HTF REVIEW: Kung Fu - The Complete First Season. (1 Viewer)

[Louis C]

Most DVDs I will not buy MAR. Kung Fu was definitely a good exception. The review says exectly what I think of the set. Having watched the first two double-sided discs, there was only a few places where the cropping is distracting. It is annoying. At the same time the quality of the transfer MAR aside is stunning, especially for a 1970s television show.

Other MARs I have 'compromised' due to giving up waiting...

Karate Kid
Vacation (now re-released in OAR)
Doc Hollywood

 

[GarySchrock]

As Walter pointed out, the important part there was "and decide whether the value of the material is worth overlooking the changed aspect ratio". Where the line is between value and principle is will be different for everyone (and for some people, that line will indeed be never buy non-OAR). For me, as of now I don't think I have anything where the aspect ratio isn't correct (unless maybe you count babylon 5, where the aspect ratio is just a plain mess), but I'd say there's a handful of titles that if I honestly felt would never be released correctly, I'd probably still go ahead and buy them. Thankfully so far I haven't really had to make that choice.

Now, that said, I don't feel the studios should be putting us in a situation where we should have to make this choice in the first place. If they're going to release a screwed up ratio, then the proper one should be released at the same time. Better yet, just release only the OAR.

 

[Dan Lindley]

What I don't understand in all of this is why this would be released in fake widescreen? Is this trying to be "fake OAR" to add gravitas and seriousness to the picture? Not that I support it at all, but I find it amusing/ironic that a subversion of OAR is in fact done perhaps in a way that shows at least WS presentations have won the day (since most P&S presentations shrink things from WS to 1.33 "full screen").

So why release in fake widescreen? And what does this imply for the future of 1.33, and in particular MAR "full screen"? How many other fake widescreens are there? (like Kung Fu?, and esp when most fakery is in the direction of P&S fake/MAR fullscreens)

Thanks, Dan

 

[Steve Phillips]

This is the future, and you can expect tons of old TV shows to be "tilt and scanned" when widescreen sets become the norm in the US.

Sucks, doesn't it?

The "screen fillers" win again.

 

[Randy A Salas]

Kung Fu has not been "tilt and scanned." It has simply been cropped at the top and bottom of the original image--with no movement having been done within that frame, as would happen with tilting and scanning--to create the image for an anamorphic widescreen presentation.

I don't think this signals anything more for the future than when the old Freddie Mercury Tribute TV broadcast was cropped in a similar manner for its widescreen DVD, just as several IMAX movies have been. Each was done for reasons unique to that particular title.

 

[richardWI]

I think people who knowingly buy a MAR'D dvd are getting what they deserve and I don't have any respect for them. The studios have your number, bigtime. They know you'll just accept whatever they throw at you. This is no different than the BTTF debacle, in which motivated fans eventually got correct versions.

And the argument that Kung Fu doesn't have nearly the fan base BTTF has doesn't hold water either. You think Ingmar Bergman has a big fan base in America??? We're talking OBSCURE, specialty foreign films like The Hour of the Wolf. The Bergman fan base revolted and now it will soon be released in OAR. The Bergman fans are getting what they deserve. No defeatist, sheep mentality there. Kung Fu HAS a sizeable fan base that's why I can find so many copies of the DVD in most stores. You guys have more leverage than the studios. And what do I read on this thread? "pick your battles". Fine. Buy your MARs.

 

[Donnie Eldridge]

Can we get back on topic?

 

[Al.Anderson]

I'm through the 2nd disc and am thoroughly enjoying the shows. (Yeah, I "noticed" the MAR a few times and felt claustrophobic; but nothing severe.)

More importantly, after getting back into the Caine mindset after 30 years, what do you think he's say about someone who rejected a worthwhile experience because of a minor, percieved, flaw? I'd say he would have no respect for you Mr. RichardWi, if that's your real name! In fact, I think you're the topic of episode 16 ...

 

[Randy A Salas]

As I noted earlier, sales appear to be strong for Kung Fu. It debuted today at No. 14 on Video Business' list of top-selling DVDs.



I haven't read a complaint yet from someone who has actually seen the episodes, just from those who haven't. Again, Kung Fu appears to be a unique case.

To those who are fans and have refused to buy the set, why not rent a disc and see for yourself? That's not giving any money to Warner that it doesn't already have.

 

[george kaplan]

Because, this is taking a point of view which you and others have, but that I don't. Namely, I feel that the process of MARring the disc, regardless of how the product looks, is unacceptable. If only 30 seconds out of each 45 minute episode looked bad, I still wouldn't accept it.

Your view seems to be that it might of been MARred, but it still looks good enough. That's fine, and if I agreed that I'd buy something if the p&s or MARring wasn't that bad, then yes, I should rent it and decide. But I don't feel that way. Just like I could easily edit just a few sentences out of a Shakespeare play. I'm certain that for many people, the effects wouldn't be that bad, but would it make it acceptable to buy, or to have that as the only version available to the public?

