My Fair Lady SE? (1 Viewer)

[Greg_M]

Anyone know if Warner is planning to add "My Fair Lady" to their Two-Disc Special Edition sets (next year is the 40th anniversary?)The Film currently is on one DVD, not all extras from the Laserdisc are included and some have a lower bit conversion rate.

 

[rutger_s]

My Fair Lady now belongs to Paramount.

The title is part of the CBS library. The new VHS release is by Paramount and newer pressings of the DVD omit the Warner Brothers logos.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

While the current DVD was produced from a nicely restored print...the DVD itself seems to suffer from some severe MEPG artifacting at times (like GWWW). I think it could definitely stand to be redone given the improvements in compression we've seen on so many newer DVDs (even those made from older and/or more challenging source-material).

-dave

 

[Eric Paddon]

I agree. The DVD really only has the commentary track going for it, but I still use the old 30th anniversary LD boxed set for whenever I watch the film (not just because of more supplements but also I like being able to hear Audrey's vocals within the context of watching the whole film, courtesy of the analog tracks)

 

[Peter Kline]

Mr. Harris and Mr. Katz did the restoration (in the film domain I believe) for My Fair Lady.

 

[Joe Caps]

I still wish we could get My Fair Lady with better sound. I have a broadcast from the late eighties off of Cinemax where CBS used a six channel master track that had all of the original surrounds encoded in it.
the restoration does not have the surrounds and has had a lot of whacko reverb added to every song. Not good.
Let the flaming begin!!

 

[MatthewA]

Is it perhaps possible that these masters may have been lost since then?

 

[frank manrique]

Any revision of MFL needs to address the dire situation with its "EE" (edge enhancement) content; too much of it on negates enjoyment of the otherwise awesome restoration work done by Harris and Katz.

Blown to a 12 foot wide image one becomes crossed-eyed, so heavy is the "ghosting" produced by EE. Utterly unwatchable. And to top it all, no directional Stereo tracking sound as with original 70mm showings either.

This classic deserves much better treatment...

-THTS

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Agreed Frank. Compression blocking, mosquito noise, and horrid ringing/ghosting from EE really mar the current DVD presentation. I was actually going to host a My-Fair-Lady viewing event with some friends on my buddy's FP but when I screened the DVD at that scale the digital artifacts were so horrendous I canceled and we picked another movie! I'm always perplexed when Harris seems to compliment the DVD...I'm sure that his restoration efforts are evident on the disc in many other aspects like color-timing and film-restoration but the digital/electronic artifacts on the DVD really get in the way. Hopefully now that Warner has come a long way on fixing these sorts of problems on their newer discs (just compare old/new DVD releases of many other titles like Fugitive, Amadeus, and Color Purple) there's hope here too.

We can *hope* for a properly rendered soundtrack mix, but for some reason Warner seems to take a special delight in altering source mixes for home-theater...and getting rid of all historic directional dialogue is first on their list. What gives?

-dave

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Hopefully now that Warner has come a long way on fixing these sorts of problems on their newer discs (just compare old/new DVD releases of many other titles like Fugitive, Amadeus, and Color Purple) there's hope here too.

As Rutger rightly points out, Paramout now own the rights to My Fair Lady.

But I wonder if they will create a new transfer and new DVD for it?

What movie did you show instead of My Fair Lady, Dave? How's the transfer for Pretty Woman?

Man, I hate that movie!

But don't tell my girlfriend - she'll do... I don't even wanna think about it!


Gordy

 

[GlennH]

Too bad about Paramount now owning it. Not that they are that bad or anything, but Warner's 2-disc SEs have set a high bar that I'm not sure Paramount would reach.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

But I wonder if they will create a new transfer and new DVD for it?

Gordon, no new transfer is necessarily needed if the source transfer (film-digital) looks decent. What's probably the case is that the transfer looks decent but the digital compression and electronic processing done *after* that is what screwed everything up.

