AIRPORT in TODD-AO? (1 Viewer)

[haineshisway]

The American WideScreen Museum

Thanks for spelling it out. DTTMTDI? Oh, sorry - didn't take that much time, did it? I hope everyone follows suit.

 

[Charles Smith]

I second or third the request and the thanks. I have enough trouble keeping up with the James Bond titles by their initials, even within the immediate context of the Bond threads here.

Another one that always trips me up at first: TWOO, which looks so frickin absurd it takes a moment for "The Wizard of Oz" to register. In most cases, this just isn't how I think about or reference films.

 

[Moe Dickstein]

I always like doing an abbreviation without resorting fully to initials - i.e. "Oz" for "The Wizard of Oz". (or "The WS Museum") Certain films' initials have become so commonplace that I think most can decipher - say, GWTW?

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Originally Posted by haineshisway /t/319144/airport-in-todd-ao/30#post_3968554
Please can we have a moratorium on initializing titles. I'm sure you know what you mean by TAWSM and maybe others do, but I haven't a clue.
And I don't believe the titles are windowboxed.

My personal favourite of these is The Wizard of Oz as TWoO; reminds me of the Lily von Schtupp line from Blazing Saddles:
"It's twoo! IT'S TWOO!"

 

[Moe Dickstein]

There's one I really hate, which I doubt people here will know, one of the daytime soaps, Days of our Lives, is commonly shortened to "Days" but also to "DOOL" which for some reason I always read as "Drool" and on rare occasions as one of the bad guys from Ghostbusters...

 

[NY2LA]

WTF? there is no menu? the thing just starts playing befoer you're ready, making noise in the background as you try to access the features? i HATE that! and as for the transfer, I'm definitely in the why the hell couldn't they just do it right camp. You can tell from the credits, which used to be centered nicely with equal airspace all around on the previous DVD*, the credits are now very close to the top and bottom edge which suggests cropping to me, as does the very tight headroom throughout. Certainly if they cropped from THIS they WOULD be cutting stuff off. The sides definitely show too much, like the lighter edges of the picture, which got so distracting, I had to reset it's zoom to cover what would have at least been covered under the aperture.
*Update: it appears I was thinking of another Todd AO title that had the credits evenly spaced within an apparent 2.2 frame. However it also appears that this film, on previous DVD or BluRay, has NO head or foot room to spare, but plenty of space at the sides. I'm not a whiz at math and don't claim to be an expert, but it now looks like this has already been cropped from 2.2 to 2.35. in both transfers. Can't think of any other explanation. Seems just as likely this had evenly centered titles in the 2.2 version that we don't see here.

 

[Albion]

You can tell from the credits, which used to be centered nicely with equal airspace all around on the previous DVD, the credits are now very close to the top and bottom edge which suggests cropping to me, as does the very tight headroom throughout. Certainly if they cropped from THIS they WOULD be cutting stuff off. The sides definitely show too much, like the lighter edges of the picture, which got so distracting, I had to reset it's zoom to cover what would have at least been covered under the aperture.

Reading a previous post by Robert Harris,did'nt they use different title credits for each format ie 35mm squeezed reduction prints and 70mm TODD-AO Prints.

 

[NY2LA]

Reading a previous post by Robert Harris,did'nt they use different title credits for each format ie 35mm squeezed reduction prints and 70mm TODD-AO Prints.

And as RAH said that does Not Necessarily guarantee the variation you will get will match what you see.
First of all, back when someone suggested that the absence of the Todd-AO title would indicate a 35mm 2.35 original, I went back to DVDs of other Todd-AO titles and checked. Every other DVD I checked from a Todd-AO source kept the Todd-AO credit yet are all likely to have been done from 35mm. It was another movie that I noticed the credits were arranged to be ideally centered (showing equal distance from side and/or top or bottom) at 2.20, which the DVD appeared to be. There was also enough obvious safe area visible throughout the film to crop for 2.35. It appears those discs may have had advantages these two Airport discs do not.
Doing instant a/b comparisons with my setup is impossible because my Onkyo receiver or the LG TV can't handle it. When you go back to the previous source you left in freeze frame, LG puts up a "no signal" icon. So with a measuring tape and more than my usual patience...
LG 47" TV in "Just Scan" mode
Airport on DVD:
Credits windowboxed at 1" from sides
39"x16"
Feature slightly windowboxed at 1/2" from left side 1/4" from right, top edge lighter frameline visible.
40"x17.5"
Airport on Blu Ray:
No windowbox
Credits and Feature
41x"17.5"
Credits on both discs tend closer to top and bottom than sides. Neither transfer has any extra headroom. Heads and hands (as in stewardesses gesturing exits) are already so close to the top of the frame that if you cropped much more either heads would be on the edge or partially cut off (eg the stew's hand). There is no "extra at top and bottom here. Therefore it seems to me the theory that we are getting full 2.20 height is not the case with either transfer. It appears this is the 2.35 extraction that one would get if one cropped the 2.20 OAR.
PS: Why do we need to waste time with a disclaimer for a commentary that isn't there?

