And after they only sold a couple of thousand BR copies they'd can that idea for the next 2 years and we'd all be hung out to dry on marquee classics. :rolleyes
Do you honestly think they would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars preserving the film to digital, then decide not to release it on a format that has an install base of about 750 million players world wide?
I wonder what Time-Warner's share holders would think if they did that...
At the moment, I get by with a crappy old telly from Kmart, and a cheap-arse DVD player. I can't afford to upgrade to HD anything at the moment. To make the most of the experience, it would mean having to purchase a new home theatre arrangement.
Although I work full time, I still have to sacrifice to purchase SD as it is- which I don't mind doing because I love my films.
Nice for some who can afford it, but for others who simply don't have the money, or are still making up their minds about upgrading, it is a a little far fetched. Why should we miss out just because we can't afford to upgrade. The company is still getting our money - just on SD instead of BR.
I'm not saying that they shouldn't put out the SD version, but it just seems like a title worth waiting for. This isn't meant to sound elitist. I'm still using a 20" CRT, Wal-Mart 5.1 system, and SD-only (not even a computer drive). But I'm already holding off on a lot of titles out of anticipation for the BluRay editions. I'd love to go ahead and get the SD release, but I'd rather wait until I can see it in 1080p.
However, I didn't notice that the regular SD edition is going for so cheap, so disregard.
Scroll down to domino harvey´s post for a before-and-after restoration comparison. Restored picture element has significantly desatured color. Hopefully it won´t look that way on the DVD.
Ron, There is a 25% off code you could use at WHV and it's the type of a code you can use multiple times and if your order is over $50, you get free shipping. You will get charge a sales tax.
Unfortunately according to the artwork, it looks like "Silver City" is not part of this boxset which really doesn't make sense for me. It's not a huge title and fits in nicely here making the boxset five western titles.
The 2 year old announcement from HP was a bit premature....
Word is that HP did not ultimately participate in this process, hence the official WHV press release makes no mention of HP.
Therefore, these old screen caps (which I doubt anyone involved at that time thought would be scrutinized for color-correction) have no relevance to the upcoming product.
This makes sense. Warner devised Ultra Resolution, including the modified version used for The Searchers. So I can't see how they couldn't figure out how to stick together three images to make one.
I just hope they have done it at 4K or 6K so they can convert it to IMAX DMR in the future.
I too am puzzled as to why they didn't include Silver River. When I first heard they were releasing an Errol Flynn western set I even thought they might do all six of the offically unreleased Flynn westerns including both Silver River and Santa Fe Trail which has been in PD hell for a long time. It's slightly disappointing we didn't get at least five, however the four they are including are all excellent choices and even with the omission of Silver River this looks to me like the best set that Warners has announced for release so far this year.
Not to take away from the good news surrounding the release of the Flynn set but including Sante Fe Trail would have been a nice touch. Although worthless as history it, in my opinion, has a great cast and has high entertainment value.
It is is one of those films, along with This is The Army (to be released later this year) that has been begging to be rescued from PD status for a long time.
I worry that many companies don't bother issuing official releases of public domain films because they think consumers will just buy the cheaper PD releases, because they don't understand that an official release will offer better quality.
I don't disagree with you. My thought was that a box set like this would be the best way to release a PD film since, as you indicated, a standalone release would likely not fare well. If memory serves, WHV did something similar with one of the PD musicals.
Even if they did not do a full blown restoration, WHV could still put out a decent DVD of Sante Fe Trail by virtue of their ownership of the best surviving elements.