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1-disc rereleases of 2-disc SEs from Fox (1 Viewer)

JohnJB

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Chad Gregory

"I can only hope that The Abyss does not include an anamorphic transfer."

No it would be terrible if we had to sacrifice some fantastic extras (that most people will never watch again) for an anamorphic enhancement, just so people with tv's bigger than 20" could enjoy a picture quality better than the current non anamorphic VHS equivalnet.
 

Ken Seeber

Supporting Actor
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No it would be terrible if we had to sacrifice some fantastic extras (that most people will never watch again) for an anamorphic enhancement, just so people with tv's bigger than 20" could enjoy a picture quality better than the current non anamorphic VHS equivalnet.
The DVD os "The Abyss" isn't anywhere close to being "VHS equivalent." In fact, "The Abyss" is considered to have one of the best non-anamorphic transfers ever, virtually indistinguishable from an anamorphic disc to many people. It also has nearly twice the resolution of VHS, so I think you're over-stating things just a bit.

As far as the reference to TVs bigger than 20 inches, screen size has nothing to do with taking advantage of anamorphic enhancement. Having a TV that is capable of anamorphic display is what counts, regardless of size.
 

Dave H

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I like having the choice of buying a movie-only edition. I don't like paying more money for extras that I might watch one time.

Most of the extras I've seen lately are nothing more than promotional items and really tell you little or nothing about making the film or *real* behind-the-scenes. If they would put more documentaries on there like Closencounters, Jaws, or Superman, then I would be more open to spending the money on them. I just watched Tombstone's extras last night and what a waste (other than the newspaper layout). If leaving off the extras would have saved me $5.00 (or whatever amount) then I would have been for it.
 

RicP

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Feb 29, 2000
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just so people with tv's bigger than 20" could enjoy a picture quality better than the current non anamorphic VHS equivalnet.
What a ridiculous statement!

What does TV size have to do with anamorphic enhancement? And VHS "equivalnet {sic}"? Please. That's just a silly statement.
 

Todd Hochard

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No it would be terrible if we had to sacrifice some fantastic extras (that most people will never watch again) for an anamorphic enhancement, just so people with tv's bigger than 20" could enjoy a picture quality better than the current non anamorphic VHS equivalnet.
Uh, I think that's called sarcasm.

And I don't know what you guys are watching, but I can tell you that as I have progressed in screen size, from 17" to 36" to 53" (and soon to 110+"), anamorphic enhancement matters more and more. Saying that it doesn't is like saying NTSC looks the same on a 20" as my Elite. I don't think so.

There's no way that the Abyss will be anamorphic.

Todd
 

James Miller

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To get back to the point, my understanding is that these re-releases offer the EXACT same a/v quality on one disc as the older issues did on two dics MINUS the 2nd disc supplements....

I am thrilled to have the two disc editions of Patton, CastAway and Abyss (etc) but ONLY because of the added supplememts... if you want the movie only then you will be well served by the single disc editions...
 

JohnJB

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I realise size does not prohibit anamorphic enhancement technically, although I'd be supprized if you could see much difference between non and anamorphic on say a 14" screen.

My point was just that The Abyss looks like shite on my 56" rear projection (non HD) and I know this is small compared to a lot of HTF's set up's, so someone (even in jest) saying they hoped the new release was not anamorphic was a little shocking.

Anyone who thinks The Abyss transfer compared to an average anamorphic transfer is anything other than crap, has either some fatastic line doubling toy or bad eyesite.

And taking the piss out of someone spelling is a pretty lame way to make an argument, but if it get's you off.
 

Chad Gregory

Supporting Actor
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I guess I should defend myself a little.
My point was just that The Abyss looks like shite on my 56" rear projection (non HD) and I know this is small compared to a lot of HTF's set up's, so someone (even in jest) saying they hoped the new release was not anamorphic was a little shocking.
When I purchased this disc back in March 21, 2000 I was quite pissed that it did not have anamorphic enhancement. At the time I had just bought my TW40x81 and was quite pissed that there was no anamorphic transfer. And I am sure that I am not alone in that frustration.
When I bought my RP91 over the summer I went back and checked out all of my non-anamorphic discs to see how well the scaling function worked and to tell you the truth, there are only 2 non-anamorphic discs that still look good, The Abyss and Armageddon: Criterion. Is it a reference transfer, NO, but pretty good, YES.
So actually my statement of "I hope that the new version of The Abyss is not anamorphic" is only meant as a dig because the excuse given for the missing anamorphic transfers was that Cameron did not provide the adequate elements. I would hate for them to show up now.
It would be a shame to have two versions of this film on the market and the one-disc version having the better transfer and missing one of the best docs available.
Got it?
-Chad
 

Joe D

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May 21, 1999
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I didn't know the Special Edition of Patton went out of stock. I'm glad I picked it up a while ago.

