What's the word on Lost Highway? (1 Viewer)

[Shawn DuHast]

re post no 90 from Mattias_ka. I have just done a direct back to back comparison between his normal speed/4% speed-up version and the just released R2 UK 2 disc SE DVD of Lost Highway.
Guess what?
The UK version must be "pitch corrected" because it sounds exactly the same as the first half of his sample online.
I must admit the second 4% speedup bit does sound awful and I had to do a direct back to back comparison after hearing it as the DVD sounded fine when I watched the DVD before hearing his samples.

 

[TravisR]

In another thread someone mentioned that Universal HD is going to be running Lost Highway on Friday at 11 PM. OK, it's not DVD related but I'm sure people reading this thread will be interested.

 

[John Sullmeyer]

Universal HD? Is that a cable channel?

 

[TravisR]

Yep, it's a cable channel. It was just added to my cable lineup so I've never watched a movie on it. However, I believe that the person who posted in the other thread said that they play movies in their OAR.

 

[Sean Patrick]

plus, Universal HD tends to show their movies in OAR if it's 2.35:1 and in DD 5.1

this is great since our comcast system might be one of the ones dropping UHD the very next day when the olympics are over.

 

[Dave Gorman]

Universal HD tends to show their movies in OAR if it's 2.35:1 and in DD 5.1

Did anyone see Lost Highway from UHD the other night? Curious if it was OAR (2.35:1). I DVR'd both Lost Highway and They Live but haven't seen LH yet. They Live was OAR (2.35:1) for the opening credits, but then zoomed to 1.78:1 for the remainder of the movie :frowning:

 

[Shawn.F]

I saw it the other night. It was in full 2.35:1 and it looked fantastic. Don't remember if it was in 2.0 or 5.1 (didn't have the receiver on due to the time), but the picture quality was superb.
My only gripe: the massive "TV-MA" that popped up in the upper left hand corner at the beginning of each hour. I know they do it as a service, but does it have to be THAT big?

 

[TravisR]

It was in DD 5.1 as well.

 

[walter o]

I assume Universal controls this thru Polygram?

 

[Matt Shiv]

Yes, the TV-MA logo was obnoxiously big!!! The movie looked beautiful however. I pulled out my Aussie Region 4 dvd afterwards just to compare the transfer a little bit and was just blown away at how gorgeous this new HD transfer is. It doesn't appear to be airing again at all through the end of March, but hopefully they will screen this again before long.

I have to hope this means that we'll get a proper Region 1 dvd this year too!

Walter, this movie was released in theaters through October Films and originally on dvd through Polygram. I seem to recall that a lot of the Polygram titles went to MGM's library, but the actual October stuff went to Universal (and the company was changed into Focus Features) and so they own the rights to them now for home video.

As far as Universal HD goes, it is really random how they sometimes air stuff in OAR but also sometimes go the "HBO route" and crop their scope titles. I remember sitting down to watch "Dune" a few months ago and it zoomed in to 1.78 after the credit sequence and I about threw my remote through the television. Later on, a proper 2.35 transfer appeared on HDNet Movies...

 

[Jordan_E]

I caught the end of LH on UHD and thought it looked spectacular. Wish I saw the entire thing now, and since the Olympics are over, I'll no longer get the channel and it'll be back to INHD2.:frowning:

 

[Sean Patrick]

Even though the signal was flagged as 5.1, everything was coming out the l/r channels like a 2.0 MIX (just like SCARFACE last week...

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

Walter, this movie was released in theaters through October Films and originally on dvd through Polygram. I seem to recall that a lot of the Polygram titles went to MGM's library, but the actual October stuff went to Universal (and the company was changed into Focus Features) and so they own the rights to them now for home video.

The way the Polygram library rights work out is that any movies from 1996 and before were bought by MGM (including the "Epic" library of 1000+ titles that Polygram had bought months before), and the titles from 1997 and onward were kept by Universal. At one time, the October and post-96 Polygram libraries were spun off into a non-Universal company called USA Films, but were absorbed back when USA was fused into Focus Features.

LOST HIGHWAY is a bit of an odd duck home video-wise. Polygram did release the initial VHS and laserdisc editions, but this was before Universal was involved with either them or October. (Again, this was before the USA spinoff.) It is probably due to the involvement of Propaganda Films, a unit of Polygram that had previously produced WILD AT HEART for Lynch. It is basically an instance of dumb luck that Universal now owns both the theatrical distributor and the home video company that had claim to the movie, thus "unifying" the rights.

A similar "lucky break" occurred with WILD AT HEART. In that instance, the former Samuel Goldwyn company had theatrical and TV rights, but Polygram held video rights (they were sold to the former Media label for a time, and in that window Elite attempted to do an extended laserdisc in a deal with Media that fell through). When MGM bought Samuel Goldwyn, they gained their theatrical rights, and when they bought Polygram's pre-96 assets, they got all the other rights, so now it's their movie free and clear.

 

[JohnDG]

Even though the signal was flagged as 5.1, everything was coming out the l/r channels like a 2.0 MIX (just like SCARFACE last week...

Suggestion: when this happens, change your receiver over to Dolby Pro Logic. This will cause the center sound to move back into the center channel speaker.

jdg

 

[Sean Patrick]

problem is, on my receiver, when it senses a 5.1 audio signal from a digital connection i cannot "bump it down" to prologic without switching to an analog source.

if this was coming in as 2.0 it would be less of a problem but they were sending it out as a 5.1 signal.

it's a moot point now, my Comcast system just pulled UHD this morning now that the olympics are over.

 

[willyTass]

I sent Richard W 2 region 4 versions of Lost Highway about 2 weeks ago.
He should have them by now

 

[Richard--W]

I sent Richard W 2 region 4 versions of Lost Highway about 2 weeks ago.He should have them by now

Got'em, willTass.

I thought we were swapping for only the Siren / Shock region 4 DVD, so I was surprised to find the Roadshow region 2 DVD in the package as well. Surprised, but welcome just the same. At first glance, the Roadshow DVD appears to be the UK edition of my very fine MK2 French DVD only without the book and lenticular 3-D slipcover, yes?. I'll have to come up with something special to trade for the Roadshow -- what you really need is another good western from Hollywood's golden age of westerns.

By the way, for those who are interested, the Siren / Shock region 4 DVD has a supplement on composer Angelo Badalmenti and some additional interview footage that doesn't appear on the MK2 French DVD nor the Roadshow edition (although I haven't watched it yet).

I still need to get Germany's UFA edition which is rumored to be the best quality. When I have all the editions and a solid block of time I will check 'em out and post a comparative review here.

 

[willyTass]

its on me dude!!

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Soooooo..... Does anyone have any news at all on Lost Highway? It remains the only DVD I want at this point.

 

[Chris PC]

The Region 2 Cinema Club version is in my shopping cart at Amazon Uk. Why should I or should I not buy it?