 

[haineshisway]

Everything on this transfer, framing-wise, is fine. They DIDN'T crop further so I don't really understand the point - there is nothing that's too tight - it's framed like a motion picture and if there is any difference between the 2.35 and 2.20 as Mr. Harris says, it's minimal. This is a fine-looking transfer, IMO, with perfect color, unlike the sorry-looking DVD. Sound is great. And I liked that you load the disc, you get a couple of disclaimers and the movie begins - just like - in the theater. No menus in the theater that I recall I found it refreshing actually, and loved the hubbub over black (the way the film has always begun).

 

[JohnMor]

In terms of framing, it looks like the screening I saw at the UCLA Universal 100th Festival in June. And it seems to have slightly more headroom than the dvd. As far as the menu, I agree there should be one upon loading. I like to begin the movie when I'm ready, not have to start it over because the disc began playing too early. Overall, I'm very pleased with this blu ray.

 

[john a hunter]

As far as the menu, I agree there should be one upon loading.  I like to begin the movie when I'm ready, not have to start it over because the disc began playing too early. Overall, I'm very pleased with this blu ray.

Hooray. No menu to get to the film.Nine times out of ten, there is no reason for a menu.Warners used to start straight away but they seem to have forgot that for the past few years and we are forced to go thru that menu crap to get what we bouight the disc for-the film!!!

 

[NY2LA]

I see scenes in the Blu Ray where heads and other things are right up at the top or just under the edge of the frame, at the bottom you can already see faces right on the edge (control tower, etc) getting cut off a bit when they look down... yet if you look at the runway shots at the beginning it looks clear this is as wide as the picture got, because you can see lightness at the ends and the very edge has light lines on each side, but this is evidently not the full 2.20 height because there is nothing left to crop for 2.35 without cutting off tops of heads, etc.
When I was a projectionist, the movie didn't start on its own when I threaded the projector. Today's digital files still have someone give the go, either by programming to a schedule or responding to a prompt, they don't just start running when you load the feature. Maybe the cinema might want to add some trailers or something. When I put in a disc, I might want to look at the trailer or whatnot first. Cars don't take off when you get in. My food processor, microwave, oven, stove, etc. doesn't go off the minute I put something in it. It waits until I'm ready. Music players, from vinyl to CDs, didn't usually start playing until prompted unless they were stripped down low end kiddie players.
Pop in and play is kidstuff. Who else wouldn't be patient or mature enough to deal with choices and maybe one extra click? Obviously as Disney has created their "fastplay" thing for animated or "family" titles where it automatically runs from the commercials to the feature, then the extras 'cause they figure more kids will handle those discs than adults. For adults, who may only want to watch the supplements, or watch them first, There is much to be said for giving control to the owner. Warners used to add an autoplay to the menu after it cycled through the music loop three times. It at least gave you plenty of time to pick what you really wanted to see.
Uni has a precedence of cheaping out on DVD menus for what it apparently considers low end titles, like Sweet Liberty and Forty Pounds of Trouble, a couple of my favorites, clearly considered low-end by Uni, (just like Airport has been) - neither had menus and the former wasn't even OAR. I didn't realize it was so damn expensive to create a DVD menu and some chapter stops. I have an old Mac and that can do it, so...
Adding one option doesn't mean you should take away another. This disc becomes as annoying as those Fox titles that were authored by someone who thinks having a pop up menu supersedes the regular ones we've had for years. These people seem to view all movies as software and don't seem to be aware how most of us use it. You have to keep jumping for the pause button every time you play one of the supplements. It's like having a puppy that will run outside every single time you open the door. Jaws has a menu. I bet The Sting does too. Airport was another top ranking recordbreaking hit for Uni, though it hasn't been treated that way for a long time.

