If you don't mind me asking, why?John Hodson said:Whatever suits, but I will be doing so.
If you don't mind me asking, why?John Hodson said:Whatever suits, but I will be doing so.
Robert Crawford said:If you don't mind me asking, why?
John,John Hodson said:There are lots of things we know about SHANE; that it's a truly marvellous western - a truly great film - is top of the list, that it was shot for projection in Academy, that George Stevens spent months cutting and honing it, and then, after an executive decision to screen it 'on the panoramic screen' he cut it again, doing his best to limit the damage. We know that the film - screened wide - won an Oscar for cinematographer Loyal Griggs, we know that it was the first film to be projected in 'flat' widescreen, and obviously the first western.
I have absolutely no interest in George Stevens Jr's digital jiggery pokery (it's the worst of both worlds), and I've attempted to see the film wide myself (via zoom); it wasn't pretty. But I'm intrigued to see the film properly presented pretty much as audiences in 1953 would have seen it, as those that gave it an Oscar for those truly gorgeous vistas. It's an important film in the history of widescreen cinema and I'm pleased as punch that we have a package here that presents the whole SHANE story; including a stereo soundtrack option! BTW, if Stevens recut his film to suit 1.66:1 then there's an argument that we'll never actually see the Academy cut that Stevens would have preferred.
Whatever; here's the film, beautifully presented in Academy as it should be, and surely everyone's first choice watch. And here's the film as seen 62 years ago, giving newcomers the chance to compare and contrast, with a fine selection of supplemental features - the story of SHANE.
And that is why I'm double-dipping.
Mark-P said:For what it's worth, the US Warner disc is the stereo option. It's the mono option that is missing. This is a modern rechanneling as the stereo tracks from 1953 are lost.
I don't get this reference either since Eureka is only selling 2000 copies, not exactly a windfall for Paramount since Warner is only the distributor here in the US.Brent Reid said:Cool. The UK BD pees all over the US one; it's like The African Queen all over again!
I'm with John though: don't want or need the second disc. Pretty crappy that we have to wait for the 2-BD set to sell out first before we get to the proper release. Have often wondered where and when that new widescreen transfer was going to rear its ugly head. Always figured that having paid for it, Warners were never going to just let it gather dust. Silly Eureka!
Great for you!Brent Reid said:The point of the reference is that I've been waiting a long time to pick up the US Shane BD in the UK for a cheap enough price, then along comes our own version which will obviously be much cheaper - and with far better specs to boot! The overwhelming majority of my collection consists of superior or otherwise unavailable US imports. Nice on the rare occasions when ours is actually best, that's all. Happy.
Brent Reid said:I'm with John though: don't want or need the second disc. Pretty crappy that we have to wait for the 2-BD set to sell out first before we get to the proper release. Have often wondered where and when that new widescreen transfer was going to rear its ugly head. Always figured that having paid for it, Warners were never going to just let it gather dust. Silly Eureka!
And thanks for clearly outlining your reasons so compellingly, John. I had no plans for buying Shane a second time, but you sweet-talked me into it!John Hodson said:But you're not with me; I most certainly do want the second disc for reasons I've clearly outlined?
Brent Reid said:The point of the reference is that I've been waiting a long time to pick up the US Shane BD in the UK for a cheap enough price, then along comes our own version which will obviously be much cheaper - and with far better specs to boot! The overwhelming majority of my collection consists of superior or otherwise unavailable US imports. Nice on the rare occasions when ours is actually best, that's all. Happy.
Yup!EddieLarkin said:Actually, the US disc of African Queen is superior where it counts most:
http://www.caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=2&x=521&y=72&d1=2573&d2=2572&s1=23671&s2=23679&l=0&i=3&go=1