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International HOUR OF THE GUN Blu-Ray (1 Viewer)

spanielman

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Steve Conlin
Here's an email from Den's DVDs, another Amazon seller. It is also less than convincing. Might even be from the same guy as first response -- which was from Great4DVDs -- as both appear to be written by "Jose" or "Jo".

----------- Begin message -------------

Hi,
Thanks for the message. This is definitely a genuine Spanish release and not a copy of the Australian one. It does come on a BluRay-r disc though so I can see why some think this may not be genuine. A great many Spanish releases are on recordable discs only now, it is far more economical for the quantities produced
Kind regards
Jo
 
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OliverK

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No worries. It should not be up to you to check out sellers / products bought on a seemingly legit marketplace.
It is a good question what one would have to do before buying such a disc? Send a link to MGM to check out if you can buy safely? Which E-mail address would that be anyway?

Grand Prix was razor sharp in the 70mm print I saw, a perfect candidate for the new UHD format.
 

RMajidi

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I agree. Responses from other Amazon/Ebay sellers so far pretty much the same, with a touch of indignation thrown in. I sent off an inquiry to Entertainment Research (the distributor) in Madrid. The look of their company on Google maps not promising:

cbk


Who knew I'd step into a potentially serious piracy issue just because I was interested in an old western movie? I much rather I'd found the Shock Video version.

Why were there so few Australian BDs available? How many did Shock Video produce? And I don't see any Hour of the Gun BDs produced by OZ, either on Amazon or Ebay. Seems something like that would be around for collectors.

If it's of any interest I used to play golf occasionally with Jim Garner at Bel Air CC in Los Angeles. We talked a bit about Grand Prix and Rockford, but I'm sorry now I didn't get some comment from him about Hour of the Gun.

Maybe I could've used it to salvage my reputation here.


Welcome to HTF, Steve. I think it's clear that you weren't knowingly advocating bootlegs here; and your post-purchase efforts to establish the legitimacy of the Blu deserve praise.
 
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Robin9

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I agree. Responses from other Amazon/Ebay sellers so far pretty much the same, with a touch of indignation thrown in. I sent off an inquiry to Entertainment Research (the distributor) in Madrid. The look of their company on Google maps not promising:

cbk


Who knew I'd step into a potentially serious piracy issue just because I was interested in an old western movie? I much rather I'd found the Shock Video version.

Why were there so few Australian BDs available? How many did Shock Video produce? And I don't see any Hour of the Gun BDs produced by OZ, either on Amazon or Ebay. Seems something like that would be around for collectors.

If it's of any interest I used to play golf occasionally with Jim Garner at Bel Air CC in Los Angeles. We talked a bit about Grand Prix and Rockford, but I'm sorry now I didn't get some comment from him about Hour of the Gun.

Maybe I could've used it to salvage my reputation here.

Your reputation is unblemished and does not need to be salvaged. Anyone can make a mistake. I learned that Spain was a bootleg hot spot here at HTF. Before then, I was completely ignorant of that fact.
 
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RMajidi

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...If it's of any interest I used to play golf occasionally with Jim Garner at Bel Air CC in Los Angeles. We talked a bit about Grand Prix and Rockford, but I'm sorry now I didn't get some comment from him about Hour of the Gun.

Maybe I could've used it to salvage my reputation here.

Your reputation is unblemished and does not need to be salvaged. Anyone can make a mistake. I learned that Spain was a bootleg hot spot here at HTF. Before then, I was completely ignorant of that fact.

Steve, I fully agree with Robin that your reputation here does not need salvaging, and I'm hoping that any misunderstandings here won't deter you from contributing as an HTF member. Furthermore, as a James Garner fan, I'd be interested in any vignettes from your time with him on the golf course.

We can't have James Garner's golf buddy up and leave us after just a handful of posts on account of miscommunication!

[Robin: my prior post in this space was meant tongue-in-cheek and not intended to correct you. I couldn't imagine you ever being "completely ignorant" :)]
 
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Robin9

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Thank you. Yes! I'm amending my post! I did say anyone can make a mistake!:)
 

Brent Reid

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Steve/spanielman, I say this purely in the spirit of enlightenment: you're not "the first to bring it to attention" and we don't need to be told to "lighten up". As for for this:
  • "If those contributing on this site are such knowledgeable specialists then I could've used a heads-up warning on this thread regarding this particular disc before I purchased it."
How exactly? Are the contributors here expected to be mind readers too, who can warn someone who at that point was not even a member, against any and all future suspect purchases they may make? There have been perennial discussions of pirates in these forums, including Spanish ones from Resen. From the article I linked to in my previous post, which I strongly suggest you read:
  • 'In Spain, Research Entertainment are foremost among the most prolific bootleggers, to the extent that "Resen" is Spanish slang for a pirate or bootleg.'
Also, again I recommend performing the suggested searches for many recent threads on the subject, several containing links to that same article. (By the way, I've never come across a similar article anywhere; has anyone else?) After that you'll be in a better position to make your own mind up, rather than asking the vendors of pirated goods if they're selling illegal products. What do you expect them to say? If you'd like to continue this discussion, do add a reply to one of the existing threads; there are more than enough to choose from.

Now, please let's get back on OT; Hour of the Gun Oz BD – go! :D

Inspired by this discussion I rewatched my BD a couple of nights ago. For the record, I project onto a 106" 16:9 screen and sit/lie (!) 10 feet away.

