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Re: The Last Emperor on Blu-ray
It is what it is. You always have the choice to not purchase the release.
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Robert Crawford
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Re: The Last Emperor on Blu-ray
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Originally Posted by Brandon Conway
It is what it is. You always have the choice to not purchase the release.
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Very true and since the filmmakers signed off on it, I'll probably buy it.
Crawdaddy
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Re: The Last Emperor on Blu-ray
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| Well it should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the saga of Criterion's release of The Last Emperor on DVD that their announcement of their new Blu-ray release of TLE also carried the controversial 2:1 aspect ratio--approved by Director Bernardo Bertolucci and Director of Photography Vittorio Storaro. |
I could understand this practice (but didn't like it) in laserdisc days. I could also understand it for a non-anamorphic DVD. But I detest it in the era of the anamorphic DVD and HD where the vertical resolution is designed for a 16:9 TV.
-R
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Re: The Last Emperor on Blu-ray
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Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
I'm a little surprised that some here are okay with the change simply because the filmmakers have signed off on it. The cropping would seem to be a real case of revisionism in order to prove a point (or maybe sell a concept).
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The creator is king in my book. Sometimes it bothers me more than other times, but it's a consistent principle. Obviously, if a film has multiple versions I'd love to have all available for the consumer. When such isn't the case I simply evaluate whether I'll make the purchase on a case by case basis. In this case it simply doesn't bother me enough to no purchase the disc and enjoy the film.
My DVD/BD CollectionCriterion DVD/BDs Owned: 55, Total DVDs Owned: 525, Blu-ray Discs Owned: 227
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Re: The Last Emperor on Blu-ray
I may be in the minority, but the colour differences are far more striking to me than the cropping (not that I don't favour OAR, it's just that in this case, the colour difference would bother me more).
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes time, and it annoys the pig.
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Re: The Last Emperor on Blu-ray
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Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
Yet there are those who will say "that's fine" because two of the filmmakers say it's okay.
And yet, as one example, I don't know of too many people who are happy when the Disney company edits its material to eliminate scenes of smoking or racism.
It may be a bit of a stretch of a comparison, yet it seems to all head down the same path--changes made to the originally-presented material to fit a new agenda of the filmmakers.
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The Disney comparison is not apt because the modern corporation is not the original artists. Walt's own cropping of Fantasia upon its re-release to excise the more stereotypical black centaurs is a closer comparison. In that case, I'm again okay with it because the creator okay'd it, though again having both versions would be ideal.
My DVD/BD CollectionCriterion DVD/BDs Owned: 55, Total DVDs Owned: 525, Blu-ray Discs Owned: 227
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Douglas Monce
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Re: The Last Emperor on Blu-ray
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Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
Yet there are those who will say "that's fine" because two of the filmmakers say it's okay.
And yet, as one example, I don't know of too many people who are happy when the Disney company edits its material to eliminate scenes of smoking or racism.
It may be a bit of a stretch of a comparison, yet it seems to all head down the same path--changes made to the originally-presented material to fit a new agenda of the filmmakers.
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To me it would be different if this were a case of Columbia Pictures arbitrarily decided to crop the film. But when the director and the director of photography say this is the way the film should now be seen, I don't see much point in arguing with it.
I can't say that I understand it, and I would do something like that to a film of my own, but its not my film its Bernardo Bertolucci's, and he says this is the way it should look.
Doug
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Bob Hope in The Ghostbreakers
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Douglas Monce
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Re: The Last Emperor on Blu-ray
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Originally Posted by RobertR
We may not be able to change their minds, but we don't ever have to agree with a filmmaker's choices--not with changes, and not with the original choices for that matter. We're always free to say "hey, I think what you did was a bad idea".
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I agree completely with this and it is one of the reasons I won't be buying The Last Emperor or Apocalypse Now or any other film that Storaro chooses to crop in this way.
I support his right to make these choices, but I don't have to watch them.
Doug
"I'm in great shape, for the shape I'm in."
Bob Hope in The Ghostbreakers
