of the DVD is in no way represented by those illustrations.

Dan

 

[Mitch Kaufman]

Whew! Thanks!

MK

 

[Joel Vardy]

Are any of the B&M's likely to carry the set? If so, who is most likely to have the better pricing and at what level? Sub $50?

Joel

 

[PaulP]

I'm getting the set for just 23 bucks shipped (Gotta love free Amazon gift certificates for stupid surveys)...

 

[DeeF]

If anyone is worried about this, let me reassure you: The DVD of Robin Hood is perfect. The colors are perfect, in fact, matchless. I think its a better product overall than the Singin' in the Rain DVD of last year.

I have seen Robin Hood before though, in the theaters, and found the colors oversaturated, with too much red and too much green. The quality of the pictures in that review reflects an older print version of the movie, not this new restored version.

The movie is pretty damn good, too. Get it! I dare you!

 

[DeeF]

By the way, I mentioned the same damage to the print as that reviewer (for Treasure...).

 

[Jean-Michel]

Link Removed (who isn't a DVD reviewer, strictly speaking) isn't too fond of the Sierra Madre disc. Mainly I'm linking it because of this part:

Don't expect any of the DVD websites to chime in about this. They always give substandard mastering jobs a pass because they want to keep the free flow of DVD's coming in from the publicists.

:rolleyes

 

[Eric Peterson]

It sounds like he has an axe to grind for some reason.

I take all of his comments with a GRAIN of sand for two reasons.

1. He speaks of grain like it's an evil thing and should be completely removed from all movies.

2. He gloats about the Lowry cleanup of "Citizen Kane" as perfectly flawless, and we all know that it's not. The precious grain removal, also removed rain.

If Mr. Harris chimes in and says that they could have done better then I'll believe. Either way, I'm buying this boxset hands down for three excellent films.

 

[Craig S]

Wells has gone on record as being in favor of removing grain from DVDs whenever possible, because he finds it more pleasing to his eyes, and he believes if filmmakers of the past had today's technology they would have gone grain-free as well. To be fair, he has also acknowledged that this is a controversial position and has apparently had conversations with Robert Harris on the subject (he has given Harris' side of the issue space in his column).

His problem with TotSM, however, seems to be mainly with the visible print damage, and as evidenced by this thread he is not the only one who has noticed this.

And yes, his comment on DVD websites was ill-informed. I can think of one site in particular which this might apply to, but most of the major sites I visit frequently (DVDFile, the Bits, here) don't seem to pull any punches. Indeed, sometimes DVDFile is OVER-critical IMO.

Like many of you, I'll be interested to see what Mr. Harris has to say about this disc. Nevertheless, I have the box set on order and nothing I've heard has made me consider even for a moment canceling it.

 

[DeeF]

Of course, nothing has ever prevented me from buying the disks I want. I've already bought these movies on DVD, so whatever reviews I might read for good or ill will be too late to influence me.

I really found very little wrong with the Treasure disk, except that one scene. It didn't detract from the quality of the rest of the movie.

And grain wasn't the problem. I saw two problems, some white "damage" either on the print, or because of a transfer problem, and a separate geometric striping at 1:30. All of these problems occurred during this one scene, which leads one to believe that it is in fact, a problematic transfer, or a faulty disk.

 

[Terry H]

Mr. Harris started threads praising "Robin Hood" and "Yankee Doodle" yet is strangely silent on "Treasure". Sometimes what we don't say is very telling.

 

[Matt Brighton]

In response to Jean-Michel's comment about placating a review simply to keep the free DVD's coming in...

Not true. I'm not going to say it doesn't happen, but not on my site and I've read more than my share of reviews on other sites where this doesn't appear to be the case, either.

Yes, I'm sure the studios would love it if we "loved" every one of their transfers, but it's just not so.

As for "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" I'll be happy to post some screen captures of the faulty parts I mentioned in my review.

It's a great disc and a helluva movie, pick it up at the first chance.

-Matt Brighton
Editor
dvd/authority