why would i rebuy THE 3RD MAN? (1 Viewer)

[Kevin M]

...................huh? I have no idea if you meant this as a joke but in case you didn't, how in the hell does one person stating a second yet opposite viewpoint somehow delegitimize/erase the first viewpoint?
Cees point was that you said no one had refuted any of your arguments and he showed you a specific example of someone doing just that, just because someone else had an opposing opinion afterwards doesn't automatically cancel out that first opinion as a proper refuting*.
What kind of logic is that?


*BTW, Refute does not just mean to prove something false, it also means "To deny the accuracy or truth of"...in this case...a statement. In other words, to challenge your arguments, and some have.

 

[Thomas J.]

Then I'll take the high road and say I apologize.................................

 

[Thomas J.]

Then I'll just take the high road and say I apologize, lol............................

 

[Cees Alons]

And no need to apologize here either, you hear?





Cees

 

[Micah Cohen]

After reading thru this thread again I realized where we went off track.

Maybe what I originally meant, or implied, was that there are so many "great" films that are either out on disc in ugly or lackluster editions or not released yet on disc that it seems sort of redundant to re-release a film that is perfectly fine on disc as it is.

I mean, give me an anamorphic TAKING OF PELHAM 123. Give me a decent release of RAISING ARIZONA, THE ABYSS... I'm sure we could go on and on.

Maybe I was railing against multiple releases, and crying for improved releases.

Maybe I was.

Who knows anymore?

MC

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

This wasn't that bad, but it has occured that discussions about people's "policies" for their DVDs collections have become really ugly. Something along the line of...: Those who have only half as many DVDs as I have are really "lesser" collectors, while those who have twice the size of my collection are just "crazy".

People's "DVD upgrade policies" might follow the same basics. Neither way is there reason to say that others are "lesser collectors" or "crazy" based on the idea that there's just one "right answer"...

I'm not one who's constantly looking to upgrade everything, but I might from time to time.

As for "The Third Man", I might rebuy it since it is one of my top favourites - or I might not, since the previous Criterion DVD is still quite good.

 

[Kevin M]

Sorry Micah, it's just that from your first post it seemed that you were saying that the first one was good enough so what could be gained in this new release and why would anyone buy it. I didn't see anything about other more deserving releases so I (and others it seems) went ahead on the former premise/question.

That's the way it goes sometimes I guess, sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Everyone's qualifications for this vary. Personally, I think are dozens and dozens of better examples for your original posting. I got blasted for saying a simliar thing about Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" a few weeks ago. I have no issues with the current disc, and it's not a very strong favorite of mine, yet Paramount is still sitting on a pile of unreleased classics.

I myself, am an extras guy as well as a films guy. The addition of a 90 minute documentary (quality not-withstanding) and a commentary track are more than enough reason for me to upgrade a quality film. For me to upgrade a disc for picture only, it had better be a substantial increase in quality or a change from non-anamorphic to anamorphic.

In the end, I agree that the use of the word "CRAZY" is what set everybody off.

 

[Mark-W]

I love this film. I would LOVE an actual commentary track other than just the Greene treatment. This is a repurchase for me. I would pay the price just for the new documentary because of the film it is about.

nuff said.

 

[george kaplan]

It's kind of a false dichotomy though. I have certainly upgraded for picture quality dozens and dozens of dvds through the years (literally hundreds if you count upgrading from vhs and ld to dvd). But on the other hand, I still add new titles all the time (I currently have 1666 dvds), and at least half of what I watch are films I've never before seen (tivo'd or rented).

 

[Thomas J.]

Said word was directed at the thread starter. He asked, "why would I rebuy THE 3RD MAN?" So I answered him, "(I agree,) you'd be crazy to rebuy it." Nearly everybody else took it as an ad hominem attack to himself, for whatever reason.

I decided to be the bigger man and apologize, even though I stick by every word of my original post directed at the thread starter, and am left with the impression that people need to grow some skin. But oh well, I know I should let this go, because this post right here probably isn't doing me any favors. It's a sign of the times, though, that nobody recognizes any culpability on his part for making this thread get off track the way it has. It's much easier to pin all the blame on me. So I have given everyone here the benefit of the doubt and apologized to one and all, but nobody has returned the favor, as I figured they wouldn't...

