Australian Bounty Classics (Hard to find 1950s films on pressed DVDs) (1 Viewer)

[ShowsOn]

Hi all, I just thought I'd start a new thread for discussion of these Australian releases. The full list is here: http://www.bountyentertainment.com.au/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2 They previously released Violent Saturday in a non-anamorphic PAL transfer that looks the same as the Spanish version. They also released Boy on a Dolphin which I have been told is a very poor 4:3 letterboxed transfer. Today I received the following: Ride a Crooked Trail (1958) This is a good anamorphic NTSC transfer with an aspect ratio of about 2.3:1. If you don't want to get the Audy Murphy TCM set, this is a good way to get just this film on its own. 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956) This is a good anamorphic PAL transfer, again around 2.3:1 aspect ratio. This is perhaps slightly lower quality than Ride, but still a decent disc. Drum Beat (1954) This disc is a big disappointment because the aspect ratio is just 2.00:1, when it should be 2.55:1, because it is a very early CinemaScope film. It does, however, have a stereo sound track, and the image quality is reasonable considering the image is zoomed in so much. King of the Khyber Rifles (1953) This disc is a massive disappointment because it is improperly encoded! This is clearly meant to be a 4:3 letterboxed transfer, but the disc is encoded as 16:9, so the DVD plays back with an absurdly wide ratio because the image is horizontally stretched when it doesn't need to be! If you use software like VLC Media Player to force the disc to play back as 4:3, you get to see the proper aspect ratio, which is close to 2.55:1, but on the downside, the transfer is interlaced. Here is a demonstration of what is wrong with the disc. This is what the disc looks like: This is what it should look like: The sound seems to be stereo for the music and effects, but mono for the dialogue! Or maybe it is just narrow stereo (which wasn't common in early 'Scope films, usually they loved using wide stereo tracks to 'match' the width of the picture). The Disc ID of the bad version I have is 751F8A4A0CB837B6. Hopefully this fault is corrected so there will be a repressed version that is encoded as 4:3 instead of 16:9. ALL of the discs are region free which is good, but sadly they are also all single layer. The other good thing is they are $15 each, but if you wait a few months you can get them for $10 or less from ebay.com.au and department stores.

 

[Colin McGuigan]

I have 23 Paces to Baker Street and Drum Beat on the way to me. I'm glad to hear that the first is a good transfer and a little disappointed about Drum Beat. If it's zoomed in to 2:1 that's hardly ideal but still better than nothing. Can anyone confirm the AR should be 2.55:1 - I know IMDB has it listed that way but they're not always spot on. I'm just asking since 2:1 seems an odd choice for a compromised ratio. Films sometimes get zoomed to 1.85:1 or, more often, 1.78:1 for television deals, but 2:1 isn't exactly TV-friendly.


BTW, I also have Bounty's recent release of Johnny Apollo, and that's a very nice looking transfer.

 

[ShowsOn]

I have 23 Paces to Baker Street and Drum Beat on the way to me. I'm glad to hear that the first is a good transfer and a little disappointed about Drum Beat. If it's zoomed in to 2:1 that's hardly ideal but still better than nothing. Can anyone confirm the AR should be 2.55:1 - I know IMDB has it listed that way but they're not always spot on. I'm just asking since 2:1 seems an odd choice for a compromised ratio. Films sometimes get zoomed to 1.85:1 or, more often, 1.78:1 for television deals, but 2:1 isn't exactly TV-friendly.


BTW, I also have Bounty's recent release of Johnny Apollo, and that's a very nice looking transfer.

I stuffed up measuring the screen captures. AFTER the opening credits, the movie itself is about 1.88:1. If Drum Beat was 2.35:1, that would be acceptable, but it should really be 2.55:1, especially considering the disc has a stereo sound track. The slight difference is because releases with a mono track required cropping the image a bit. But the fact the DVD has a stereo soundtrack means it was shot with that format in mind, thus the aspect ratio should be 2.55:1. It is obvious to me that there is a lot of cropping on the sides, because a lot of the compositions don't fit the actors into the frame properly. But as you say, this transfer is better than a 1.33:1 pan and scan transfer. It still isn't ideal though. It's interesting that the title card also includes the Spanish title. It seems that Alan Ladd's production company made this film. I recall from a Warner Home Video chat a long time ago that Warner no longer owns the rights to distribute this film. So it is possible that this is the best transfer we can expect for a while. I believe White Feather was another J

 

[Colin McGuigan]

Thanks for that.

Drum Beat was put out in Spain a while back - I don't have that release but I recall hearing there were some issues with the transfer on that too - so maybe it's the same print used, and maybe as you say it's the best (only?) one available right now.


On a separate but related note, I got the Australian release of Gun for a Coward today. It's a very handsome looking anamorphic scope transfer from a company called Visual Entertainment Group.

 

[ShowsOn]

Thanks for that.

Drum Beat was put out in Spain a while back - I don't have that release but I recall hearing there were some issues with the transfer on that too - so maybe it's the same print used, and maybe as you say it's the best (only?) one available right now.


On a separate but related note, I got the Australian release of Gun for a Coward today. It's a very handsome looking anamorphic scope transfer from a company called Visual Entertainment Group.

Thanks for mentioning Gun for a Coward. I didn't know it was available, so I'll order a copy off eBay.

 

[speedspin]

I hadn't realised that Gun For A Coward was available in Australia either. I will definitely be going for that one. On the subject of Bounty releases, has anyone had a chance to check out any of their 'Arabian Nights' releases, I wonder? Specifically, Arabian Nights, The Prince Who Was A Thief and Son Of Ali Baba. These are also available on Koch in Germany of course but, to date, I haven't seen any comments on how the Bounty versions compare in terms of picture quality.