Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009 (?), or..... - Page 10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce 

I don't see yours or his signature.

 

Doug

Sorry to get off topic, but if you go to My Profile at the top of the page and click on the Edit Account Details button in addition to lots of other options you will see the following:

Default to the full page editor: Whenever you hit reply you will have the full page editor

View forums full width: If you currently see grey bars on the sides of the forum it will remove them and stretch the forum.  If you have a widescreen high resolution monitor you may find you need to much side-to-side scanning to read the forum.

Hide user avatars: You won't see any avatars when you are in the forums

Hide user signatures: You probably have this option checked

Hide "My Stuff" in signatures: Members have the ability to show their lists or collections in their signatures.  If someone is doing it, checking this will make it so you can't see it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein 

I can see how it can be easy to misunderstand those

pictures, Ben.

 

Press is not getting the actual Blu-ray or DVD set early.

What we received was a large kit that contained photos

of what can be expected in the upcoming release as well

as a DVD with highlights of the Special Features (which I

will try to capture some screenshots of).

 

They just did a real nice job with this press kit but I can

see how it looks like the real deal.

So looking at the picture, is the box in the back row second to the right next to the notebook going to house the discs?  In other words can you put that on a shelf with the rest of your discs and put the rest of the stuff away?
 

6k hmm?  Sounds like they were happy with the Star is Born process and decided to use it for Ben Hur.  I imagine Kane, Rain and the other A++ titles are also being done with the full 6k workflow.

Adam,

No. That was just a big cardboard box that

they enclosed all the press materials in.

I am uncertain how big the actual box will

be but I am guessing probably the same

dimensions as THE WIZARD OF OZ and

GONE WITH THE WIND sets.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam_S 

6k hmm?  Sounds like they were happy with the Star is Born process and decided to use it for Ben Hur.  I imagine Kane, Rain and the other A++ titles are also being done with the full 6k workflow.

6k is used for occasional 35/4.  65mm is scanned (or should be scanned 8k).  As to Kane and Rain, neither would gain anything from a 6k scan, their actual resolution probably at around 2k or slightly less, as the original negatives are not extant.

From my perspective, there is nothing to be gained in scanning an older 35/4 image at anything more than 4k.  6k is merely for "sizzle."  To clear up another point, VistaVision is normally scanned at 4k, not 6, which is a misnomer.

RAH

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin Jacobson 

You - and I - must have the system set up to block sigs.  I don't recall doing that, but I don't see any sigs either, so that must be the case.

 

EDIT: yup, that was it.  I guess when the HTF changed systems, mine defaulted to "no sigs".  Changed it so now I see my sig and others, too!

 

Interesting. In addition spelling correction and cut and past STILL don't work with this new system! Crazy!

Doug

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Gregorich 

Sorry to get off topic, but if you go to My Profile at the top of the page and click on the Edit Account Details button in addition to lots of other options you will see the following:

Default to the full page editor: Whenever you hit reply you will have the full page editor

 

View forums full width: If you currently see grey bars on the sides of the forum it will remove them and stretch the forum.  If you have a widescreen high resolution monitor you may find you need to much side-to-side scanning to read the forum.

 

Hide user avatars: You won't see any avatars when you are in the forums

 

Hide user signatures: You probably have this option checked

 

Hide "My Stuff" in signatures: Members have the ability to show their lists or collections in their signatures.  If someone is doing it, checking this will make it so you can't see it.

Thanks for the help Adam, but just curious as to why these settings changed on their own with out my doing anything?

Doug

ok , so for all of you that have gotten theses, big boxes time to give up some info, does it state that the 1907 and 1925 version is 1080P any where in the material that came with the box?  

They'd better be.  I actually prefer the '25 over the '59, and if it's not offered in 1080p, it's a deal breaker. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianruns10 

They'd better be.  I actually prefer the '25 over the '59, and if it's not offered in 1080p, it's a deal breaker. 

Absolutely right. I already have the superb 1925 version in 480i. I don't need another copy of that, and it's worthy of its own high definition release.

thats what i was thinking as well, but the blu is a 2 disc set, unlike Paramount who came out and made 10C a three disc set blu and 3 dvd, if they would have just released a 3 disc blu i would have not gotten the big box

Quote:

Originally Posted by dana martin 

ok , so for all of you that have gotten theses, big boxes time to give up some info, does it state that the 1907 and 1925 version is 1080P any where in the material that came with the box?  

