moviebuff75
Screenwriter
I went ahead and ordered this a couple of days ago. It is one of my favorite films, and who knows when it will get the treatment it so deserves.
The opening New York City image doesn't fade to black in the "fixed" version, but whether even that is as it should be now I couldn't say. Nothing else seemed different at all, and given the disappointment with the transfer expressed by people in this thread, that is unfortunate. "West Side Story" deserves "Lawrence Of Arabia" treatment, but it hasn't happened yet.[/
It still slightly fades but not to a jarring black. It should have zero fade and pull back to revel the title. The color change of the opening during overture is still the wrong hues.
Other than this and some artifacts here and there the transfer is good. But the first time I saw WSS in a theatre the opening overture was so intense and the laser disc and DVD got it correct that I am disappointed and have not watched this more than a couple of times on Blu
I guess they don't care so if i want to watch it i'll have to get what they give us on this occasion.davidmatychuk said:The opening New York City image doesn't fade to black in the "fixed" version, but whether even that is as it should be now I couldn't say. Nothing else seemed different at all, and given the disappointment with the transfer expressed by people in this thread, that is unfortunate. "West Side Story" deserves "Lawrence Of Arabia" treatment, but it hasn't happened yet.
One has to put West Side Story on Blu-ray in perspective - it is not an epic (pun intended) fail like the Blu-ray of Spartacus or some European releases of the Bronston superproductions. While these may not quite have the stature of West Side Story they have the potential to look as good or better on Blu-ray.davidmatychuk said:"West Side Story" deserves "Lawrence Of Arabia" treatment, but it hasn't happened yet.
I second that, although to my ears the secondary soundtrack also sounded slightly filtered and processed, albeit much, much less than the default one.I can't understand the logic of some of the studios with these lossless HD-Master soundtracks on older titles, which I've also noticed lacking presence, punch and high-end on other releases. Surely the point of them is to provide a mechanism to hear the original recording as transparently as possible, so that every nuance of the soundtrack is carried through. Why do some of them feel it necessary to filter, de-noise, compress and process what they master to put on the HD track? Especially with a musical! Something is amiss when the lossy track sounds better than the HD-lossless one, as in this case. As I say, a flaw not just exclusive to this title, but if WSS is ever revisited for Bluray, I really hope that they also sort out the audio, as well as the transfer.Charles Smith said:But also be sure to select the right soundtrack, or you won't have the real thing with the right "presence" and punch. Very important. The default one is horrible.
Ed Lachmann said:Like Oliver observed, there has never been as horrible a blu-ray disaster as the abortion Universal delivered us in SPARTACUS. I'm not crazy about the substandard BDs of the Bronson epics or WEST SIDE STORY, for that matter, but I can at least watch them and enjoy them to a great extent. SPARTACUS, a beloved film of my youth, makes me sick to my stomach and I've disposed of the ugly debacle in my trash can. Just hoping someone someday makes it right!
Brian Husar said:No posts here in awhile but I finally took the plunge and bought this version because it was on sale. I bought a so called "corrceted" version because I checked the bar code and it was the bar code for the "corrected" version, it still has the complete fade to black before the title...I thought they changed that ? Anyway MGM/UA still needs to correct this whole thing.
And I believe SPARTACUS has been restored and I speculate it will be receiving a Blu-ray re-release this year, along with the 1939 HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.Brian Husar said:Miley, I still have not and will not buy Sparticus until Universal does right by it. They have RAH to help them. Good news is sometime this year we will be getting an updated My Fair Lady that RAH was involved in.
Yes, it has been restored.Dick said:And I believe SPARTACUS has been restored and I speculate it will be receiving a Blu-ray re-release this year, along with the 1939 HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.
See if its cheap enough you will accept it with all the errors. I bought one too.warnerbro said:I couldn't believe it. But it's true! I ordered it just because it's 5 bucks!
Konstantinos said:Yes, it has been restored.
We will know how it is, in March.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/kubricks-spartacus-among-four-new-restorations-headed-for-tcm-fest-20141103
Looking forward to both of them on Bluray.
Dick said:And I believe SPARTACUS has been restored and I speculate it will be receiving a Blu-ray re-release this year, along with the 1939 HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.