5 Kubricks coming to Blu-ray/HD-DVD 10/23 (1 Viewer)

[Jari K]

http://www.digitalbits.com/

"We've got a couple of more things of note for you this evening: First, Warner has issued a statement regarding the missing theatrical version on its new Eyes Wide Shut discs. Here's what they have to say...

"On October 23, 2007, WHV released the Special Edition of Eyes Wide Shut on standard definition DVD, and on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, and as part of the 6-Title Stanley Kubrick Collection. It may be that some members of the press were inadvertently informed that the Special Edition release of Eyes Wide Shut included both the rated and unrated versions of the film and/or only the rated version of the film. In addition, some initially shipped product also was inadvertently labeled as containing both the rated and unrated versions of the film. The Special Edition release of Eyes Wide Shut contains only the unrated version of the film. WHV has taken steps to correct any possible misunderstanding in the marketplace by affixing to the packaging stickers stating "This package contains ONLY the Unrated Version of Eyes Wide Shut." and "Not Rated: Includes Unrated Version Only.""

 

[Jari K]

Btw. Planning to order all of these Kubrick-releases soon. Just to confirm:

Blu-ray releases are 1-disc (50gb)?

HD DVD releases are 2-disc (30gb/each)?

Blu-ray has PCM and HD DVD has Dolby TrueHD, right?

Extras the same.

 

[Juan C]

And A Clockwork Orange is 2-disc on HD DVD and 1-disc on Blu-ray. If you order from a site that calculates shipping on a disc basis (such as dvdpacific), then the HD DVD is a little more expensive.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

The PCM on 2001 is incredible, and comparing to the 5.1 DD 448 kbps track (what is typical on SD DVD these days), reveals just how much sound quality is compromised on the typical 448 kbps DD SD-DVD. Laserdisc junkies like myself have been saying this for years, and now we've finally got back where we started with the lossless audio we had on laserdisc (but now in 5.1 instead of 2.0).

Kudos to WB for providing PCM on these BD titles!!!

(p.s. after hearing the slightly compromised sound of the TrueHD on the new Spiderman 3 BD compared to the PCM track, I'm glad to get PCM whenever I can until the studios figure out how to properly encode TrueHD for real transparency).

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

...or our gear figures out how to decode it for the same.

Regards,

 

[Marc Colella]

David,

I thought you wanted the audio/video to be as close to the theatrical experience as possible, and wanted to respect the director's vision. Wasn't the original audio track for 2001 only in mono? Isn't the original mono track included on this release?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Marc,

are you trying to have a legitimate discussion or just heckle me? The 70mm print for 2001 wasn't mono, nor were the original stem recordings.

I should add that even a mono track sounds better in PCM than in DD (anyone with the laserdisc of It's a Wonderul Life can attest to that)...





Agreed. If we could defeat Dialog Normalization in playback, that would be a good first step...

 

[Marc Colella]

Just trying to figure out how 2001 was originally presented. I thought it was mono, but I guess I'm wrong.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

sorry... I'm just overreacting to everything today.

2001 was probaby mono on 35mm print releases and stereophonic on 70mm prints. Anyone have any accurate historical info?

 

[Marc Colella]

Actually, I think it was some of the other titles in this set that were originally mono. I swear my memory is getting worse by the minute. Can someone confirm what the original audio tracks for the 5 titles are? I've got this set on my want list (when I jump to HD) but only want titles that have the original audio tracks.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Yes, most of the other titles *were* only mono theatrically. Agreed that an original (losslessly encoded) soundtrack option should always be made available on either HD format.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

To the best of my knowledge, the only Kubrick-directed films released in stereo for their original theatrical runs were "Spartacus", "2001:ASO", and "Eyes Wide Shut". Everything else would have been mono.

While the inclusion of the original mono mixes would have been great, the 5.1 mixes are actually pretty impressive in their fidelity to the original mixes. "The Shining", in particular, must have been a real chore for whoever did the new mix as they would have to locate stereo and/or multi-track music sources for tons of edit pieces from varied sources.

I remember reading an interview with Wendy Carlos (probably from the liner notes for a CD release) where she talked about the music stems which were used for the theatrical mix of "A Clockwork Orange". She pointed out that they were compressed in anticipation that they would be incorporated into a mix destined for release on optical mono tracks. The same compressed music tracks were used when the original soundtrack LP was assembled. The uncompressed original tracks were used for the "Complete Original Score" CD from the late 1990s.

Regards,

 

[Aaron Silverman]

In my copy of 2001, there was a card of "Coming Soon On Blu-Ray" titles, and it included the logo for the Kubrick Collection. Any word on an HD boxed set?

 

[Rolando]

Sorry to ask again but my question seems to have gotten lost in the discussion. quite alright since I found the other info given quite interesting too.

But can anyone confirm if FMJ did indeed get a new 1080p24 transfer or is it the same as the first HD release?

 

[Brandon Conway]

Initial plans for HD & BD box sets were scrapped. Only the individual titles.

FMJ is a new transfer.

 

[Rolando]

great news, thanks Brandon

 

[Shawn.F]

Haven't had the time to watch the new transfers yet, but have watched a fair amount of the docs on them. The 'Clockwork Orange' docs are great.

Does anyone know why Barry Lyndon wasn't included?

 

[mohammad kahhaleh]

It must be answered here somewhere, but could anybody help me choose which version of "Eyes Wide Shut" should I buy??
My need:
- Blu ray Unrated Edition



Version 1 :
Eyes Wide Shut (2pc) (Ws Dub Spec Sub Ac3 Dol) [Blu-ray] (1999)
Amazon.com: Eyes Wide Shut (2pc) (Ws Dub Spec Sub Ac3 Dol) [Blu-ray]: Tom Cruise,Stanley Kubrick,Nicole Kidman: Movies & TV

Version 2 :
EYES WIDE SHUT (BR/SPECIAL EDIT/WS-1.78/ENG-FR-SP SUB)
Amazon.com: EYES WIDE SHUT (BR/SPECIAL EDIT/WS-1.78/ENG-FR-SP SUB): Movies & TV

 

[Paul Arnette]

It is my understanding that both 'versions' above are functionally identical, however the original cover art erroneously stated that the theatrical version was included when it was not and has not been on any Blu-ray Disc (or HD DVD) incarnation.

 

[Jari K]

There´s only one Blu-ray (and HD DVD) -version and it´s "Unrated".

Cover e.g. here (Blu-ray logo in "blue"):
DVD Empire - Item - Eyes Wide Shut / Blu-ray

edit (from our site): Although the back cover states (first pressing):"Movie Selectable in Both Rated and - for the First Time in North America - Unrated Versions", the HD-releases include ONLY the "Unrated" version of the film. In the future, Warner will add the packaging stickers stating "This package contains ONLY the Unrated Version" and "Not Rated: Includes Unrated Version Only".