[Brent Avery]

I have seen a copy locally but thought I would wait until the verdict is in on whether it is worth the usual upgrade from the SD version. Surprised there has not been much said about this release. Perhaps Mr.Harris could make a comment on it at some point. I should realize the official release date is the 18th so the lack of reviews should be obvious. Still, anyone looking forward to this?

[Paul_Scott]

someone on the Classic Horror Film Board has a copy and he mentioned some noticeable EE. Also, since these clip films didn't make a point to utilize clean restored elements originally, what you get is a 1974 movie with less than pristine clips of films from 20 years earlier. At least this is the scenario on the first two films. This same viewer hasn't commented on part 3 yet.

I was mildly interested before since I don't own the sd versions, but I think I'll pass completely now.

[Garysb]

I thought it was mentioned that when these films were released in SD they used clips from the restored Technicolor ultra resolution process that was used on such DVD releases as "Singin In The Rain" and " Meet Me In St Louis" rather than the 1974 negative of "That's Entertainment" Surely they would use the same on the Hi Def release.

[Paul_Scott]

Gary, I never heard that before and frankly it wouldn't make a lot of sense. The UR process has only resulted in those 3 musicals that I'm aware of- and these films each contain clips from several dozen films.
Also I wouldn't expect them to go back in and re-cut a compilation film to replace a few minutes of better footage.

I could be wrong here but I highly doubt it.

[MattH.]

I had the same impression, and, in fact, wasn't it mentioned in a commentary or a bonus feature or at a Warners chat with George Feltenstein here that whereever better elements existed for films, Warners went back in and replaced footage before the recently remastered THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT films came out on DVD. I'm certain I read that.

Certainly, the last time I watched TE on SD-DVD (admittedly many months ago when the set was first released), the clips from THE BAND WAGON, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, EASTER PARADE, and MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS did indeed look much more vibrant.

[Andreas Wagner]

Matt, you are right.

Here's an excerpt from a transcript of an interview with George Feltenstein conducted by Robert A. Harris: (www.thedigitalbits.com)

GF: ... We worked very hard to reconstruct the entire film without having to depend exclusively on the CRI, but had to use it as a basis. To work without it, straight from individual elements, would have been a multi-million dollar expense. So where we had the Ultra-resolution Singin' in the Rain, we inserted that. Where we had the newest, cleanest transfer of The Wizard of Oz, we inserted that. Situations like that were the exception rather than the rule, but we upgraded where we could.

RAH: High Society looked like it was…

GF: Precisely. High Society was from our new 16:9 high definition transfer from the VistaVision elements.

RAH: Which is gorgeous.

GF: And even more importantly than that we should talk about the sound for High Society. It's now 5.1 stereo. The stereophonic sound in That's Entertainment in 70mm was one of the most thrilling aspects of the movie for me. And yet High Society was originally released monaurally because it was in VistaVision, and VistaVision didn't have true stereo.

So when they showed the clips… actually only one clip from High Society in the original version, which is the Sinatra / Crosby number, the audio was mono.

This is the first time where That's Entertainment has stereo audio for the High Society clips, and I say clips plural, because the European version of That's Entertainment had True Love in it. So we have now traditionally put that back into all versions of the film going back to the laserdiscs of the early '90s.

[Paul_Scott]

Hmmm. Well, I'm happy to be wrong then

I'll be interested in hearing more opinions now of the set in light of this.

[Mark Zimmer]

Since that's a Warner title, and Warner embargoes reviews until 2 weeks before street date, you won't be seeing anything for a few weeks yet.

[BrianP]

Anyone get this set and can give an opinion how it looks?

[Ken Koc]

I did get it...and watched some scenes from TE1 last night.
I am very disappointed...some of the black and white clips look significantly worse in the HD DVD. The "Singin In The Rain" and "Wizard of OZ" look a bit brighter. Theres nothing so far that knocked me out. (The opening credits were did look the most improved)
I was really expecting so much more! I will watch much more extensively this eve at all 3 films.

[Mark B]

Due to my lack of interest in modern cinema, my HD-DVD collection is quite small. Tiny, actually.....just 3 titles. I'll be passing on this however, as it just doesn't seem like a release which can take full advantage of the new technology without extensive investment of time and money. Furthermore, I have the SD release, and it will suit me just fine, since I don't really view these films very often. Typically I use them solely to introduce newbies to the great performers of yesteryear.

So which MGM musicals, post academy ratio, should be next on the list for HD release? I would assume SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS will be one of the first to appear, and rightly so. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to release the alternate version of BRIGADOON along with its CinemaScope counterpart. How about KISS ME KATE in the intended ratio? TORCH SONG and ATHENA would make a good camp-fest combo, but surely they are a bit obscure to really generate any sales.

A full blown restoration of GIGI would seem like a sure bet...and the old girl really needs one.


Opinions? Comments? Suggestions?