Dear Paramount, the Boomerang transfer is horrible and unacceptable (1 Viewer)

[David Coleman]

Wanted to thank Crawdaddy for chiming in on this thread. I respect that he has a differing opinion and that's ok because he's seen the disc! That having been said I still feel the film elements were less than what have been desired and really a disappointment.
If I can compare the grain and color to another film i'll use GODFATHER, PART III. Anyone whose seen that film can see the really poor film elements used in the transfer of that film. Especially bad in the scenes where Michael apoligizes to Kay, it's really bad! That's the level of film grain and faded colors i've seen in Boomerang! Yes, i've seen GODFATHER III theatrically and can tell you it was never that poor in the theater.
Bottom line this film deserved better than it got. It's a shame that Paramount's preservation left a film that not quite 10yrs old looking so horrible. Definitely a missed opportunity to do this film right!
David

 

[Patrick McCart]

If I can compare the grain and color to another film i'll use GODFATHER, PART III. Anyone whose seen that film can see the really poor film elements used in the transfer of that film. Especially bad in the scenes where Michael apoligizes to Kay, it's really bad! That's the level of film grain and faded colors i've seen in Boomerang! Yes, i've seen GODFATHER III theatrically and can tell you it was never that poor in the theater.

Paramount simply released the DVD. Zoetrope was behind the entire production of the Godfather DVDs. Also, it's likely that the film was grained up and color muted. The Godfather clearly has some real film damage (some parts are grainier due to dupe footage and also stock shots), but at least the color looks like dye-transfer Technicolor.

I'd just like someone to consider that grain and not-perfect color is a result of the way the film is shot instead of being a defect. It's just unlikely for a 12 year old film to be in poor condition. No one criticizes the near-B&W faded appearence of Payback, I hope.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

"Digitally filmed, digitally mastered a perfect clone. Own the first major live action film on DVD captured directly from its digital source. With six hours of bonus features."

The preceding statement taken from the commercial for the ATOC DVD which aired 11/9/2002. Which sounds to me like AOTC is the only movie to meet my criteria.

Well, you'll have to hand it to the copywriters. "Major" is the operative word for them, here. It's not the first movie that's been digitally filmed and mastered to DVD, but the first "major" one.

 

[Esten]

The Cell

The Cell was shot Super 35.

 

[Martin Blythe]

Thanks Patrick and others for your more informed comments. But this thread seems to have gone off on a tangent.

I would like to ask the people doing the name-calling to research their subjects a little first or solicit comments from other people before launching into the attacks. Like I implied at the beginning of this thread, our transfers are always top notch, so questions should be redirected to either ask about why the source elements don't deliver to expectations, or to ask whether more expensive options are possible financially or aesthetically. I will do my best to respond with information.

 

[Reginald Trent]

I own just about all of Eddie Murphy's DVDs. Many are not Paramount titles. However, these are the Paramount titles I own. Beverly Hills Cop boxset, Trading Places, 48 Hours, Boomerang, Coming to America. 48 Hours looks the worse, but it is 9 years older than Boomerang.

Perhaps I incorrectly named the cause of the picture quality. However, I feel Paramount have the resources and could have produced a better looking product.

 

[David Coleman]

No disrespect to you or you're studio Mr Blythe, maybe the copy I saw of BOOMERANG was an anomaly, however what I saw in the transfer is stated in the quote above. When I looked at the disc the above is what I see. To answer your question about the transfer, perhaps the transfer is the best that can be done with the source elements. However the source elements must be in disrepair then. Would it have been more expensive to create a new print. Probably! What I see however is totally faded and extremely grainy. I've stated a comparision to another film as to what I see.

Maybe you can check on exactly was the print that was used to see if it was the best one. I for one love this movie as it's my favorite of Eddie Murphy's but i'll be honest and say I won't spend $24.98 list on this one looking the way it is!

David

 

[Martin Blythe]

Boomerang was transferred to high def from a new IP off the original neg. This is our standard practice. It was then downconverted for the DVD. The transfer was supervised by Reginald Hudlin (with our digital mastering folks).

 

[Patrick McCart]

What I see however is totally faded and extremely grainy

This is what totally faded looks like:

It can't look THIS bad.

 

[David Coleman]

Hey Martin, I really appreciate the fact that you would even go and find out this information for us! That says wonders for your company that you would make such a query on behalf of your comsumers! For that I thank you!

David