A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Wizard of Oz -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Still disappointed about Judy's "Oh Toto, Don't:" line being altered, but the big screen event was good.. The colors and print looked a lot like the 1989 version.

 

[benbess]

Yes Eric, I agree. I saw it in 89 in the theaters as well. And this was better, but it was less of a jump than I thought it would be. And frankly, it was watching a video rather than a film. I could tell that sometimes, esp. I think when the camera was panning and I saw a few telltale video lines, or whatever they're called. Film is still sometimes superior. I think they should have mastered new 35mm prints from 4k scans.

What's the altered line you mention?

Still, wonderful movie. And there were parts where the PQ was definitely better than any version I had ever seen before--including in 89. The sound was much better, I thought, although maybe a little too loud in places?

 

Originally, when Uncle Henry is putting Toto in the basket for Miss Gulch, Judy says "Oh, Toto! Don't." It's a very emotional line of dialogue and she sounds very distraught. In 1998 when the restoration was occuring for the re-release in theatres, the audio mixers thought that the last part of the line was a repeated "Oh Tot." and they deleted either the first or last part of the line. They said that they found no correspondence in the script and Ned Price okayed the deletion. However, the continuity script shows the entire line and it has been this way since the rough cut. Now if those restoration experts have better ears than I do, or if they were able to tell that it was a stutter edit, I am okay with that. But it sounds to me when I listen to it that they were wrong. And the reason I bring it up is now Dorothy just sort of whimpers. A small change? Yeah. However, it is just as important as an actor nodding or gesturing...it is a part of their performance. No lines or frames of film should be deleted from this treasure.

 

[naplesgc]

Just wanted to share my experience. Loved the film on the big screen even though it was a complete mess in regards to the method of distribution.

Just got back from the showing in Naples, FL at the Hollywood 20. Seemed sold out, so that was good. We sat at approx. 6:40 PM for the 7PM showing. I notice a DISH Network HD logo on the screen, didn't think much of it while we continued to wait for the preview to the movie that was mentioned. At approx. 7PM up on the screen is a DISH Network DVR list of programs. I noticed Wizard of Oz and they press play. Up comes another DISH Network HD logo so the person in the projector booth thinks it didn't start and goes through the process two or three times until he/she realized it was the start of the DVRed event. So, rather than letting it play, he/she started to fast forward through the anticipated preview (DVD like discussion/history of the movie) stopping at times, then fast forwarding again, then went to far and had to rewind it. Okay, by this time, there are loud grumbles throughout the theater - "Hey!" "Stop it", "What?!" Many of these people were in the theater before 6:30. The theater was to play the preview at a certain time that timed the start of the movie around the 7PM start time.

So, now it's approx. 7:05 and the movie starts. You'll never guess? The lip sync is off, and bad. More grumblings but this time softer as the movie had started. So, enter the color scene. I said to my brother-in-law the reports were that the yellow brick road "popped" and "this should be good!". Not! He leans in and say, "the yellow brick road looks red". I agreed, we discussed but continued to watch and wonder. The audio was still off but we tried to make the best of it. So, while in Munchkin Land, the movie skipped forward to "live" if you know how the DISH DVR works, but it was only like three seconds behind. Then onto the screen is "Stretch", "Full", "Zoom", "Normal", etc. This is now driving a lot of people crazy. They should have really stopped and taken care of all then started again. (Well, they should have screened and tested prior to 7PM). This is no joke - so, earlier when we saw the red washed out YBR, I said to BIL that I bet they don't have the component cables in correctly or one cable is not connected correctly. So, a lady behind us gets up and says this is ridicules. We could tell she was going to go and tell someone. Within 3 minutes of her getting up, whoa-la, Dorothy's dress became a beautiful bright checked white and blue and the YBR became the YBR.

So, we finally were able to enjoy the movie. Oh, somehow the lip sync finally fixed itself. So, one more time did they scroll through the DISH format settings and they left it on stretch for a few minutes then changed it back to normal and left it alone the rest of the way.

This was not DISH 1080i. I'm going to go back to the theater and ask to look at the machine since I have the DISH Hi-Def box I know what I'm looking for. I will promptly complain during business hours on Thursday and ask for a free movie ticket.

There was a Dorothy and wicked witch sighting in the theater in full costume.

Can't wait to experience in blu-ray.

 

[Wayne_j]

Glenn,

It sounds like you had a traumatic experience. Yes, there was an OZ related pre-show slide show that started about 30 minutes before show time. Right at 7PM Robert Osbourne gave a special introduction for this event which was followed by the old Angela Lansbury documentary on the making of the film.

 

[Jeff Whitford]

Looks like this and Gremlins will be out early minus the extras
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-bargains/561981-target-media-prices-september-26-october-2-2009-a.html

 

[Wayne_j]

And the price for the bare bones Oz at Target is still expensive enough so that they probably includes most of the video based content.

 

[Jeff Swearingen]

Just got back from my Fathom screening of Oz. NEVER AGAIN.

The theater was showing it zoomed to 1.85:1. When I asked the projectionist about this, I was told "it looks right". I told him it was wrong. He replied "It'd be too small...like watching it on TV." I finally told him to get his manager and he said "if you wanted to watch it on TV you should have stayed home." The manager admits that the REGIONAL AMC manager (this is AMC Mazza Gallerie in Chevy Chase Maryland, if anyone else was there) had informed everyone to show the film zoomed - apparently they were worried about people complaining because the film wasn't filling the screen. Of course, this was regardless of the title card at the beginning saying "This has been formatted to show the original film presentation." Guess that's not important anymore.

