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Tim Tucker
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Glenn Erickson has a review of Berlin Express up over at DVD Talk. He mentions the following glitch:
"Curiously, on my copy of Berlin Express the film begins abruptly, cutting off the fade-up of the RKO logo."
Has anyone else seen the same problem?
BARBARA WRIGHT: You're from Earth?
MORTON DILL: No... no, ma'am, I... I'm from Alabama.
Doctor Who: Flight Through Eternity
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ahollis
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My copy also begins with "An RKO" already visible and "Radio Picture" continuing to appear letter by letter. It is abrupt, but I did not find it that irritating, though it does start in the middle of a music note.
Not sure if it is the fault of the company that produces the DVD-r or if that is the condition of the transfer given to them. Other than that I found the transfer to be in great shape with little wear and tear, and a very enjoyable film. The powers that be a WA seem to be releasing a lot of Robert Ryan films which is very appreciated as he is an actor that has not gotten the attention that he deserves.
“For God's sake don't say yes until I've finished talking.” - Daryl F. Zanuck
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ken_McAlinden 
Here are the remaining titles that I have available to review. Any preferences? I am personally leaning towards "Pride of the Marines" next, but would like your input...
Regards,
Is it possible for you, to include maybe 2-3 screenshots of the transfers in your Archive reviews?
Just in general, till the end of the year I'll have the French pressed discs of "Mr. Lucky", "The Search", "Berlin Express", "The Mad Miss Manton" and "Experiment Perilous" + the Italian DVD of "The Fallen Sparrow". If you're interested I can make screenshots and maybe someone's out there who owns the Archive discs and we can make a comparison.
Already with me is the French Warner DVD of "Party Girl".
Recently bought: Sunset Boulevard: Centennial Coll., Sabrina (Centennial Coll.), Gunga Din, Merril's Marauders, Stalag 17, Do the Right Thing (Blu-ray), Miracle in the Rain
Pre-Order: Film Noir Collection Vol. 2, Rita Hayworth Coll., Desert Fury (German DVD), The Dark Mirror (German DVD),...
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ahollis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hoppy
Has anyone received a copy The Mortal Storm yet? They finally posted a clip on the website and it doesn't look very promising, kinda looks like they recycled the old video master.
I received and watched my copy yesterday and last night. It is on par with the other Archive transfers. Not the best, but certainly much better than On Borrowed Time, The Mad Miss Manton, and The Big House. I checked out the website and that clip does looks a little soft while the DVD-r was much crisper. It is one hell of a film and Frank Morgan and Jimmy Stewart are just great to watch.
I do think you are right in that most of the films are video masters and this is something that we will have to somehow live with, especially with the TCM/Universal news.
By the way, does anyone else think it is odd that TCM and Universal got together for this.
“For God's sake don't say yes until I've finished talking.” - Daryl F. Zanuck
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I would actually prefer not to since Warner is now adding text to all of their review screener cover materials saying we are not supposed to distribute screen shots. I doubt it would be a problem (DVDBeaver is still in business, after all), but I do not want to tempt fate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Marcel H.
Is it possible for you, to include maybe 2-3 screenshots of the transfers in your Archive reviews?
Ken McAlinden
Livonia, MI USA
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ahollis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
GlennH
In my opinion, that's a fairly lousy request on their part, and it speaks volumes. To me it shows that they'd prefer not to let people get a look at how bad some of these "as-is" transfers actually are (but actually some of the more recent ones I've seen like
The Tall Target look quite decent). I guess we'll have to check reviews from those who actually purchase them and can freely post a few screen shots under "fair use" without fear of being cut off.
I find myself liking Warners and the way they're doing business less and less.
While I agree with you and would love to take a look at screen shots, and I do a DVD Beaver, I have seem some really bad screen shots of DVD's that were not nearly as bad as the shots indicated. The one I remember the most are recent shots of Zombies On Broadway. The transfer was not perfect, but a heck of lot better than the screen shots indicated.
I certainly trust Mr. McAlinden knowledge to get it right, but not sure about a lot of other people. With so much being talked about the transfers of the Warner Archive, I can understand their side of the story and would like a shot that is equal to the transfer. Screen shots just depend on the software used and can be manipulated. I know no one would do that.
I am agreement in your comment on TALL TARGET, it is a good transfer and I have found that the past few titles I have gotten, the transfers are much better.
“For God's sake don't say yes until I've finished talking.” - Daryl F. Zanuck
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To be clear, Warner has the "no screen shots" boilerplate language on the cover letters for all of their screeners. As a matter of fact, the Warner Archive titles are the only ones I sometimes receive without a cover letter. To be safe, I am operating under the assumption that the policy applies to everything they send me. I think it is mainly a matter of them being able to control the promotional images used for their product, especially when it is released in advance of street date, but I will not know for sure unless they elaborate further at some point.
In other news, my latest Archive review is now posted:
HTF DVD REVIEW: Pride of the Marines (Warner Archive)Quote:
Originally Posted by
GlennH
In my opinion, that's a fairly lousy request on their part, and it speaks volumes. To me it shows that they'd prefer not to let people get a look at how bad some of these "as-is" transfers actually are (but actually some of the more recent ones I've seen like
The Tall Target look quite decent). I guess we'll have to check reviews from those who actually purchase them and can freely post a few screen shots under "fair use" without fear of being cut off.
I find myself liking Warners and the way they're doing business less and less.
Ken McAlinden
Livonia, MI USA
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Yes, I received an order months ago with a smashed case. The movie was OK, and I was going to replace it with a slimline anyway. It's like the Archive cases are a more brittle plastic.
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It may be a while before I get them written up, but for those interested, I would consider Wonder Bar and Mary Mary to be safe purchases. The image is more than acceptable.
Wonder Bar has occasional shots that look a little bit soft and "dupey", but otherwise looks much like many of the other 1930s titles released on pressed disc give or take a couple layers of digital clean-up (i.e. you get a bit more speckling and artifacts like vertical scratches). Grain is a bit coarse, but detail is generally good aside from the sporadic shots mentioned. The audio was exceptional for a film of this vintage. There are occasional rough patches (such as Jolson's first number - did they record him live?) where overload on loud passages results in distortion, but for most of the film's running time, fidelity is surprisingly good.
Mary Mary also looks acceptable with perhaps a little fade to its early 1960s color scheme and a bit more grain than I expected, but not a lot of other problems.
Both titles have noticeable film grain which occasionally gives the compression algorithm fits, but not so much that it looks bad from a reasonable viewing distance. I had no issues with combing or composite video artifacts on either title.
Edited by Ken_McAlinden - 11/5/09 at 1:32pm
Ken McAlinden
Livonia, MI USA
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ahollis
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Ken - agree with your quick assessment of Wonder Bar and Mary, Mary. I also found Never Too Late and Any Wednesday to be acceptable and safe to buy, along with both being enjoyable films with Any Wednesday a hoot.
I look forward to your full thoughts on the above films.
Thanks.
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ahollis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Douglas R
I wondered about that as well. The Tarzan films were all Sol Lesser productions, who presumably held the rights, separate from Paramount's distribution rights, and which Warner Bros then acquired (although many Sol Lesser productions seem to have gone into the public domain).
I could be wrong, but I had heard it was through an agreement with Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. I heard that the Sol Lesser films went back to ERB estate. Again, I could be wrong and Warner may have them directly from Sol Lesser estate.
Any way, no mater how they got them, I am glad Warner has them and not Paramount. For if Paramount controlled them we would never see them on any form of DVD.
“For God's sake don't say yes until I've finished talking.” - Daryl F. Zanuck