In other words, I am boycotting this (and all other) MARred presentations on principle, and an evaluation of how much the MARring hurts isn't an issue.

 

[Randy A Salas]

No, my view is that it's so generally unobtrusive that there must be some explanation for it and why it was deliberately done for just this Warner TV show and not others. I'm still waiting for an explanation.

 

[Steve Phillips]

This forum is full of posts with people complaining that obscure 80's teen comedies get released in open matte, and people champion the cause.

Why then do some of those same people seem to get upset when others complain that 30 year old TV series are being cropped, which is far more of an alteration?

I don't see a consistent viewpoint here.

If you care about art being presented in its original form, it shouldn't matter whether or not the altered version "looks OK" or not.

If I take a famous painting and crop and chop it to fit my frame, and then essentially make sure that the public only has access to my alteration, it wouldn't be right.

Would the art community then have debates on whether or not my new version was "OK" or not? Perhaps, but most artists would be against what I did on priniciple, without having to see the result.

It wouldn't bother me in the slightest if Warner had released a KUNG FU set with both the OAR version and a MAR version of each show. But when they force me to live with only the MAR, then that is wrong, especially when people who want MAR can have it with a simple press of a button on their remotes.

There is no button on my remote to return a MAR version to its original form.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

There's also no button to make one of your highly prized tv shows or movies to start playing on your display if you haven't bought the software either.

Look, as Walter stated, it's a judgement call. This is a TV show that was high on some of our want lists. Based on the review we who bought the set made a judgement call. The fact is that the reframing is a mixed bag. Sometimes it's an improvement and sometimes it's not. For me it's not enough to hinder my viewing enjoyment.

Some of us are comfortable making that purchase. That's a personal choice. If someone else doesn't agree with it - fine.

Statements of lost respect or derision are wasteful and nonproductive. Let your displeasure be channeled to positive outlets such as communicating your thoughts to the studio. Posts are being put here talking the talk but how many of you are willing to walk the walk?

Above all, be courteous of an individual's right to freedom of choice.

 

[george kaplan]

Stronger perhaps, I guess, if one has actually seen a pan & scan version of a film, but only by a minute amount. More reasoned? That I can't buy. There are many films I love that I have not bought on dvd because they were pan & scanned. I don't see why I have to have seen them to have a strong, reasoned decision not to have purchased them.

I really don't understand that. The only thing I can think of, is to see for yourself that it was pan & scanned because it might have been misreported as such and actually be OAR.

Again, if you accept the proposition that the pan & scanning might leave a sufficiently intact picture (maybe only 10% is being chopped off, and it doesn't ruin the composition that badly 80% of the time), then certainly you should view it first.

But my position is that a MAR dvd is unacceptable regardless. And if that's my principled and personal decision, it's perfectly valid and well-reasoned, and does not require me to have viewed the various pan & scanned and otherwise MARred discs myself in order to take that position.

Frankly, I have better ways of spending my dvd watching time that watching films I know have been misframed deliberately, on the off-chance that maybe this one time it won't be so bad, and I can abandon my principles. I have no problem with other people not sharing my principles, or feeling as strongly as I do about them, and I'm not going to post anything about respect or a lack thereof for other people making their decisions. But I sure as hell would lose my self-respect if I gave up MY principles and bought a MAR disc.

 

[Mattias_ka]

This site gets more and more funny for everyday




Whats the difference??? Both are showing LESS picture info that you SHOULD see. Same thing, different way of make you watch a wrong picture.


And something more that I find VERY funny is that some people reason their buy with that it's for "sentimental reasons". Well, why do you think J6P buy those old movies in P&S?

Well, it would be really funny to make note of all people that buy this set and see if anyone of these cry out "no-sell if not OAR" on some other movie. Double standard.

Well, I prefer VHS over this, and all you people that buy this, remember that you made the way for MORE Tv-series in overmatted, fake, widescreen format.

 

[Terry H]

The people who have refused to buy this have "walked the walk" by standing up for their beliefs and refusing to buy this bastardized presentation. Only those who purchased it have failed to "walk the walk".

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Oh, I get it. The Silent Minority...

 

[Mark Lx]

Okay I admit I got it. First off, the price is one of the best I've seen in terms of dollar per minute of programming. In this case, you could say it's pay less, get less (picture). Does it irritate me to watch when I think about the missing picture? Absolutely. Would I buy another MAR? Probably not, but the list of TV shows I would purchase is not terribly long, and I was really looking forward to this one. Also, it's being so long since I've seen these shows, that if it wasn't for these sites or reading the box, I wouldn't know the difference. I do support those who boycott this set though. SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT!

 

[todd s]

A little off topic. But, I want Kung Fu:The Legend Continues...Seriously.

 

[Zen Butler]

I totally agree George. I thought the issue of OAR was one universally held by all members of HTF. No matter how you slice it, it's Partial Aspect Ratio. So, no sale for this member despite how sentimental this title is to me.