DVD Review HTF REVIEW: The Wizard Of Oz - Three-Disc Collector's Edition (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). (1 Viewer)

[Lyle_JP]

Interesting. The laserdisc has the lilac-colored dress in that one shot just like the new DVD, unlike the Warner DVD where her dress matches the blue usually seen in other shots.

-Lyle J.P.

 

[Robert Harris]

The "golden" look for the tin man would seem correct, with the recent news (possibly shocking to some) that C3PO's heritage has been traced back to this very same entity.

 

[oscar_merkx]

wow what an outstanding review.

Disc 3 would alone be worth the price for those early relases

 

[Kevin M]

David, if I misread your intention then I apologize but this statement:

...seems to me anyway to be saying that "we" only prefer the cooler temp because we don't know any better, because we have basically been "trained" to feel that way.....I find that to be condescending and assumptive.

Again, if I misread your intention then I apologize but that is certainly how it reads out to me.

 

[ScottR]

Can someone post a cap from the interior of the farmhouse door before Dorothy opens it? Thanks!

 

[Mark Oates]

I think I must be in a good mood today, because I was saying on the Sound of Music thread that I thought the new print looked very good, and I have to say I seem to be in the minority on this thread when I say I think the new transfer of Wizard of Oz looks wonderful.

The first shot of Dorothy - the sepia effect looks warmer and I can definitely see more details in the fabric of her dress and the ribbons in her hair.

The shot of the Wicked Witch of the East under the house - the grass and ferns are growing in what looks like soil rather than some weird grey medium. The yellow bricks are sunshine yellow, not school bus yellow.

The shot with the Muchkins - even in a medium shot like that you can discern the gingham pattern of her dress rather than it being just a denim-coloured shape.

The "beauty" shot of Margaret Hamilton - I can see the texture of her black dress, the subtleties of the makeup.

The beauty shot of Judy Garland - you can see her complexion properly and it's a healthy colour, not an insipid pink.

The shots of the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion - Wow, the subtleties of those makeups.

All in all I'm champing at the bit for this release, and I have another twelve days minimum longer to wait than you lot. :frowning:

 

[Robert Harris]

Mark,

You're not alone in feeling positiive about this release.

I've screened it on four different devices. A great deal of effort has gone into this and has paid off.

There is no downside.

RAH

 

[TravisR]

Like most people on Earth, I enjoy The Wizard Of Oz. Unlike most people in this thread, I am not very familiar with any of its home video incarnations so I'm not 'married' to any particular idea of how the movie should look. However, the screenshots from the new disc look better to my eye.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Kevin,

...not to make slight of anyone but rather the opposite...to explain that it's understandable that folks...myself included...would (in general) find the cooler temperature more pleasing and that for some reason viewers (especially in american audiences...not sure why) tend to prefer the cooler look in general. It is *the* reason that most TV's are preset from the factory to the cooler temperature settings.

I'm sorry if it sounded like I was casting dispersions on anyone's opinion. Rather, I was trying to point out that the draw towards cooler temperature is something that is a widespread tendancy and one that is well documented in video research.

 

[Herb Kane]

Eric... my apologies for not being as specific as I should have been. I'll update that portion of the review, but here is what is included:


- Jukebox – contains 18 various audio clips spread out over three pages consisting of various rehearsals, sequence recordings, voice tests and underscores. Duration: 4:46 hours.

- Leo Is On The Air Radio Promo is just that; a promotion of the “MGM miracle extravaganza”. Duration: 12:13 minutes.

- Good News of 1939 Radio Show is an installment of the ’39 show featuring the castmembers from the film. The show is hosted by Robert Young and sponsored by Maxwell House. Duration: 60:53 minutes.

- 12/25/1950 Lux Radio Theater Radio Broadcast features Judy Garland in the hour long episode. Compared to many of the previous WB Lux Broadcast inclusions on other sets, the audio on this version is crystal clear. Duration: 60:46 minutes.