However, this transfer was done before Warner was in the habit of doing HD-res film-tape transfers, and 1080 24P -> DVD downconversion typically look much better than the standard-definition transfers from several years back...so a new transfer while maybe not necessary to get rid of some of the nasties that we see now, would probably improve things even further.

p.s. I think we ended up watching Moulin Rouge...

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

You're right, David: a new transfer probably isn't needed, but what are the chances that Warner would hand over their video master of My Fair Lady? Do they actually own that video master now? When the rights to film pass over, what does that actually entail? I've often wondered about that - the 35mm prints, video masters, etc.

A 1080 24P down conversion transfer of My Fair Lady would be great, if Paramount ever see fit to so. Bill Burns will chip in soon, so I'll just beat him to it and say that any such future transfer should originate from 65mm!

Now... Moulin Rouge I like - but don't tell the guys, they might call me a... oh, I don't even wanna think about it!

Ah, Catch 22, Yossarian!

Being a movie geek has its prices, but it's worth it.


Gordy

 

[Greg_M]

Warner Bros original negotiated for the DVD rights from CBS for "My Fair Lady". As part of Paramount's contract with CBS I don't believe Paramount has the DVD rights only the VHS rights.

The film is long 3 hours and should be spread to two disc.

Eric I agree with you.

Even though Audrey can't sing very well (No where near Julie Andrews or even Marni Nixon) Her rendition of the songs are preferable while watching the film at home. They are "real" and have a charm all there own. I've also heard Audrey's track to "I Could Have Danced All Night" and it's pretty good, better than many would believe (It would be great to have this song also restored by Mr. Harris). As it would be great to have an alternate track on the DVD so you can watch the film with Hepburn's vocals all the way through as an option.

 

[Peter Kline]

One of the unique aspects of the sound recording is that Rex Harrison sang live to most of his songs. They fitted him with a small microphone that couldn't be seen. This makes his vocals on the songs a little less full-sounding then the pre-recorded vocals from the other principals.

 

[SteveP]

I have to disagree about Audrey's singing. While her "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" is fairly accectable and in character, her "Show Me" reveals the substantial damage that her singing the entire score would have done to the film--and her own career.

 

[Eric Paddon]

Steve, I'll agree that her rendition of "Show Me" is not good, but her version of "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" is better than Nixon's precisely *because* it's unrefined and fits better with Eliza in her "flower girl" persona. It's worth noting that Audrey's voice was used in the final film version for "Just You Wait" during the opening and closing segments, while it's Marni during the "fantasy" sequence of the song and when you factor in that, Audrey's version of "Loverly" works even more for the "unrefined" Eliza, while Eliza after she's been made over would require the Nixon vocals. I think if they had done this kind of a compromise solution at the time, which would have given Audrey one number all to herself (except for the last line), would have prevented damaging a lot of egos back then, and maybe would have helped keep Audrey from getting the Oscar snub that IMO was unfair to her.

 

[Bill Burns]

Gordon wrote:

A 1080 24P down conversion transfer of My Fair Lady would be great, if Paramount ever see fit to so. Bill Burns will chip in soon, so I'll just beat him to it and say that any such future transfer should originate from 65mm!*

What Gordon said. And there'll be no flames from me for Joe, by the by. 65mm and a faithful recreation of original directional sound ... "wouldn't it be loverly?"

* I hope this doesn't mean I'm developing a curmudgeonly reputation! I'm really quite happy with many DVDs ... really ....

 

[SteveP]

I do agree that Audrey deserved a nomination more than Debbie Reynolds' scenery chewing in THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN --hardly her best work--far inferior to her excellent performances in THE CATERED AFFAIR and THE RAT RACE.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

I hope this doesn't mean I'm developing a curmudgeonly reputation!

Heh heh heh! Far from it, Bill!

I've been around the Internet over the years - visited and participated in lot of message boards, and I can truly say that I dig your style! You love Cinema and have a great understanding of the artform.

Great stuff.


Gordy