DVD Review HTF REVIEW: King Kong - Two Disc Collector's Edition (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). (1 Viewer)

[Roger Rollins]

Amen, Mr. Toell.

 

[Mark_TS]

please god, let the spider pit sequence be found in some attic or chest somewhere over the rainbow...

 

[Kevin M]

delete: pointless exercise.

 

[Steve Christou]

There you go, a satisfied customer.

 

[SteveJKo]

Rich, fantastic analogy!

And a big THANK YOU VERY MUCH (on Thanksgiving Day no less!) to the folks at Warner Bros. for this fine DVD release.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I certainly don't think he was expressing vitriol, just the same disappointment I felt. Why produce such a superb disc and than go the ordinary route with the commentary. How hard can it be to line up someone who knows a lot about KK and can communicate it?

I haven't heard Ray's commentary on MJY yet, but he worked on that film, so I'm hopeful it will be better.

 

[William Miller]

We all knew that Warner had a big mountain to climb to make Kong look great. We hoped and prayed that a miracle could occur. But it did not happen. I am very disappointed with this transfer. But maybe, somewhere, somehow, a beautiful print will surface and a future release will send us into ecstasy. Kong was the Eighth Wonder of the World. A beautiful DVD in the future will become the Ninth Wonder of the World.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Does this dvd contain just about everything you wanted to know about King Kong? IMO, it does, so I don't quite understand the negativity about the commentary.





Crawdaddy

 

[Robert Crawford]

Sometimes, I think some of you people expect miracles with these classic film restorations. A dose of reality will go a long way in regard to reconciling unachievable high expectations.





Crawdaddy

 

[William Miller]

I said I did not expect a miracle. I hoped for a miracle. Gee whiz. Why does a negative comment always have to be retorted so quickly around here?

 

[Steve Christou]

Totally agree Robert, some people are never satisfied. This Kong set exceeded my expectations, loved the documentary, the remaking of the Snake Pit sequence and the icing on the cake for me was that Ray Harryhausen commentary.

 

[Robert Crawford]

For the same reason why negative comments have to appear around here so quickly, it's called sharing opinions on the internet.




Crawdaddy

 

[William Miller]

I'm starting to get the feeling that negative comments are accepted but not embraced for reasons that I do not understand.

Please don't take away the right to anyone who expresses the feeling that they are unhappy with a DVD transfer.

What I am trying to say is that it seems that when a negative comment is posted, the responses are frequently targeted to the point that there must be something wrong in the thinking process that led the poster to saying negative comments.

There have been many instances of "miracles" on DVD's. Check out Criterion's "The Blob". Or the original "Invaders from Mars". Or The Ghoul. Or Roan's "White Zombie". We hoped. We didn't get a good Kong. But hope exists. That's what I was trying to say. I love sharing opinions. But snapping back at an opinion is not sharing.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Please, stop with the hyperbole about the rights of people being taken away. Furthermore, as with all comments/opinions, whether they are negative or positive, expect them to be challenged by those that don't agree with them. Now, as far as miracles being performed on other dvd releases, it's all about the film elements being used in the restoration and the technology of today that is being utilized on them.

Either way, everybody is welcome to their opinion and spirited discussion of said opinions is always welcome as long as it is done in a respectful manner.






Crawdaddy

 

[Matthew Marino]

Can someone clarify this? I recalled a few years back that Lowry (the company who cleaned up North by Northwest, Star Wars and Indiana Jones, etc) was supposed to work on the Wizard of Oz and possibly King Kong. Now that these releases are out I haven't heard anything about this and it certainly doesn't seem like that's the case. Am I remembering this correctly?

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

I think we can all agree on that.

With that in mind, I don't think it was respectful to suggest to a fellow member that they are in need of a dose of reality in order to reconcile their unachievable high expectations.



Personally, this set has exceeded my expectations. I haven't listened to the commentary yet, so I can't comment on that, but the film looks and sounds better than I have ever seen and heard it before, and the documentary RKO Production 601... was worth the price of the set all on it's own.

I am also thrilled by the quality of the replica of the original souvenir program! In addition, the print quality of the collection of 5x7 replica one-sheet posters is first rate. I would definitely recommend getting the exclusive BB set if for no other reason than to get the additional five 5x7 replica posters.

I'm still not happy with their choice of which poster to use for the cover of the tin and DVD, which unfortunately is also the same one-sheet design they used for the 27x40 replica poster, but at least they provided repicas of many of the other Kong posters.

Is there a chance that at some point down the road a better transfer can be made? Absolutely! Of course the same can be said about the video release of any film, but IMO this release is head and shoulders better than any previous video release of King Kong.

Kudos Warner on a job well done!

 

[Kevin M]

Personally I like the commentary just fine (it does have some good info & I thought the Cooper segments were pretty good) but I simply like the other one better, the transfer on the other hand was about what I had expected and hoped for...very damn good but not as good as if it had come from a negative.
Everything else is superb as I would expect from WB & Wingnut.

 

[Jeff_HR]

This DVD package very much exceeded my expectations in all areas except the commentary. That is why I posted earlier that I thought it was too bad that WB could not use the Criterion commentary. Now if WB did have the opportunity to acquire the right to use that commentary & didn't, then that is very disappointing to me. I would have liked the option to be able to hear that commentary on this DVD. I will continue to keep my Criterion CAV LD just for those times when I wish to listen to that commentary.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I'm probably quite alone in this, but I like seeing the reel change marks, especially on older films. It contributes to the illusion that I'm watching film, and not video.

I watched KONG last night, and no complaints here. I thought the film looked better than I've ever seen it before, and the movie itself is as grand as ever. I can't wait to wade through the supplements,as well as SON and JOE.

 

[JayHM]

But there is nothing "unachievable" about cleaning up scratches and dirt when it comes to a digital restoration. My guess is, they just didn't have enough time between aquiring this new print, and completing the restoration.