I, for one, am glad that we heard from Martin Blythe. It shows true genuine interest that people from the studios actually visit these boards and participate in these messages, chats, etc. about their film, TV, and DVD products.
I hope, when the Generations: SE comes out later this year, we'll get to hear from Mr. Blythe again with more info about the DVD.
Said moderator also suggested starting a new thread for this side discussion. If anyone wants to continue on a subject other than the ST:VI DVD, please take the suggestion.
This thread is about a disproven topic. Why have two threads about one movie going at the same time. At least combine them and maybe we'll get rid of the posting problems. To me this is just ruining the wait to get this and watch the disc.
This thread is a wonderfully nerdy example of how Trek fans (who seemed to have disappeared since DS9 wrapped) are coming out of the wood work to pick up the SEs. A tranfser that wasn't director approved would cause absolute uproar on the internet!
Thanks to Mr. Blythe for cleaning this up! In truth, all of the Trek SEs have been great so far! Keep up the good work! I personally can't wait for Tuesday to come...
I said it when Austin Powers IMoM was released on DVD, and I'll say it again now:
2:1 does not seem very theatrical to me and looks rather odd. In fact to make matters worse, if any of the effects shots were hard matted to 2.35:1, some of the information would be lopped off the sides. With Austin Powers, they actually switched back to 2.35:1 for some opticals since they would have had to have cropped the frame.
As much as I respect the filmmaker's vision, this decision to release ST VI in 2:1 is rather peculiar since all other Star Trek films on DVD are at their theatrical ~2.35:1 ratios, even the ones Meyers helmed previously. It kind of throws off the flow and "look" of the series IMHO just as Cameron's decision to shoot Aliens in 1.85:1 when the previous film was 2.35:1 was a bit jarring, and even more so since the next two films switched back to 2.35:1.
Obviously this is my opinion, but I think it's a valid one nonetheless: this is yet another reason why Super 35 has got to go!
I also think cropping a 2.35:1 movie to 2:1 (or 1.78:1 as some studios are doing now) is just as weird since the framing becomes far more cramped (as the helicopter aerial assault in Apocalypse Now clearly shows).
Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but I believe I've read in several places where the F/X for Star Trek VI were shot in the 2:1 ratio, and cropped to 2.35:1 for theatrical exhibition.
Once again, I would prefer the 2.35:1 theatrical ratio, but since this is a director-approved transfer, and it's not actually cropped (or at least very minimally cropped), I'm okay with it. I feel the same way about Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Apocolypse Now I'm not sure, since it is actually cropped on the sides.
At any rate, I'm excited about this release and am looking forward to snapping it up on Tuesday. Thanks again for chiming in, Mr. Blythe.
Yet that's at odds with the fact that he went back into the studio to record commentary for just the scenes that had been added.
His comments in the liner notes offer a clearer picture of his feelings: "Making an extended version is by no means to imply that the original 'Dances With Wolves' was unfinished or incomplete. Rather, it creates an opportunity for those who fell in love with the characters and the spectacle of the film to experience more of both."
Basically, he likes the way it was done originally, but knows that fans wanted more and signed off on it. And he wouldn't have sat down to record new commentary for the extended scenes if he weren't willing to do so or unhappy with the results.
"It shows true genuine interest that people from the studios actually visit these boards and participate in these messages, chats, etc. about their film, TV, and DVD products."
Yes. It's amazing what a few minutes of time to answer a fairly simple question can do for the people that support your company. My Grandmother told me about this type of thing happening in days past.....I think she called it something like 'customer service'.
If you would have seen in 70mm, 2.2:1, which is a blow-up from the Super 35 print, you wouldn’t really notice the difference, unless you saw it in a regular 35mm, scope 2.35:1.
It’s not the first time paramount pictures as botched this up, “Top Gun” the first DVD edition was totally framed in the wrong aspect ratio, and there’s a few other points that I can talk about hear, but I’ll leave that for a different topic.
Other titles that have been botched to DVD included.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Spherical (Super-35) Blow-Up / Six-Track Dolby Stereo
Top Gun Spherical (Super-35) Blow-Up / Six-Track Dolby Stereo Paramount
Star Trek VI is going to be ON HBO HD this month, it'll be interesting what Aspect ratio it will be, HBO has been leaving Older Films in OAR of late, I caught Crocodile Dundee in HD at it's OAR last month.
Does anyone have an e-mail address or phone number for Paramount Home Entertaiment's customer service? I just received a replacement order for this dvd and disc 1 is cracked.