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Countdown to Kong... (1 Viewer)

Nils Luehrmann

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Are we talking about the same studio that even as recently as a year ago has continued to have technical problems with their DVD-18 releases? The same studio that was heavily criticized for their less than impressive re-release of the award winning classic The Deer Hunter despite being one of their few Legacy releases? The same studio who while releasing over nine different editions of American Pie took years to finally release a much needed and requested new edition of the award winning classic The Sting? The same studio that was late to release product on standard DVD, and when it did was authoring below standard quality transfers?

Let's not forget that Universal won Worst Studio of the Year on HTF's annual poll, as it did last year and years previously. It has earned similar accolades on other sites as well. Let’s also not forget that they didn’t get the nickname “Re-releasal” for taking their time to release a DVD until they got it right the first time.

Has Universal got it right on occasion? Absolutely! However, if Universal treats its HD DVD releases with the same regard it has treated their standard DVD releases over the last ten years and continues to have some of the technical problems they still have with some of their releases, then waiting (a long time) may be a very good idea. :frowning:
 

Walter Kittel

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Well, you can always find fault with the practices of just about any studio (except Warner Bros. of course. :) ) - but what counts IMHO is what they are doing right this moment - and Universal is doing a fine job on HD DVD.

(BTW, I could apply any number of criticisms to Columbia Tri-Star's current SD DVD practices, but whether these practices will affect their Bd titles remains to be seen.)

- Walter.
 

Nils Luehrmann

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I could not agree with you more Walter. However, the post I was replying to was painting Universal as a venerable, old company with many professionals in their home video division. That have historically taken a bit longer to ramp up, making certain that every technical nuance is in place, and that we just have to wait a bit.

Unfortunately there has been little sign of this with their standard DVD releases over the last ten years. Can they turn things around, absolutely? Will they? Perhaps.

However, suggesting Universal takes a bit of time to ramp up and that they wait for all the technical nuances to be in place basically ignores the countless number of their standard DVD releases where this was not done.
 

Rob_Walton

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I'm guessing Nils probably just wishes Universal had taken a more quality oriented approach to their DVD releases over the years. That doesn't mean he hates the company or refuses to buy anything they're associated with (a telling feature of many Sony haters I've encountered online). It was certainly an odd comment for Robert Harris to be making, as we still seem to be waiting for Universal to get to the good part with DVD. Maybe they're just too venerable for the time frames of these modern formats' lifespans?! ;)
 

Robert Harris

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For those who may be unaware, Universal was the technology leader in the days ramping up to DVD, with their own digital compression center. They were heavily involved with compression technology which led to the success of DVD.

If anything is wrong with Universal, it might be found in the fact that their direction has been in less than a straight line, being owned by four different groups over the past fifteen years. This has a tendency of allowing even the best prepared plans to veer off in other directions.

But this has nothing to do with the quality of personnel, when they are permitted to take the path that they feel is best.

RAH
 

Herb Kane

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It's not a matter of refusing to buy anything Sony.... it's a matter of Sony not releasing anything to buy...

How many versions of The Fifth Element does the average human really need...?

I have the desire... I have the cash...... just waiting on you, Sony.
 

Rob_Walton

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Wow, that's a pretty extreme statement! Nothing? Nothing at all?! I realise tastes differ, but most studios run the gamut of genres and there are generaly plenty of movies from each worth getting hold of. Crouching Tiger, Das Boot, Lawrence (an RH project)... none of these hold any interest for you? Wow.
 

Nils Luehrmann

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Which is likely a similar story for all the other major studios. The problem though is that there is no reassurance that Universal will no longer ever be plagued with these issues, and thus no assurances that they will treat their HD DVD releases over the lifespan of the format any differently then they have treated their DVD releases over the span of that format.

All we have to go on is judging them by their past, recent, and current work, which although it has improved in some ways, clearly the highly qualified technical personal at Universal are apparently not always calling the shots, and there is nothing to suggest that will change any time soon. We can only hope that it does, but based on their track record with DVD and the company’s rocky financials and revolving ownership and management I certainly wouldn’t count on it.