 

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by NY2LA /t/319144/airport-in-todd-ao/60#post_3969702
When I put in a disc, I might want to look at the trailer or whatnot first. Cars don't take off when you get in. My food processor, microwave, oven, stove, etc. doesn't go off the minute I put something in it. It waits until I'm ready. Music players, from vinyl to CDs, didn't usually start playing until prompted unless they were stripped down low end kiddie players.
Pop in and play is kidstuff. Who else wouldn't be patient or mature enough to deal with choices and maybe one extra click? Obviously as Disney has created their "fastplay" thing for animated or "family" titles where it automatically runs from the commercials to the feature, then the extras 'cause they figure more kids will handle those discs than adults. For adults, who may only want to watch the supplements, or watch them first, There is much to be said for giving control to the owner. Warners used to add an autoplay to the menu after it cycled through the music loop three times. It at least gave you plenty of time to pick what you really wanted to see.

LOL. Absoluteluy agree with you here. While I hate elaborate, long animated menus, the Universal ones on these blus (while ugly) are short and to the point and give ME the option of when to start the movie. I prefer that. Not having one is certainly no deal breaker, but it's mildly annoyoing to me to have to start the movie over when I'm ready.

 

[NY2LA]

LOL.  Absoluteluy agree with you here. While I hate elaborate, long animated menus, the Universal ones on these blus (while ugly) are short and to the point and give ME the option of when to start the movie. I prefer that. Not having one is certainly no deal breaker, but it's mildly annoyoing to me to have to start the movie over when I'm ready.

Well sure, Disney has also gone overboard with menus. Which one of their animated classics on DVD forced you to go through a forest, to a house, inside the house, around the room, to a book, that opened up, and flipped to a page... EVERY time you pressed Menu, before you got to ANY menu choices? then each choice turned on another long journey of graphics. Sheesh! I recall they eventually offered an alternate adult menu with everything listed on one page. The Blu Ray of Beauty and the Beast had a nice idea to offer a long, rambling virtual tour of the castle, but it drives me nuts to make THAT the main menu and have to stagger through it all every time! it almost induces motion sickness.
I think my favorites were some Warner DVDs where the menu looked like a nice poster that sat silently waiting on your screen until you were ready. If I'm having friends over for a movie night, and I want it to feel more theatrical, THAT'S what I'd want to as a menu - to have it attractively and unobtrusively onscreen as people arrive and get settled. Now that Blu Rays take so long to load, and get past all the damn disclaimers and logos, I always pop in the disc before I plan to watch, making it even more important to have a menu that waits for me.
Where a classic menu would have Play just a single click away, these pop-up only no default menu discs that play the movie right away whether you want it or not, force me to hit pause again and again as I try to access the extras... and again to wait until I'm ready for the feature.

 

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by NY2LA /t/319144/airport-in-todd-ao/60#post_3969754
I think my favorites were some Warner DVDs where the menu looked like a nice poster that sat silently waiting on your screen until you were ready.

Totally agree.

 

[Grady Reid]

Anybody else having a problem finding this title in B&M stores? I've looked all over town with no luck!

 

[ajabrams]

I found (and bought) one copy at a Barnes and Noble in NYC yesterday at their 40% off sale.

 

[Nelson Au]

This is great to see Airport released on blu ray! I'll have to find a copy, one of my favorites and the best of the disaster films. I do like the sequel, though it's not as good, it's fun to see Karen Black fly the 747 over the mountains.
Now all we need is Chuck Heston's Skyjacked from Warner to bookend this. In my mind anyway.

 

[NY2LA]

Some kid writing the blurb on Airport in Entertainment Weekly said this is what Airplane! is based on. uh, no... Airplane! was based on Zero Hour, and Airport 1975 - which was unintentionally funny itself, featuring a cross-eyed stewardess trying to pilot a plane, an angelic looking Linda Blair whose super nerdy looking doctor has clearly just been told how to pronounce "dialysis" (the dramatic medical plot device of the 70s), a singing nun, and lots of Universal contract players... look at Black's face as she is reaching for Heston to drag him into the plane!
RE the no menus: an online review for Sixteen Candles mentioned it also had no menu, and the reviewer hated it, also pointing out how Universal skimped on extras for films that deserve them.

 

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by NY2LA /t/319144/airport-in-todd-ao/60#post_3970142
Some kid writing the blurb on Airport in Entertainment Weekly said this is what Airplane! is based on. uh, no... Airplane! was based on Zero Hour, and Airport 1975 - which was unintentionally funny itself, featuring a cross-eyed stewardess trying to pilot a plane, an angelic looking Linda Blair whose super nerdy looking doctor has clearly just been told how to pronounce "dialysis" (the dramatic medical plot device of the 70s), a singing nun, and lots of Universal contract players... look at Black's face as she is reaching for Heston to drag him into the plane!

Sigh. If people don't KNOW movies, they shouldn't be writing about them. Grrrr.