A Few Words About A few words about...™ Oliver! -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

I've got an even worse one. At the West Side Story re-release in about 1967 or so, the management inserted an intermission in the middle of the Rumble! They placed it at the moment Riff is driven back against the fence without his knife. Boom! Intermission! I couldn't believe my eyes!

 

[Mark-P]

Sorry RAH, "A few words about...™ Oliver!" is now officially the "Interesting Intermission Story" thread!

 

[seangood79]

My worst intermission story doesn't have one. I once projected a 35mm print of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and the overture and intermission were missing. It was clear that a previous theater thought all that black film was useless and cut it out.
This was around 2003, and very few projectionists these days know how to handle an intermission.

 

[bgart13]

Waiting for someone to post a reason why I -- or others -- should buy this edition instead of the UK one.

 

[Moe Dickstein]

My worst intermission story doesn't have one. I once projected a 35mm print of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and the overture and intermission were missing. It was clear that a previous theater thought all that black film was useless and cut it out.This was around 2003, and very few projectionists these days know how to handle an intermission.

Or it was the general release print that never was supposed to have an overture or intermission...

 

[Ethan Riley]

Worse intermission I ever saw was the 1969 re-release of "South Pacific" at the Hays Theater in St. Cloud, MN. It was a battered 35mm print with mono sound. The overture, intermission, exit music were not included. But theater management put a generic "Intermission" title card at the end of a reel half way through the film. Problem was it was not at the end of Act I. It was placed at the moment Bloody Mary first introduces Liat to Lt. Cable. The very moment! Bloody Mary says "you like?" And, bang! INTERMISSION.

Quite right. The bang is supposed to occur offscreen, sometime during the intermission.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Viewed Oliver! today; have little to add to others' comments. I did notice how much better (at least louder) the music was on the isolated track. The sound was the best I've ever heard this movie, but pretty quiet as others have noted. I just turned up the speakers. I had to jigger the settings on my flatscreen several times. Either the grain looked too vibrant and noisy or the colors would mute too much. I finally watched it in a way that wouldn't annoy me. I don't think there's anything wrong with the disc; I just didn't like the way the movie was coming across on my tv. It looked odd to me. I finally just lowered the sharpness on my tv; the grain was so busy it was making it look like there were bugs crawling around on everyone's faces. That's happened to me on quite a few of these older, grainy films. Usually it isn't a problem, and I'm not saying it will be a problem for anybody else.

I note that the colors look more realistic than they did in the old dvd. The soundtrack pops quite a bit better than that old dvd too, but I think you make the most of the musical numbers with the isolated option.

I liked the interview with Ron Moody. He seems like a very gracious man, appreciative of his part in this film. Haven't seen the rest of the extras as yet.

Some want to know if they should purchase the TT version or get a European release. Hmm. That's entirely up to each of you. I don't see any compelling reason to have the TT version over the cheaper versions which are just as good. If you want to support Twilight's efforts, go ahead and buy it. You'll still be getting a handful of extras you won't get anywhere else. I'd recommend it simply for the isolated score, which was a revelation to me. I've heard that score god knows how many dozens of times, but never better than on this blu.

 

[MatthewA]

The isolated music-and-effects track (wouldn't it be great if someone could find a way to cut the sound effects out of the audio...) sealed the deal for me.

 

[PMF]

It's now some 27 plus months later, after the above Post.
I wanted to refresh my memory on RAH's critique and noted the question of why should one should buy the TT version (if there are any left) over the UK version.
The answer is simple.
TT's BD is better.
I purchased both.
Yes, the UK version is better than the DVD; but Mr. Crisp's version tops the UK BD.

Ultimately, though, I returned to this thread to ask RAH if "Oliver!"; despite your 5/5 rating; could be serviced any better under Mr. Crisp's watchful eye, as 2.5 years have passed and we have entered the age of 4K.
Also, its not quite clear to me if "Oliver!" was originally shot in 70mm or blown up to 70.

 

[trajan007]

Shot in 35mm. Saw it in NYC at Lowes State twin and believe it was a 35mm showing.

 

[Tony Bensley]

It's now some 27 plus months later, after the above Post.
I wanted to refresh my memory on RAH's critique and noted the question of why should one should buy the TT version (if there are any left) over the UK version.
The answer is simple.
TT's BD is better.
I purchased both.
Yes, the UK version is better than the DVD; but Mr. Crisp's version tops the UK BD.

Ultimately, though, I returned to this thread to ask RAH if "Oliver!"; despite your 5/5 rating; could be serviced any better under Mr. Crisp's watchful eye, as 2.5 years have passed and we have entered the age of 4K.
Also, its not quite clear to me if "Oliver!" was originally shot in 70mm or blown up to 70.

