A Few Words About A few words about...™ Khartoum & Zulu -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Geoff_D]

Thanks for your thoughts about Zulu, RAH. I've never been a fan of the processing on the UK version which robs it of texture (if not detail), but the TT has its own set of issues to deal with. A 3.5 out of 5 score is about right.

 

[Mark McSherry]

RAH: "Twilight Time has released two large format productions on January 22, which with large format being as rare as hen's teeth is quite the coup."

January 22nd-- 135 years, to the day, of the Battle of Rorke' s Drift.

 

[stevenHa]

Mr. Harris, have you had time to compare the 2 different blu rays of Zulu and if so could you give us your opinions on the the differences and your preferences ? Thanks.

 

[RolandL]

Watched KHARTOUM last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I give it a thumbs up on transfer and sound.I saw this in its original release when I was around 10 (Eastwood Mall - Birmingham, AL). The ending stayed with me for years and I was always talking about it. It's still disturbing but not as terrifying as it was for a boy of 10.

Allen, Do you remember if the Eastwood Mall theatre promoted Khartoum or any other movies as being in Cinerama?

Hi Mr Harris , What makes you think Khartoum was sourced from a 35mm scope element?many thanks.

With an AR of 2.76:1 I wouldn't think this was cropped from 2.35:1 scope to make it look like it came from Ultra Panavision 70.

Check out the comparison of a Cinerama rectified 70mm frame to the Blu-ray.

 

[ahollis]

Allen, Do you remember if the Eastwood Mall theatre promoted Khartoum or any other movies as being in Cinerama

All the advertising, newspaper, standee, one sheets and three sheets advertised Cinerama prominently. KHARTOUM did have a huge Premire the night before I attended. It was all over the newspaper the next day and intrigued me enough to persuade my Grandmother to drop me off. It only had two shows a day so I saw the 8:00pm show. I recall for certain an intermission but can not recall an overture It also had to be in the summer of 66 since I was visiting my grandmother. Knowing theses facts I would almost be certain that I saw it during its roadshow engagement and it was a 70mm presentation. The theatre was part of the Cobb Theatre Chain out of Birmingham, AL and was a first class theatre in its day. My main movie going memories when visiting grandparents in Birmingham were at the Ritz, Empire, and Alabama. Those Theatres were downtown were my grandparents would drop me off when they went shopping at the downtown department stores. I believe The Ritz was the Cinerama house but I never saw a Cinerama film until HTWWW at Cinerama Dome eight or so years ago.

 

[Robert Harris]

Hi Mr Harris , What makes you think Khartoum was sourced from a 35mm scope element?many thanks.

Wasn't certain. Appears that MGM not only made a preservation element, but scanned the 65 at HD resolution. Nice Blu-ray. Kudos to MGM!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Nice Blu-ray. Kudos to MGM!

I have to agree this was a lot of fun to watch and looked fantastic. I have not picked up Zulu from Twilight because I have the UK release and Twilight has put out so many titles I want recently that I decided to wait on that one.

I would agree with Mr. Harris though and say you should check out Zulu Dawn if you enjoy Zulu.

 

[RolandL]

All the advertising, newspaper, standee, one sheets and three sheets advertised Cinerama prominently. KHARTOUM did have a huge Premire the night before I attended. It was all over the newspaper the next day and intrigued me enough to persuade my Grandmother to drop me off. It only had two shows a day so I saw the 8:00pm show. I recall for certain an intermission but can not recall an overture It also had to be in the summer of 66 since I was visiting my grandmother. Knowing theses facts I would almost be certain that I saw it during its roadshow engagement and it was a 70mm presentation. The theatre was part of the Cobb Theatre Chain out of Birmingham, AL and was a first class theatre in its day.My main movie going memories when visiting grandparents in Birmingham were at the Ritz, Empire, and Alabama. Those Theatres were downtown were my grandparents would drop me off when they went shopping at the downtown department stores. I believe The Ritz was the Cinerama house but I never saw a Cinerama film until HTWWW at Cinerama Dome eight or so years ago.