While blown up to that size it's definitely better quality than my old UK DVD (which according to DVDCompare and DVDBeaver is the best known one around) it's not that much better. The BD's a straight transfer of an older master of what appears to be a release print or worn dupe. It gets the job done ok but I kept thinking of how much nicer it would look if struck from earlier generation materials and/or given a full restoration. As it's not well known enough, neither is likely to happen and the Oz BD (or a legit counterpart) is the best we're gonna get. (Remember there's no guarantee the pirateers have bothered to steal from the best available source: many of their BDs are simply copies of DVDs.)

Likewise the 2.0 mono audio is passable but not brilliant. I listen in 'mono surround' but there were still several instances where I couldn't make out dialogue, even after replaying several times. By the way, my hearing's fine!

While the film's enjoyable and certainly held my attention throughout (Garner's his usual great self!) I wouldn't screen it for non-western aficionados. As it begins with the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, it really does require at least a passing knowledge of the Earp/Holliday/Clancy legend. Without that, anyone would feel they've come in halfway through and spend the rest of it trying to catch up. It certainly plays more like a sequel or two-parter than a standalone film.
 
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RMajidi

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Brent, I respect you, consider you a valuable HTF member and have read your piracy thread with interest. I consider it a helpful resource and have previously referred members to it (http://www.hometheaterforum.com/posts/4333161/ ).

I appreciate that you passionately detest piracy and bootlegging. Nevertheless, I think your initial reply to Steve Conlin (spanielman), following his first-ever post on HTF, put him immediately on the defensive and elicited his "lighten up" retort.

"Pretty good going, 'spanielman': your first post is plugging a counterfeit disc! Start as you don't mean to go on, I hope! ;)"

You might have meant it somewhat light-heartedly (as your 'wink' emoticon would suggest), but if I'd been the recipient of those words, I'd likely conclude that you were either accusing me of deliberately pushing known counterfeits or of being stupid, and had put me on notice under the glare of the HTF membership. It might just be me, but that's not the sort of reception I'd like to see generally, let alone for a first-time poster.

From his first handful of posts, I gather that Mr Conlin...
  • Enjoys Westerns
  • Likes (and personally knew) James Garner
  • Scours the world for coveted films
  • Writes articulately
  • Has a gentlemanly approach (his above retort notwithstanding)

...all in all, a valuable HTF member in my books.

Steve, if you do happen to read this, I missed out on the Aussie Shock Blu-ray release of Hour Of The Gun here in my own backyard and have kicked myself ever since.

Yes, I agree - let's move on...
 
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Brent Reid

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Much as I dislike to continue to throw this thread OT, I do feel compelled to reply. Thank you for the compliments and they are duly reciprocated. I genuinely singled you out a long time ago as someone who was always measured and polite in your replies, even when those you were conversing with were not. Likewise I (mostly) agree with your assessment of Mr Conlin and sincerely hope he will bring his passion and knowledge to these boards regularly. However, him going further on the offensive and berating everyone for not somehow warning him, then a lurker, not to buy the pirate was hardly an endearing move. It amounted to him crashing into a strangers' conversation, without learning first what was being discussed, then after being enlightened to the fact, attacking them for their complete lack of prescience on his behalf. Not polite.
 

spanielman

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Steve Conlin
Gentlemen,

For those that understood my excitement in discovering a BD of Hour of the Gun and have supported my posts on HTF, I appreciate it. For others who felt they had to be critical, or snide, well, I guess I'll have to meet you fellows on the street in front of the Oriental Saloon at High Noon.

I'll be the guy with the S&W Model 3, and I'll be wearing Jim Garner's hat.

~~~

As I said, I played golf with Jim a few times. We talked mostly about the things going on at Bel-Air CC at the time (such as the Tom Fazio restoration of the course), which I think would be of little interest here.

He briefly mentioned to me his disappointment that he'd probably be remembered more for his legal battles with the studios than for his work as an actor.

Once, when I asked him about the most fun he'd ever had making a film, he smiled and recalled that he liked working with John Frankenheimer on Grand Prix. He always enjoyed being cast outside his Western persona.

I often saw Jim on the club terrace in the company of professional golfer and television commentator Ken Venturi. A couple of mavericks, you might say.

~~~

My inquiry to the International Licensing Department of MGM Studios, Inc., concerning copyright of the Spanish release of La Hora de las Pistolas on BD has yielded no response, yet. If they get back to me I'll post it here. I'm assuming people at the corporate level don't believe it's worth their trouble to investigate the matter or discuss it with the public.

Interestingly, the 2007 Spanish DVD release of las Pistolas (unlike the current BD) clearly attributes MGM, 20th Century Fox, United Artists, and the Mirisch-Kappa Corporation on the case cover.

Perhaps that doesn't mean anything, one way or the other.

~~~


blog_allen_st.jpg


Tombstone, AZ


I have been in Tombstone, Arizona, btw. It was a beautiful October afternoon in the 1960's, when the place was a sleepier desert town than it is today. Back then there were no hammy actors roaming the streets portraying the Clantons and the Earps, or maybe I just don't recall them.

There was a shabby exhibit that charged a buck or two to visit the site of the OK Corral, which was a fenced-in dirt lot behind some of the authentically dilapidated western buildings. Standing in for Wyatt and the rest of the gang were a few sad-looking, weathered mannequins costumed in faded country/western shirts and jeans. The mannequins were armed with toy pistols wired into cheap plastic holsters.

John Ford said it best, in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.
 
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