International FOREVER AMBER and DADDY LONG LEGS Blu Ray (1 Viewer)

[kagemusha98]

I picked up The blu ray of MOULIN ROUGE in Paris......It is supposedly Region A-B-C....but it is most definitely Region A Locked.

 

[Robin9]

I picked up The blu ray of MOULIN ROUGE in Paris......It is supposedly Region A-B-C....but it is most definitely Region A Locked.

Are you sure it's Region (Zone) A? Why would a Zone A BRD be on sale in Paris?

 

[lionel59]

It is NOT cheap, but France has released David Lean's OLIVER TWIST on Blu Ray. As it is- I believe- one of the best British films of all time, I am still highly tempted. The German releases of GHENGIS KAHN (Omar Sharif) and THE MUDLARK (Irene Dunne) are both superb and I highly recommend them to any collectors who are fans of these films. NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY and DEAR BRIGITTE (Blu Ray) are also good. All have removable subtitles.

 

[Mark Mayes]

There are couple of new classic BDs from France that I would gladly buy, but am worried about the forced subtitle issue. A company referred to as ElephantFilms on Blu-Ray.com but called Elysees Editions on Amazon France's site have released MOULIN ROUGE (FERRER/GABOR) , LADY HAMILTON and THE FOUR FEATHERS (KORDA) in blu-ray. Reviews claim that the image quality on these is quite good. No word on the subs yet. I'll try to get more info on this matter. Am hopeful that more interesting titles will be coming from them in the near future.

I have the "That Hamilton Woman" (aka "Lady Hamilton") and it has a non-subtitle option. The print is the same as used by Criterion, but the title card is from the international version.

 

[Ed Lachmann]

Thank you so much for the good news, Mark. Just got back up on the forum today and was so happy to hear that Elysees allows you to choose a "no subtitles" option! Also, they are now showing a BD release of Korda's THIEF OF BAGHDAD and, it looks like a hi-def THE JUNGLE BOOK will be announced soon. So far, they've released an odd assortment of Korda and an MGM/UA Huston which begs the question, what next? Could we get stuff like SOLOMON AND SHEBA or KINGS OF THE SUN? I know that I'll be sending a BIG order to Amazon Fr in the near future. One huge question, though, does this 1080 HAMILTON WOMAN look a lot better than the Criterion standard DVD to you?

 

[Mark Mayes]

Yes, Ed. It is a brighter transfer with a lot more detail shining through--however I notice the same inherent flaws (scratches etc.) that identify it as the same print. I viewed them side by side and the blu-ray handily wins.

I also got Korda's "Thief of Baghdad" on blu from Germany. It is also a beautiful print, but not the same used by Criterion. The detail is richer, but the color seems somehow more realistically timed than in the Criterion. It has the German title cards, but the film does not mandate subtitles. There is a detailed hour long documentary on Sabu in English and an extensive optional commentary on the film (but only for German-speakers.)

 

[Robin9]

Re-reading this thread I notice that no-one who has bought Forever Amber on BRD has commented on the picture and sound quality. Any volunteers?

 

[Mark Mayes]

Re-reading this thread I notice that no-one who has bought Forever Amber on BRD has commented on the picture and sound quality. Any volunteers?

The master looks to me (in its murkiness) like the same print used on the video tape. But, of course, more detail and texture come through.

The film is free of scratches and debris, which must mean it was, indeed, restored.The blu-ray is smooth. The film...

The colors lack in spectrum (reds do not fare particularly well) and skin tones look either somewhat orange-yellow and waxy or too pink with not much naturalness. I have no idea if that's just the intention of the way it was shot or not, since perhaps a lot of this could be to enhance the feeling of candlelight and nighttime. There is a lot of muddiness in dark shots and a general faded feeling in light ones.

The sound seemed very good, but the subtitles are distracting until one gets used to them.

 

[Robin9]

The master looks to me (in its murkiness) like the same print used on the video tape. But, of course, more detail and texture come through.

