A Robert Harris Bits Extra - Lawrence of Arabia: Superbit (1 Viewer)

Bill Hunt · Jul 30, 2003

Our own Robert Harris has finally provided some details on his work on Columbia TriStar's forthcoming Lawrence of Arabia: Superbit DVD, so we thought we'd share it with all of you...

Robert Harris on Lawrence of Arabia: Superbit

As always, click on the link to read Robert's comments and then come on back here to this official thread at the HTF to discuss, give feedback, ask questions of Robert and sound off as you will. Best wishes!

Robert Crawford · Jul 30, 2003

Bill and RAH,
Great article and I found the following quote very interesting.

Crawdaddy

Gordon McMurphy · Jul 30, 2003

It has been confirmed that there will be no electronic sharpening.

YES!

Massive thanks go out to all those who worked on this new transfer!

This is great - I can't wait!

Thanks again, Robert.

Gordy

Click to expand...

Paul_Scott · Jul 30, 2003

shame i'm gonna be putting the LE up for sale.
i liked that canvas case.

really looking forward to this now.

"no electronic sharpening"
do you think they are starting to get it?

Scott L · Jul 30, 2003

Doh! But what about this edition I have in the pretty burlap case? :confused:

Spero D · Jul 30, 2003

Great jop to Mr Harris. Will definetly be getting this one. However why can't we have our cake and eat it to? Make this one a Superbit Deluxe edition or will it be anyway?

Spero D.

ScottR · Jul 30, 2003

Will the 65mm trailer be included?

Joe Fisher · Jul 30, 2003

After reading Mr. Harris article, all I can say is September 9th can't come fast enough.

Adam_WM · Jul 30, 2003

Hmmm... I never had any problems with the SE, but now I'm thinking about it...

Gordon McMurphy · Jul 30, 2003

I believe this is a 100% bare-bones edition - not even a trailer.

Gordy

PaulEB · Jul 30, 2003

Needless to say, this is a blind purchase. I will of course be keeping the previous edition for the special features.

I had the pleasure of seeing LOA on the big screen in Boston last year. Now if I could only get my big screen at home!

Thanks RAH and Bill for keeping us posted.

JasonKZ · Jul 30, 2003

Great to hear the care that was taken to get this new release. Unfortunately, I really enjoyed the extras (and the case, actually) on the last edition. Only reason I could justify the upgrade would be if it was a Deluxe version, which it is not.

Mark Zimmer · Jul 30, 2003

Of course, they insisted there was no electronic sharpening on The Phantom Menace, so I hope we're all talking the same language. We mean WE DON'T WANT THOSE BIG UGLY HALOES AROUND EVERYTHING!

I trust that Mr Harris will take a good look at the results post-compression to make sure that Sony hasn't done their usual job of creating rings around anything contrasting.

Ken_McAlinden · Jul 30, 2003

Doh! But what about this edition I have in the pretty burlap case?

The new discs should fit snugly in the old case.

Actually, with all of its flaws that have been discussed previously, I still find the "Archives of Arabia" DVD-ROM feature to be one of the most engrossing supplements I have encountered for any film. I will be keeping the Limited Edition near my computer and the Superbit Edition near my HT.

Grover Crisp is a good guy who understands film. Sony is lucky to have him in their asset protection program. Kudos to him. He can keep these kudos on the shelf next to the kudos for the Funny Girl theatrical and DVD release from a couple of years ago.

Regards,

Click to expand...

Robert Harris · Jul 30, 2003

There will be a few words added to the Bits piece later today, both adding and correcting.

A couple of points.

Jim Ward, Sony's mastering supervisor spent literally hundreds of hours working on the first pass at Complete Post in Hollywood. He was always available to us telephonically as we went through the film in NY, answering our questions, helping with corrections and pulling a few proverbial rabbits from hats. I can't thank him enough.

This was very much a team effort with Grover's staff at the fore.

One of the problems with the previous release, and something of which I was unaware, is that there were, in the end, two layers of electronic enhancement.

One which apparently came in during the original transfer -- and which I didn't at all notice even in HiDef -- and another, which seems to have been the problematic layer, added during compression and authoring.

This initial layer, part of the film to tape, was invisible to my eye.

Apparently, the offending layer that which was enhanced on top of enhancement.

I'm thrilled that a new technical team is in place.

In answer to a question, AFAIK, there will be no trailer on the new release. Every bit is being used for quality of the feature presentation. The original 65mm trailer, for the record, does reside in Sony's vaults, now fully protected.

RAH

Eric Peterson · Jul 30, 2003

I'm a little upset that I'll have to double dip on this one, but at least they're getting it right this time.

I'm definitely keeping my current 2 disc set in the burlap case and would love to put the new Super-bit in that case if possible.

Does the new transfer fit one disc?

TonyD · Jul 30, 2003

how come i couldn't see this thread after going to the software section from HTF. I Had to find it from the link in the actual article. and was about to start a thread on this after searching 28 pages for this news.

anyway. for those that say they don't want ot get this to double dip. this new superbit will be the way it is supposed to be seen, isn't it?

the old release had all kinds of trouble with halos and incorrect color among other things. and mr HARRIS was not there to fix it. he is now.

don't let all the complaints go by the wayside and show that we will buy the correct version after it is released.
reward the studio for doing the right thing, eventually.

as stated in the article new people are in place in

It was no secret that the previous release was problematic, but with new faces within Columbia's home video area who were behind an effort to make everything correct, and a Herculean effort from Columbia's Asset Protection guru, Grover Crisp, who had been instrumental in the re-timing and creation of the new batch of 70mm release prints, Lawrence as a video project was taken back to the drawing board.

Gordon McMurphy · Jul 30, 2003

I'm a little upset that I'll have to double dip on this one, but at least they're getting it right this time.

Well... you don't have to buy it, but if you love the film - like me...

Gordy

Click to expand...

Ken_McAlinden · Jul 30, 2003

Does the new transfer fit one disc?

See the original article. There is a chance that they may not be able to fit the entire first act on a single disc, let alone the entire film. If the transfer is as good as it sounds, and the platter break is handled more like "Godfather 2" than "Once Upon a Time in America", this could be a home run.

Regards,

Click to expand...

Michael Reuben · Jul 30, 2003

Although there is some question as to whether the final compression will allow the first half of the film to run to completion on disc one, the overriding factor must be one of quality and not quantity.

I take that to mean two discs (and possibly a third?).

M.

Click to expand...

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