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Has the Les Miserables Dream Cast Superbit been delayed?

post #1 of 26
9/28/03 at 7:06am
Thread Starter 
Like others on this forum, I was looking forward to picking this up on October 7. I was just checking Amazon's price for it and got this message:

Quote:
The studio is currently not producing this title on DVD, but to be notified when it is available, enter your e-mail address at right. You'll also be voting for this release; we'll let the studio know how many customers are waiting for this title.


What's the deal? I notice that EFilmCritic still has it listed for October 7. Anybody heard anything? I was really looking forward to this title.
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post #2 of 26
9/28/03 at 3:53pm
I sure hope this hasn't been delayed. It's still on the SUPERBIT web site.
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post #3 of 26
9/30/03 at 4:03pm
Anyone else heard anything?
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post #4 of 26
9/30/03 at 5:54pm
I'm pretty sure Amazon just has it confused with
the old version which is now out of print.

It will be very nice to get this in Widescreen!

CB
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post #5 of 26
10/3/03 at 12:06pm
THIS HAS BEEN DELAYED (TBA). I received an email from CTHV. I guess we're out of luck for now...
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post #6 of 26
10/7/03 at 8:08am
Amazon.ca now give a release date of 1st April 2004.
Not sure if this is just wishful thinking though.

Those of you not wanting to wait may wish to consider the R2 PAL UK release if you can play it. This is now quite cheap have seen it in sales for around £7 (US$10)
However make sure you get the reissued version which is anamorphic 1.78 with Dolby 2.0 (not sure if this is plain stereo probably was or surround). The original version in the UK was p/s 4.3 and a flipper.

Does anyone know what the correct aspect ratio of this is as some sites say the proposed superbit is 2.35
Looking at my 1.78 UK disk it does seem very tightly framed at times when two are singing they are at the extremely edges of the frame.
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post #7 of 26
11/4/03 at 11:03am
Just received an email from Amazon.com saying:


We are sorry to report that the release of the following
item has been cancelled:

John Caird (Director), et al "Les Miserables - The Dream Cast in
Concert (Superbit Collection)"

Though we had expected to be able to send this item to you, we've since found that it will not be released after all. Please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience we have caused you.

We have cancelled this item from your order.


Whilst sad and seemingly there is nothing that can be done regarding this, does anyone know the reason/rationale behind the decision ?

Cheers,

Bren
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post #8 of 26
11/6/03 at 11:11am
I was looking forward to this one too, glad I did not sell off my current dvd. Maybe they could not do enough with the current material to deem it a "Superbit" or after some marketing, found there is not enough of an audience for it?
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post #9 of 26
2/16/04 at 5:28pm
Anybody knows what happened to this? Any updates? I sold my old copy

I would really love to finally get this in widescreen as it seems it was recorderd that way. Especially when you miss part of the screen in many shots.
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post #10 of 26
2/16/04 at 6:07pm
Can anyone tell me if the 98 adaption with Liam Neeson is worth checking out or owning on DVD? I've read some good reviews but never seen the film... is it anything special?
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post #11 of 26
2/16/04 at 6:42pm
Hi Marco,

The Liam Neeson version is the only version of Les Miz I've seen, and I thought it was a pretty good movie. However, the author of the DVD review at DVD Movie Guide might deter you:

Quote:
Fans of the Broadway musical might find this movie adaptation to be less than inspiring as a lot of the sentimental subplots in the play are missing.
http://dvdmg.com/lesmiserables.shtml
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post #12 of 26
2/16/04 at 7:37pm
There's a Dream Cast of Les Miz? You mean, Dom De Luise, Burt Reynolds, Jack Elam, Mel Tillis, Jamie Farr, Jackie Chan, and Adrienne Barbeau were cast in Les Miz!?!? And I haven't heard about it till now? Why doesn't someone TELL me these things!
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post #13 of 26
2/17/04 at 6:32am
I just saw Les Miserables movie (w/ Liam Neeson) yesterday and I thought the movie was pretty good w/ excellent cinematography & strong acting. Have not read the book by Victor Hugo, but after watching the movie, it makes me want to read it as well as want to see the musical version.

And now they're coming out with a Superbit musical version, even better, bring it on! I for one do not plan on paying $40+ on eBay for the current musical.
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post #14 of 26
2/17/04 at 6:46am
Thanks!
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post #15 of 26
2/17/04 at 7:34am
I haven't read the book, but I believe the entire Eponine character and storyline which are featured in the stage musical do not exist in the book or in any of the movie versions. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
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post #16 of 26
2/17/04 at 8:38am
Eponine is definitely in the book.
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post #17 of 26
2/17/04 at 8:59am
Thanks for setting me straight Kenneth. I was misinformed. So please disregard my comment.

I think Eponine is also in the movie versions, but maybe not featured to the level that she is in the musical. At least not that I remember from watching the old 1935 version (the one with Charles Laughton as Javert).
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post #18 of 26
2/17/04 at 11:36am
Perhaps a reason for the cancelation is due to their inability to get the "cracklies" out of the recording?

I own both the original DVD and the CD of this concert and there's quite a bit of vocal crackling (I don't know if it's due to the mics they used or recorded the concert too hot, whatever) on most of the principles.

I know that if I purchased a Superbit title, only to find those anomalies, I'd be mighty upset...
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post #19 of 26
11/9/04 at 1:34pm
Just thought I'd dust this particular thread off and add the following:

The Les Mis Dream Cast concert has been rereleased in the UK, region 2. Alas it is a repackaging of the original 1.78:1 aspect ratio/Dolby Digital 2.0 version, together with a second disc. The extra disc contains the Stage by Stage documentary produced at the end of the eighties, whilst the Complete Symphonic album was in production.

