A Few Words About A few words about...™ Bend of the River - in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

I finally viewed the new KL Blu of Bend of the River...everything negative that has already been said is true enough, but this is definitely a significant upgrade over my old DVD...and as I don't have another lifetime to wait or suffer the delusions of a better and new transfer coming anytime soon, I am happy enough with this new Blu...thank you Kino-Lorber!

I have the German disc which features the exact same master, and I came to the same conclusion - by no means perfect, but better than anything we have at the moment. It's a movie I really enjoy. I have more to gain by watching an imperfect copy than I do by avoiding it altogether on principal. While I understand that not everyone will feel the same way, that's where I'm coming down on this one.

 

[PatrickDA]

I thought it looked worse than I feared it would.

 

[OliverK]

I have the German disc which features the exact same master, and I came to the same conclusion - by no means perfect, but better than anything we have at the moment. It's a movie I really enjoy. I have more to gain by watching an imperfect copy than I do by avoiding it altogether on principal. While I understand that not everyone will feel the same way, that's where I'm coming down on this one.

What sometimes gets lost in these discussions is that even a bad Blu-ray will often be the best available version of a movie that we can watch in our home theaters. So when I do my little Anthony Mann western series with my kids I will also show the rather nasty looking Blu-ray of Bend of the River as it is as good a it gets at the moment and still better than my version of The Naked Spur.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

So when I do my little Anthony Mann western series with my kids

That sounds awesome! Would love to know how that goes and what they think.

 

[Robert Harris]

The cost for producing a physical disc of a property, is the same, be it low or high end quality. Same with shipping, distribution, marketing...

Why not use a quality master?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

In theory that’s all true.

But if you’re Kino (or Koch in Germany), you don’t have that choice. You have the choice of putting out what Universal offers or nothing at all. There is no “make them go back and create a better master” option.

Given that binary choice, I’m glad to have some version of this wonderful film over having no version of it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

In theory that’s all true.

But if you’re Kino (or Koch in Germany), you don’t have that choice. You have the choice of putting out what Universal offers or nothing at all. There is no “make them go back and create a better master” option.

Given that binary choice, I’m glad to have some version of this wonderful film over having no version of it.

I agree! Furthermore, I don't think I have another 20 years to wait on better A/V presentations so I rather enjoy what I can get now than to have nothing to enjoy at all.

 

[Robert Harris]

There’s another side to this discussion, which is that if ALL licensees reject masters, the owner would then have a far greater impetus toward re-scanning, which would then also give them a viable DCP.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

In a perfect world, I agree. But in this imperfect world, I worry that the end result would just be that the studio gives up on the title and then no one gets to see it in any form.

 

[Robert Harris]

I’m a great believer in just say “no.”

 

[Robert Crawford]

I’m a great believer in just say “no.”

I understand, but I'm with Josh, that this title would just get ignored by the studio if turned down by all Licensees.

 

[Robert Harris]

I understand, but I'm with Josh, that this title would just get ignored by the studio if turned down by all Licensees.

With all due respect, I disagree. Someone would want to know why it was turned down.

 

[Robert Crawford]

With all due respect, I disagree. Someone would want to know why it was turned down.

With all due respect your disagreement is fine, but who would want to know why some film title from about 70 years ago was turned down? Video discs sales are down and will continue that downward spiral for the foreseeable future. I think titles getting turned down will be just another excuse the studios will use for not investing in these classic films. I think you have more faith in these corporate studio executives doing the right thing than I do.

 

[Thomas T]

With all due respect your disagreement is fine, but who would want to know why some film title from about 70 years ago was turned down? Video discs sales are down and will continue that downward spiral for the foreseeable future. I think titles getting turned down will be just another excuse the studios will use for not investing in these classic films. I think you have more faith in these corporate studio executives doing the right thing than I do.

Unfortunately, movie buffs are between a rock and a hard place here. If a problematic transfer (like BOTR) gets released, everyone is furious that such a "classic" wasn't given the kid gloves treatment and we're left with a less than stellar transfer with an almost zero chance of going back and doing it right. Yet if it's not released with the explanation that the film elements aren't there, the impatient ones (Ryan's Daughter, Raintree County or The Alamo anyone?) scream, "Then release what you have. It's better than nothing!"

