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A Few Words About A few words about... ™ Grease (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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Robert Harris
Grease was originally released in larger venues via 70mm blow-ups with 6 track stereo.

While I'm cognizant of the discussions occurring on the web regarding the audio in the latest DVD, I'm really not in a position to speak to it, as I don't have that great a knowledge of the film.

Grease is a delightful film. Lighthearted, exuberant, and filled with the passion and problems of youth. I hadn't planned to view both Grease and Fast Times... in HD together, but they certainly do make an interesting pair.

I was cautious in viewing Grease first, rather like beginning with white wines at a tasting, before moving on to the heartier reds.

What I discovered in this second release in SD from Paramount was a far superior incarnation of the film on DVD than the first, which seemed to be a left over from earlier times.

But while close-ups in the new disc look fine, I'm finding the long shots lacking in detail, and simply too soft on a large screen. On moderate sized screens, Grease is going to look fine.

Colors are excellent, with a reasonable positioning for black levels and shadow detail, but viewing Grease, I can't help but wish that Paramount would give it to us in HD. That could be the "stuff that dreams are made of."

I'm aware of the grammatical problems found herein. I believe it was Churchill who said, "One should never use a preposition to end a sentence with."

RAH
 

Ken_McAlinden

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Kenneth McAlinden
The audio is exactly the same as the previous DVD, and fraught with the same problems. After level-matching, I decided I liked the 2.0 pro-logic presentation better than the 5.1. It has all of the same problems, most serious being the revisionist sweetening with new sound elements during the songs, but the reverb is set to "stun" on the 2.0 vs. "kill" on the 5.1.

Regards,
 

Geoff_D

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Jul 18, 2002
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933
Totally agree about the soft picture - it bothers me more than the sound. What was excessively grainy before has now been rendered virtually grain-less IMO. It's a pity that Paramount couldn't have found a middle ground and, as Mr Harris posits, it's the HD release that could free this transfer from it's shackles. The audio is an abomination compared to the original, but I like the 5.1 anyway. :D
 

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