No mention of that.  There's no mention of the 1907 version at all, and there are no specs for the 1925 one - it just states that it'll be included as a bonus feature...

thanks Colin, i was assuming that a lot of the features that was present on the 4 disc set from years back wold make it to this, so there is hope

Quote:

Originally Posted by dana martin 

thanks Colin, i was assuming that a lot of the features that was present on the 4 disc set from years back wold make it to this, so there is hope

If the specs in the PR materials remain the same, the BD will add a documentary about Heston during the movie's shoot but it'll DROP the isolated score.

Otherwise, they're the same (not counting non-disc-based materials).  No evidence of a 1907 version being included...

I had the pleasure of viewing the 1925 version via a Photoplay screening a number of years ago, with Carl Davis conducting his score.

An amazing film, with a score to match.

Hopefully this will make it to the new release.

RAH

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Harris 

I had the pleasure of viewing the 1925 version via a Photoplay screening a number of years ago, with Carl Davis conducting his score.

 

An amazing film, with a score to match.

 

Hopefully this will make it to the new release.

 

RAH

I Hope you are correct that it makes it to this new release as well,

The 1925 version will hopefully be presented 1080p. In any case, I'll probably need to import the release to get it without the big box, just like Gone with the Wind and The Goonies.

Here is more information

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=6414

Looking forward to this one. But I think I'll only buy the big box if the 25 version is on a blu-ray.

Mega, mega dittos Benbess.  I love the '25 version...it's a stand out film, and a nice breather from the '59 Ben Hur, which I find overlong (and this is from the guy who LOVES the 4 hour cut of Branagh's Hamlet).  Frankly, if the '25 isn't 1080, it's a deal breaker for me.  I don't need Ben Hur in HD that much, and I find their decision to remaster it in only 6K to be rather dubious.  The best 65mm restos I've seen have been 8K, and given the wider AS of Ben Hur, I'd be wanting to really go all out on the scan rez.

And given the recent decision to dump (I won't say release) Magnificent Ambersons on DVD, I frankly wouldn't be surprised if Warner's cut the same corner here...the fact they don't say it's in 1080 on the blu-ray release details tells me it may be an SD feature.  I hope, hope, hope I'm wrong, but I just don't think we're dealing with the same Warners that once did such a stellar release for such niche films as "The Jazz Singer" and "Ryan's Daughter." :(  

Warner still does some great releases. I think I have more Warner blu-rays on my shelf than from any other company. But it's true that they increasingly seem to be a bit off in how they do these, and I'm no longer buying every classic title they put out. The big box of stuff approach doesn't appeal to everyone. I think they should instead learn a few things from Criterion. Criterion does fine restorations, loads their sets up with special features but still makes them compact, and prices them at an msrp of $39. Criterion has premium pricing, but you really feel like you get what you pay for. A $79 msrp, like they are doing for Citizen Kane, would only make sense to me if 1) They actually had the original negative so it was drop dead amazing; and 2) They also gave you a blu-ray of Magnificent. Since neither of those is true, I'm going to pass on it. The pricing seems beyond greedy and just plain silly to me.

And like others here I'm fearing that they are cheaping out when it comes to the 1925 version of Ben-Hur. I've never seen it but I've heard very good things about it. WB should know that anyone who is buying that big set of Ben-Hur on blu-ray is NOT COLLECTING DVDs NOW. Like most of you, I imagine, I'm getting rid of my DVDs as rapidly as I can. 

I'm not worried about the 6k. I think that's more than we can ever see on blu-ray anyway.

And, wow, you like the 4 hour Hamlet. Me too! But that was another blu-ray that was a letdown from WB. It was filmed 70mm, and the transfer just didn't seem that special at all. It looked less impressive to me than most 35mm films. I don't know what went wrong. I would have bought it, but warned by the weak reviews here and elsewhere I just rented. The reviews were right on that one.

Oh, here's another one where Warner had the chance for a killer extra feature but then just dropped it. For A Star is Born they also own the 1937 version in Technicolor. They could have used their amazing Ultra Resolution Process to make ASIB more of a must own for collectors. But after promising the 37 version to us, then they left it out. And again I rented instead instead of buying...

Quote:

Originally Posted by benbess 
And like others here I'm fearing that they are cheaping out when it comes to the 1925 version of Ben-Hur. I've never seen it but I've heard very good things about it. WB should know that anyone who is buying that big set of Ben-Hur on blu-ray is NOT COLLECTING DVDs NOW. Like most of you, I imagine, I'm getting rid of my DVDs as rapidly as I can.

