- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,481
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
"If they move, kill 'em!"
The late 1960s were a turning point in the American cinema. And though it may today sound as if one is simply spouting words, to say that there are gangster films before and after Bonnie and Clyde, there are absolutely westerns before and after Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch.
The cinema would never be either the same or safe again.
I'm a great fan of Mr. Peckinpah's work, and especially of The Wild Bunch. In order to properly appreciate the film, I used to own a beautiful roadshow print in dye transfer, which as all rare prints should, is now in the possession of AMPAS. It will survive there as a record.
In place of that brilliant 35mm print, I now have a beautiful disc.
The frame is more stable, the color virtually a match, and the image cleaned up. One thing that used to trouble me were emulsion scratches that were built into the OCN of the Mapache sequence. As far as color goes, The Wild Bunch could easily be mis-timed, but this release replicates, with absolute perfection, the precise warmth originally seen in the brilliant blue skies. Dead on perfect!
They're gone.
Short of the Intermission and Entr'acte, Warner's new HD and BD variants of The Wild Bunch replicate the film to perfection.
As far as audio is concerned, the new DVDs faithfully reproduce in 5.1 the original 70mm 6-track mix used in blow-up prints. While it may sound a bit
thin at times when compared to huge new digital mixes, at the time it was state of the art. Keep in mind that this was an era well before sub-woofers,
and when a "surround" was still considered a effects track.
Whether one selects HD or BD, it makes no difference. Just select one.
What a glorious home video release!
No more needs to be said.
Extremely Highly Recommended!
RAH
The late 1960s were a turning point in the American cinema. And though it may today sound as if one is simply spouting words, to say that there are gangster films before and after Bonnie and Clyde, there are absolutely westerns before and after Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch.
The cinema would never be either the same or safe again.
I'm a great fan of Mr. Peckinpah's work, and especially of The Wild Bunch. In order to properly appreciate the film, I used to own a beautiful roadshow print in dye transfer, which as all rare prints should, is now in the possession of AMPAS. It will survive there as a record.
In place of that brilliant 35mm print, I now have a beautiful disc.
The frame is more stable, the color virtually a match, and the image cleaned up. One thing that used to trouble me were emulsion scratches that were built into the OCN of the Mapache sequence. As far as color goes, The Wild Bunch could easily be mis-timed, but this release replicates, with absolute perfection, the precise warmth originally seen in the brilliant blue skies. Dead on perfect!
They're gone.
Short of the Intermission and Entr'acte, Warner's new HD and BD variants of The Wild Bunch replicate the film to perfection.
As far as audio is concerned, the new DVDs faithfully reproduce in 5.1 the original 70mm 6-track mix used in blow-up prints. While it may sound a bit
thin at times when compared to huge new digital mixes, at the time it was state of the art. Keep in mind that this was an era well before sub-woofers,
and when a "surround" was still considered a effects track.
Whether one selects HD or BD, it makes no difference. Just select one.
What a glorious home video release!
No more needs to be said.
Extremely Highly Recommended!
RAH