A Few Words About A few words about...™ Operation Petticoat -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

The other Olive release as licensed by Paramount, is another fun Cary Grant film. This one released in 1959, and directed by Blake Edwards, has Mr. Grant is teamed with Tony Curtis.

The film was shot by Russell Harlan, who had become an Edwards staple. Most will know his name from his work on Red River, Ruby Gentry and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Billed as a high-definition digital restoration, Operation Petticoat comes across as a half-baked project, with occasionally problematic color, and a bit too much detritus, wear and tear to be taken seriously.

As announced by Olive, their new Signature release will be locked at 3,500 copies. While you may purchase as many copies as you feel you need, presumably up to 3,500 (if you act quickly enough) Olive, in an attempt to combat scalping and hoarding, limits purchases through their own website at five copies per household.

Like it companion release, Father Goose, Operation Petticoat was previously released by Olive on Blu-ray several years ago.

While I'm a huge fan of Olive's Blu-rays, their products, especially those emblazoned with the Signature moniker, need a bit more shepherding toward higher quality imagery, before that moniker is used, especially for something marketed as restored.


Image - 3.25

Audio - 5

4k Up-rez - 3

Pass / Fail - Pass

Upgrade - No

RAH

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have a hard time believing this BD isn't an upgrade over the horrible DVD. Even the prior BD was an upgrade over the 2001 DVD.

 

[Robert Harris]

I have a hard time believing this BD isn't an upgrade over the horrible DVD. Even the prior BD was an upgrade over the 2001 DVD.

Robert,

The term used should have been BD for upgrade. As with Father Goose, these seem to be the same transfers, but now, even with extras, have a higher data throughput, via BD-50s.

Final result seems to be about the same.

 

[Rick Thompson]

Apparently the same botched job as the last, which to my eyes had more drop-outs and debris than the DVD. So much for anything Paramount.

 

[Robert Harris]

Apparently the same botched job as the last, which to my eyes had more drop-outs and debris than the DVD. So much for anything Paramount.

Placing things in perspective, I believe the general audience will love it.

 

[haineshisway]

I won't love it and I won't be buying it - I figured this was going to be like this - they're obviously using the same master and giving it the bit rates (whatever those are) they should have in the first place. Sorry, this is shameful. And they will presumably be sitting on most of those 3500 copies for a very long time.

 

[PMF]

While I'm a huge fan of Olive's Blu-rays, their products, especially those emblazoned with the Signature moniker, need a bit more shepherding toward higher quality imagery, before that moniker is used, especially for something marketed as restored.

I would hate to see Olive slipping back to their days of when I purchased their first edition of "The Quiet Man". It was advertised as a restoration of the 4K kind; but to no avail, as little evidence of such appeared on my screen. Enter Olive's "Signature" series. Truly, that edition of "The Quiet Man" lived up to its word; but I had certain resentments about the whole double-purchase of it all. And no doubt, "High Noon" looked fantastic; but I was also lucky enough to not have purchased their earlier version, so there was no resentment there.
But Olive does need to be on notice, as I have no intention of supporting their products that have misleading banners and/or claims attached to it. The Signature Series; meant to lift their stature and, perhaps, our loyalties have all but lost the majority of a once earned credibility. I am sorry to report that I will not be purchasing "The Miracle Worker", "Father Goose" or "Operation Petticoat" under their current conditions and claims. Both "Signature" editions of "The Quiet Man" and "High Noon" had proven Olive's newfound capabilities; thus making it much too late for them to turn back their own clocks.

 

[DavidJ]

So, if I have the previous Blu-ray release there isn't a big incentive to upgrade?

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I see there are some nice extras on the new release and I already have the first Olive blu-ray. I might buy it on sale since I do like the film and a big fan of Cary Grant.

 

[Robin9]

Well, I'm disappointed and a bit surprised. I had assumed that this new release would be a big upgrade from the earlier very sub-standard Blu-ray disc.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Robert,

The term used should have been BD for upgrade. As with Father Goose, these seem to be the same transfers, but now, even with extras, have a higher data throughput, via BD-50s.

Final result seems to be about the same.

