Press Release Mill Creek Press Release: Bewitched - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (5 Viewers)

[Ethan Riley]

In addition to the extras, the Amazon listing also says, "an enchanting 22-disc comedy collection, including the first two seasons in their original black & white presentation!"

Color me cautiously optimistic.

I'll put it in my cart, it's only 2 more weeks. But the reviews better blow me away--

 

[SD_Brian]

But the reviews better blow me away--

Well, it currently has a 5 out of 5-star rating from 3 Amazon users who haven't seen it yet, so that's a solid gold recommendation right there! Granted, one of the three is "praying" the set will be cropped to widescreen 'cuz he don't like them black bars, and another says he'll reduce his rating by a full star if they ain't in colour, but they seem very enthusiastic about this set!

 

[Tony Bensley]

Well, it currently has a 5 out of 5-star rating from 3 Amazon users who haven't seen it yet, so that's a solid gold recommendation right there! Granted, one of the three is "praying" the set will be cropped to widescreen 'cuz he don't like them black bars, and another says he'll reduce his rating by a full star if they ain't in colour, but they seem very enthusiastic about this set!

Oh brother!

This aside, it does appear more effort has been put into this upcoming Mill Creek "Bewitched" Blu-ray series set than the Mill Creek "I Dream Of Jeannie" Blu-ray series set, which deserved so much better!

Of course, the actual "Seen it!" reviews will tell the tale!

CHEERS!

 

[Lecagr]

I have the eight individual season DVD releases from Sony and I'm staying with those. Seasons 1 & 2 are in black and white and seasons 3-8 are in color.

 

[BobO'Link]

I'll wait for reviews... the price is more reasonable now (roughly $100) and if they use the *true* BW versions of S1 & S2 it'll absolutely be a major factor in the decision. A major concern is the number of episodes per disc - it's roughly 11.5 which means more than a few will have 12 episodes. That seems to be pushing it a bit.

 

[ScottRE]

I'll wait for reviews... the price is more reasonable now (roughly $100) and if they use the *true* BW versions of S1 & S2 it'll absolutely be a major factor in the decision. A major concern is the number of episodes per disc - it's roughly 11.5 which means more than a few will have 12 episodes. That seems to be pushing it a bit.

That's how the first two seasons of I Dream of Jeannie were organized and then they pushed it further in the latter three seasons with 13 per disk(!). Even discounting the interlacing throughout, there is a noticeable drop in sharpness the sharpness from 1&2 to 3-5. Without the interlacing, seasons 1 & 2 would look okay.

If MC does treat this like more of a prestige release, they may keep the episode count per disc consistent.

 

[ScottRE]

I couldn't get over how much better the PAL DVD's 576p were vs the NTSC version I had....The picture is so much more crisp and almost grainy... the NTSC's with the packed episodes per disc almost had a more blurry look to me.

Do you have the Sony or the Mill Creek DVDs? The Sony's look good for format and have fewer episodes per disc than the Mill Creek.

 

[Lecagr]

The Sony's look good for format and have fewer episodes per disc than the Mill Creek.

Agreed, I'm perfectly content with Sony's DVD's of Bewitched. Blu ray format doesn't interest me at all and I avoid it like the plague.

 

[LouA]

I caved and ordered when the price came down . I think it will be a good set.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I'll wait for reviews... the price is more reasonable now (roughly $100) and if they use the *true* BW versions of S1 & S2 it'll absolutely be a major factor in the decision. A major concern is the number of episodes per disc - it's roughly 11.5 which means more than a few will have 12 episodes. That seems to be pushing it a bit.

Most of the BATMAN '66 Blu-rays contain 12 episodes on each disc (Except the last disc for each of the 3 seasons, which do contain fewer episodes.), and the PQ doesn't appear to suffer for it, at all. I do totally get your desire for wanting the 1st 2 BEWITCHED! Black & White seasons to be authentic, though. Here's hoping Mill Creek gets this one right!

CHEERS!

 

[BobO'Link]

Price dropped to $82.52 - that's roughly $10/season which makes it almost a chance worth taking...

 

[Anthonydasher]

Imprint in australia have announced a blu release of Bewitched - 2 seasons per set. No other details.


