Kino Press Release: Steamboat Bill, Jr. (Blu-ray)

Well,  I think the days of asking for and getting (in high volume) $35.00 for a Blu-ray movie just minutes over one hour in length with no appreciable special features (such as a second feature....SHERLOCK, JR., maybe?) are over. I just won't pay it -- not even with the typical 30% online discount -- much as I love Keaton and expect the transfer is excellent. C'mon, Kino and the rest of you... stop hamstringing the format with ridiculous list prices and come down to earth. We'll be here waiting with money in hand!

I find it incredible that they could not find someone to do an audio commentary for this important silent picture

Actually, I will be investing in this title - especially for the Lee Erwin score.  I am am also very interested in the alternate release version, having produced the direct side-by-side comparison of both versions of Lon Chaney's 'Phantom' last year for Mark Roth's ReelclassicDVD deluxe set.

want.

I will wait to see how this looks. I hope it is not over-sharpened like The General. I've bought several versions of the film, going back to laserdisc and VHS. Currently, the region 2 Cinema Club version is the best I have seen. I'll probably get this one, too.

This is actually the one thing I'm upset about this release...not the inclusion of the Lee Erwin score but the fact that they have now dropped what I thought was an absolute magnificent score by Gaylord Carter that they used for the older DVD/VHS/laserdisc releases.  I'm just absolutely livid about it...but I'll still be buying it as it's my all-time favorite movie.  At the very least I'm glad they're including William Perry's piano score (I wish they had included his score for The General).

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Originally Posted by David_B_K 

I hope it is not over-sharpened like The General.

I didn't find The General to be over-sharpened. Seems like all previous releases before this latest DVD/BD had been far too dark.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Stieg 

 

 

This is actually the one thing I'm upset about this release...not the inclusion of the Lee Erwin score but the fact that they have now dropped what I thought was an absolute magnificent score by Gaylord Carter that they used for the older DVD/VHS/laserdisc releases.  I'm just absolutely livid about it...but I'll still be buying it as it's my all-time favorite movie.  At the very least I'm glad they're including William Perry's piano score (I wish they had included his score for The General).

The score issue is too bad, but I'll probably be keeping my DVD due to the shirt films on that disc that are not being carried over here, so if I were you I'd just do the same. I did that with The General, and I did it with Ferris Bueller's Day off to keep the commentary from Hughes.

That's one great thing about digital copies in Blu-ray cases - they give me free cases that hold two discs that I can swap out with these titles where I want to keep the prior DVD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway 

I didn't find The General to be over-sharpened. Seems like all previous releases before this latest DVD/BD had been far too dark.

The Kino DVD of the "Ultimate" General, released the year before (same package as the BD on 2 discs), looked quite decent. Most of the A/B comparisons of the Blu-ray were of the pathetic region 1 versions of previous years.

I do think the Kino BD is over-sharpened, and the guys who did it even admit to it. However, it does not rise to the level of deal-breaker. I just wish they'd not bothered doing it. I think the over-sharpening helped lead to the almost flourescent whites in the picture. I would still recommend the BD of The General as a purchase, though.