My Fair Lady 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[RMajidi]

THE PEPSI CHALLENGE:

Anyone who has been on record and is still remaining reticent over the pricing of this 2015 edition of "My Fair Lady"
(which truly reflects the exhaustive work that was put into it's restoration)
are invited to send me a Personal Message.

I will personally cut an $8.00 check to 5 HTF members; which makes up the nominal differences complained about.
5 x $8.00 = $40.00; which, after taxes, pretty much represents the price of one 50th Anniversary BD of "MFL".

I want to see restoration thrive and I want a message sent to distributors that the market for such ventures is lucrative, crucial and very much needed.

So, here's the deal.
Order "My Fair Lady" through Amazon, sent me a copy of your receipt and I will send you an $8.00 check.
The first 5 on record to take this Pepsi Challenge will be notified by me and confirmed in the agreement, before your actual purchase.
Purchase dates MUST be validated reflecting today's date of 10/27/15 (or thereafter).

Let restoration reign.

- PMF

P.S. "If you refuse this offer you will be the most ungrateful, wicked [sic] and the angels will weep for you".
- Henry Higgins (aka G.B.S.)

Philip, this is generous support of restoration efforts, certainly, but I'm concerned that it may be subject to abuse, despite your best intentions.

Someone might order through Amazon, PM you their receipt, set your cheque payment in motion and then promptly cancel their Amazon order; and you'd be none the wiser.

Another method of supporting the restoration would be to buy another copy of MFL (or Spartacus) as a gift for a young friend/family member unfamiliar with classic titles; thereby also introducing them to what cinema can be / should be all about. [I say this despite MFL not being my favourite musical. My pre-ordered copy will take a few weeks to arrive yet]

 

[Everett S.]

For those who missed Sunday's show due to technical problems, you might check to see if your local Cinemark theater is running the film Nov. 1 and Nov. 4, as I just received confirmation of those dates from my local Cinemark theater. ("My Fair Lady" is part of Cinemark's Classic Film Series scheduled for November, which will include showings of "Fantasia" and "Oklahoma!")


Cinemark's Classic Film Series' web site needs to be updated, but here's the link, with a list of all the participating theaters nationwide:


http://www.cinemark.com/cinemark-classic-series

Thanks so much 4 the link, I didn't even know about this theatre !!!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Pleasantly surprised to see this on the shelf at Target today, especially considering they recently cut the blu-ray section in half to put in movie related toys :-(

Unpleasantly unsurprised NOT to see this on the shelves at Walmart today. I miss Target.

I went to Target this afternoon hoping to get a copy only to find the shelf space reserved for it empty. My guess is that they ordered too few copies and sold out early.

I was in a local Wal-Mart tonight. No copies of MFL and no empty shelf slot either.


The first Target i went to had an empty shelf slot.

But the folks at that Target checked their computer and found copies at another local store.

 

[smithbrad]

There appears to be a notion here that if someone isn't interested in buying MFL at the initial pricing that they aren't sending the right message to the studios about the value of proper restorations. For those supporting the $35 price of MFL, do you buy EVERY release that shows any inclination of having gone through restoration efforts at top dollar? If you do, I applaud you, but I suspect many if not most are on budgets of some kind and need to pick there spots. Most likely selecting those titles that have the most meaning to them.


As a collector, I am very happy to support the cause as I can, but I can't do it for every purchase. And in this case MFL will have to take a back seat for me since part of my budget is going towards the blu-ray release of Sherlock Holmes (1916) coming out in November at $35. How about some support for more silent movies making it to Blu-ray? So I'm curious, just how many that think the MFL price at $35 is so important to send a message about are also willing to plop down $35 for Sherlock Holmes (1916)? Hey I'll support MFL for $35 if some of you will support Sherlock Holmes (1916) at $35.


The reality is that MFL was a no brainer for a restoration as popular as it is. Many times it is the lesser known or lost titles that need the financial support to influence future releases because these are the riskier ventures.

 

[Mike Frezon]

For all those folks who think $36 is the correct price to pay for this title...feel free to do so.


Not me.


And I would be interested to hear why Amazon is selling it at that price point if Target and other retailers are selling it at $24.99 or thereabouts.


Rather than being more-than-happy to pay the $36 because of the quality of the item, I think it boils down to: why do you want to pay an unnecessary premium for the title?

 

[bluirv]

I pre-ordered My Fair Lady at $27.99, yet last week I cancelled it since I thought the price was too high even at that amount.