So if anyone has addresses so I can contact the appropriate people at Warner/TCM, Fathom, or AMC and complain, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

What a terrible thing for them to say! And what a rude way to say it. "You should have stayed at home." I would tell them that I will stay at home from now on or go to another theatre. Fortunately, our theatre showed it in the correct ratio, although midway through, the projector shifted resulting in bigger bars on the left and the picture off center.

 

I've searched Target.com in hopes I could order online, I'm based in Australia, but can't locate a page to buy the stripped-down Oz. Does anyone know how I can do this? And also any specs for the release, if its single disc or 3-disc like the UK version coming later in the year?

PS, Swearingen, that is atrocious; the ignorance of zooming in The Wizard of Oz is maddening.

 

[Jeff Swearingen]

I couldn't believe that I had to debate the issue with the manager. They "fixed it" finally - with a severe window boxing that could have easily been corrected by someone adjusting the projector lens. At that point I was too upset with the manager to deal with it. I came straight home to pre-order the Blu-ray just to get the bad taste of that screening out of my mouth.

 

Still, you have the satisfaction of being more enlightened than those gimps. So, you've got that going for you... Which is nice.

 

[Godbluffer]

I think the DVD-Beaver screenshot of Emerald City in the distance looks contrast-boosted on Blu-ray, making it look a bit harsh and overbright. As a consequence it doesn't quite have the subtle glow effect that can be seen especially on the shots of the first edition DVD's and was still retained - although to a lesser degree already - on the Special Edition DVD's.

 

Originally Posted by Godbluffer

I think the DVD-Beaver screenshot of Emerald City in the distance looks contrast-boosted on Blu-ray, making it look a bit harsh and overbright. As a consequence it doesn't quite have the subtle glow effect that can be seen especially on the shots of the first edition DVD's and was still retained - although to a lesser degree already - on the Special Edition DVD's.

I'm going with RAH on this; he's seen it in motion.

 

[RobertR]

Thanks to those who posted their experiences about the theatrical showing. I was wondering what I might have missed. Now I know that it would likely have been a big waste of time and money.

 

[GlennH]

Thanks for the reports. I was thinking of attending this event but decided to skip it. Now I'm kind of glad I did. Nothing worse than having the theater management and workers have so little regard for the show. I remember seeing one of the new Star Wars movies a few years back in a theater with no sound coming from the surround speakers at all, even though there was surround on the previews. I complained and got my money back (nobody else seemed to care) but it's such a frustrating experience.

 

[Brian L]

Very, very poor presentation here. The image was very washed out, almost like watching on a early generation LCD, and the colors were extremely muted. IMHO, Oz should not look like it was redone in pastels!

Also, there was a very odd screen door effect. When my wife, who does not share my obsession with picture and sound quality, makes the same observations unprompted, you know that they dropped the ball on this one.

On the plus side, it was in OAR, but it looked like it was window boxed in a 16:9 frame, and the whole image was shifted right, thus on the left side, there was dark screen, followed by lighter screen, then the actual image. Shame they did not have masking curtains that could properly frame a 4:3 image.

I am quite curious how this was actually presented in terms of the equipment. I have seen a few DLP projected films, and they looked pretty good. This was a far cry from what those films looked like. At the conclusion of the credits, the Windows desk top appeared at the bottom of the screen, so there would seem to have been a PC in the loop somewhere.

Oh well... lesson learned. A shame that they don't re-release the film using a properly restored print. Albuquerque is not exactly the cinema capital of the world, so even if they did, it may not be shown here, but it would surely be better than what I saw last night.

Brian

 

[Rob_Ray]

The Century Theater in Huntington Beach, CA had their own snafus, but I must admit they handled it more professionally than the other theaters I'm reading about here. The slide show at 6:30 came off fine, although the cycle time was barely more than maybe five minutes so the same slides cycled through countless times. The Angela Lansbury documentary started on time but sounded rather echoish where we were in the back of the packed auditorium. Midway through the documentary, the screen went blank. When the audience got restless, a theater employee turned up the lights and announced that there was a mishap in the booth and they were working on it. She assured us that when it was fixed, the program would be resumed at the point where the picture went blank, which it eventually did after maybe seven or eight minutes.

When the actual movie started, the echo effect went away and the stereo remix was the best I'd ever heard. The transfer itself was lovely with that old-fashioned Technicolor color saturation but, as others who saw it at the Motion Picture Academy a few weeks ago complained, the projection left a lot to be desired. It was dark and muddy-looking. Digital projection just can't yet equal a pristine 35mm print struck from the best sources.

But it was fun seeing the film with an appreciative audience that laughed at all the right places and responded to the emotional heart-tugging in the story. The film will always be timeless. There's nothing that dates it. There are no cars, telephones, appliances or 1930s fashions that make it look old-fashioned. And the dialogue's references to the depression era in which it was made ("Times being what they were, I accepted...") are vague enough to be eternally relevant.

This is very nearly the perfect Hollywood movie and I'm thrilled that it remains fresh and new and that new generations continue to embrace it.

 

[BillyFeldman]

I always have to laugh when these digital projection zealots on chat boards try to tell me that it betters conventional projection. I went and saw the new Harry Potter in digital projection - dark, muddy, and pretty rank. And that's been my experience every time I've seen digital projection. And these have been in supposedly state of the art theaters. I don't know if it's the projectors themselves or the source material, but give me film projected properly any day of the week.

 

[BillyFeldman]

How can you go with anyone on this? I think you can only go with your own eyes. Can't go from caps, and while I respect and appreciate the words here, I don't always agree with them. So, I'm really anxious to see this with my own eyes and judge for myself.

Originally Posted by Ben Cheshire


I'm going with RAH on this; he's seen it in motion.