Monty Python's Flying Circus 45th anniversary remasterer/ reissue? (1 Viewer)

[Sa5150]

That's cool. I would think then all the euro versions are the same , There all from Sony . I think that the uk set has a bonus disc (8 dvds) . Only other question I have now is how compressed are these . 7 discs compared 14 on those A&E sets ... Does not sound to promising .

 

[David Rain]

Don't anybody uncross your legs. An anniversary is not enough reason for anybody to start remastering a series or trying to track original elements.

Every series has anniversaries but it's actually quite meaningless as far as getting a show released or released.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

That's cool. I would think then all the euro versions are the same , There all from Sony . I think that the uk set has a bonus disc (8 dvds) . Only other question I have now is how compressed are these . 7 discs compared 14 on those A&E sets ... Does not sound to promising .

The series should fit on 7 discs absolutely fine.

The A&E sets only included 3 episodes per disc, IIRC, which was an hour and a half of material. Assuming the new sets use dual layer discs, 3 hours for 6 episodes is nothing to worry about. In fact, that's how most half hour britcoms (and US Sitcoms) are presented on disc, with US sitcoms sometimes going to 7 or 8 episodes (or even 9) since they only run around 22 minutes.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

The series should fit on 7 discs absolutely fine.

The A&E sets only included 3 episodes per disc, IIRC, which was an hour and a half of material. Assuming the new sets use dual layer discs, 3 hours for 6 episodes is nothing to worry about. In fact, that's how most half hour britcoms (and US Sitcoms) are presented on disc, with US sitcoms sometimes going to 7 or 8 episodes (or even 9) since they only run around 22 minutes.

The UK sets are dual layer discs, two per-series except series 4, which is a single disc, and disc 8 is bonus features, which includes the "lost" Choreographed Party Political Broadcast sketch.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Don't anybody uncross your legs. An anniversary is not enough reason for anybody to start remastering a series or trying to track original elements.

Every series has anniversaries but it's actually quite meaningless as far as getting a show released or released.

Quite. There seemed to be a bit of lobbying for a remastered, lost-bits-restored release in the UK for the fortieth anniversary, which, of course, never happened. Just a re-release of what the UK had already had before, just collected into one package.

The thoughts of Network Video getting the UK rights and doing some restoration + substantial bonuses is a nice fantasy, but still probably not likely.

 

[Sa5150]

what is IIRC ?

 

[Brian Himes]

IIRC: If I remember correctly

 

[Niknik]

This series was shot on PAL video. As was standard for BBC / British comedies of the time (e.g. Fawlty Towers), only outdoor scenes were shot on 16mm film, and heaven only knows if that film still exists.Maybe they could take another pass on the video masters, though. I'd be all over a new UK set for remastered video at in the correct PAL format.

For what it's worth: I've seen on more than a few forums the notion bandied about that because something was shot on video tape it's not likely to see a Blu Ray release, alluding to there being no point due to its inferior resolution. Well at the risk of getting too technical here, I can tell you that this is false. They weren't shooting shows on VHS tape. The vast majority of video taped programs of that era were shot on 2" quad tape with the U.S. using the NTSC format and UK using the PAL format. In MPFC case, 2 inch quad PAL utilizes a 625 line method which results in 576i horizontal lines. Since DVD's are capable of just 480i resolution, there would be a resulting increase if 94 lines of horizontal resolution if they were to remaster them for Blu-Ray, which is capable of 1080p.

So YES, they would benefit from a remastering and rerelease on the Blu-Ray format.

 

[BobO'Link]

^BUT all exterior shots were 16mm film which would see little, if any, benefit. Only interiors were video tape. And "94" lines of additional resolution (in a best case scenario - having worked in broadcast for over 20 years I can state that rarely happens) isn't enough of a quality bump to make much of a difference. Yes, I'd like to see it happen, especially if they'd finally release them fully uncut, but think it's highly unlikely.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

IMO, if anyone thought there was a market for those extra 94 lines of resolution, Classic Doctor Who would be halfway done on Blu already.

But, you can see the only one that has been released was the only full length serial shot entirely on film, where there was noticeable improvement. Of course, it was 16mm, and even the regular DVD looked better than the old version after the restoration team got done with it.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

IMO, if anyone thought there was a market for those extra 94 lines of resolution, Classic Doctor Who would be halfway done on Blu already.

Oh, but they are already getting those extra 94 lines of resolution, on the Region 2/4 PAL format DVD releases (and so am I, with my Oppo player and Sharp Aquos TV that output/display the native PAL signal). Anyone who wants that extra bit of resolution just has to either live in a PAL country, or do like I did and import the PAL discs, and have the proper playback/display equipment.

If you're talking about the US market specifically, I don't think that would have even been a given, since the US division of BBC Worldwide has seen fit to place an increasing amount of classic Doctor Who titles on the out-of-print list. If there was even more than a negligible increase in picture quality, I don't think a re-release would be on the cards for US fans. It looks like the only distribution model from now on over here is going to be streaming, save for the possibility of any more recovered stories getting a DVD release (like Enemy of the World and Web of Fear, for instance).