I was thrilled to pick up this title for $23.75 (with my Target RedCard). This was more in line with what I thought the price should be.

 

[Reed Grele]

The word "sublime" had a new definition added to the dictionary this day.

The previous blu-ray left me in despair. Tonight I'm crying tears of joy!

BRAVO! BRAVO!

 

[NeverReady]

I'm currently giving it a complete watching before the World Series starts up. I agree with many of your statements. However, I have the opposite reaction regarding the sound of the overture. I'm actually surprised by its clarity. Outside of listening to the sound track recording, I can clearly hear the snappiness of the snare drums in the main verses of the 'On the Street Where You Live' section. The xylophone rings out clearly and isn't overpowered by the brass. There just seems to be better balance between the strings and brass through out this remastered sound track.

I watched it again tonight and enjoyed it even more. The sound in the overture seemed better but still somewhat off to me. Maybe it was lacking a bit of base response, but I have read that this part of the film was destroyed, so they had to make a do over. Maybe that is what I hear - don't really know. If it had sounded as good as the intermission/entr'acte segment then I would not have mentioned it, but of course it's different music. It just seemed a little off to me - difficult to put my finger on it. I even tried all the settings on my AV receiver ("straight, pure direct, movie standard and 11-channel stereo") and they all seem about the same. I have all matched full-range speakers with my mains bi-amped and two 2-channel amps for the front and rear presence speakers.


In any event the whole movie both visual and sound were just lush to my old eyes and ears.


I highly recommend this to anyone who likes American musicals, don't think you would be disappointed. Definitely worth the price in my opinion.


Hats off to all those who made this restoration possible.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

I watched it again tonight and enjoyed it even more. The sound in the overture seemed better but still somewhat off to me. Maybe it was lacking a bit of base response, but I have read that this part of the film was destroyed, so they had to make a do over. Maybe that is what I hear - don't really know. If it had sounded as good as the intermission/entr'acte segment then I would not have mentioned it, but of course it's different music. It just seemed a little off to me - difficult to put my finger on it. I even tried all the settings on my AV receiver ("straight, pure direct, movie standard and 11-channel stereo") and they all seem about the same. I have all matched full-range speakers with my mains bi-amped and two 2-channel amps for the front and rear presence speakers.


In any event the whole movie both visual and sound were just lush to my old eyes and ears.


I highly recommend this to anyone who likes American musicals, don't think you would be disappointed. Definitely worth the price in my opinion.


Hats off to all those who made this restoration possible.

I agree with you and mentioned it on the other MFL thread. The whole first half hour of music is not warm and lush especially the low end and especially during the credits . Also the colors (see baskets) in Wouldn't it be Love'ry are faded. However the rest of the movie is superb. I'm also finding the underscore on the whole not to be as aggressive as in Spartacus and yet this is a musical produced 4 years later.


Also the case does not look like it will wear well (scratches already!) and handling it feels like it could cut you. And I had thought the new Bram Stoker's Dracula case was the sharpest I had ever handled....

 

[Mark Booth]

I watched the beautifully restored MFL on my brand new Vizio 75" M-series 4K TV! Unfortunately, it was a love/hate situation. I love the gorgeous restoration and I hate the fact that my new TV had trouble presenting a proper image. I checked the disc via the Blu-ray player on my Mac and it is not the disc. What I think is happening is my new TV is having trouble with the film grain in certain areas of brighter or contrasty images.


This is my first big screen LCD TV (my outgoing HDTV was a JVC LCoS rear projection set). There a lot to love about the image but this 4K set has some quirks too. I might be returning it to Costco.


Mark

 

[Tony Bensley]

I watched the beautifully restored MFL on my brand new Vizio 75" M-series 4K TV! Unfortunately, it was a love/hate situation. I love the gorgeous restoration and I hate the fact that my new TV had trouble presenting a proper image. I checked the disc via the Blu-ray player on my Mac and it is not the disc. What I think is happening is my new TV is having trouble with the film grain in certain areas of brighter or contrasty images.


This is my first big screen LCD TV (my outgoing HDTV was a JVC LCoS rear projection set). There a lot to love about the image but this 4K set has some quirks too. I might be returning it to Costco.


Mark

Hi Mark!