It's a bit uncertain for me as well, but I only assume the 1925 version will be blu due to it already being released on DVD.  But, currenty, Warner has yet to release a silent blu-ray.  I have given WB the benefit of the doubt on The Magnificent Ambersons  because it had never been released since the VHS days.  I'm just happy to see it released at all, even though it also assures the title won't be released in a higher definition format in the foreseeable future.  But like others, I'll only buy the big box set if the 1925 release is also on Blu.  Otherwise, it'll be the inevitable Target/Walmart exclusive non-box release.

I still collect DVDs on titles I think have a slim chance of being released on Blu-ray in the next decade (or if the blu releases that are just that bad), which is why I've held off on buying such movies as the  R&H musicals and Ryan's Daughter.  Currently, I still end up purchasing more DVDs than Blus, but its starting to level out this year.

Also of note is that the Ben-Hur Limited Edition box is only 50,000 units this time around, so it seems they are making sure all eventually get sold to retailers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by benbess 

WB should know that anyone who is buying that big set of Ben-Hur on blu-ray is NOT COLLECTING DVDs NOW. Like most of you, I imagine, I'm getting rid of my DVDs as rapidly as I can. 

WB should know that many of us WANT to keep collecting DVDs. And also that I will buy the Big Box Collection on BEN-HUR, if it is offered. I will never, ever decide to "get rid" of my DVD collection. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi 

 

 

WB should know that many of us WANT to keep collecting DVDs. And also that I will buy the Big Box Collection on BEN-HUR, if it is offered. I will never, ever decide to "get rid" of my DVD collection. 

I stand corrected. Sorry! I should have put some qualifiers in there....

Quote:

Originally Posted by benbess 

I stand corrected. Sorry! I should have put some qualifiers in there....

 

I'll definitely hang on to the DVDs that'll probably never see the light of day on Blu-ray. The DVD collection's definitely smaller, though. Slowly but surely getting rid of the stuff that's been replaced by Blu with all the same features and more. A few duplicates that have exclusive content.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cinescott 

 

I'll definitely hang on to the DVDs that'll probably never see the light of day on Blu-ray. The DVD collection's definitely smaller, though. Slowly but surely getting rid of the stuff that's been replaced by Blu with all the same features and more. A few duplicates that have exclusive content.

 

 

Well said. Same here. My post last night was not well stated at all. Again, I apologize.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by benbess 

And like others here I'm fearing that they are cheaping out when it comes to the 1925 version of Ben-Hur. I've never seen it but I've heard very good things about it. WB should know that anyone who is buying that big set of Ben-Hur on blu-ray is NOT COLLECTING DVDs NOW. Like most of you, I imagine, I'm getting rid of my DVDs as rapidly as I can. 

 

 

I certainly think the silent Ben-Hur should be in 1080P, but I could live with a DVD version of it; but I have not stopped collecting DVDs, nor am I "getting rid of them". If I get a new Blu-ray of something I have on DVD, I often sell or give away the DVD version. If the DVD's special features are not ported over, I keep the DVD. I still have the 4-disc version of Ben-Hur. I hope you are not getting rid of DVDs that you have not replaced on Blu. It amazes me when I read that some people have completely gotten rid of their SD collcetion and are strictly HD now. There are too many great titles unavailable IMO to make such a drastic move.

I still buy DVDs. Some thing are not available on Blu-ray, like Warner's Archive MOD DVDs. For example, I bought the most recent Errol Flynn set which was only released on DVD. I still remember the SD DVD forum here when Welles' Touch of Evil  50th Anniversary edition was released in 2008. There were many "I'll wait for the Blu-ray" posts about that title. I wonder how that wait is coming along? This Welles masterpiece is still not available on Blu-ray almost three years later. That's a long time to not be able to watch a great film and listen to some great commentary tracks. I would never get rid of a great SE like that or the Michael Powell double feature from 2009 until I have Blu-rays to replace them.

 

Well, if people get rid of their DVDs before there's even a Blu-ray on the horizon, then they're only into High Definition; not MOVIES. I'll even still watch a VHS tape if I have to, if I can't get a movie on a disc. 

There is no reason why the 1925 Ben-Hur cannot be released as Blu-ray with score by Carl Davis,

and as restored by Kevin Brownlow.

RAH

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Harris 

There is no reason why the 1925 Ben-Hur cannot be released as Blu-ray with score by Carl Davis,

and as restored by Kevin Brownlow.

 

RAH

That's good to hear. Sounds like we might get it then if the heavy lifting has already been done. Like the rest of you I still have not only DVDs but some VHS tapes of favorite films. It's just that I vastly prefer a good blu-ray....