A Few Words About While we wait for A few words about...™ The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[haineshisway]

From what I can see here Oklahoma! looks spectacular, very detailed no filtering, great colors - I really look forward to it!

Regarding the King and I I will have to wait until I see the disc but even if the rest of the movie looks fine I was surprised about the opening sequence that finally leads to the palace and where that grey dress is changing in color from bluish-grey to almost blue and back to grey. I have my doubts that a cinematographer like Leon Shamroy would have allowed this to happen after final color timing.

You are absolutely right about the other scene with the blue light - that must have been intended and maybe somebody saw that scene and thought that the dress should always be blue and timed other parts accordingly?

Whatever it was looking at the HD airing it seems as if for that version they timed that sequence more evenly and not leaning so much to the blue side in some parts. Too bad that we cannot ask Mr. Shamroy about it but in the meantime and when I have time maybe I will get around to do some caps for comparison and to show that some shots are timed almost identical between the HD airing and the Blu-ray and some completely different.

I think that the difference in detail even in the screencaps and the reports I mentioned make a very good case for Fox switching to Todd-AO after only two movies in Cinemascope 55. As you say if they used that old 4k scan maybe The King and I could have been a bit more detailed but I doubt it would look as good as Oklahoma!

I actually own Mr. Shamroy's shooting script for The King and I and a bunch of other films he shot - no notes in them, though

 

[Reed Grele]

The only thing I have to add about the fantastic Todd-AO transfer of Oklahoma is that at the auction, when the head of the gavel breaks off and heads right towards the camera... I ducked! This is 3D without the glasses!

 

[Eastmancolor]

On the streaming site Vudu, THE KING AND I is presented in full 1080p and piped through my Epson projector onto a 10' screen, it is gorgeous. Excellent contrast and color, great sound.The Blu-ray was a bit different. Here are some comparisons -STREAMING: 20th Century-Fox & CinemaScope logos have a dark navy blue background. BLU-RAY: backgrounds are dark green.STREAMING: skin tones are rich, golds and earth tones have punch, blues and greens also excellent. A well-rounded, properly balanced palette. BLU-RAY: golds and earth tones are much more subdued, skin tones and objects have a colder look.STREAMING: Kerr's gray dress in the opening half hour is gray. In the opticals (shots with fades and dissolves) the dress leans slightly in the blue direction, due to color fade in these opticals, no doubt. White objects remain white. BLU-RAY: Kerr's gray dress turns to light blue during all of the opticals, as do white objects, castle walls, etc. The opening shot in Kerr's bedroom when the wives are going through her belongings is particularly bluish.STREAMING: contrast is excellent, rich inky blacks. BLU-RAY: many scenes have milky contrast and are a bit hazy.Is a puzzlement!

 

[OliverK]

I actually own Mr. Shamroy's shooting script for The King and I and a bunch of other films he shot - no notes in them, though

Now that is something, very impressive!

I think he did some very distinguished work and especially the tight focus he managed to keep in the movies he shot is something that we can really appreciate today on Blu-ray and it also showed up before in 70mm prints. Watching The Agony and the Ecstasy and Dr. Dolittle at the same film festival was quite a revelation in that regard as the latter seemed to have several out of focus shots and I later confirmed that with a vintage 70mm print.

 

[Mark Booth]

On the streaming site Vudu, THE KING AND I is presented in full 1080p and piped through my Epson projector onto a 10' screen, it is gorgeous. Excellent contrast and color, great sound.The Blu-ray was a bit different. Here are some comparisons -STREAMING: 20th Century-Fox & CinemaScope logos have a dark navy blue background. BLU-RAY: backgrounds are dark green.STREAMING: skin tones are rich, golds and earth tones have punch, blues and greens also excellent. A well-rounded, properly balanced palette. BLU-RAY: golds and earth tones are much more subdued, skin tones and objects have a colder look.STREAMING: Kerr's gray dress in the opening half hour is gray. In the opticals (shots with fades and dissolves) the dress leans slightly in the blue direction, due to color fade in these opticals, no doubt. White objects remain white. BLU-RAY: Kerr's gray dress turns to light blue during all of the opticals, as do white objects, castle walls, etc. The opening shot in Kerr's bedroom when the wives are going through her belongings is particularly bluish.STREAMING: contrast is excellent, rich inky blacks. BLU-RAY: many scenes have milky contrast and are a bit hazy.Is a puzzlement!