So Olive has basically lied about the following in bold:

OLIVE SIGNATURE FEATURES

• New High-Definition digital restoration
• Audio commentary by critic Adrian Martin
• “That’s What Everybody Says About Me” – with Jennifer Edwards and actress Lesley Ann Warren
• “The Brave Crew of the Petticoat” – with actors Gavin MacLeod and Marion Ross
• “The Captain and His Double: Cary Grant’s Struggle of the Self” – with Marc Eliot, author of Cary Grant: A Biography
• Universal Newsreel footage of Cary Grant and the opening of Operation Petticoat at the Radio City Music Hall
• Archival footage of the submarine USS Balao, which doubled as the USS Sea Tiger in Operation Petticoat
• Essay by critic Chris Fujiwara

 

[Keith Cobby]

Very difficult as a layman to understand what the various terms mean. For me, if it's a title I like, I will upgrade/buy the blu-ray. If it is a reissued blu-ray it has to be a reasonable uplift in quality for a repurchase (eg TT's Journey). If it is a favourite title I will repurchase even for a small uplift in quality. None of the Olive reissues appeal to me.

 

[JoshZ]

Placing things in perspective, I believe the general audience will love it.

If this new copy looks essentially the same as the prior Blu-ray, a score of 3.25 is extremely generous of you. I rated the other disc 2 and could have gone lower. The extensive dirt and damage were very distracting, and I don't think the "general audience" expecting crystal clarity on every Blu-ray will care for it at all.

 

[Robert Harris]

- Screener Encoding Errors -

It has come to our attention that our Blu-ray editions of Olive Signature Operation Petticoat and Olive Signature Father Goose, originally scheduled for release on November 7, were affected by encoding errors during replication. These digital glitches are present in Blu-ray screeners that you may have received already or will receive in the next few days. Because the final quality control does not meet our standards, we will be correcting these glitches before commercial release and resubmitting new discs for review. As a consequence of these fixes, please be advised we will also be postponing the street date for both titles. Stay tuned, and we will update you when a new street date has been determined. We thank you for your patience as we work to resolve these issues.


Thank you,
Olive Films

 

[JoshZ]

- Screener Encoding Errors -

It has come to our attention that our Blu-ray editions of Olive Signature Operation Petticoat and Olive Signature Father Goose, originally scheduled for release on November 7, were affected by encoding errors during replication. These digital glitches are present in Blu-ray screeners that you may have received already or will receive in the next few days. Because the final quality control does not meet our standards, we will be correcting these glitches before commercial release and resubmitting new discs for review. As a consequence of these fixes, please be advised we will also be postponing the street date for both titles. Stay tuned, and we will update you when a new street date has been determined. We thank you for your patience as we work to resolve these issues.


Thank you,
Olive Films

Could the "encoding errors" mean that they accidentally used entirely the wrong master? Probably a stretch. That'd be kind of a big whoopsie to slip through Quality Control.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I guess Operation Petticoat needs a operation on their discs....

 

[Robert Crawford]

- Screener Encoding Errors -

It has come to our attention that our Blu-ray editions of Olive Signature Operation Petticoat and Olive Signature Father Goose, originally scheduled for release on November 7, were affected by encoding errors during replication. These digital glitches are present in Blu-ray screeners that you may have received already or will receive in the next few days. Because the final quality control does not meet our standards, we will be correcting these glitches before commercial release and resubmitting new discs for review. As a consequence of these fixes, please be advised we will also be postponing the street date for both titles. Stay tuned, and we will update you when a new street date has been determined. We thank you for your patience as we work to resolve these issues.


Thank you,
Olive Films

Thank you RAH! Your noted criticism of these upcoming releases just didn't match Olive's initial press release in which they promoted restoration efforts with these two titles. Very happy to see Olive addressing this issue.

 

[Robert Harris]

Could the "encoding errors" mean that they accidentally used entirely the wrong master? Probably a stretch. That'd be kind of a big whoopsie to slip through Quality Control.

Anything is possible. The message is interestingly vague.

 

[dana martin]

oh , if you could only get that same response from VCI about Topper, and know that a replacement was on the way, or a memo sent out about The Miracle Worker...... makes one wonder, if these really were ready for release, or rushed

 

[skylark68]

I'm feeling better about this already. I'm glad Olive is doing the right thing. I've been happy with their later releases as a whole. It would seem strange they'd revert to their old standards.