There are two camps. 1) The then don't release it at all camp 2) the better than nothing camp. I belong to the second. Bottom line: Does the blu of BOTR look better than the DVD? If no, why buy it? If yes, why not buy it? I haven't bought it at this stage but I'll most likely get it at the next sale.

 

[PatrickDA]

I'd rather they wait on releasing "The Far Country" (a better film than "Bend of the River") than get something that looks like "BOTR".

 

[OliverK]

I'd rather they wait on releasing "The Far Country" (a better film than "Bend of the River") than get something that looks like "BOTR".

Apparently this is what everybody is doing right now.
I would have to look up my HD recording from some time ago but ironically I remember that it was less problematic.

So how long would you wait for a remaster of The Far Country if there was the chance to release something now that already looks a bit better than Bend of the River? I guess for people who are younger they would be willing to wait longer but at some point it gets tedious as we do not know how long it will take - 3 years, 5 years or even 10 years?

You get the point I guess and then there is the undeniable fact that some of us are already quite old and may not be in a position to enjoy a new disc when it finally gets released 10 years from now (or whatever medium it will be). I guess almost everybody would be willing to wait a year or two for a really good disc but we all know that this is not going to happen with every title we would like to see on Blu-ray and for every catalog title that gets released in very good quality there will be others that will not get released at all in the next 10 years and by the end of those 10 years we will have been waiting to see them on Blu-ray for more than 20 years.

 

[Robin9]

For people like me who are still willing to watch DVDs, this is not much of an issue. I watched the DVD of Bend Of The River a few weeks ago and standard definition did not prevent me from enjoying the film. My big complaint about Raintree County is that it's not available even on DVD!

 

[PatrickDA]

The 'daylight' scenes on "Bend of the River" look worse than the 'nighttime' scenes. "The Far Country" takes place largely at night or early evening.

 

[Flashgear]

Everyone is making valid points here, and I have the utmost respect and high esteem for RAH, as I believe we all do...in gratitude for his contributions here and in the realm of film restoration and preservation...speaking for myself. I am very conscious of my own mortality in having the time for viewing the lifetime of treasures in my home video collection...upon seeing RAH's review here on HTF, I did ponder cancelling my pre-order for Bend of the River, but I decided to see it for myself in the hope that my heartache wouldn't assume epic proportions...in the eye of this beholder, this film looks far better than I have ever seen it before, certainly an upgrade over the old DVD...I think it's stronger by far in definition in close-ups and middle ground, the color is mostly genuine and beautiful throughout...but the registration defect does become a recurring distraction for me in well lit middle and far distances, the registration halos are particularly irritating in middle ground objects backlit by blue sky, for instance...I'm glad this new KL Blu has come along now, while I still have the ability to enjoy it...I'm 63 now and had a recent health scare, I sometimes get a little discouraged when I assess the loads of my yet-to-be-watched collection (mostly loads of TV episodes)...

Speaking of mortality, this film as we know it might never have been made if a 88mm flak burst or 20mm cannon round had taken Jimmy Stewart to eternity in WW2...during my convalescence from my recent illness, I suddenly realized that it was the 75th anniversary of the many desperate air battles he was in over Germany in the war..."Big Week" and the first maximum effort daylight raids on Berlin...

February 20, 1944...Jimmy leads the entire 8th air force 2nd bomb wing (approx. 60 B-24s) on a bloody mission to Brunswick Germany...900 mile roundtrip and 7 hours in the stratosphere at -40...under constant attack by flak and fighters for hours at end...he witnesses the loss of several of the B-24 under his command, including the death of the youngest pilot in his own squadron...that night he writes a letter to the boy's mother...

February 25, 1944...two days after his bomb group lost 13 out of 25 B-24 to an onslaught of German fighter attacks at Gotha, Jimmy leads another mission to Furth, Germany...once again under sustained attack for at least an hour before they even reach their target...aircraft on either side of his lead ship go down burning...