BTW: No Herb, as we have discussed before, I don't dislike any studio, and I own far too many Universal titles to count (although if you like I can get the exact number from my DVD Profiler). In fact, one of my top reference discs is Universal's amazing Legacy DVD edition of To Kill a Mocking Bird. Unfortunately, this is a rarity for Universal, and far more often their releasing technically flawed and/or below average quality DVDs then they are technically superior reference quality DVDs.

I've also had several Universal DVDs die on me, as many others have, and their treatment of their back catalog has been extraordinarily erratic, with many high profile classics being either completely ignored, or at best given a basic treatment on DVD, while at the same time releasing countless "new editions" of films like American Pie.
 

Herb Kane

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Rob,
I have 3500+ DVD's in my collection and I doubt you could list a single Sony (Columbia/MGM/UA) title that I don't have (at least a classic title). My point is that they have all but given up on their classic library in favor of these constant re-releases. They have literally hundreds of titles I would buy in a heartbeat. At a time when WB, Fox and even Universal sees the potential in mining their vaults, Sony is no longer in the game... which is particularly disturbing considering they’re now sitting on the largest cache of classic titles.

So I get frustrated when I see multiple re-release after re-release…. In fact the three titles you list above have been released 8 times collectively.

Herb.
 

Herb Kane

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I dunno Nils, I think you might be selling Universal a bit short. I remember back early in the game, Universal had – without question, some of the best - and still considered reference discs, to this day i.e. Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13 and The Haunting – crappy film but an amazing soundtrack (all DTS BTW). This was at a time when Sony was going guns a’ blazing with their classic titles and Warner were releasing scads of non-enhanced / pan & scan transfers. These were locked away in glass cases at the front of stores and Columbia and Paramount were charging $35 p/disc (how the times have changed).

But to this day, brand spanking new big budget release titles from Universal are probably my favorite. At least to me they seem to appear to be among the most natural looking lacking that slightly processed look from other studios which I detest. And perhaps I’ve been lucky, I have never had a Universal disc die on me – that includes some of the old original Hitchcock releases as well as DVD-18’s.

I’m trying to get my hands on a few of the Universal HD titles but up here they’re next to impossible to find.
 

Nils Luehrmann

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Hmm... so you are frustrated that these titles have been re-released with improved editions a total of 2-3 times for each title, but you don't seem frustrated that Universal releases over 9 different editions of American Pie over only a few short years, while many of their much beloved classics were either not released yet, or only available as an early release with below average transfers and in come cases even MAR only video.

No, I'm not selling Universal short. I'm just not white washing over their deficiencies as if we can expect nothing but greatness from every Universal release, nor painting a picture of Universal as this bastion of professional home video talent. It is not just some off coincidence that throughout the communities of home video enthusiast, Universal has consistently ranked near or at the top of most polls for worst studio.

BTW: I went ahead and used my DVD Profiler to extract info on all my Universal titles:

207 Universal Titles
68 Are not Anamorphic
42 Are Single Layer

First: 12/09/1997 Backdraft
Last : 05/16/2006 The Producers (2005)
  • 1997: 03
  • 1998: 21
  • 1999: 20
  • 2000: 32
  • 2001: 23
  • 2002: 15
  • 2003: 21
  • 2004: 25
  • 2005: 37
  • 2006: 10
My Top 10 Favorites:
  • Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection
  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • Schindler's List
  • Ray
  • Seabiscuit
  • Universal Studios Classic Monster Legacy Collections
  • Legend (Ultimate Edition)
  • Red Dragon (Director's Edition)
  • King Kong (2005)
  • Gods and Monsters
  • Touch of Evil (that's 11, but didn't want to leave it out) :)
Some of My Disappointments:

:star: For any of the following or combination of reasons:
  • MAR (not original aspect ratio)
  • Bad Original Source
  • Poor Transfer
  • Authoring Video Artifacts
  • Poor Audio
  • Devoid of any features
  • The Sting
  • Double Indemnity
  • The Deer Hunter
  • Slaughterhouse-Five
  • Scent of a Woman
  • Casino
  • Dune
  • American Graffiti
  • Carlito's Way
  • Scarface
  • The Jerk
  • Midnight Run
  • Airport
  • The Red Violin
  • 12 Monkeys
  • Dante's Peak
  • The Thing
  • Twister
  • Backdraft
  • Sneakers
  • Along came Polly
  • Columbo
  • Bedtime for Bonzo
  • + Most of their DVD-18 releases
 