It appears that Amazon Canada only has the UK and Italian Blu-ray versions!*

Is the Twilight Time version THAT much better than the UK version, as it appears to me that it might prove a pretty big headache to find?

The UK Blu-ray is currently priced at $10.98 in Canadian funds: https://www.amazon.ca/Oliver-Blu-ray/dp/B00BAQZFHG/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1458842131&sr=1-1&keywords=oliver!+blu-ray

CHEERS!

* I was able to find the TT version by refining my search, but Amazon Canada is charging the absurdly high price of $59.98!

My above question remains!

 

[Twilight Time]

www.screenarchives.com or www.twilighttimemovies.com

 

[PMF]

Our value systems change from film to film; when speaking of budgets.
Only you can answer that question for yourself.
Contact Screen Archives; I bet they have a copy.
Does "Oliver!" from TT look like "Spartacus" or "My Fair Lady"? Nope.
On the other hand, nor does anything else.
So, with that in mind, "Olliver!" looks wonderful.
Once again, I have compared both BD's from TT and the UK.
The fact of the matter is that my purchase of the UK version was a mistake.
I had meant to buy the TT version via a long distance communique when working overseas.
New to the "Limited 3000" game, I timed it all to be one of the first purchasers of "Oliver!".
I was fearful that a much beloved and influential film from my childhood would sell out within its first hour of being available.
And boy, was I sweating it out when opening my mail and sensing that I had the wrong copy; upon my return home, one full month later.
Thankfully, Screen Archives still had copies. (Phew!!)
Anyway, I ended up owning both.
The UK BD was better than the DVD; but, of course, the TT version toped all.
I was very, very happy that I bought the TT version; and the differences were quite noticeable.
Capturing the TT version was well worth my double expense; if that tells you anything.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Our value systems change from film to film; when speaking of budgets.
Only you can answer that question for yourself.
Contact Screen Archives; I bet they have a copy.
Does "Oliver!" from TT look like "Spartacus" or "My Fair Lady"? Nope.
On the other hand, nor does anything else.
So, with that in mind, "Olliver!" looks wonderful.
Once again, I have compared both BD's from TT and the UK.
The fact of the matter, is that my purchase of the UK version was a mistake.
I had meant to buy the TT version.
Anyway, I ended up owning both.
I was very, very happy that I bought the TT version; and the differences were quite noticeable.
Capturing the TT version was well worth my double expense; if that tells you anything.

Hi Philip!

Thank you very much for answering my question of the Twilight Time version being THAT much better!

Unfortunately for me, the already higher price point for the TT print is rendered even more so by my Canada based location and our current CAN/U.S. rate of exchange. Because of these factors, I'm likely looking at a $50 minimum for the Twilight Time edition, as opposed to under $15 for the somewhat inferior UK Blu-ray, which is at least, still a marked improvement over the DVD.

I may just pass on both, for the time being.

CHEERS!

 

[PMF]

"Oliver!" will always has a life; henceforth, if not the UK or TT version then other distributors will pick it up at some point, down the road.
Nonetheless, you ought to contact Screen Archives to see what their prices are. I believe it should not be any more today than it was a couple of years ago; that being 30 bucks American.

 

[PMF]

[...] I cannot understand the love for those Lean epics, that just meander endlessly, with the same music cues rattling on and on. His earlier works are such gems, to me. It seems the grander his film became, the less he felt he required an editor.

Kael soup, anyone?

 

[PMF]

I was told a while ago, that the stems do not survive. I presume an M & E was used.[...]

With discussions on another thread about the Sony BD re-release of "Oliver!", I thought I'd re-post RAH's 2013 confirmation that addresses the sound.

(see Post #16; page 1)

 

[Dick]

I don't see why it should be like that, it's not like that in the cinema. You get lit-up curtains, that's what I'd like to see, & the curtains open on a black screen just before the film starts for that cinema experience.

So just buy any of the "Smilebox" Cinerama discs and that is exactly what you'll get.

 

[John Maher_289910]

Kael soup, anyone?

I don't know what this means, except I assume it has something to do with Pauline Kael? Did she not like Lean's epics? I've only read a few of her writings, as I pretty much have zero need for film critics. I don't recall ever agreeing with a single word she ever wrote. She always came off like someone who was desperate to be considered cool. Her reviews never convinced me that she even saw the picture she was reviewing.

 

[Dick]

Or it was the general release print that never was supposed to have an overture or intermission...

Yes, I think that once most any of the road show films were sent out to local theaters, intermissions (and often chunks of the movie proper) were dropped so that multiple showings could be scheduled. IAMMMMW was re-issued at 2 1/2 hours for just that reason.