Still badly shaken by his Big Week mission to Furth, Jimmy now leads the entire 2nd bomb division (154 bombers!) on a strike to Brunswick on March 15, 1944...again meeting heavy German attacks...his aircrew now notice his nerves getting the better of him...his ashen complexion, weight loss and a slight tremor in his voice while calling out desperate commands during the fury of yet another "12 O'clock High" mass attack by German fighters coming head on at a closing speed of 600 mph...he survives, but barely...

Despite his obvious physical and psychological deterioration, Jimmy leads the entire 2nd bomb division in another attack to Berlin on March 22, 1944...an 11 hour mission at 30 thousand feet...physically exhausting formation flying for a man who was already quite ill at the time, on oxygen, wearing an armored electrically heated flying suit...after losing many of the original aircrew that he arrived with in Britain the previous November, and now being a nervous wreck on a skeletal frame (under 140 lbs on his 6'3" height), he is forcibly grounded by 8th Air Force commanding general Jimmy Doolittle...he is ordered to convalesce at an English manor "Flak" house (really, a hospital) in East Anglia, and takes leave to visit London...while he struggles to gain weight and recover his wits and morale...like so many anonymous and average Joes who rose time and time again in valiant and desperate combat, only to be broken, at least for a time, by being asked to bear the unbearable one time too many...James Stewart wrongly felt shame for having been broken by fear...Jimmy, as a famous Oscar winning actor, was mortified that he would be sought out by the press and made to be the face of valor and sacrifice in the air war...he feared that the many anonymous average guys would be forgotten for their own unspeakable suffering and sacrifice...and that if he became the famous face of the air war, he would perhaps be seen and resented as another Hollywood phony...this explains the thin details at the time and his life long reticence to rarely discuss his wartime experiences...

As with many other guys, Jimmy found his strength yet again and returned to combat operations, flying more combat missions leading up to D-Day...he led a dangerous low altitude attack on a V-1 rocket site at Sirracourt, France on May 15...Beirne Lay jr., co-author of the bestselling book and basis for the film 12 O'clock High, was shot down on that mission, but survived and was hidden by French underground and evaded capture by the Germans...James Stewart wrongly blamed himself for Beirne Lay and his crew being shot down...his humility and sense of responsibility being paramount as always...of course, Lay didn't blame him,,,it was the murderous flak as always...the character of "Frank Savage" in the book 12 O'clock High is a composite of several men that Beirne Lay and co-author Sy Bartlet served with in WW2...but I think it's safe to assume that some elements of that character were drawn from the life of James Stewart himself...

Anyway, I went off on a tangent there...associating mortality with the perishable and delicate nature of cinema itself...I'm glad to have KL's Blu of Bend of the River...looking forward to Thunder Bay and Night Passage from KL too...and ultimately, Winchester '73 from Criterion, and The Far Country from Arrow...I know it's a lesser film of Jimmy's, but I would hope his WW2 Columbia film The Mountain Road could find a home on HD...Fool's Parade as well...

 

[Robert Crawford]

Everyone is making valid points here, and I have the utmost respect and high esteem for RAH, as I believe we all do...in gratitude for his contributions here and in the realm of film restoration and preservation...speaking for myself. I am very conscious of my own mortality in having the time for viewing the lifetime of treasures in my home video collection...upon seeing RAH's review here on HTF, I did ponder cancelling my pre-order for Bend of the River, but I decided to see it for myself in the hope that my heartache wouldn't assume epic proportions...in the eye of this beholder, this film looks far better than I have ever seen it before, certainly an upgrade over the old DVD...I think it's stronger by far in definition in close-ups and middle ground, the color is mostly genuine and beautiful throughout...but the registration defect does become a recurring distraction for me in well lit middle and far distances, the registration halos are particularly irritating in middle ground objects backlit by blue sky, for instance...I'm glad this new KL Blu has come along now, while I still have the ability to enjoy it...I'm 63 now and had a recent health scare, I sometimes get a little discouraged when I assess the loads of my yet-to-be-watched collection (mostly loads of TV episodes)...

