A Few Words About A few words about…™ The Court Jester – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Dick]

It was originally made by Warner Bros., who presumably has any original elements. But given that it's been released on DVD by some P.D. labels, it must've fallen into the Public Domain.

Yes, I believe it is a PD title. But maybe someone could rescue it. Of course, we're all still awaiting other Kaye films from Goldwyn, etc. He's a criminally underrepresented genius on Blu-ray. Ever try to repeat back some of his tongue-twisters? His comedic musical numbers are pure gold.

 

[Reed Grele]

Watched mine the other night and can't add any more superlatives than have already been posted here.

But I would like to know how Basil Rathbone's agent somehow negotiated getting his screen credit repeated three times during the cleverly written main title song and credits that I love so much.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

Just watched. The picture is breatakingly gorgeous. The sound however is a big disappointment and doesn’t come near matching what’s up on screen. It’s reedy and flat and like everyone is saying a real shame on Paramount. Sound no better than any old mono movie. It’s definitely not “High Fidelity”.
But that picture .......

 

[roxy1927]

Well this only confirms my decision to pass on it. I hope a foreign label like Eureka picks it up and releases it with its Perspecta soundtrack. At least with musicals like Good News and TPG you know the sound you get matches how they were released in theaters. This is very disappointing.

 

[Robert Harris]

Just watched. The picture is breatakingly gorgeous. The sound however is a big disappointment and doesn’t come near matching what’s up on screen. It’s reedy and flat and like everyone is saying a real shame on Paramount. Sound no better than any old mono movie. It’s definitely not “High Fidelity”.
But that picture .......

The concept of “Motion Picture High Fidelity” in terms of VVLA was oriented toward large format, and/or large format reduction printed to dye transfer 35/4. But also, toward audio, an optical track (irrelevant of Perspecta) being run at 180 feet per minute, doubling the quality of the playback, and better reproducing the quality of the original mags.

If original mags survive for this film, they could achieve that quality.

If not...

 

[B-ROLL]

The concept of “Motion Picture High Fidelity” in terms of VVLA was oriented toward large format, and/or large format reduction printed to dye transfer 35/4. But also, toward audio, an optical track (irrelevant of Perspecta) being run at 180 feet per minute, doubling the quality of the playback, and better reproducing the quality of the original mags.

If original mags survive for this film, they could achieve that quality.

If not...

I read somewhere on the interwebs (so it must be true ) that in the 70s a new regime at Paramount ordered the Sound Department to throw out all sound elements other than mono for most pre-70s films. The reason given was they were costly to store and the only future for the films was on Television - which was mono and therefore the other tracks were not needed.

Apparently members of the Sound Department did throw the elements out as requested - and then some of them retrieved as many as they could fit into the trunks of their cars and had them in their homes. However they had to make a Solomon's choice as to which film's sound elements to save. Ultimately some of these sound elements held in private hands were put in to use in some cases for later home video releases. ... or not ...

 

[Robert Harris]

I read somewhere on the interwebs (so it must be true ) that in the 70s a new regime at Paramount ordered the Sound Department to throw out all sound elements other than mono for most pre-70s films. The reason given was they were costly to store and the only future for the films was on Television - which was mono and therefore the other tracks were not needed.

Apparently members of the Sound Department did throw the elements out as requested - and then some of them retrieved as many as they could fit into the trunks of their cars and had them in their homes. However they had to make a Solomon's choice as to which film's sound elements to save. Ultimately some of these sound elements held in private hands were put in to use in some cases for later home video releases. ... or not ...

Much of the material went VS, and was unplayable.

 

[jayembee]

Well this only confirms my decision to pass on it. I hope a foreign label like Eureka picks it up and releases it with its Perspecta soundtrack. At least with musicals like Good News and TPG you know the sound you get matches how they were released in theaters. This is very disappointing.

If someone else releases this with the same video and improved audio, I'll snap it up in a New York second. But until then, I'm happier owning this release than I would be not owning it. Even with whatever problems one may find in it, it's still the best I've ever seen for this film.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

If someone else releases this with the same video and improved audio, I'll snap it up in a New York second. But until then, I'm happier owning this release than I would be not owning it. Even with whatever problems one may find in it, it's still the best I've ever seen for this film.

I'd be happier w/ it at better pricing. As is, I'm certainly happy enough w/ just the iTunes digital streaming version (w/ potential for eventual free 4K upgrade) for (the sporadically sale priced) $5 instead. IF there's eventually another disc release that sports a good rendering of the Perfecta track (and preferably some good extras), I'd probably buy that -- and I'm fine w/ importing too.