 

[Sa5150]

^BUT all exterior shots were 16mm film which would see little, if any, benefit. Only interiors were video tape. And "94" lines of additional resolution (in a best case scenario - having worked in broadcast for over 20 years I can state that rarely happens) isn't enough of a quality bump to make much of a difference. Yes, I'd like to see it happen, especially if they'd finally release them fully uncut, but think it's highly unlikely.

Are the sony discs uncut ?

 

[Tom St Jones]

As for Monty Python, outside of Warner's deal with BBC, the only other major labels that seem really interested in licensing classic UK TV lately have been AcornMedia (a chief purveyor of Brit Tv in U.S.) and Shout Factory. I can easily see Shout picking up the remastered version of MPFC, or at least "..at the Hollywood Bowl" (which is in particularly serious need of a remaster)

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Are the sony discs uncut ?

Go back to page 2 and read post #40.

 

[Sa5150]

It would be nice to get a remaster here in the usa for the original episodes of MPFC with at least the edits from the uk set with a better looking cover . It's always possible even if only on dvd , Shout factory would be great .

the original a&e dvds first came out 16 years ago . The sony ones have been out about 10 years . It's about time someone does this really popular groundbreaking show some justice here .

 

[McCrutchy]

For what it's worth: I've seen on more than a few forums the notion bandied about that because something was shot on video tape it's not likely to see a Blu Ray release, alluding to there being no point due to its inferior resolution. Well at the risk of getting too technical here, I can tell you that this is false. They weren't shooting shows on VHS tape. The vast majority of video taped programs of that era were shot on 2" quad tape with the U.S. using the NTSC format and UK using the PAL format. In MPFC case, 2 inch quad PAL utilizes a 625 line method which results in 576i horizontal lines. Since DVD's are capable of just 480i resolution, there would be a resulting increase if 94 lines of horizontal resolution if they were to remaster them for Blu-Ray, which is capable of 1080p.

So YES, they would benefit from a remastering and rerelease on the Blu-Ray format.

I said the series was shot on PAL video(tape), not PAL DVD.

Most people realize that there is quality loss between professional videotape production materials and consumer-grade VHS products. I'm sure I used to remember exactly why this applied even when DVD arrived and was limited to 576 lines, but to be honest, I don't, and while I'm sure the additional lines would make a somewhat visible difference on DVD itself, particularly if you could present the entire resolution of the PAL master tape natively, with no conversion or compression, I'm sure that it matters even less when upscaling either one on Blu-ray, because you're simply upscaling a slightly larger much smaller resolution image, so I suspect that dimishing returns come into play.

In any event, I'm not entirely sure that 100% of the available series is indeed from the original PAL tape masters. I know the only reason the series survived a BBC wipe is because Gilliam (I believe) asked to take possession of, or possibly even buy them from the BBC, but I thought he has said in the past that one or two episodes had to be preserved from NTSC-converted versions that were provided to North America.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

In any event, I'm not entirely sure that 100% of the available series is indeed from the original PAL tape masters.

It isn't. There are some sketches that were deleted from the BBC's master tape, and only exist because an NTSC copy was sold into syndication before the edit was made (the "Undertakers" sketch where they suggested eating the deceased). This was restored to the episode, but from the NTSC dub, as it was wiped from the BBC's master.

There are other such edits to the series that did not exist even on the NTSC tapes, like the Satan animation and parts of the Conquistador Coffee sketch, which both only now exist in B/W from Australian censor clips, if I recall correctly.

These master tape edits are not unique to Python, incidentally. A few seconds of a drowning scene in one episode of "Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin" was cut from the BBC's master (it was restored to the DVD from an off-air VHS, I think). Another, perhaps more infamous, edit is to an episode of "I Claudius" ("Zeus By Jove") where John Hurt's character is seen through a doorway engaging in cannibilism. That scene was only broadcast once, sparked a ton of complaints from viewers, and the Beeb got out the scissors.

 

[Albert71292]

The streaming service SeeSo has what they refer to as HD remasters of MPFC. In my opinion, they don't look much better than the A & E DVDs, except the colors seem to be more vibrant and less "washed out", and the "Blackmail" sketch doesn't have the tape glitches that are in the A & E release. All the edits that are present in the A & E DVDs are still in the SeeSo versions also.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

The streaming service SeeSo has what they refer to as HD remasters of MPFC.

Which we all know, of course, is impossible. Just because they might have encoded at 720p (or higher) doesn't really make the picture 720p or better, since the finished episodes are only PAL/540 resolution.

In my opinion, they don't look much better than the A & E DVDs, except the colors seem to be more vibrant and less "washed out"

They probably come from the same set of NTSC masters that were used for the US DVDs. The slightly better picture might be down to improvements in encoding/compression since the time the A&E discs came out.

and the "Blackmail" sketch doesn't have the tape glitches that are in the A & E release

Maybe a new copy of "Blackmail" was called-up because of that glitch?

All the edits that are present in the A & E DVDs are still in the SeeSo versions also.

Which would seem to be proof they're using the exact same set of masters (with the possible exception of "Blackmail")

 

[Sa5150]

sorry this has been asked . whats extra on the uk 8 disc set then the italy 7 disc set ?