Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009 (?), or..... - Page 3

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

My guess is like everything else with Imax they have their own proprietary equipment for video transfers. You couldn't put an Imax film on a standard 70mm telecine machine for scanning, given that Imax is a horizontal 15 perf format. Also Imax uses the area that is normally used for soundtrack for picture information.

Doug

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

If I was to produce a scanner for 70mm material I would certainly see to it that it scans all available variants of 70mm including IMAX. Would be great if somebody could shed some light on the subject. At least for 35mm they got it working which means they can scan anamorphic, Super 35, Academy, Vistavision etc.

Oliver

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Yes it is disappointing. Like everything else it looks better in motion but of course not nearly as good as it could. But regarding next years' release: Warner usually gets their big titles right and if this is not a big classic title then I don't know which one is. As this could be some kind of extra spectacular demo material when it gets re-released in excellent quality I hope Warner does the film justice and helps it to become the premier large format demo title on HDM. Lots of work to be done on this one but I am confident they are up to the task.

Oliver

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Hi,

yesterday I took the time to install a trial version of Photoshop and did a downsampling/upsampling test for the HD version that is available of Ben Hur - it tops out at around half HD resolution So clearly there is A LOT of room for improvements !

Oliver

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Now that the format wars are pretty much over, what better way to showcase the Blu-ray format than to produce "from scratch" a super-quality 1080p BR disc version of Ben-Hur? Complete with a Dolby TrueHD or DTS Master Audio multi-channel soundtrack?

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Well, Hewlett-Packard and WB have come up with an automated film restoration system that can, among other things, remove the joining lines on Cinerama (there's a thread about How the West Was Won with samples). Perhaps it can make it possible to do this film justice in time for its golden birthday?

And hopefully other studios will license the process for titles that need it. And hopefully it will be used judiciously.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

I think that this will not go well with the kind of misalignment seen with Ben Hur that I would first and foremost expect to be related to uneven shrinkage of the Seps used for the current master.

Still an interesting technology for Cinerama and related processes.

And if even the midpicture registration problems can be traced back to hardware related issues I would of course be more than happy to be proven wrong as in that case a new transfer would not be so hard to get right.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Did Warner use their Ultra-Resolution process on Ben-Hur? If not that process might go a long way to correcting the misalignment, as it did for Robin Hood and Singing in the Rain.

Doug

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

I can only see evidence of them using their ultra-low-Resolution process Sorry, couldn't resist. To be fair to Warner: I doubt the currrent master was ever intended for a release on HDM and it has enough resolution for a DVD release so no reason to complain about its resolution.


Surely they did not use that process before. A scan at 8k will be the way to go for Ben Hur and as RAH confirmed this is the way things are done these days. This should represent most if not all the detail in the OCN and allow a little leeway to account for misalignment issues.

Oliver

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

If there is misalignment the ON was not used but color separations. I hope the ON is not faded so much that only separations can be used.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Exactly I wasn't sure if 65mm color seperations were made of this film and thats what the DVD was created from or not. If the ON was used it seems unlikely that misalignment would be seen but rather distortion from a shrinking acetate base. Unless one color layer shrank at a different rate than another, which also seems unlikely.

Doug

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Definitely there are color fringes in the current version.
Here are two captures that show nice red color fringes in different parts of the picture. This is not restricted to just the edges.





Oliver

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Oliver can you point to a specific place in either frame where you are seeing red fringing? I'm just not seeing anything that looks like misalignment. I would expect to see it fairly pronounced around the white tunics in the second frame. I am seeing what looks to be a slight bit of edge enhancement.

Doug

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Of course Doug. First off it is best to make sure to see the caps in their original resolution without scaling. I would suggest to look at Charlton Hestons' left arm in the second cap. There is red outlining to the right of the white toga. It is not that easy to see as the backgrund is also red. Compare that to the toga of Boyd that does look much better.

Oliver

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

The superb job done on How the West Was Won gives me hope that this will look great (yes, I know that the Cinerama process was quite different from the 65 mm process used for Ben Hur).

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

In my small Humble opinion this is one of the "Crown Jewels" of the WB library.

GET IT RIGHT! Do what has to be done & the time needed to make it the BEST!!


I really wonder whose opinions Mr. Feltenstein listens to here in this Forum. That would be of interest to know.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Yes, the previous Ben-Hur DVD sucked big time. As is mentioned above, severe color fringing was present on many scenes. Also, the fine detail was actually reduced compared to the previous transfer which was done from 35mm reduction elements. However, at the time that this was transferred, 65mm film telecine was in it's infancy and not up to the quality available from 35mm transfers.

With the latest scanners, I would certainly hope that the new release, done with at least a 4K scan will not have these issues.

We'll soon see....

Vern

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Any news ?

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Add me to the vote for to finally include the original multi-channel mix.

That mix won the Academy Award, and at an absolute minimum deserves the option to be heard once again!

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

I hope that Mr. Feltenstein listens to his own instincts...throughout the laser disc years and with his involvement at WB, he is the format's greatest asset.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

I'm thinking that the Forum's own Robert Harris gives Mr. Feltenstein a run for his money in that respect

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

I just wanted to bump this thread up to see if there were any developments? This is one of my all-time favorite films, and I'm very anxious for a Blu-ray Edition, though I don't mind waiting if there needs to be more work to make it breathtaking. All I was wondering is, has anyone heard anything new about it? And is it a pretty safe bet at this time that the release won't be ready by year's end to coincide with the film's 50th Anniversary?

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Specs are out for the Wizard of Oz, so Ben Hur cannot be that far away

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

I think GONE WITH THE WIND will be announced next (also 70th anniversary). I would be surprised it BEN-HUR gets out before 2010. More than likely an Easter 2010 release.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

The only released related up to now is a 50th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition DVD from UK for Aug 3rd. And it's from Warner.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Not necessarily, I can see a release around the Xmas holiday.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Hopefully this will not be packaged like Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Casablanca. If it is, then expect the gift package to contain a lump of fake horse manure, a jar of leprosy cream and an oak leaf with a SRP of $90.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

Unfortunately at this point there's no reason not to expect the same Box-O-Junk exclusive treatment for all their tent-pole classics going forward.

The fact that a disc-only Casablanca still hasn't been released speaks volumes. Between this and their burn-on-demand DVDR program Warners strategy seems to be "Customer loyalty be damned, let's gouge these saps for all we can get."

I never thought I'd ever be made disinterested in the prospect of high def versions of Kong, Ben-Hur, Casablanca, GWTW, North By Northwest, Wizard of Oz, etc.....but there you have it.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

This Warner boxset only madness will hopefully stop soon.

I any case I am sure that a few months later Warner will bring these to Blu-Ray without the added gizmos.

Re: Warner to release Ben-Hur on Blu-ray in 2009

To which version are you referring? The initial flipper/snapper, which was produced from a 35mm reduction print, then overcropped to appease all those who screamed "it has to be 2.76:1", or the 4 disc set from 2004? Both versions have their issues, but the 2004 is miles ahead of the original disc.