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A Few Words About A few words about...™ Love and Death -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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Another odd MGM transfer.


Woody Allen's 1975 Love and Death.


Great film. Prime, beautifully written and produced 1970s Allen.


And strangely, a beautiful Blu-ray for Twilight Time to release from MGM.


Not to be missed.


Image - 4.75


Audio - 5


Pass / Fail - Pass


Highly Recommended


RAH
 

Ejanss

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Robert Harris said:
Another odd MGM transfer.

"Odd" problems, or odd choice?


Robert Harris said:
And strangely, a beautiful Blu-ray for Twilight Time to release from MGM.

As one critic put it, the gorgeous Ghislain Cloquet cinematography ("Tess") is part of the Bergman parody. :lol:


And I still run into people who don't believe Woody was intentionally channeling 40's Road-era Bob Hope for his movie, but if you close your eyes, you can hear he's got Hope's "My Favorite Coward" Paleface delivery down pat in places:

 

Sid Verbal

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I'm a huge fan of the Road pics, and yes, Woody and Mel have gleaned much inspiration from Hope & Crosby. It's a shame that many baby boomers remember Hope from the crap 60's movies and TV specials...they would have an entirely different respective if they screened the Road films and other Hope pics from the 40's - 50's which are full of the irony/wit which makes such comedies timeless.


For puro Bobo, check out "The Princess and the Pirate" or "Casanova's Big Night" - you won't believe how wonderfully they still play and how funny they are, with in-jokes and asides that play exactly like the Woody/Mel films you grew up on and thought were entirely original . Farfle Farfle Picfic!
 

Angelo Colombus

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Saw this on the MGM HD Channel and i think it is missing about 20 seconds of music at the begining of the film. On the laserdisc it starts with the old MGM/UA logo with Prokofiev's music playing then it fades to black and then the begining titles of the movie. On my dvd and i guess the blu-ray no Prokofiev music when showing the MGM logo.
 

Garysb

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Ejanss said:
"Odd" problems, or odd choice?




"Odd" probably because it is a good transfer from MGM.


A quote from Mr. Harris's review of "Lenny"


"The other wonder here is that it comes from MGM, and unlike most of their work, looks quite terrific. Not perfect, but damned good."
 

telzall

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atcolomb said:
Saw this on the MGM HD Channel and i think it is missing about 20 seconds of music at the begining of the film. On the laserdisc it starts with the old MGM/UA logo with Prokofiev's music playing then it fades to black and then the begining titles of the movie. On my dvd and i guess the blu-ray no Prokofiev music when showing the MGM logo.
Too bad, I remember that, too and it was/is a nice touch!!!
Definite, must have, in any case!!!
 

ShellOilJunior

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This film, like many WA films, was not treated kindly on DVD. It has some hilarious bits. As mentioned above Woody channels Bob Hope a lot and I think some Groucho ("No, you're Don Francisco's sister!").



Drill Sergeant: From now on you'll clean the mess hall and the latrine!

Boris: Yes, sir! How will I tell the difference?




Anton Inbedkov: Shall we say pistols at dawn?

Boris Grushenko: Well, we can say it. I don't know what it means, but we can say it.




I anxiously await my copy in the mail.
 

Bob Cashill

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Allen says he wouldn't care if all his films were burned after his death. So I wouldn't expect commentaries in his lifetime. Strange that he's so uncaring, given that he insisted Manhattan be transferred widescreen on home video.
 

Virgoan

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Love, love, love this film.


Boris and Natasha are a hoot...especially when they attempt to knock out the Spanish ambassador with a wine bottle.


Love the "I got screwed" part.


A beautiful homage to Bergman.


Remember: "Wheat!" (and not Sam Wheat, either)!
 

Mark-P

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Bob Cashill said:
Allen says he wouldn't care if all his films were burned after his death. So I wouldn't expect commentaries in his lifetime. Strange that he's so uncaring, given that he insisted Manhattan be transferred widescreen on home video.


I think you are missing the point, which is philosophical, that he wouldn't care because, being dead, he wouldn't know about it. He's also being humble in that he thinks his films don't matter in the grand scheme of things. It's a typical Allen comment and I admire him for it.
 

Bob Cashill

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Philosophical, humble, what have you, don't expect any noteworthy extras on an Allen disc.
 

Mark-W

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I still remember when he was asked by a reporter at the premiere of one of his films, "What makes this film special?"

Allen's answer: "Nothing. There is nothing special about this film."


I also know he wants films presented the best they can, hence the issue with making sure Manhattan was released letterboxed, but he stated he wants to the films to speak for themselves, with no extras, which he stated in at least one interview video I saw back when DVD was the fresh exciting new format and folks who had never heard of a commentary track started getting excited about them along with all the possible extras and then those folks complained to Woody about the absence of extras on the DVDs of his films.


Wanting the film presented the best way possible and being opposed extras are different issues, but neither amounts to disrespecting the film itself.


Everything I have seen makes me agree with Mark-P. He thinks his films are fine, but not important in the grande scheme of things.
Mark-P said:
I think you are missing the point, which is philosophical, that he wouldn't care because, being dead, he wouldn't know about it. He's also being humble in that he thinks his films don't matter in the grand scheme of things. It's a typical Allen comment and I admire him for it.
 

Bob Cashill

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Twilight Time reports that it has seven more Allen films in the pipeline. I assume these are the UA, Orion and TriStar ones; I'd like to see Bullets Over Broadway, but that's Miramax.
 

mikeyhitchfan

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Bob Cashill

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I have it, thanks, but the quality is just fair, and it's only available from Marketplace sellers. I don't mind paying TT prices for TT quality.
 

mikeyhitchfan

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I think the Scandinavian releases all look pretty good myself. TT's Love and Death looks very good, but Purple Rose of Cairo was not that good.
 

telzall

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I just watched this!

When Woody's father visits him in the cell at the end of the film, there is an over-dub.

His father says, "He killed two ladies." and Woody replies, "What a nasty story".

It looks like the father might be saying something other than "he killed two ladies".

Any ideas, anyone?
 

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