The Sony DVDs even got it wrong tho - incorrect opening titles for s1+2 - both carrying 1966 instead of 1964 copyright, and the theme music for the original s1+2 was a slower tempo than s3 onwards which is another sign. And if you bought the "b/w" sony DVDs what you actually got was the colorised versions with the color removed and not the original OCN of s1+2

Everything ive bought from Imprint i have loved. So going there. Mill creek is just abysmal!

 

[Lecagr]

The Sony DVDs even got it wrong tho - incorrect opening titles for s1+2 - both carrying 1966 instead of 1964 copyright, and the theme music for the original s1+2 was a slower tempo than s3 onwards which is another sign. And if you bought the "b/w" sony DVDs what you actually got was the colorised versions with the color removed and not the original OCN of s1+2

I'm not picky about this type of stuff. I'm just glad that Sony offered a black and white option for seasons 1 & 2 instead of forcing people into buying the colorized garbage.

 

[MartinP.]

colorized garbage

YOUR opinion.

 

[BobO'Link]

I wouldn't call the colorized garbage. It just has all the "tells" of colorized material that, for me, makes it practically unwatchable.

I know there are people who like colorized product - I'm not one of them. I've purchased many colorized movies and consistently been disappointed in the colorization process. At least all of those movies came with a remastered BW version, too, so it wasn't a total loss.

I got the colorized Bewitched seasons with the intention of watching them once in color and after that turning the color on the set off when watching those two seasons. That proved a bit inconvenient so I just purchased the BW editions for regular viewing and shelved the colorized ones for occasional viewing (that was ~15 years ago - to date I've watched the colorized sets once, right after their purchase). I did the same for season 1 of I Dream of Jeannie.

If this set includes the colorized versions I'd be OK with it just as long as the original BW versions are also included and are the default choice (assuming both would be on the same disc). That said, I'd bet this release will *not* have the colorized versions included.

 

[Anthonydasher]

Does anyone own any Imprint Blu-ray sets? Will I need a region-free player or PAL format to play in the USA?

 

[Anthonydasher]

The discs are region free and play without issue on my region 1 Panasonic and LG 4K players. I own The Avengers and The Persuaders sets and they all play fine and the picture quality is gorgeous. Even on the early episodes of The Avengers which were filmed on videotape, granted still primitive but the image quality is the best of any of the previous releases.

Imprint /Via-Vision really care and do their best to offer the highest picture and sound quality, but that’s dependent on the source material available. I’m sure they were aware of the complaints around Mill Creek releases when they decided to take on Bewitched. Btw their shipping is fast considering they ship from Australia.

 

[borisfw]

I own many IMprint titles and sets and they are all region free. I will wait on the Bewitched sets and see which is preferable. I'm sure the Imprint sets will be more expensive. But it depends what sources and extras are involved. Mill Creek can be hit or miss.

 

[MartinP.]

I wouldn't call the colorized garbage. It just has all the "tells" of colorized material that, for me, makes it practically unwatchable.

I know there are people who like colorized product - I'm not one of them. I've purchased many colorized movies and consistently been disappointed in the colorization process.

I've been trying to find an article I read once on a site where the author showed images of colorized episodes of Bewitched and images from filmed color episodes (IDOJ, as well). People online could judge them, in the comments, but the author also did it in person with a lot of people, to write about it. Most people, he says, could not tell and a good percentage were wrong about their answers. I happen to believe that if someone "knows" something is colorized they are more apt to not like it because they have a pre-conceived notion about it.

Also, since the advent of computers in moviemaking, do you know how much "colorizing" goes on now in the movies you see?

Remember the scene in Rocky when Rocky is in the empty arena talking to someone and he complains that on the giant poster of him on the wall they "didn't even get the color of my trunks right?" That line was purposely ad-libbed because unless they repainted the entire thing, which couldn't be done due to time and budget constraints, it would be a mistake that would get noticed. In a Q&A decades later the producer said "Nowadays we'd just change the color on the computer; back then we couldn't have done that. But," he added, "It's also a nice character thing, a quirk, an interesting thing in the film that wouldn't have been there had the mistake not been made."

 

[Walter P. Thatcher]

I watched the Bewitched 60th Anniversary Special on YouTube by Daniel Henares who is from Brazil. His documentary is very well made. I tried to find out more about Henares who I think works in some capacity in Brazilian media (film or TV), perhaps even as an actor, but I'm not really sure. Nevertheless, his documentary is worth watching.