FOX MOD scope news (1 Viewer)

[lionel59]

I'm sure borisfw is talking about a 2.35 to 1 Letterbox telecast of GOODBYE CHARLIE on the Fox Channel, in comparison to a (wretched) Pan-and-Scan transfer on the Archives disc.
There is no guarantee that if the movie is shown in CinemaScope or in 1.85:1 on the Fox Movie Channel that it will surface in its correct ratio on a Fox Archives release. The people concerned do not seem to know what they are doing and how much they are upsetting/displeasing customers (and committing business suicide....)

 

[borisfw]

When you say widescreen, do you mean letterbox?

To be honest with you, I'm not sure what the difference is . It's what was shown on FMC .

 

[borisfw]

My point on Goodbye Charlie was that the P&S was horrible . Some movies you can get away with it . But the way Goodbye Charlie ,and I'm sure many others , was shot made the P&S unwatchable . And knowing that they had a widescreen or Letterbox version out there makes you feel cheated . Having actors talking to each other with one of the actors ,or more , out of the screen shot is a little rough .

 

[kingfish]

i found the link to
American Guerrilla in the Philippines

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ED2SZLC/thedigitalbit-20


looks like the movie is in pan and scan. was this ever a widescreen release?

 

[Thomas T]

i found the link to
American Guerrilla in the Philippines

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ED2SZLC/thedigitalbit-20


looks like the movie is in pan and scan. was this ever a widescreen release?

It is NOT in pan and scan. American Guerrilla In The Philippines is a 1950 film hence made prior to the 1953 introduction of wide screen. Therefore, like other films of its year of release like Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve, its proper aspect ratio is 1.33.

 

[lionel59]

Actually, I believe the Academy ratio is technically 1.37:1, which is why title sequences of films shot in this ratio are sometimes 'window-boxed' (ie. with black bars all around them). Blu Ray transfers are all in 16:9 and thus a small amount of extra image is shown when films of this kind are transferred to the blu ray format.

 

[Clyde's Place]

My point on Goodbye Charlie was that the P&S was horrible . Some movies you can get away with it . But the way Goodbye Charlie ,and I'm sure many others , was shot made the P&S unwatchable . And knowing that they had a widescreen or Letterbox version out there makes you feel cheated . Having actors talking to each other with one of the actors ,or more , out of the screen shot is a little rough .

Yes, I accidentally bought the Amazon digital version of Goodbye Charlie before it became available through Fox Archives and it was pan and scan as well. I wish I had watched it as soon as I paid for it but I didn't so no refund I guess. I watched until Tony Curtis began delivering the Eulogy and could take no more. Half his body was cut off and so was half of the very few people he was talking to.But there's another reason for my mistake. I had also purchased Dear Brigitte, an excellent under appreciated film from Fox with Jimmy Stewart, Billy Mumy, Glynis Johns, Ed Wynn, Fabian and others. And I watched it on my 42 inch bedroom television and the widescreen transfer was excellent even without being an Amazon HD title. So when I purchased Goodbye Charlie in digital, it didn't occur to me at that time that Fox was completely inept.Fast Forward to today. Now I find out that Dear Brigitte has been released for the German market on Blu-ray, and is available through an outside seller. Not sure I want the $35 price tag since I already own the digital copy. So the questions: Why isn't Dear Brigitte part of the Fox Archive collection? Would releasing it in it's proper format be an embarrassment because of all the other films they've trashed? And if they do release it in pan and scan, why? But most of all, how can a mostly obscure film such as this get such an excellent transfer while Fox Archive continues to sell garbage? And even better yet, why has this film never been released in the U.S. since the days of VHS? I mean it's just mind boggling.Here's an image from Dear Brigitte. Could you imagine this scene in pan & scan?

 

[lionel59]

You may find a cheaper-priced copy of DEAR BRIGITTE from amazon.de or ebay.de. I have it and it is a terrific transfer. Although Paramount only released their restored elements of deMille's SAMSON AND DELILAH in SD in the US, a Blu Ray has emerged from Spain and one will be released in October in Germany. A HTF post-er has raved about SAMSON on Blu Ray. King Vidor's WAR AND PEACE has also been released on Blu Ray in Spain and is an upcoming release in Germany. Fox's THE BLUE MAX and A FAREWELL TO ARMS are also out on Blu Ray in Germany.Maybe the Europeans value their classics more and are thus given preferential treatment by the studios.
The Cesar Romero titles were announced for release on Oct 15th. At least they are from the pre-CinemaScope era and can't be visually compromised.

 

[Clyde's Place]

You may find a cheaper-priced copy of DEAR BRIGITTE from amazon.de or ebay.de. I have it and it is a terrific transfer. Although Paramount only released their restored elements of deMille's SAMSON AND DELILAH in SD in the US, a Blu Ray has emerged from Spain and one will be released in October in Germany. A HTF post-er has raved about SAMSON on Blu Ray. King Vidor's WAR AND PEACE has also been released on Blu Ray in Spain and is an upcoming release in Germany. Fox's THE BLUE MAX Is also out on Blu Ray in Germany.Maybe the Europeans value their classics more and are thus given preferential treatment by the studios.
The Cesar Romero titles were announced for release on Oct 15th. At least they are from the pre-CinemaScope era and can't be visually compromised.

Thanks, I'll look into that. I haven't ever bought anything from overseas, so this will be an experience. That is okay, though because I like new things.

 

[Lromero1396]

You may find a cheaper-priced copy of DEAR BRIGITTE from amazon.de or ebay.de. I have it and it is a terrific transfer. Although Paramount only released their restored elements of deMille's SAMSON AND DELILAH in SD in the US, a Blu Ray has emerged from Spain and one will be released in October in Germany. A HTF post-er has raved about SAMSON on Blu Ray. King Vidor's WAR AND PEACE has also been released on Blu Ray in Spain and is an upcoming release in Germany. Fox's THE BLUE MAX and A FAREWELL TO ARMS are also out on Blu Ray in Germany.Maybe the Europeans value their classics more and are thus given preferential treatment by the studios.
The Cesar Romero titles were announced for release on Oct 15th. At least they are from the pre-CinemaScope era and can't be visually compromised.

I'm new to the import scene. Where would you suggest buying Samson and other German releases from?

 

[John Hermes]

I'm new to the import scene. Where would you suggest buying Samson and other German releases from?

I always have bought from Amazon itself. Some of their 3rd party sellers have lower prices but won't ship to U.S. I have purchased from the Amazon stores in the UK, Germany, France, and Spain with excellent results.

 

[lionel59]

I also buy most of my imports from Amazon. For the German one, go to amazon.de. The shipping works out better if you get a few from the Amazon store itself rather than from other sellers. (Though if you are only after one, you may want to look for the cheapest seller option or try ebay.de). You may want to check some reviews if the description at Amazon doesn't make it clear if the dvd is 'Region 0' and you don't happen to have a multi-regional blu ray player (which I personally think is a MUST for serious collectors of classics).
There are also some interesting SD releases in Germany such as ESTHER AND THE KING, TEN NORTH FREDERICK, TAKE HER SHE'S MINE (in 16:9), THE MUDLARK etc. Starscafe is a good website for Spanish titles and quite a few good Fox titles have been released there in 16:9 or LBX which may get a shoddy p/s release one day from Cinema Archives .