Is it curtains for WINDOWS? (1 Viewer)

[Louis Letizia]

For a movie whose domestic homevideo release has been draped in secrecy for over 30 years...I'm surprised of the lack of reviews of the recently released MGM vault mod.
After last seeing it on a fairly cold January afternoon in a packed theater in 1980..I was anxious to finally see it again. My feelings haven't changed....great photography....great NYC locations ....great score....average thriller...but not the disaster everyone said it was at the time WINDOWS opened.
Have others bought the disc? Did you find it a PANEful experience?

 

[Matt Hough]

I requested from the PR firm that handles these MOD releases a review copy of Windows, but it wasn't forthcoming. I did see it when it was released but never since, and I was interested in revisiting it.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Review.

For a movie whose domestic homevideo release has been draped in secrecy for over 30 years...I'm surprised of the lack of reviews of the recently released MGM vault mod.
After last seeing it on a fairly cold January afternoon in a packed theater in 1980..I was anxious to finally see it again. My feelings haven't changed....great photography....great NYC locations ....great score....average thriller...but not the disaster everyone said it was at the time WINDOWS opened.
Have others bought the disc? Did you find it a PANEful experience?

 

[WaveCrest]

Louis, a DVD thread was started two weeks ago by another HTF forum member about the MGM MOD release of Windows (1980), where they commented on the release.

 

[Louis Letizia]

Im sorry . How to I remove mine?

 

[WaveCrest]

Have asked for the other Windows (1980) discussion thread to be merged with this one. If that's not possible, the post in that thread could be quoted in this thread.

 

[donidarko]

"WINDOWS" MOD dvd P&S transfer zoomed in for 16x9 framing???
"I received my copy of "Windows" from Screen Archives. I popped the disc in to have a look and it seems to me that the 1:85 image is actually a P&S transfer zoomed in and reframed for 16x9. All of the scenes look tight and claustrophobic. I can't believe this is Gordon Willis' original camera framing. I saw this at the theatre when it was released and I don't remember the film looking like this?
Anyone have any info?"
I posted this a few weeks ago. Anyone else notice a shabby presentation of the films' framing. Just didn't look like Gordon Willis' brilliant work to me.

 

[donidarko]

The film is painful to watch because it is so so bad. However it is compelling, eerie, weird and unsettling at the same time. I forgot how the dreary Brooklyn Heights/ N.Y.C. winter weather permeates and enhances the disturbing mood of the piece. The long drawn out scenes with sparse dialog also is so strange.
My only complaint is the possibility that this was not framed properly and the composition destroyed by this being a zoomed in P&S transfer.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

The film is painful to watch because it is so so bad. However it is compelling, eerie, weird and unsettling at the same time. I forgot how the dreary Brooklyn Heights/ N.Y.C. winter weather permeates and enhances the disturbing mood of the piece. The long drawn out scenes with sparse dialog also is so strange.
My only complaint is the possibility that this was not framed properly and the composition destroyed by this being a zoomed in P&S transfer.

The review from the normally reliable DVD Drive-In does not indicate that the transfer has been screwed up in this way, but I have not actually seen the disc myself. I did see the transfer that aired on MGM-HD, which is most likely the same one used on this disc, and can't say I saw what was described above--i.e. zoomed in / P & S.

 

[donidarko]

The review from the normally reliable Mondo Digital does not indicate that the transfer has been screwed up in this way, but I have not actually seen the disc myself. I did see the transfer that aired on MGM-HD, which is most likely the same one used on this disc, and can't say I saw what was described above--i.e. zoomed in / P & S.

Thanks Jon. There are a few scenes in WINDOWS where it seems characters are cut off or out at the sides, for example the scene where the detectives try to interview Talia Shire in her apartment after the first attack. Maybe this was Mr. Willis' intention. It just seemed odd to me...then again, the entire movie is very odd.
there is another review of WINDOWS at...
www.dvddrive-in.com

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Thanks Jon. There are a few scenes in WINDOWS where it seems characters are cut off or out at the sides, for example the scene where the detectives try to interview Talia Shire in her apartment after the first attack. Maybe this was Mr. Willis' intention. It just seemed odd to me...then again, the entire movie is very odd.
there is another review of WINDOWS at...
www.dvddrive-in.com

That's actually the review I linked to earlier. Mondo Digital and DVD Drive-In have similar designs and I often get them confused.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

double post