_Man_

 

[RolandL]

I read somewhere on the interwebs (so it must be true ) that in the 70s a new regime at Paramount ordered the Sound Department to throw out all sound elements other than mono for most pre-70s films. The reason given was they were costly to store and the only future for the films was on Television - which was mono and therefore the other tracks were not needed.

Apparently members of the Sound Department did throw the elements out as requested - and then some of them retrieved as many as they could fit into the trunks of their cars and had them in their homes. However they had to make a Solomon's choice as to which film's sound elements to save. Ultimately some of these sound elements held in private hands were put in to use in some cases for later home video releases. ... or not ...

According to Bob Furmanek, Paramount has the Perspecta tracks for their films. See the Perspecta thread.

 

[roxy1927]

It is so strange that in the 70s when there was such a great appreciation for old films and their preservation Paramount and Fox would be so destructive. Also The Goldwyns had if not the negatives then mint copies of his films. Did his son get them?

 

[William Moore]

A few years after the first DVD release of "Jester" came out, Paramount released it a second time in an "anamorphic" format (enhanced for 16x9 TVs), which greatly improved the film's look. I have the LD version, both DVD versions, and now the Blu version. Big fan of Danny Kaye, since I interviewed him one time back in the sixties when he flew his plane to Wichita on a tour for Unicef. He was one of the best!

 

[Patrick McCart]

A few years after the first DVD release of "Jester" came out, Paramount released it a second time in an "anamorphic" format (enhanced for 16x9 TVs), which greatly improved the film's look. I have the LD version, both DVD versions, and now the Blu version. Big fan of Danny Kaye, since I interviewed him one time back in the sixties when he flew his plane to Wichita on a tour for Unicef. He was one of the best!

I have the very first DVD from 1999 and it's 16x9 enhanced. I did watch a VHS recorded off AMC, which was 4x3 and I recall having a lot of color issues likely due to fade (many scenes had an extreme yellow tint).

 

[CJamesCook]

RAH wrote:

Before anyone begins to wonder if it should be released in 4k, I’d advise against it. Grain is on the heavy side for Vista, but the overall look is still one of the process. Blu-ray fits this release like a fine steel piece of armor.

I'm not clamoring for a 4k, but I want to understand. With the negatives being Vistavision format, there is a much larger area as compared to a "regular" 35mm negative. So, if you were to control for similar grain structure, why wouldn't the image produced by the Vistavision negative be perceived as less "grainy" than the image produced by a "regular" 35mm negative. Or did they crank up the amount of grain in the 35mm Vistavision shoot (lighting, aperture, shutter speed, ASA?) that they negated that advantage? If the latter, given the expense of the Vistavision format, then why?

 

[Will Krupp]

if you were to control for similar grain structure, why wouldn't the image produced by the Vistavision negative be perceived as less "grainy" than the image produced by a "regular" 35mm negative.

I certainly don't mean to speak for RAH but, until he has the opportunity to answer you I MIGHT be able to help clear it up. What he said was, "Grain is on the heavy side for Vista" so I believe that, in essence, he's agreeing with you. There SHOULD be less apparent grain than with a standard 35mm negative. He was saying that this particular title, however, might not be the best candidate for a 4K release because he feels that the grain is heavier on this particular transfer than it ought to be on one from a large area VistaVision negative.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[haineshisway]

Everyone seems to be forgetting that he updated the grain comment: "I've spent a bit more time with CJ, and the grain seems better than I originally thought. Interestingly, compared to 10 C, it looks slightly heavier."

 

[roxy1927]

Funny Face should get a 4k release. It is visually so spectacular and while I don't have the bluray it got poor marks for video on blu-ray.com. But I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Reed Grele]

In regards to the mono audio on The Court Jester 4K disc. I've never heard the Perspecta tracks, so I can't compare.... But, I have absolutely no problem with the way it sounds (at least on my HT system).

If you've been shying away from this title because of the mono audio, I can state with almost 99.9% certainty that if you crank up the audio, and just take in the glorious, colorful VistaVision transfer, you'll be blown away by this superb 4K UHD presentation!

P.S., Just to avoid confusion, I know it's not really a 4K release on disc.... See post # 102.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

In regards to the mono audio on The Court Jester 4K disc. I've never heard the Perspecta tracks, so I can't compare.... But, I have absolutely no problem with the way it sounds (at least on my HT system).

If you've been shying away from this title because of the mono audio, I can state with almost 99.9% certainty that if you crank up the audio, and just take in the glorious, colorful VistaVision transfer, you'll be blown away by this superb 4K UHD presentation!

Wait! What 4K disc???

_Man_

 

[Reed Grele]

Wait! What 4K disc???

_Man_

You mean it's just 1080p?

Coulda fooled me... But I "Jest".