It sure sounds like the source used for streaming should have been the source for the Blu-ray! I sure hope Fox considers a recall!Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

BTW, I'm not sure if anyone has confirmed it yet, but, 'Oklahoma!' Todd-AO is encoded at 1080i.Mark

 

[classicmovieguy]

I saw Sunset Blvd on Broadway and listened to the Los Angeles cast recording and Glenn Close could sing just fine. She wasn't as nuanced a singer as Petula Clark, whom I also saw, or the first national tour (which starred the hydraulic mansion) but she could definitely sing.

Oh yes Ms Close can sing. Maybe not as well as other Norma's that followed her (Betty Buckley, Diahann Carroll and Petula Clark), but lots of dramatic intensity. Glenn also originated the role of Chairy in "Barnum" on Broadway in 1980.

 

[John Maher_289910]

Not the night I saw it. Painful. I know nothing of the cast recording, because it wasn't something I ever wanted to hear, again. Yes, technically, she can sing. I remember her from the group, Sing Out America, which became Up With People, but I was referring to someone who should be singing in a lead role on Broadway. Plus, it wasn't just the screechy singing I heard that was so god-awful, her entire performance in the role made Carol Burnett's take on the character seem normal. Close was so ridiculously over the top. When I saw it again, with Betty Buckley, it was like seeing a completely different (better) show.

 

[Mark-P]

Here's my very brief assessment of the set:

State Fair - gorgeous.
Oklahoma! (Todd-AO) - beyond gorgeous.
Oklahoma! (CinemaScope) - O.K. (l.a.h.o.m.a.!)
The King and I - very nice. Looked fine to my eyes which are not that fussy about colors. Fluctuations appeared to be related to opticals.
Carousel - also very nice and the brightness looked fine on my projector.

I'm a happy camper.

 

[Rick Thompson]

And watching it, I never liked Julie Andrews more.

Everyone has their own opinion. I love Andrews in the film, but her characterization wouldn't have worked in the stage play, which is a darker piece. The main criticism of Underwood seems to be that she wasn't Julie Andrews -- but you can say the same thing about Andrews not being Mary Martin, who created the role. As for Audra MacDonald as the Mother Abbess, I admit it is a bit of a stretch, but as far as I know it wasn't illegal for black folks to live in Austria at the time. Rare yes, impossible no. However, I'd think the church would have transferred her elsewhere soon after the Anschluss.

As for the orchestrations, revivals routinely use different orchestrations. The 1998 revival, for example, was orchestrated by Bruce Coughlin. Reason: pit orchestras are smaller -- often much smaller -- then they used to be. That's a good part of why the 2008 revival of South Pacific was so stunning: They used the original 1949 Robert Russell Bennett charts, played by a full 30 pieces. The sound of the overture was stunning, and the show was on rails from there.

 

[Jon Baker]

BTW, I'm not sure if anyone has confirmed it yet, but, 'Oklahoma!' Todd-AO is encoded at 1080i.Mark

it's a shame the Todd-AO for South Pacific wasn't.

 

[Will Krupp]

it's a shame the Todd-AO for South Pacific wasn't.

There's no need for it to be. SOUTH PACIFIC was the first Todd-AO production shot exclusively at 24fps.

 

[Joe Caps]

This is where I start to head for the hills, in fear of being flamed.
Mike Frezon - did you see the last dvd of King and I - theer the picture is gorgeous.
Yes, Leon Shamroy lights to use bluel lighting, even for day shot (love Leon Shamroy) but not to the point where it gives a day for night effect.
The new blu makes Lady Thiangs dress in Something Wonderful look almost deep green, the old dvd makes it look dark brown.

The other thing I checked way into the evening last night. Something strange has been done to the sound on Oklahoma Todd AO. it all sounds as if it has been rerecorded in a box. Oh what a BeautifulMorning used to sound right up in my face, not any more.

All the taps and dancing and reactions of the cowboys during the Kansas city number, sounded the same, NOw they sound badly dubbed, right through the picture.
Did someone decide the film had too much hiss and dop some digital nasties to it?

 

[Virgoan]

This is where I start to head for the hills, in fear of being flamed.
Mike Frezon - did you see the last dvd of King and I - theer the picture is gorgeous.
Yes, Leon Shamroy lights to use bluel lighting, even for day shot (love Leon Shamroy) but not to the point where it gives a day for night effect.
The new blu makes Lady Thiangs dress in Something Wonderful look almost deep green, the old dvd makes it look dark brown.

