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TheSteig

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I don't want this to come across as disrespectful because it really isn't, and I don't mean to stir the pot, but I thought that the gargantuan announcement would be "We're releasing Africa Screams on Blu-ray" as opposed to"save and help us pay for the restoration of Africa Screams"
I don't consider asking for money for a restoration project a "gargantuan announcement" .. just my two cents worth :)
That being said, I hope this project will be successful and if you double the amount you're asking for, let's get Jack and the Beanstalk on Blu-ray too !
And yes I am a fan of Africa Screams , and I appreciate Bob and 3D Film Archive for all their work.
I just needed to get something off my chest !
 
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Josh Steinberg

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The announcement isn’t quite what I expected but it made sense when I thought about it.

Maybe it would help to think of it as a preorder. For $25, you get the restored movie on DVD, or for $35, you get it on Blu-ray. Those are about the standard list prices for boutique releases, just without the discounting we’re used to. And we all know physical media isn’t selling a fraction of what it once was, so the idea of an independent company restoring it first and then hoping to recoup the money over time in a rapidly changing marketplace might not be as dependable a route as it used to be. And then, on top of that, the movie is public domain so once the new restoration is out there, it will be pirated and stolen and that will make it harder to sell legit copies.

So I’m seeing this more as a preorder than a fundraiser, and a way for A&C enthusiasts to vote with our wallets to say this is a thing we want and put our money where our mouths are.

I have such fond memories of this movie even though I can barely recall it. But I remember that my great-grandfather gave me his VHS copy when I was a wee one because I laughed so much watching it with him. I must’ve been five or six. I can barely remember his face, and the memory of his voice is gone, but I remember the green sticker on the VHS tape.
 

Tony Bensley

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Certainly in the DVD suitcase release, I thought IN THE NAVY was the worse looking of all the releases. Bad contrast, lack of sharpness, it looked like a dupe of a dupe of a dupe. I guess something happened to the negative that couldn't be fixed or the negative just went bad or was disposed of at some point. Frankly, I don't think we will ever see the quality and care on blu ray as we did on the Classic Monster Series Universal. I can only guess they cost a fortune to restore, fixing both sound and picture. Not to say very good fine grains and other sources have not been used for their other films of the period, but going from nitrate camera negative with 4k scans, and post production work to make them look as pristine as can be, I think are reserved for only a handful of their classics of the 30s and 40s.
I just had a fresh viewing of IN THE NAVY (1941) from the 2014 Trunk DVD set, and I just don't see the poor quality. It honestly looks fine to my eyes, and I just recently updated my prescription. We'll just have to agree to disagree regarding this title!

CHEERS! :)
 

Randy Korstick

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I just had a fresh viewing of IN THE NAVY (1941) from the 2014 Trunk DVD set, and I just don't see the poor quality. It honestly looks fine to my eyes, and I just recently updated my prescription. We'll just have to agree to disagree regarding this title!

CHEERS! :)
I didn't remember it being bad either. I watched the blu ray about 3 weeks ago and thought it look fine too. On par with Buck Privates and Hold that Ghost.
 

Gary OS

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I didn't remember it being bad either. I watched the blu ray about 3 weeks ago and thought it look fine too. On par with Buck Privates and Hold that Ghost.

I plan to start watching the set from the beginning in a another week or so. I'll share my thoughts then.

Gary "just thankful we have this release" O.
 

Gary16

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I plan to start watching the set from the beginning in a another week or so. I'll share my thoughts then.

Gary "just thankful we have this release" O.
I’m about halfway through watching the bluray of “In The Navy” and so far it looks beautiful. Sharp, great contrast and black levels. Good audio too.
 

timk1041

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Hold That Ghost was the first one I threw on just to see if the hair was there. I have seen it on the VHS and DVD. I was happy and surprised to see that it was gone. However, I’m saving my DVD for hair nostalgia.
I took a look at this a couple times. I looked at my DVD of this and the blu ray and I couldn't see any difference. I will have to check again, but it has to be something extremely minor.
 

timk1041

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I’m about halfway through watching the bluray of “In The Navy” and so far it looks beautiful. Sharp, great contrast and black levels. Good audio too.
I looked at In The Navy last night along with Keep 'em Flying. Sharp picture and the sound levels have more punch and are much more robust than the DVDs. The DVDs are still good, but the blu rays are better.
 

timk1041

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I haven't noticed anything from the DVD's that isn't included so there aren't any reasons I know of.
The only thing I noticed is on the inside of the DVD cases, there are some photos from the films along with the credits for each title. On the blu ray set, there are no pictures. Only the credits. Plus there is that minor issue in Hold That Ghost about the bristling hair missing during the opening credits near the left bottom. I looked at my DVD of that and the blu ray and I didn't notice the difference. I will check again later. Unless having those pictures on the inside of the cases and that other thing on the opening of Hold That Ghost are important to you, keeping the DVD set isn't necessary. I might keep my DVD set just as a backup. Not sure yet.
 

Tom St Jones

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I seriously doubt it.

Shout has previously reissued discs individually which they originally released in collection sets (eg. the Bruce Lee Legacy Collection), so I've been hopeful they would eventually reissue these individually -- as grand as the set is, I hardly need or want ALL of the films, just a few (well, about half as many) of them -- and maybe The Pink Panther Films, as well... but, yeah, I could be waiting a long while..
 

Robert Crawford

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Shout has previously reissued discs individually which they originally released in collection sets (eg. the Bruce Lee Legacy Collection), so I've been hopeful they would eventually reissue these individually -- as grand as the set is, I hardly need or want ALL of the films, just a few (well, about half as many) of them -- and maybe The Pink Panther Films, as well... but, yeah, I could be waiting a long while..
A long while!
 

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