Gone With The Wind (1 Viewer)

[Agee Bassett]

Unless I misremember, Robert Harris has stated that the current GWTW DVD is very representative of the 1954 reissue color palette.

 

[DeeF]

Mmm, I think it's close to 1954, but some tweaking was done in 1989. Without giving you a perfect reference, I read some article at the time that quoted one of the people working on the film, saying that everybody would love the color, because it would look "modern," that is to say, different from the original, and even the bright technicolor look of the 50s.

 

[Jeff_HR]

 

[DeeF]

Here is some history. I have no doubt that some of this is inaccurate, but it is something to chew on.

http://www.classicimages.com/1998/au...onewtwind.html

 

[DaViD Boulet]

On a large-screen scale the current DVD looks like a digital mess. Loads of EE and compression noise driven up a notch due to all the film-grain being artifically sharpened by the ringing.

Blegh.

For me, I'll be a happy camper just to finally have this in a form that looks natural and film-like to my eyes. All the other great extras and "fixes" folks are talking about in this thread would naturally be welcome too

 

[ScottR]

I saw the film in 89 and that print looks nothing like the DVD....it was muted, almost to the point of being in black and white....reds were dusty orange, blues were gray, and the contrast was out of whack....when the 89 vhs came out, I was surprised and impressed that the colors were more vibrant.

 

[DeeF]

I saw the film in theaters in 1968, 1975, 1989, and 1998.

The 1989 version was a great revelation to me, I thought, beautiful color, very modern looking. I bought the VHS (made from this version) and I thought that was the very best the movie could look.

Then I went to the 1998 "restoration" and I was pretty horrified by it, the colors were all off (often looking black instead of brown, red, etc.) and it was very badly registered, with bleeding everywhere.

I bought the DVD with some trepidation, hearing that it had been made from this recent "restoration." To my surprise, the DVD looked fine, if a little bit grainy.

Mr. Harris assured me at one point that the DVD (currently being sold) used the same source print from Turner, 1989. The same one you see on television.

I do think the DVD picture could use improvement, and extras. But for the most part, I'm happy with how it looks, its saturation, etc.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

As flawed as the current DVD looks on very large displays, the theatrical reissue that preceded it (with the "windowboxed 4:3 in an anamorphic 2.35:1 frame" dye transfer prints) was a bigger disaster. The upshifted frames were a mild annoyance, but the number of shots with atrocious registration was downright depressing. [gross exaggeration]I was wondering if I had forgotten to put on my anaglyph 3-d glasses before watching the film.[/gross exageration]

Regards,

 

[Rain]

From a marketing perspective, I can appreciate why they might want to have a more "modern" look. However, there are many of us who would be very interested in a "techno-historical point of view."

There is no reason in the world why both (or all three) versions cannot be made available. Why not please everyone?

 

[Al (alweho)]

With DVD sales numbers nowadays that may be possible - what it really comes down to is economics.

I used to work in the music biz at BMG many years ago and two of the biggest problems with catalog reissues we faced were a) choosing what to release, and then b) how to remaster it. I'm sure many of the same rules we had then apply to catalog DVD releases now.

One of the most famous examples was Lucille Ball's "Wildcat" cast album on CD. We had lots of requests for it, but once shipped it only sold about 500 copies. That didn't even cover the cost of manufacturing, despite the early LP royalties we got away with paying on it. It was a painful lesson in trying to please the fans.

The Gerhardt Classic Film Score series on the other hand was another highly requested catalog item, and thankfully due to some creative marketing (remixing it into Dolby Surround) it took something that would have only sold a couple of hundred copies and pushed it into the thousands that were needed for the project to turn a profit.

Since part of the original series was released in quad, this was really a no brainer - and it gave us a chance to involve many of the folks who were still left (with the exception of Gerhardt) in the reissues. What a pleasure it was to give David Raksin a chance to remix his Laura disc the way he never got to do it from the multichannels which we found at the last minute.

The disc sonics didn't really compare in any way to the sound quality to the old LP masters, but we felt they were tremendously improved, and they got many good reviews when they came out. The extra numbers of sales we got with this allowed for complete notes to be included with each disc, and their quality printing. We even got a little bit of a marketing budget thanks to their success, so we could turn more folks onto the series.

I had noted in the recent HTF chat with Warner Home Video that a few folks were still asking for an original cut of Superman with the original soundtrack, and I do understand why they may want it. But after seeing what WHV did for the DVD SE and especially the quality of the new surround mix, I think they WHV was correct in doing what they did. The vast majority of consumers would prefer and enjoy the new sonics and cut of the film.

Could they have thrown in the old mix and did a seamless branching version of the old and new cuts of the movie? Considering what it could have cost (this was at the time a new area of catalog content reissues for them) I think they made the prudent choice. Besides - they now have some extra features they can include in the DVD HD version we all know is coming eventually anyway.

Catalogs are what you live on in the content business. You've already paid to make the product (usually at the much lower costs of the past) and you pay out less in royalties since (if they even exist) they are paid out at older rates.

Hopefully the new HD DVD format will allow for future reissues of films to include even more bonus features - although I think the studios (just like the recording industry) understand that product can always be upgraded and reissued in order to keep sales going.

When you work for a major, you do the best you can in getting something out for now, keeping in mind you are just a footnote in this product's eventual lifespan - and you always hope the company understands they do have a legacy to watch over.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Al, a very eloquent and informed post.


I comport with everything that you say except for the above quote...I understand how *branching* would have increased authoring costs for the DVD...but how would merely including the original soundtrack have substantially affected the profitability of the DVD? If anything...that simple and low-cost feature would have added more value and increased the marketability among the strong fan base IMO.

 

[Al (alweho)]

Thanks for the kind words David.

The cut of the film on the DVD was expanded by the director (if I remember right) so the old soundtrack probably wouldn't fit it.

They most likely would have had to include the old version (with the original edit and soundtrack) on a second disc in order for it to work, and WHV wasn't doing 2 disc SE sets at that point yet. (Not to mention Donner may not have wanted it too - he really was supposed to be quite pleased with the final product as I understand.)

One other thing I just remembered too - this was a John Williams soundtrack. He (like Jerry Goldsmith) likes to be paid for each use of his music - so the inclusion of an original track (on top of the already available new soundtrack and music only track this disc has) may have incurred a higher royalty cost. (That's why some of the music only tracks that were available on first editions of DVDs don't make it into the souped-up re-issues.)

People forget many of the older films were put together deal-wise before all these new formats were dreamed up. One need only reference the Peggy Lee/Lady and the Tramp/Disney case to see how complicated and costly these things, such as additional music tracks, can end up.