The other thing I checked way into the evening last night. Something strange has been done to the sound on Oklahoma Todd AO. it all sounds as if it has been rerecorded in a box. Oh what a BeautifulMorning used to sound right up in my face, not any more.

All the taps and dancing and reactions of the cowboys during the Kansas city number, sounded the same, NOw they sound badly dubbed, right through the picture.
Did someone decide the film had too much hiss and dop some digital nasties to it?

I totally did NOT have this experience. The Todd-AO "Oklahoma!" was absolutely wonderful. Nothing sounds dubbed. It's one of the best-sounding musicals in my collection.

 

[bryan4999]

I just have to chime in here and say that I am utterly disappointed in "The King and I" on Blu-ray. It is just ugly. My hat is off to Fox for quite a few titles, like "Hello, Dolly!" (which I know was controversial), "South Pacific", and others. But to my eye, the SD DVD and the Vudu (as mentioned above) have pleasing colors, where the Blu-ray is just plain ugly. Where is Deborah Kerr's lovely red hair? Her beautiful ball grown is just gray and even the sky in the opening harbor scene is a very odd shade. I stayed up almost all night comparing the different releases and from laserdisc to DVD to Vudu the colors are more pleasing than this Blu-ray. To make sure my projector was operating correctly, I popped in various other discs, including "Hello, Dolly!" and "An Affair to Remember" from Fox, and they looked as good as usual - Ms. Kerr's hair was actually red in AATR. This one is going on the same shelf as the Blu-ray of "My Fair Lady" (which, as bad as it is, has better color than K&I). I just can't watch it because it's too distracting. If the blu of K&I looked like the Vudu (color-wise) I would be happy.

I thought the Todd-AO Oklahoma! looks fantastic. I agree that the sound is different. Not bad, maybe, but it doesn't give me quite the thrill that the sound on the THX laserdisc of the Todd-AO version did.

 

[bjmusic]

The King and I is a total disappointment. I couldn't even get through 10 minutes of it. It looks dull and drab. I'm going to check out that Vudu download. I want to see it with the correct coloring!

 

[Stephen_J_H]

BTW, I'm not sure if anyone has confirmed it yet, but, 'Oklahoma!' Todd-AO is encoded at 1080i.Mark

Puzzling, since 1080p/60 is supported by Blu-ray.

 

[Wayne_j]

Puzzling, since 1080p/60 is supported by Blu-ray.

1080P/30 isn't, which is what it was shot at. It doesn't really matter as the Todd-AO Oklahoma looks fantastic and looks progressive.

 

[Charles Smith]

A rapt audience of two was blown away by the Todd-AO Oklahoma! last night on Reed's W-I-D-E screen.

We warmed up by watching a few scenes in the CinemaScope version, to review it (I'm pretty sure I hadn't seen either one since the 2005 DVD sets came out) and to better appreciate the Todd-AO. While it looks fine, and certainly better than at any time before, we were nagged by the thought that it seemed a bit soft, and how it's so obviously not a new restoration. But it seemed they had cleaned up a few little things, so no big complaint here. Then, on to the Todd-AO for a straight-through viewing (with the taking of an intermission).

Talk about a revelation! I doubt I can better express anything that's already been said here, and no such attempt will be made. I did try to imagine what this must have looked like last month at the Chinese! Really, though, I have no words.

Following a generous intermission break, we found Act 2 to be as stunning and captivating as the first. A confession: this is the first time I've sat through Oklahoma! -- either a stage production or the movie -- and not grown just a little bit weary of it by the latter scenes of the second act. Last night, no such thing. It flew by, and I was SO drawn into the film and the music by this incredible presentation that I found myself enjoying the story and loving the score, every last song, more than ever ... probably more than since initially getting to know it as a kid. I haven't listened to any of the cast recordings in years and don't have the original orchestrations in my head anymore, so I was wallowing shamelessly in the expanded film orchestrations and the sound of the Fox orchestra and just loving every note.

 

[KPmusmag]

Oklahoma looks great! Did anyone else notice that they fixed the "The End" title that always jumped.unfortunately I am terribly disappointed in K and I. I was really looking forward to that one but I could hardly stand to watch it.