TARAS BULBA--SEPT 2014 (1 Viewer)

Kino Lorber releases this in US in September.

trajan said:

Kino Lorber releases this in US in September.

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It's been out here in Australia for a year or so. Good transfer but mono. Trust they have found the stereo tracks for this release.

It's been out here in Australia for a year or so. Good transfer but mono. Trust they have found the stereo tracks for this release.

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Was there any stereo tracks for this? There was a bit of talk about the Australian Blu-ray release a while back.http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/302773-taras-bulba-now-on-bd/

Well, there was a 70mm print that had an excellent soundtrack. Cannot remember if it was stereo. Taras Bulba has an excellent score by Franz Waxman which deserves the stereo treatment.

I'll be happily double dipping for this, as I do have the Aussie one. I want to support Kino completely if they are going in this direction and giving a ray of hope to those of us who really want THE VIKINGS and SOLOMON AND SHEBA.

Brian Sharp said:

Well, there was a 70mm print that had an excellent soundtrack. Cannot remember if it was stereo. Taras Bulba has an excellent score by Franz Waxman which deserves the stereo treatment.

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I seem to recall my DVD being stereo but the Aussie Blu-ray is mono. Let's hope for stereo on the new one.

Just curious if anyone has noticed if there are any differences between American and overseas Universal blu ray releases such as the War Wagon - I hope I don't need to do too much double dipping ?

Looking forward to this. Saw it on MGM HD and enjoyed it.

AFAIK, this film never had a stereo print in the wild.

It was released by United Artists, which had a strong bias against stereo for years, with very few films in stereo other than 70mm productions such as Exodus and West Side Story. Even Hawaii and musicals like How to Succeed did not have stereo prints and probably not a stereo mix at the time of release. I remember many fine films that would have been in stereo if released by Fox or MGM but instead were mono optical.

The theatres I worked for always checked with the studio to see if there was a stereo print anywhere that could be shipped in, to no avail, there weren't any they said. We ran Taras Bulba at the Varsity in Des Moines first run and checked on stereo prints, no luck.

Of course, if the stems exist, one can make something now rather inexpensively, but this film would not seem to be popular enough to warrant the effort, especially from Kino Lorber.

Maybe the 70mm blow-up in the UK was stereo. This showing in 2007 claims 6-track stereo.

RolandL said:

Maybe the 70mm blow-up in the UK was stereo. This showing in 2007 claims 6-track stereo.

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I saw the original 70mm print at the Odeon Haymarket. The first blow up I saw. Pretty sure it was stereo and as at the time it was advertised as Panavison 70 would expect them to ensure a stereo track to ensure compatibility with"proper" 70.

I love this film, and can still recall seeing it for the first time on the giant 70MM screen. It sounded as great as it looked, but I can't swear that it was in stereo. I do, however, have vivid memory of it being advertised as "Panavision 70". The vivid color was memorable to me. I've heard, over the years, that the film was a 70MM blow-up, and that may be, but I'm positive about how it was advertised, and how beautiful it looked.

john a hunter said:

I saw the original 70mm print at the Odeon Haymarket. The first blow up I saw. Pretty sure it was stereo and as at the time it was advertised as Panavison 70 would expect them to ensure a stereo track to ensure compatibility with"proper" 70.

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I did not read this prior to posting my response. So, Philadelphia wasn't the only placed it was advertised that way!

70mm prints were stereo and the DVD is stereo, as have been HD TV broadcasts.

I never got it on DVD, as I only heard bad things about it. I can't even recall the last time I saw it. It's been decades, for sure.

John Maher_289910 said:

I love this film, and can still recall seeing it for the first time on the giant 70MM screen. It sounded as great as it looked, but I can't swear that it was in stereo. I do, however, have vivid memory of it being advertised as "Panavision 70". The vivid color was memorable to me. I've heard, over the years, that the film was a 70MM blow-up, and that may be, but I'm positive about how it was advertised, and how beautiful it looked.

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It was shot in anamorphic 35mm and holds the distinction of being one of the first, if not THE first 70mm BlowUp(s). In a way it initiated the end of true large format releases as afterwards the studio beancounters were positive that they could get away with just blowing up normal 35mm productions. I think this is a tragedy - everybody who has attended a festival with a mix of true large format and blown up 70mm prints could see that there was no substitute for a proper large format production.

70mm prints were stereo and the DVD is stereo, as have been HD TV broadcasts.

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Oh I'm not so sure. I've read a few reviews of the DVD, & it looks like it's fake stereo from a mono source, & the last time I saw it on the telly on TCM (UK) it was mono, mind you that's TCM! I'd love it if it were stereo, with that fantastic Franz Waxman music score. I first saw this at the cinema when I was 11, the perfect age to fall in love with this fun movie.

Billy Batson said:

Oh I'm not so sure. I've read a few reviews of the DVD, & it looks like it's fake stereo from a mono source.

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The R1 DVD is definitely true stereo; there is a clear left/right separation of the musical instruments. The default is mono so one has to select the stereo track on the menu before starting the film.

The Laser Disc is Stereo.



Doug.