The film is free of scratches and debris, which must mean it was, indeed, restored.The blu-ray is smooth. The film...

The colors lack in spectrum (reds do not fare particularly well) and skin tones look either somewhat orange-yellow and waxy or too pink with not much naturalness. I have no idea if that's just the intention of the way it was shot or not, since perhaps a lot of this could be to enhance the feeling of candlelight and nighttime. There is a lot of muddiness in dark shots and a general faded feeling in light ones.

The sound seemed very good, but the subtitles are distracting until one gets used to them.

Thank you for that. I'm disappointed but not surprised. It seems this BRD stems from the same very sub-standard source as the Spanish DVD. I'll pass.

 

[lionel59]

Apart from the non-removable French subtitles, I was quite pleased with the French Blu Ray release of FOREVER AMBER. I have not seen the Spanish version. To me, it looks like the best print Fox can produce from the Eastman color negative which they transferred their Technicolor elements to back in the '70's. They sadly junked most if not all of their Technicolor negatives at this time which is why we will never see them again with their original, vivid hues (that is, unless a nitrate print turns up somewhere in pristine or restorable condition). Ted Turner preserved most of the 3-strip Technicolor negatives from the MGM, Warner Bros and RKO vaults, which is why they now look so great.A pity somebody at Fox hadn't thought to do that before heading the cannisters out to the garbage dump.....

 

[classicmovieguy]

I have the Spanish DVD and found the picture quality to be quite acceptable.

 

[David Weicker]

Update on the above Blu Rays which I have now received. I rate both transfers as excellent. If you can speak French, the extras are no doubt interesting (Leslie Caron speaks on the DADDY LONG LEGS blu ray in an extra feature). The subtitles sadly cannot be removed from AMBER but they can be removed from DADDY LONG LEGS (once you start the movie) with a remote control.

Has anyone else seen the Daddy Long Legs disc. Most of this thread (which should be about these two blu-rays) deals with other movies, or other versions of Forever Amber.

I am interested in Daddy Long Legs, and would hope there would be more conversation about that title.

David

 

[Mark Mayes]

Apart from the non-removable French subtitles, I was quite pleased with the French Blu Ray release of FOREVER AMBER. I have not seen the Spanish version. To me, it looks like the best print Fox can produce from the Eastman color negative which they transferred their Technicolor elements to back in the '70's. They sadly junked most if not all of their Technicolor negatives at this time which is why we will never see them again with their original, vivid hues (that is, unless a nitrate print turns up somewhere in pristine or restorable condition). Ted Turner preserved most of the 3-strip Technicolor negatives from the MGM, Warner Bros and RKO vaults, which is why they now look so great.A pity somebody at Fox hadn't thought to do that before heading the cannisters out to the garbage dump.....

I am very sure, after now reading-due to the blu-ray release of "Leave Her To Heaven"- about the loss of technicolor elements by FOX in the 70s being clearly part of my disappointment in the colors. I remember thinking that the colors looked similar to the " LHTH" dvd when I was viewing "Amber" and thought maybe it was FOX style of using technicolor. Now I realize it's Eastman.

 

[Keith Cobby]

David, I have the Daddy Long Legs blu-ray. It has a very good picture quality but not as good as the Violent Saturday blu-ray I received at the same time. The difference may be due to Violent Saturday being mainly filmed outside, whereas DLL is filmed mainly on sound stages. I am, nonetheless, very pleased with it.

 

[stevenHa]

So is the French Forever Amber playable in Region A (North America) ?

 

[JPCinema]

Yes Forever Amber is region A........It does look like it needs more restoration...but then I'm glad to have it in my collection!

 

[JPCinema]

Daddy Long Legs is Region B.

 

[stevenHa]

What is the situation with the quality of The Thief of Bagdad (1940) blu ray ? Are they different releases ? Can they be played in Region A ? What about The Way West and Lady Hamilton ? Thanks.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I bought the German blu-ray of The Thief of Bagdad and was disappointed with the picture quality. Fortunately the menus didn't work properly and I was grateful to be able to return it for a refund.