Speaking of mortality, this film as we know it might never have been made if a 88mm flak burst or 20mm cannon round had taken Jimmy Stewart to eternity in WW2...during my convalescence from my recent illness, I suddenly realized that it was the 75th anniversary of the many desperate air battles he was in over Germany in the war..."Big Week" and the first maximum effort daylight raids on Berlin...

February 20, 1944...Jimmy leads the entire 8th air force 2nd bomb wing (approx. 60 B-24s) on a bloody mission to Brunswick Germany...900 mile roundtrip and 7 hours in the stratosphere at -40...under constant attack by flak and fighters for hours at end...he witnesses the loss of several of the B-24 under his command, including the death of the youngest pilot in his own squadron...that night he writes a letter to the boy's mother...

February 25, 1944...two days after his bomb group lost 13 out of 25 B-24 to an onslaught of German fighter attacks at Gotha, Jimmy leads another mission to Furth, Germany...once again under sustained attack for at least an hour before they even reach their target...aircraft on either side of his lead ship go down burning...

Still badly shaken by his Big Week mission to Furth, Jimmy now leads the entire 2nd bomb division (154 bombers!) on a strike to Brunswick on March 15, 1944...again meeting heavy German attacks...his aircrew now notice his nerves getting the better of him...his ashen complexion, weight loss and a slight tremor in his voice while calling out desperate commands during the fury of yet another "12 O'clock High" mass attack by German fighters coming head on at a closing speed of 600 mph...he survives, but barely...

Despite his obvious physical and psychological deterioration, Jimmy leads the entire 2nd bomb division in another attack to Berlin on March 22, 1944...an 11 hour mission at 30 thousand feet...on oxygen, wearing an armored electrically heated flying suit...after losing many of the original aircrew that he arrived with in Britain the previous November, and now being a nervous wreck on a skeletal frame (under 140 lbs on his 6'3" height), he is forcibly grounded by 8th Air Force commanding general Jimmy Doolittle...he is ordered to convalesce at an English manor "Flak" house (really, a hospital) in East Anglia, and takes leave to visit London...while he struggles to gain weight and recover his wits and morale...like so many anonymous and average Joes who rose time and time again in valiant and desperate combat, only to be broken, at least for a time, by being asked to bear the unbearable one time too many...James Stewart wrongly felt shame for having been broken by fear...Jimmy, as a famous Oscar winning actor, was mortified that he would be sought out by the press and made to be the face of valor and sacrifice in the air war...he feared that the many anonymous average guys would be forgotten for their own unspeakable suffering and sacrifice...and that if he became the famous face of the air war, he would perhaps be seen and resented as another Hollywood phony...this explains the thin details at the time and his life long reticence to rarely discuss his wartime experiences...

As with many other guys, Jimmy found his strength yet again and returned to combat operations, flying more combat missions leading up to D-Day...he led a dangerous low altitude attack on a V-1 rocket site at Sirracourt, France on May 15...Beirne Lay jr., co-author of the bestselling book and basis for the film 12 O'clock High, was shot down on that mission, but survived and was hidden by French underground and evaded capture by the Germans...James Stewart wrongly blamed himself for Beirne Lay and his crew being shot down...his humility and sense of responsibility being paramount as always...of course, Lay didn't blame him,,,it was the murderous flak as always...the character of "Frank Savage" in the book 12 O'clock High is a composite of several men that Beirne Lay and co-author Sy Bartlet served with in WW2...but I think it's safe to assume that some elements of that character were drawn from the life of James Stewart himself...

Anyway, I went off on a tangent there...associating mortality with the perishable and delicate nature of cinema itself...I'm glad to have KL's Blu of Bend of the River...looking forward to Thunder Bay and Night Passage from KL too...and ultimately, Winchester '73 from Criterion, and The Far Country from Arrow...I know it's a lesser film of Jimmy's, but I would hope his WW2 Columbia film The Mountain Road could find a home on HD...Fool's Parade as well...

Great post and as I'm also becoming more aware of my mortality as I know I'm on the 16th hole of life.