It looks like the Superbit/ 5.1 multichannel version seeing the light of day is looking more remote as time goes on - in the UK at least.

Anyone know anything more Stateside ?

Thanks,

Brendon
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post #20 of 26
11/9/04 at 6:38pm
Ah, crud. I just finished watching the Region 1 DVD this weekend and burning "Bring Him Home," and I had NO idea the special was even filmed in widescreen until this thread. Oh, well, I'd double-dip for a SE one day, in any event--terrific teaming, especially priceless Brit Alun Armstrong (Thenardier) and Aussie Philip Quast (Javert).

My favorite version, though, is the 1978 Glenn Jordan/John Gay ITV release with Richard Jordan's best performance as Jean Valjean and a cold, merciless Anthony Perkins as Javert--one of television's most memorable characterizations, IMHO. I have to admit that the musical, as tuneful and zealous as it was, disappointed me by all but dropping Sister Simplice, Fauchelevent and Marius's aristocrat grandfather (Gillenormand). These were three characters who really rounded out Valjean's transformation from violent ex-con to near-saint.

And I hope no one takes this as a threadfart, but the 1998 Bille August adaptation takes unforgiveable liberties with Victor Hugo's novel, IMHO--particularly Valjean's overly brutal treatment of the Bishop of Digne. That is why, despite Geoffrey Rush's fine performance, this film has remained unwatchable ever since.
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post #21 of 26
11/9/04 at 6:54pm
HDNet has been running a HD version of the Les Miz Dream Cast Concert. It was filmed in HD and presented at 1.78:1. Audio was 2.0 stereo. My understanding was they used a Japanese analog high def system and then mastered to a D2 digital master. Pic was good, certainly true high-def, but nothing spectacular. I'd love to see this master used for a DVD.

I had to Tivo it, since they seem to run it at 4 in the morning.

Steve
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post #22 of 26
2/14/08 at 7:26am

Re: Has the Les Miserables Dream Cast Superbit been delayed?

How THIS for a thread resurrection?! Superbit, to boot!

Next week (2-19-2008) the following is scheduled for release: Les Miserables - The 10th Anniversary Dream Cast in Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall (1998)

It is a two-disc set (pictured below). Amazon's listing says it is 1.78:1. But does anyone know what the audio specs are? Was the original show only recorded in stereo?

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post #23 of 26
2/15/08 at 11:13pm

Re: Has the Les Miserables Dream Cast Superbit been delayed?

i would love to see an original stage version of this on home video, without a dreamcast and without just all the cast members just standing on the stage and singing their roles.

i guess that means i want the actual stage production on film and not a concert version.
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post #24 of 26
2/17/08 at 12:46pm

Re: Has the Les Miserables Dream Cast Superbit been delayed?

More info from amazon.com...but still no word on the audio specs.

Interesting that it's going to be a single-sided disc with the entire concert.

Quote:
Format: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

DVD features
The 2008 two-disc edition presents the concert on a single-sided disc (the original DVD split the concert over two sides) with optional English subtitles. It's also in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1 aspect ratio) comparied to the original's 1.33 full-screen. The second disc has Stage by Stage: Les Miserables, the hourlong documentary from 1988. --David Horiuchi


Amazon.com
The 10th anniversary concert video of the international musical sensation Les Misérables might be the best thing to appease fans until a full-fledged movie comes along. Or it might be even better, as feature films are often subject to extramusical casting considerations and this 1995 dream cast is superb. Reprising their roles from the original London company are Colm Wilkinson (Valjean), Michael Ball (Marius), and Alun Armstrong (Thenardier). From Broadway come Judy Kuhn (Cosette), Lea Salonga (Eponine), and Michael Maguire (Enjolras); from a later London production comes Ruthie Henshall (Fantine); and from Australia comes Philip Quast (Javert).

Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's score vividly captures the passion of Victor Hugo's epic tale of post-Revolutionary France, combining tear-jerking ballads ("I Dreamed a Dream," "Bring Him Home") and rousing anthems ("Do You Hear the People Sing"). The format of this concert is closer to that of a dramatic cantata rather than a fully staged production; the singers stand at their microphone stands with an orchestra and chorus behind them, but they do wear costumes and participate in some movement. At certain points such as the climax of the barricade scene, the video switches to action from a stage production. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra sounds great, and it can be thrilling when 200 choristers (dressed in logo T-shirts) rise to their feet for a full-company number such as "One Day More." Also, subtitles provide date and scene information and help move the story along.

The 147-minute video contains footage not seen when Les Mis was a PBS pledge-drive staple, most notably the encore in which a progression of 17 actors who have played Valjean around the world share "Do You Hear the People Sing?" Each sings a line in his native language, a testament to the enduring power of this show to audiences everywhere. --David Horiuchi
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post #25 of 26
2/17/08 at 12:54pm

Re: Has the Les Miserables Dream Cast Superbit been delayed?

DVD Pacific and DeepDiscount both list the new release as "Dolby Digital 2.0" or "stereo" respectively.
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post #26 of 26
5/14/08 at 7:37pm

Re: Has the Les Miserables Dream Cast Superbit been delayed?

I have a question about the transfer for anyone that has purchased the new 2-disc version of this concert:

I started watching it and at about 2:34 minutes into it, Colm Wilkinson (Valjean) steps forward to the mic for the first time and, of all things, he "fuzzes." What I mean by this is that his entire body turns into a bunch of shifting digital artifacts for a split second. Perhaps I simply received a bad disc, but I am more convinced that it is a problem with the encoding or the original source material.

Does anybody else have this problem on their concert DVD? Is the cause of the problem known? Any responses would be welcome.

Thanks!
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