Sorry for the confusion - hope that helps.

Herb.

 

[Bill>Moore]

Glad I'm not the only one that seems to enjoy the cooler color temps of the original (based strictly on the screen caps). That being said, I'm pleased that they restored the film as they did and it sounds like they've done a masterful job. Can't wait to pick this one up next week as it's one of my all-time favorite films.

 

[DeeF]

This new DVD set is a fine release, and I bought it pre-release day. But I think it's perfectly acceptable to find fault with some of these disks. The companies who put them out want us to buy, and re-buy, and re-buy the same movies. Some people, myself included, need to have a reason to buy this one again, when the other DVD is really so excellent.

I think the reason to buy this, is because of the additional extras that are provided -- not the transfer itself, which is fine here, but was fine previously, too.

 

[Tim Glover]

This is why I love the HTF. Only here can you get a Star Wars reference on a Wizard of Oz thread. For me, that's heaven.

 

[Wes]

I might as well jump into this thread also. I just spent some time with this movie on my Projector and was able to adjust the color to where the houses in the back ground of the Witch (in the screen capture) is white, not blue like the first DVD and not tinted red like the new disc (I was using the old disc to do this). Guess what, the witches eyes are not blood shot like in their new disc.
I got the yellow brick road to yellow, Dorothy’s dress to blue, I kind of fought with the tin man, there was too much blue and when I adjusted it out he turned into C3PO but I'm sure there is a happy medium.

My point is this that all the releases colors wise are wrong. White should be white and I would imagine eyes and teeth are something we should be able to judge upon being we all have them to compare against. Someone could have done better on this new release; I was able to correct most of it with my LCD projectors adjustments.

Just my opinion!

Wes

 

[ScottR]

6 days and counting.....I can't "cliche".

 

[Damin J Toell]

Did Harold Rosson shoot the film with your teeth as the baseline white? Or did MGM color time their original dye transfer prints that way? If not, I'm not sure what the look of your teeth have to do with whether a transfer of a film shot in 1939 (or yesterday, for that matter) has "wrong" color timing. Not every film is meant to have natural color - and definitely not what some viewer with no particular knowledge of the look of a film decides on their own happens to be natural color.

DJ

 

[ScottR]

You can't assume anything when it comes to early Technicolor. And I'm afraid that is what most people in this thread are doing....making assumptions. Let the technicians at WB, who know more about this than most of you do, make the decisions. They are usually the right ones.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Scottr,

while I agree with you in principle, it's also curious that two discs released so close in time to each other (just a couple of years) have such a different color balance. Did the WB folks not have a clue three years ago but today suddenly are experts in color accuracy? What about Ben-Hur which has the same sort of color shifts between the two versions?

While I trust that the folks doing the actual restoration have a better clue than the typical HTFer (myself included) just guessing what looks better...I'm still a bit wary given the differences WB has given us one edition to the next!

 

[Wes]

OK, here we have clearly two different color tints of the same WB Technicolor film that WB restoration teams restored with in 10 years of each other. Do you really think they are always correct with their restorations? Yah what ever!

I would highly doubt the witches eyes were bloodshot given the old dvd clearly shows them as being white. I am not an expert on eyes but I am guessing from the 1000 of people I have met that there are not too many different color shades of whites in eyes except blood shot. OK, I admit Teeth may be a different color!

The house back behind the witch should be the tell tell sign of the true color. The houses from other views seem to be white, but in this shot the side off to the left of the witch is clearly blue or red depending on which dvd you pick. The house is white and I and you with the correct adjustments on your video equipment can achieve that so why couldn’t they? If you can’t see that then I will bow out and let you guys think the technicians are always right!

These are the colors I wish they would have achieved!
http://thewizardofoz.warnerbros.com/

Wes

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Do you really think that the definition of "correct" is that narrow in the world of photochemically timed film presentations? Yah what ever!

Regards,