Herb Kane

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Not quite sure what you’re getting at here Nils… You’re upset with Universal over the original release of Double Indemnity…? Universal didn’t release it. It was licensed to Image who released it. However, and I’ve said this before, those who are expecting a likeness to last year’s To Kill A Mockingbird are going to be sorely disappointed when DI is finally released…. And nobody loves this film more than I. Similar to The Lost Weekend, it was a Paramount title which changed hands and was subsequently treated like a red-headed step child - and from what I’ve read, pristine elements just don’t exist. Hope I’m wrong but I’m predicting many unrealistic expectations (and disappointments) with regards to this upcoming release. And the studio will take the unwarranted heat.
 

Nils Luehrmann

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Apparently you never noticed all the discussions over the last several months about BOTH formats prior to their release. Apparently it was OK to argue the advantages of HD DVD prior to its release, but not Blu-ray? Besides, these formats are not exactly ultra complex machines that can only be understood when used. I'd even be willing to bet that most owners of HD DVD players don't understand how their players and the format is designed, built, and works nearly as well as the many dedicated enthusiasts and professionals who have been discussing these formats now for over two years, and yet probably don't own a player.
 

Herb Kane

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Nils,

That’s a nice list you’ve compiled there. How many of those “new” releases are now pan & scan only…? If you’re interested, I can post a list of recent Sony release titles that are… would that be an exaggeration…? And just so we’re clear, Sony – the same company that manufactures widescreen TV’s.



Huh? You haven’t been reading Nils.

It’s this statement you need to check and double check. No where in my postings throughout have I ever said that Sony’s releases were inferior – certainly not overall. They’ve had misfires like everyone else. When they do release something, it’s generally good and I generally purchase it. What I said was that they are no longer releasing any classic titles to purchase. If they did, I’d buy them - plain and simple. They have all but given up on classic titles. This, from a studio sitting on the largest collection of films on the planet. Even with Universal’s re-releases of the titles you list, Universal still managed to release 4 or 5 sets dedicated to their past legends over the last month or so – with the upcoming John Wayne set due on Tuesday and DI scheduled for late summer. The Cecil B. DeMille collection just streeted on Tuesday. What classic titles do Sony have on tap again…?

Speaking of Double Indemnity, you never addressed this…. How are you disappointed with Universal again…?
 

Herb Kane

Screenwriter
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May 7, 2001
Messages
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Yes Larry - it's due August 29th. I was just curious as to why Nils was upset with Universal regarding the original release.
 

Nils Luehrmann

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Herb, when you provide that list you said you could come up with of the dozens upon dozens of Sony titles that have each been released as many times as the American Pie movies, then I'll be glad to answer that. In the meantime, you can keep your red herring, I'm not hungry. ;)

BTW: This thread is about Universal’s release of King Kong which I personally expect will be awesome given the source material available to them. In addition, as the OP brought it up, it is also on Universal’s track record for releasing technically superior quality video releases with only a small delay and therefore, in the opinion of the OP, they are worth waiting for. Yet, you somehow managed to sneak in an opportunity to yet again share your hatred for Sony with the rest of us, and have in some way derailed this thread.
 

Herb Kane

Screenwriter
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If my fellow member – and fellow classic film fan, Paul Scott (the originator of this thread) will indulge me just one more post…

Nils,
Aside from refusing to answer my questions as they relate to Sony’s poor business decisions and calling into question a studio (Universal) and holding them responsible for a transfer they had no part of (Double Indemnity)…. you have the nerve to state that I “have in some way derailed this thread”. You’ll see in post #24, I was merely poking fun – a carry-on if you will, from our previous conversations. But I would suggest sir, that if there was any derailing, you and you alone were responsible for that after you had the unmitigated gall to post what you did (see post #21) and call into question an industry professional who chose to impart some of his wisdom with the members here on this board. Apparently, you won't accept responsibility for that either.

There’s nothing more to say.
 

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