As for the other titles, I can see where Cast Away and ID-4 might sell more at a lower price point, but not The Abyss.

As for the transfer on The Abyss, I didn't think it was very good, and I've got a 25" TV. I do the squeeze trick on the TV (of course, not on The Abyss).
 

Larry Gardner

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For everyone's information about The Abyss non-anamorphic DVD:
Back when The Abyss was being mastered for DVD, James Cameron wanted to do an anamorphic DVD master. Since the original elements were needed for the DVD theaterical version and the special edition director's cut, a new Hi-Def master would need be made prior to the DVD authoring master.
Fox, at that time was not prone to doing anamorphic DVDs and told Cameron that if he wished to do a new HiDef master for an anamorphic DVD, he could do that BUT at his expense. Fox was not going to provide funds for a new HiDef master creation for The Abyss theatrical and special edition. So the D1 master that was created earlier was used. A D2 master was used for the Laserdisc boxset, so they felt that the D1 master would provide better resolution and detail even compared to the Laserdisc boxset.
So that is the reason for a non-anamorphic DVD.
It may be possible to do an anamorphic The Abyss that does not contain the special edition since I believe there does exist a HiDef master of the theatrical release.
For more inormation, read the Production Diarys for The Abyss at:
http://www.dvdreview.com/html/abyss_...rst_wave.shtml
This can also be addressed with Van Ling during the char forum.
 

Chad Gregory

Supporting Actor
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Oct 11, 2000
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raising the question whether “The Abyss” will be 16x9 enhanced or not.

It will not, and there are a number of reasons for that. It was a decision that was reached between James Cameron’s production company Lightstorm, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The letterbox elements in Fox’s film vault were reviewed by both parties and approved for the usage on the DVD. Since the DVD is nonetheless coming from the higher quality D1 master, as opposed to the D2 master that was used for the Laserdisc release, I am sure, the DVD will look significantly better than any previous release of the film. Especially given the strong blue tones that dominate the movie, the complete lack of chroma noise in a D1 master will make the film look better than we all have ever seen it.

James Cameron himself has an impact on every frame you see on releases of his films and he supervised the transfer of “The Abyss” when it was originally done. But also all of the supplemental material that will be part of this release will have been stand up to his scrutinizing eyes.
There is the exact passage that Larry is refering to. I had (almost) completely forgot that DVDReview.com existed. It is a shame they used to get some interesting stuff on the site, especially these 'Diaries'. (They also had ones for T2 and The Terminator).

Either way I would be irritated if this new release had an anamorphic transfer (although I would have to purchase it).

-Chad
 

YANG

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Feb 10, 1999
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FOX reissues of back catalogue 2 disc titles in single disc.I think only a FOX representative can give us a better answer.
 

David Lambert

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Yang, Peter Staddon's last post was on 1/2/02. I don't know, maybe for the past 2 weeks he's been lurking but not posting. But he's been "quiet" for a while now; not posting as much as previously.
I wonder how much, if at all, that has to do with Ron's decision (as noted in his review of The Sandlot), not to review Fox product anymore. :frowning:
 

Adam_WM

Screenwriter
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Oct 25, 2001
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Adam Moreau
This is kind of good news. Today at work I say ID4 and the Abyss single disc editions. They are in-fact just the first discs of each of the two disc sets and they are widescreen. I thought I read before that the 10 titles FOX was re-releasing today were in full-frame? Anyone?
 

Jon_W

Stunt Coordinator
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Jul 19, 2000
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Fox is releasing a series of Pan&Scam releases in May, there had been some confusion about this for the last month. They are still coming.
 

rutger_s

Supporting Actor
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Jul 7, 2000
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878
The releases for March 5th, 2002 were the single disc widescreen versions of The Abyss, Cast Away, and Independence Day. Basically these are just the first discs from the two disc sets.

In May, the pan & scan/full-frame versions of these films and seven others arrive on shelves.
 

Gregory E

Second Unit
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Feb 19, 2002
Messages
266
Yeah, I kind of like the idea of releasing the 1 disc set at a cheaper price. I picked up Independence Day today for like $11.99! I would not have bought the 2 disc set for $20+. Of course, I'm not a big fan of supplements anyway. And honestly, if you REALLY love the movie...you probably already bought the 2 disc set.
 

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