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Original War of the Worlds DVD - How is video quality? (1 Viewer)

Steven Larson

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I was wondering how the transfer is on the original War of the Worlds DVD. One of the reviews at Amazon said it was terrible, and made a pretty good case that it was not well done. Other reviews there said the transfer was good. Those of you who have seen this, could you please let me know your impressions of the transfer?

I found a copy for 9.99, and didn't know if I should wait to see what the Collector's Edition that is coming out later this year would be like. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Steve
 

DaViD Boulet

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I held off buying bcs it didnt' have the stereo audio of the laserdisc...but I saw my dad's copy on a Sharp 9000 projector and it looked pretty good considering...shows the natural age of the film (film artifacts) but a nice transfer. Some scenes were very crisp/clear and 3-dimensional...but there were some registration problems like the early Singing in the Rain disc from what I remember...I'm assuming that WOTW is a technicolor 3-strip film?

It was a while ago but I remember that it was more than watchable (film-like) on the Sharp 9000 on a 96" (16x9) screen. For $10 that's not a bad deal. I've been tempted to pick it up myself!
 

Paul_Scott

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i have no complaints.
thought it was very decent- colors very vibrant.
you can easily see the strings on the ships.
dunno if thats a good thing or not ;).

i'm watching on a fp too.
no desire for me to upgrade to any eventual SE
 

LaurenceGarvey

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I thought it was terrific, one of the best "old school" sci-fi DVDs I've ever seen. In fact, it was TOO good -- the wires holding up the spaceships are so obvious that it's embarrassing. I'm told that will be fixed for the SE.
 

Paul_Scott

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even though i generally consider myself a purist, i really don't think the wires were intended to be seen and i found them very distracting.
that was my biggest problem with the film.
it really took me out of the story time and again.

if they 'wiped' those out for the SE, i would definitely consider upgrading
 

Jeffrey Nelson

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A tough call...but I cast my vote for keeping the strings in, as I would have cast my vote for keeping in the reflection of the cobra in the protective glass in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (there was a rumor they were going to fix that...don't know if they did or not).
 

Patrick McCart

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The wires would probably be invisible in a 1953 dye-transfer print.

When Lowry Digital Images digitally refurbished North by Northwest, they had to digitally erase wires on an airplane because the sharpness of the new version made them too obvious.
 

Bob Furmanek

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I've seen an original 1953 dye-transfer print of the trailer, and you can not see the wires. The problem with all the new elements (and prints) is the timing is too light on those shots. I believe they began timing those scenes too light since the early seventies re-issue.

The scenes with the war machines were meant to be much darker as shown in the trailer.
 

Jack Briggs

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Regardless of the wires being visible, this transfer is a good one. The DVD is well worth the price.
 

Steve Christou

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Yeah I heard, poor thing.

Wasn't there a dvd re-release of Pal's War of the Worlds due this summer to coincide with Spielberg's version?
My region 2 copy is 2.0 stereo surround, not the best I've heard but better than mono.



[rant]Ulla![/rant]
 

Joe Fisher

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It was pushed back here in the states to 11/01/2005. And from what I've gathered it's going to be a CE with a commentary track I believe & some extras this time around.

Nice screenshot Steve. :emoji_thumbsup: :emoji_thumbsup:
 

Todd Robertson

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One of my all time fave Sci-Fi films..and although I'd love an SE...I like the current edition and also have the stereo import.

If I could only have a dvd version of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version. To see Justin Hayward preform "Forever Autumn" would be sweet!
 

Steven Larson

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Thanks everyone for the feedback. My local Circuit City had one copy left at 9.99, so I picked it up tonight, and the visual quality is very good. The one reviewer at Amazon was totally misguided. The color is very good.

I have always loved this movie. I like the look of the Martian war machines, and I especially like the sound effects.

Is this truly out of print? They are selling copies at Amazon for over $30. I feel lucky to have found this for $9.99.

Thanks again!

Steve
 

GerardoHP

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I think the original WAR OF THE WORLD is an excellent transfer from a very good print. The colors look really solid and Technicolor-rich, and the blacks are deep. It looks to me like the same print that's been playing on television for the last few years.

About the wires taking one "out of the picture", honestly, I don't see you can possibly immerse yourself in this picture with all the alien stuff and special effects looking so dated. To me, there's hardly a single shot in the movie that looks remotely realistic. A lot of the "exteriors" are obvioulsy shot on soundstages and the blue screen and process shots are everywhere. I think it's a nice relic, but that's about it.

I'm looking forward to the Spielberg version. Now if they could just digitally erase Tom Cruise and put someone else in there...
 

Al (alweho)

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I'm afraid you'll have to settle for a SACD surround remix of this title, it's due out this fall I understand. ;) It's been a favorite of mine too, Richard Burton was the perfect choice as narrator.
 

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