I'm thinking it might be worth your while to play around with your new 4K TV's picture settings, if you haven't already attempted this. Perhaps, it might even have a picture setting, such as Movie; Film; or Cinema Mode that might prove more ideal for making classics, such as MY FAIR LADY, look their very best!


CHEERS!


Tony

 

[Robert Harris]

I watched the beautifully restored MFL on my brand new Vizio 75" M-series 4K TV! Unfortunately, it was a love/hate situation. I love the gorgeous restoration and I hate the fact that my new TV had trouble presenting a proper image. I checked the disc via the Blu-ray player on my Mac and it is not the disc. What I think is happening is my new TV is having trouble with the film grain in certain areas of brighter or contrasty images.

This is my first big screen LCD TV (my outgoing HDTV was a JVC LCoS rear projection set). There a lot to love about the image but this 4K set has some quirks too. I might be returning it to Costco.

Mark

The M series is offered at a great price, but cannot perform like more expensive sets. Probably perfectly fine for watching TV, ball games, etc. reproducing film is a different situation.

Try to seek out a high end dealer, even Best Buy Magnolia will work. Take a disc with you and sample. You may be better off going smaller with better control of image. I'd suggest an ISF calibration, but if you don't keep the set, it's a waste of funds.

 

[Mark Booth]

Problem solved! I had applied calibration settings that CNET provided (the settings had received many favorable reviews). Those settings included changes to the color tuner and to the 11 step white balance. I was convinced the settings were excellent because 'Avengers-Ultron' looked so damn good. But, apparently, the settings were over saturating certain colors or tones. I guess those certain color or tones weren't as present in Avengers and were very much present in certain scenes in MFL. I reset the Vizio's color tuner to factory defaults and the creepy crawlies I was experiencing in certain areas of certain scenes vanished immediately.


I sat and watched more than half of 'My Fair Lady' again! SUPERB!! Thanks RAH!!!


Mark

 

[Josh Steinberg]

"Age Of Ultron" often looked desaturated and not as colorful as the first movie when I saw it in theaters and again at home.

Glad to hear MFL is looking better on your set!

 

[Robert Harris]

Problem solved! I had applied calibration settings that CNET provided (the settings had received many favorable reviews). Those settings included changes to the color tuner and to the 11 step white balance. I was convinced the settings were excellent because 'Avengers-Ultron' looked so damn good. But, apparently, the settings were over saturating certain colors or tones. I guess those certain color or tones weren't as present in Avengers and were very much present in certain scenes in MFL. I reset the Vizio's color tuner to factory defaults and the creepy crawlies I was experiencing in certain areas of certain scenes vanished immediately.

I sat and watched more than half of 'My Fair Lady' again! SUPERB!! Thanks RAH!!!

Mark

ISF next stop. A couple of mods were on their way over to help you lug that puppy back to Costco, and reportedly turned mid-trip

 

[Robert Crawford]

Too funny as I wasn't one of those mods.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I always like to let the younger mods do the moving/heavy-lifting...

 

[Mark Booth]

ISF next stop. A couple of mods were on their way over to help you lug that puppy back to Costco, and reportedly turned mid-trip

Mark

 

[John Skoda]

Got the disk yesterday and was so absorbed I watched the movie all the way through, even though I've seen it many times. That's how good it is.

One thing that occurred to me this time--the sound editors did an amazing job with Rex Harrison. I say this because he's singing live. So that means every time there is a cut within one of his numbers, they had also had to edit his vocal from one live rendition of the song to another "take," right? I don't imagine there were multiple cameras running. And they were able to do this seamlessly.

They were helped by the fact that Harrison had done this role so often on stage his performances were probably fairly consistent from one take to another. But, still, in 1964, this was no small accomplishment.

 

[PMF]

So I'm curious, just how many that think the MFL price at $35 is so important to send a message about are also willing to plop down $35 for Sherlock Holmes (1916)?


Hey I'll support MFL for $35 if some of you will support Sherlock Holmes (1916) at $35.


The reality is that MFL was a no brainer for a restoration as popular as it is. Many times it is the lesser known or lost titles that need the financial support to influence future releases because these are the riskier ventures.

It's a deal !!!

I will purchase "Sherlock Holmes" (1916) at $35, being that this will gain your support for "MFL" at $35.

But, here is my latest question that the higher ups at HTF may be able to answer:

If we buy "My Fair Lady" from a vendor other than Amazon - and at a lower price - will the message concerning our support for restoration still be heard; or does something get lost, somehow, along the way?