A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Very cool Dave, what do you do?

Doug

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Thanks Douglas!

For many years I worked the stage door at a B'way house. Had a ball, met alot of famous celebs, (I literally could write a tell all and make a bundle as I know some decent dirt on some biggies...) Still freelanced in film and video though, worked on a few shoots and shot some industrials and did sound and recording.
Then we moved to Berkeley and I wound up doing all kinds of freelance things and stagehand work at a regional theater. We had a kid, (mini-Mack!) and 3 grandparents to help out back in NYC was too tempting to pass up. But I did get my album done out there which is now out!


d

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Nice! You should write down all your stories. Glad to see the strike is over and you can get to work. Has anyone heard if the writer's strike is over?

Doug

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

pretty sure that's still on. I have some friends in L.A. who are pretty nervous.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Yeah I have some friends that work on a tv series, they aren't out of scripts yet, but it's getting pretty thin. My guess is that if its not over yet, it probably won't be until the producers run out of scripts.

Doug

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Almost every show is out of scripts and shut down now.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

A buddy of mine said they still have enough for a few more weeks. Episodic TV shows like With out a Trace and ER are normally several months ahead of the air dates of the episode being shot. At least this early in the season, when they get to March they sometimes have to run a rerun because the show has fallen behind.

I know it was reported that some shows had enough scripts to finish the whole season.

Doug

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

There's still episodes that haven't run yet for nearly every series but most have shut down production because the writers haven't been writing for about a month and most shows don't write that far in advance.

Sorry about continuing to run off topic.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Will you please stop side-tracking this thread any further at once!

Thanks!


Edit: OK, Travis apologized just in time.


Cees

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Sorry too, Cees!


(Dagnabit dark, unsaturated dracula....)

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Was Mr. Stoker a WGA member?

RAH

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

I just got to this tonight, and I thought it looked simply wonderful. I saw the film at the theater and a time or two on pay cable, but I've never owned a home video copy of it until this Blu-ray.

I couldn't be more pleased with the release.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

I finally watched this 'controversial' transfer last night... As far as I'm concerned: Much ado about little to nothing,
Is it soft? Yes. No 1080p detail there. Maxes out at 720p most.
Is it dark? Oh yes!
Is it perfect? No. There are even some scratches and some dirt at times.
Does it look bad and hardly better than the DVD?
Hell, no.
The transfer is beautiful. It's film like. Black levels are deep. Shadow detail is at times plenty, at times supressed. Images are sometimes very dark and any display without excellent contrast and black levels will strugle, but if the display is up to the job it looks great. I would not want to watch this on any LCD monitor or older plasma though. Ideally you need a CRT with real blacks.
Some shots and grading decisions can be discussed endlessly. It's the film makers call how they want things to look. This is not a botched transfer. If it's not to everybody's liking, so be it. Move on to another film or stick to the older versions.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

I watched it on a direct view CRT and the blacks are still crushed. Too dark and totally different (computer-adjusted) colors that betray the original look of the film IMO.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

The blacks are NOT always crushed, they are sometimes crushed. You are aware that crushed blacks are not something bad per se, are you? It's a stylistic choice, just like no crushed blacks.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Thank you Mr. Hafner

I was waiting for a proper response

In precisely the same manner, a negative that may appear to be heavily over or under exposed is not if that is precisely where a DP places his or her exposure

It is correctly exposed

RAH

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Except that in some of these deliberatley "crushed blacks" shots, there were effects that were purposefully done which are now virtually invisible. Changes the shot, the feel and I believe the original intent. These were created for a reason.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Has this thread run it's course yet?

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

No. The horse doesn't just need to be beaten Jeff. It needs to be poisoned, stabbed, shot, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

ummm...you don't have to read the thread if you don't want to...just sayin.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

About the intent only the film makers can give definitive answers. Fact is that both versions can serve a purpose. And it's not unheard of that someone changes his mind as well concerning some points, years after the original was made. Especially if new technical means become available. I simply don't agree that the transfer as a whole is botched. There are some shots where it would be interesting to hear Coppola comment why he went this way and not that way. But overall this version works well for me. My only complaint is that my current projector has still not the black level I would like to have watching this transfer. To be watched again for sure with uncompressed sound and deeper blacks, sometime in the future.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

The problem I have is how utterly loathe these filmmakers are to simply say "hey, I changed my mind", as if to do so would be an acknowledgment of some "weakness" or (gasp!) lack of perfect (in other words, they are human) judgement. Instead, we get this "this was always my intent" claim, and any attempt to show otherwise is treated as some sort of blasphemy.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

But because reportedly the image on the BD copies the one on the official original Answer Print, that's all not applicable: it reflects the intention of the director, whether any viewer likes it himself or not!


Cees

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

The key word here is "reportedly." I don't question that this is what an insider said. However, without visual evidence (which I'm sure we'll never see), or at least confirmation that someone trustworthy has personally compared the original answer print to the disc sold in stores, this excuse is hard for some of us to believe. (Not that I mean to call anyone a liar. I don't. It's just that this is hard to believe ... it doesn't seem to make any sense.)

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

But it's the very best we have. Or else no discussion would really make any sense.

Anyway, "assuming" that the director changed his/her opinion, or or doesn't agree, etc. is a far more unfounded option and not suited for serious discussion at all. What could someone else say to those assumptions? Yes he did? No he didn't?


Cees

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

I can't assume that without knowing more, Cees. I was just commenting that directors never seem to want to admit that they simply changed their mind. Why is that? And is it reasonable to assume that they never do?

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Agreed.

The same could be said when Lucas said he intentionally reversed the instrumentation on the Star Wars soundtrack.

The possibility of it being that effects were filmed in the production and ignored when viewed by the director for final approval is there.
The fact that the effects where there at all could leave room for someone else's interpretation and possible error when it was prepared for Laser Disc too. (?)

Paul

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

I watched this last night again on now on two different ISF calibrated displays of mine (PS3/Sony CRT RPTV KP-57WS520 at 1080i and Pansonic BD30/Sony SXRD 60A3000 at 1080p/24) and I can see Harker's writing - albeit faintly - on both displays. Completely invisible in these shots (maybe due to my uncalibrated monitor settings ). I'm not seeing anywhere near the crushing though on the displays.

On any rate, the Blu-ray version looks very good to me on two different set-ups and technologies. Let me also say the PCM track is great too.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

That's good. That's very good. Perhaps the most productive words (and best image reproduction) we've had here for a while.

Re: A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD

Of coarse.
That's not what Mr. Harris said about this transfer:
So do you differ with Mr. Harris?

MackDaddy,

Pictures speak a thousand words!!!
(and people post like this thread has nothing left to offer)
(would be really, really, great; to see a "film" capture as well!)
Where did you get those screen captures?
Guess I'll hang on to my SB.

Should have caught up w/u sometime in bizerkly.
Wish you & your family, all the best.
Happy Holidays!