It's like if I say to my buddy, "you have got to be crazy to support this troop surge." Now if you reading this post happened by chance to have walked past me as I said that to my friend and overheard me, and then were to get all offended by me saying what I did, even though it wasn't even directed at you, and even though "crazy" is a relatively innocuous rhetorical device (it's not like I called YOU specifically an incompetent asshole or something)...then that's really not my problem.

But, again, I apologize for hurting everyone's feelings.

 

[Micah Cohen]

My feelings are totally not hurt.

I actually am just a tad crazy, now that you mention it.

I'm in touch with it, tho, so I can keep it under control.



MC

 

[Thomas J.]

If your feelings are not hurt, the thread starter, then why are those of all these other people? It's all good, though, whatever.

 

[SteveGon]

I wouldn't call the doc a disappointment - it's good enough - but it doesn't really present anything that a fan of the film wouldn't know already.

 

[Richard Kim]

I hope Criterion doesn't windowbox the transfer for The Third Man like they did with Seven Samurai and Bicycle Thieves. They probably will though.

 

[Alejandro]

Steve, It was me who called the doc a disappointment, and I mean it. Not because I already knew the stuff but because it is a mess. Overlong, confusing and pretentious. I'm sorry for you guys who expected something good. I did too. This film deserved a better doc. Shame.

 

[David_B_K]

I dissed the documentary in an earlier post myself, calling it "so-so". To me it was worth watching, but was nothing special. Recording it off TCM was good enough for me. I would not buy a new edition of TTM just to get a more pristine version of that doc.

The doc used some annoyingly arty techniques, like projecting scenes from the film onto venetian blinds and other objects. I found that annoying after awhile, as if the doc-maker thought we were watching the film so as to be bowled over by his directorial technique, rather than Carol Reed's. Also, assistant director Guy Hamilton did some unnecessary trashing of Welles. He goes on about how "grand" Welles acted, which may well be true. But when he criticized Welles for not wanting to immerse himself into raw sewage in the sewer scenes, that was a bit much, IMO. I'm not a famous director, but I would not want to wade around in raw sewage for a movie either.

I am not saying the doc is worthless, and there are a few good stories in it. But IMO it does not warrant a new release of the disc, or in my case, a repurchase of TTM. I guess I am of the opinion that something hitherto unreleased would have been of more interest than a re-do of an already fine DVD. Anyone who really loves the film will want to watch the doc at least once, though.

If I hear the new transfer blows the old one away, I may be interested.

 

[Jon Martin]

A question for those upgrading because of the documentary and commentary track, how often do you normally watch those features? Do you watch a film with the commentary track multiple times? And the documentary too?

For me, most documentaries aren't worth watching multiple times. And there are very few commentary tracks I've listened to all the way through since the laserdisc days.

That said, the only version of THE THIRD MAN I have is an old public domain VHS from the mid 80's, in the EP mode, that I had to watch constantly adjusting the tracking. So, I may finally upgrade.

 

[Jeff Newcomb]

Alright, naysayers. Criterion has just updated their official specs for The Third Man. These are some pretty major additions (never has "More!" meant so much more!). Happy now? I know I am.

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES

New, restored high-definition digital transfer

Video introduction by writer-director Peter Bogdanovich

Two audio commentaries: one by filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Tony Gilroy, and one by film scholar Dana Polan

Shadowing "The Third Man", a ninety-minute 2005 feature documentary on the making of the film

Abridged recording of Graham Greene’s treatment, read by actor Richard Clarke

"Graham Greene: The Hunted Man," an hour-long, 1968 episode of the BBC's Omnibus series, featuring a rare interview with the novelist

Who Was the Third Man? (2000), a thirty-minute German documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew

The Third Man on the radio: the 1951 “A Ticket to Tangiers” episode of The Lives of Harry Lime series, written and performed by Orson Welles; and the 1951 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of The Third Man

Illustrated production history with rare behind-the-scenes photos, original UK press book, and U.S. trailer

Actor Joseph Cotten’s alternate opening voice-over narration for the U.S. version

Archival footage and photos of postwar Vienna

A look at the untranslated foreign dialogue in the film

PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Luc Sante, Charles Drazin, and Philip Kerr

 

[Thomas J.]

I'm glad my speaking up got them to add so much more. You guys can thank me now.