The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma - Page 3

Re: The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma

Any updates on this situation?

Re: The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma

Surely there'll be a release in the future, perhaps a few years down the line, and maybe when the license has passed to another studio.

The scarcity of the Rhino DVDs and the demand for a re-release (and the disappointment the Rhino DVDs caused for many fans) practically beg for it. There's money to be made! Surely it won't be too long before someone picks up the ball. Especially if the live-action Transformers movie is a huge hit.

Re: The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma

A glimmer of hope?

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7539

Re: The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma

Bump...!



Surely with the mega-success of the live-action TF movie, there will be renewed interest in a G1 re-release (which will hopefully correct those blasted Rhino errors).

Anyone heard anything?

Re: The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma

I've been looking at the Rhino DVDs lately to refresh myself with the various problems they have.

Aside from the glaring fact that the unfinished 35 mm film masters were used instead of the 1" broadcast masters, the actual film transfers leave much to be desired.

The colors appear to be oversaturated at first glance, but I think that may be a result of the fact that the broadcast masters were a bit washed out as a result of 1980s telecine techniques (and the fact that the master tapes were used for dubbing all the syndication tapes).

In fact, if you look at some of the galleries of original animation cels now in the hands of private collectors, the colors don't seem too far off from the Rhino DVDs. Here are some samples:


http://cybertroncelarchive.rubberslu...?SeriesID=3297

http://cybertroncelarchive.rubberslu...?SeriesID=3632

http://cybertroncelarchive.rubberslu...?SeriesID=3722


The film masters are also full of scratches, grain, etc. That would be more difficult to fix, but not impossible. Many vintage cartoons (such as the classic Superman shorts) look great for their age on DVD. And the Rhino method (which took clean sections of the frame before or after a scratched frame and pasted them on top) looks bad and easy to spot (because of the "grain freeze").


There are also a LOT of jaggies on the Rhino discs, far more than I remembered. A LOT.


Ideally, my preferred release would be restored versions of the broadcast masters with the original mono sound (albeit in 2.0 stereo). This would eliminate those pesky animation errors from the incomplete film masters (Rhino's version of "Heavy Metal War" is utterly unwatchable.). And having the correct main/end titles, correct episode titles (Instead of oddities like "The Master Builder"), and an episode order that actually makes sense would go a long way toward making the series watchable on DVD for me.

I cringe whenever I pull out the TF season 1 set. Some episodes are okay (such as the three-part pilot, although Rhino's version still has some problems), but other episodes have those lousy animation errors and added sound effects. Season 2, Part 1 is pretty soild, but one disc has the added sound effects in both 2.0 and 5.1. Season 2, part 2 is a lost cause, since every single episode has the added sound effects. Season 3 parts 1-2 both have some problems (animation errors, episodes out of order, wrong main titles, etc.), but all of the episodes have the original broadcast audio, at least.


I've been complaining about this for years, now, and I'm not alone. I'm confident that a proper re-release of the series can correct these nagging errors. Let's hope it happens soon, and that the people in charge of such a project know what they're doing (or, if they don't, that they seek out people like us who know the score).

Re: The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma

I've been reading about Madman Entertainment's 17-disc Complete Transformers Collection (which contains all 98 episodes) recently.

http://www.madman.com.au/actions/cat...releaseId=8075


They've also re-released the 1986 movie:

http://www.madman.com.au/actions/cat...65&method=view



This sounds much like what I've been asking for all this time. The set has good extras (scripts/storyboards, model sheets, interviews, etc.), and it apparently uses the original broadcast master tapes! However, the soundtracks are apparently the effed-up Rhino versions. But the fact that they used the original broadcast versions of the episodes gives a glimmer of hope!


Here's a clip from Madman's version of "Heavy Metal War":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjT_nXAWTUs


Unfortuantely, Madman is based in Australia, and thus this is a Region 4 (PAL) release.


Let us hope that a Region 1 release is forthcoming from Sony, and that it's similar to this set (but uses the correct audio, and puts the episodes in broadcast order instead of production order).

Re: The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma

Anyone heard any rumors or news about a possible series re-release?

With the overwhelming success of the live-action Transformers movie, surely something will be in the pipe eventually, right?

Re: The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma

And we love you for it, Dave!



I've been introducing some younger friends of mine to the original TF series recently (they're only familiar with Beast Wars and the live-action movie), and it's a real hassle dealing with the Rhino DVDs (at least, the episodes that have major animation screw-ups and added sound effects on all audio tracks). I'll have to use the older videotapes for badly Rhino-ized episodes like "The Ultimate Doom" and "Heavy Metal War".

I also toggled between the 2.0 (original) audio and the 5.1 (Rhino) audio for them, just to show the difference in sound effects (and to explain my frustration). The Rhino-added sound effects actually elicited laughter!


It's been a while since I've looked at the episodes, and I was reminded why I love the series so much, and why I must continue chanting for a proper re-release with the correct audio/video for all episodes, etc.

Aside from the obvious animation and sound problems, the other issues are also baffling. Since Rhino had to recreate the white-lettered episode titles and credits, we get oddities like "The Master Builder" and season 2's production/voice credits laid in over the season 1 end titles. And episodes are out of order, as well as occasionally feauturing the wrong main title sequences. And the "Return of Optimus Prime" end narration version of "Dark Awakening" is included, but not the original (which would be a snap to do with two separate audio tracks).




Seriously, if a new DVD release were actually in the works, I'd immediately volunteer to provide as much info and help as humanly possible, since I've been studying this mess (and complaining about it) for years, now. I'd do it for free, even!

Re: The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma

You know, it occurs to me that maybe some of us should get together and work on creating a definitive catalog of the errors in the Rhino DVD sets, and hope that such a list would be helpful to whomever is eventually placed in charge of a re-release.

The ideal goal would be to figure out EXACTLY what would consitute a historically-accurate release of the series (and maybe even the 1986 movie) on DVD.



Any takers?



Certainly, if a DVD re-release did use the original broadcast master tapes, that would solve 90% of the problem (with the trade-off being a drop in image quality). However, it would be possible to splice broadcast-master footage into the production masters that Rhino used. The trick is replacing ALL of the incorrect/incomplete footage, instead of doing it in a piecemeal fashion like Rhino did by way of editing tricks and lousy cut-'n-paste jobs.



And this is all VERY possible, since the broadcast versions of the episodes aren't that hard to find, what with Youtube, official video/laserdisc releases, and even episodes taped right off of tv back in the 80s. All it would take is time to compare those materials with the Rhino DVDs to determine what exactly would need to be done.


Even Sony's release of the 1986 movie isn't perfect, since (among other things) the gong sound of the Rank Film Distrubutors logo can be heard over the newly-reinstated DEG logo at the beginning of the film.



Really, the only things needed to properly re-release the series are correct video (by way of the broadcast masters, or hybrids of the broadcast and 35mm film masters), the correct audio (without added sound effects), episodes in a reasonable order (production, airdate, or other), correcting other oddities/"corrections" (i.e. reinstating "The Master Builders" and "A DeceptAcon Raider in King Arthur's Court", etc.), and producing some good bonus features and packaging.