Kung Fu - Season 1 (March 16th) is not OAR (1 Viewer)

[Herb Kane]

Screeners probably won't be sent till the end of the month (thereabouts). I just made the same inquiry with WB re: The Flintstones (same release date) and was told product won't even be in for another 2-3 weeks.


Herb.

 

[Louis C]

Herb, Thanks for the update, and when those screeners come out please post up a review if you get one.

 

[Randy Gray]

And don't get me started on Buffy

I have all the Buffy box sets and in the season 4 set there's a message from Joss Weadon explaining why he has chosen not to present the episodes in widescreen. So what exactly is wrong with these sets?

Randy

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Remember 'Babylon 5' was shot 16:9 back in '94, but it suffered from not rendering the effects shots in 16:9 - bit for a non-cgi'ed show (Kung Fu, Newhart, Fall Guy) shot totally on film... it's a possbility... p

Why woudl TV have been shot this way before there were widescreen TVs? Wouldn't they have used the whole negative and not just the center?

 

[Donnie Eldridge]

Is there any chance that only the pilot has been reformatted to 16:9?

 

[Gord Lacey]

No, it's the entire season.

Gord

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I have all the Buffy box sets and in the season 4 set there's a message from Joss Weadon explaining why he has chosen not to present the episodes in widescreen. So what exactly is wrong with these sets?

Absolutely nothing. Region 2 got widescreen versions for seasons 4-7 because they whined about it. "If it's filmed 16:9... it must mean that's the correct AR!"

Joss has stated that seasons 1-7 of Buffy are intended for 4:3 (except Once More, With Feeling), and he's got control over the region 1 releases, so that's what we get here.

Some people believe the widescreen sets are superior, because they give more space on the sides, but everything is cramped into the 4:3 frame, except during fights.

 

[Louis C]

Anyone got a screener yet? Aside from the OAR issue, I want to know how clean these episodes are.

Seeing the TV re-runs, the prints looked like they were in pretty bad shape. But then so was Twilight Zone and those transfers are excellent.

Only a couple more weeks to go! Hope it's not me posting the first review. Post up if you've got it.

 

[Donnie Eldridge]

Is Warner committed to more than just the first season or will future seasons be based on sale rates?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Anyone got a screener yet?

Patience, grasshopper....

dOc's screener is in transit to one of us.

 

[Randy A Salas]

I have a copy. It's clear from the opening scenes alone of the pilot movie that this was not intended for widescreen presentation. That's my take anyway.

David Carradine walks through the desert in the opening shot and his bobbing face actually dips out of the bottom of the frame.

A group of boys bows to the master, and one boy has his face cut off above his nose at the top of the frame, cropping his eyes out of the picture.

Editing to add: It gets better as the movie progresses. You can't help but notice as things and people are cut off by the framing, but there are several scenes where the widescreen framing is quite good for the material. A mixed reaction so far.

 

[Rolando]

I am still speachless about this. good thing typing on HTF does not require speach.

I for one am a big fan who will NOT be buying this set over this AR screw up. With so much TV on DVD competing for my $ they almost did me a favor.

On to the next set of
Married With Children
Simpsons
Star Trek
Family Guy
X-Files

Heck I am actually going for blind buys over this insult to OAR.

Buffy
Alias
24
Smallville
and Dead Zone

 

[Randy A Salas]

Having watched the entire pilot movie and mulled it over, I must reiterate that there are several scenes that look absolutely fabulous in their new widescreen framing, as if that's how they were intended to be seen all along. But there are so many scenes that feel cramped by the framing, even if key info isn't cropped, that you have to think those good-looking scenes are a fluke.

But, wow, what a wonderful series. I had forgotten how good this show was. The editing in the pilot movie--from his present day to the flashbacks--is downright poetic. And that story sure tugs at the heart.

I could post screen shots of the worst-cropped scenes, but that wouldn't really seem fair. In retrospect, they are fleeting. Of course, if you're continually reminded of it throughout the show, that would compromise your enjoyment.

 

[george kaplan]

Randy,

I fully understand your defense of the new Ten Commandments dvd in another thread, but I'm a bit surprised you're not badmouthing this one. Even if the framing sometimes accidentally looks good, this is clearly not an OAR release, and should be castigated as such. I have no doubt that there are certain scenes in different films that actually look better when open-matted or even pan & scanned, but any such accidental improvements to one's eye do not justify them not being OAR.

 

[DanaA]

I HAVE to buy this set, OAR or not. As a matter of fact, my copy is in the mail as I type. The show just meant too much to me personally. Me and my friends would just crowd around the TV set to watch it when it was first out. Too many memories for me to ignore.

 

[george kaplan]

Well Dana, I too love this show, which is why I just HAVE to not buy a bastardized, chopped up version. But to each their own.

 

[Chas_Michael]

I agree. A Pox on it! We should demand a re-press! One of my favorite shows as well. How dare they!.

 

[Randy A Salas]

I fully understand your defense of the new Ten Commandments dvd in another thread, but I'm a bit surprised you're not badmouthing this one.

I'm not badmouthing or defending Kung Fu. I was just posting my first impressions.

Frankly, I'm perplexed by the whole thing. I don't understand Warner's reasoning in redoing the show cropped for widescreen. In the various featurettes I've sampled on the DVD, scenes from the show are in their original 4:3 OAR. How does the studio justify that odd contradiction? The show's original OAR is fine for the background documentaries, but not the actual feature presentation? How bizarre.

Before I bad-mouth this decision, though, I want more information. It's such a blatant move that there has to be a reason. Why was it done? Why this '70s show and not a more recent or more popular one? Why go through all that effort to redo the episodes in anamorphic widescreen? It seems as if we have incomplete information. Maybe the answer's on the DVD somewhere, but I haven't found it yet.

 

[george kaplan]

You know, I hadn't even remembered that this was Warners. If I had, I definitely would have asked about it in the chat. Oh well, too late now. :frowning:

 

[Rodney]

Does anyone know if Warner's understands that we are NOT asking for everything to be widescreen? I hope we can stop this before it becomes a trend. In the words of Barney Fife, we need to "Nip it in the Bud!"

Seriously Warner, I will NOT be purchasing this or any other release that is MARred.