Thanks for the info Allen. I can't find any images of ads for Cinerama films for the Eastwood Mall. I would like to add them to the page on my web site.

 

[Dan_Shane]

Is the TT release of KHARTOUM the original full-length film or the pared-down version?

 

[JoHud]

Is the TT release of KHARTOUM the original full-length film or the pared-down version?

What's the difference between these two versions?

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Is the TT release of KHARTOUM the original full-length film or the pared-down version?

It's listed at 136 minutes, so it's the full-length version.

 

[JoeDoakes]

Wasn't certain. Appears that MGM not only made a preservation element, but scanned the 65 at HD resolution. Nice Blu-ray. Kudos to MGM!

Well, that does it. I'm off the fence.

 

[lukejosephchung]

Seems to me that MGM/UA are making concertedly serious efforts to promote their catalog titles this year via their 90th Anniversary celebration by way of their distribution deals with Twilight Time, Criterion and Fox...glad to see this finally happening...

 

[Dan_Shane]

It's listed at 136 minutes, so it's the full-length version.

Yippee! The MGM DVD of 2002 was only 128 minutes, so I am glad to finally be able to get the longer version.

 

[Dr Griffin]

My copy of the 2002 MGM DVD lists the film at 2 hours 16 minutes or 136 minutes, same as the TT release.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

On a price-per-inch basis, there's no comparison - Laserdisc was a bargain compared to Blu-ray. $39.95 for a 12 inch disc versus $30 for a measly 4.7 inch disc? Forget about it. Twilight Time needs to either increase disc sizes, or lower their prices.

That's it, I'm off to Blu-ray.com where my valid points regarding Twilight Time's unconscionable business practices will be better appreciated.

Too funny, increase disc size! I love it. I remember going to Tower Records ever two weeks with my wife to pick out a LD. Usually $35-50. Never could get myself to spend the $125 for Spartacus.

 

[DP 70]

Watched Khartoum last night and was really impressed with pic and sound , also had a look at Zulu andthe TT version looks just like what I saw in the cinema in 35mm.thanks to Mr Redman and all.

 

[David_B_K]

I had both versions of ZULU on two different players so as to compare them last night. I much preferred the look of the new TT version. At first, it seems washed out compared to the UK disc. But after watching it for a few minutes, the UK disc looks quite garish and artificial. Besides pumping up the color, the contrast has been severely boosted on the UK one as well. Also, I think they fiddled with the tint, making the British uniforms look a bit more red than the historically accurate orangey scarlet of the TT version.I decided to buy the TT version after hearing of the big upgrade in sound. However, I don't think they are dramatically all that different. There is more stereo separation on the TT, but I could still detect some on the UK version. The sound is better on the TT, just not overwhelmingly so. Though I bought the new version mainly for the sound, it was the video that most impressed me.Also, In the matter of which version is squeezed, I think it's the UK one. In all the film clips on the special features on the UK disc, the picture more resembles the TT. When I watch a special feature clip on the UK disc, and then return to the film proper, the actors look a tad squeezed up to me.

 

[DP 70]

I have always thought the UK Version has the wrong squeeze, I have noticed this on other Paramount BDs.

 

[RobHam]

I (finally) received Khartoum today and watched it this evening.

My own thoughts:

I was pleased with the quality, with a single caveat – second unit location shots had flicker across the entire film. This is something I’ve become more sensitive to as I get older and I found some scenes uncomfortable to watch because of it. Switching from 1080p/24fps to 1080i seemed to help - anyone any idea what's up?

I grew up with this film on television in the early 1970’s, and seeing it at last in its full AR was a revelation. However it’s no classic - Olivier plays to the rear stalls with little subtlety (as he did with just about every film role he took on), and Heston’s accent wanders from the convincing to the “I’m the star and I don’t give a shit” level.

It's still an enjoyable romp through history, albeit with a one-sided POV.

In the value for money stakes, I reckon I just about broke even with this purchase.

Question for those who know this movie well:

As a kid watching this on television, I remember seeing Heston’s head on a pole at the end. Has a couple of seconds been cut out of that end scene, or has 40-odd years of physical and cerebral abuse caused me to misremember?