New Warner multi-disc sets coming! (1 Viewer)

[DaViD Boulet]

I guess I can't expect everyone to remember every DVD review I write...

Hello Dolly Review: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=157279

Before I even A/B'd to the AC-3 on the laserdisc...I knew something was wrong with the audio on the DVD...just like I knew something was wrong with the 5.1 DEHT mix on Mary Poppins. The 5.1 Hello Dolly track was just "dead" and lacked all the sparkle and "air" I remembered from my laserdisc days. My first impression...again all BEFORE I even cracked out the laserdisc to A/B...was that the Hello Dolly DVD sounded like there was a towel wrapped around the tweeter of my speakers. Noise reduction strikes again...

Of course, plenty of other review sites praised the 5.1 soundtrack and gave it two thumbs up...obviously they didn't have the AC-3 on the laserdisc as a point of reference to compare so I won't judge them too harshly. Too harshly...that is...

Had Fox simply duplicated the 5.1 AC-3 mix off the previous laserdisc...everything would have been just right. Alas...the hiss police got their hands on this great soundtrack before the audiophiles had a chance to check things out.

Good news is that the Fox folks didn't mess with the historic mix at all...100% identical to the mix (as far as I could tell) as the AC-3 on the laserdisc which I presume is a good representation of the best surviving multi-channel discrete mix (Fox preserved directional dialog mix on Sound of Music as well...they often get that part right). That's one of the reasons I assume that this is a simple case of poor-judgement in noise-reduction...the mix sounds "identical" in every other respect and they *had* a great 5.1 DD mix they could have used off the laserdisc if locating source materials was a concern.

Still...without the glorious highs and nuance of musical decays...what good is the 5.1 audio of a musical???

:rolleyes

Folks it's serious...and it's happening to lots of otherwise great historic audio mixes. "Hiss" is basically the film-grain of historic sound masters. Nothing wrong with a little-hiss...it's part of the medium and your ears tune it out without any problem once the movie is in play. What your ears can't fix are permanently filtered high-frequencies that strip the audio of all life and realism to render it "hissless"...much like aggresive DNR rids a video image of all naturalness and detail to remove "film grain" for video-minded audiences. Don't be fooled, and don't be satisfied with improperly mastered mixes on DVD...demand that historic audio mixes be preserved with full integrity...including the (minor) hiss that is part of their character. You can't take it out without hurting real sonic-detail, so best to leave it alone.

 

[DeeF]

David, have you listened to the new Warners musicals set? I'd be interested in your take, particularly on Easter Parade (sounds funny to me) and Brigadoon (sounds great, but for the outtake of "Come To Me, Bend To Me."

The others all sound quite wonderful, particularly Finian's Rainbow.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Is the new version of Brigadoon (16x9? and alternate 1.33:1) out already? Wow...I have been out-of-touch.

Those are two titles I don't have laserdisc copies of to do any A/B comparing...but I will get both of them and I will certainly pay attention to the audio. We could start a whole thread dedicated to "Musical Sound" to cover the whole gammet.

-dave

 

[DeeF]

Umm, sorry to disappoint you -- Brigadoon only includes the Cinemascope version, plus some outtakes. The other one isn't included.

 

[Jeff_HR]

This is an excerpt from article with George Feltenstein, the Senior Vice President in charge of Warner Home Video's classic catalog.

In view of this info I apologize to WB for believing they were intentially holding back the release. Not that some companies don't engage in this practice, but in this instance I was wrong.

 

[Scott_J]

Jeff, your next apology can be to David for not reading his post 12 above yours where he posted the exact same Q and A you just did (with less bolding).

 

[Jeff_HR]

Sorry!

This is not the 1st time I've had this happen & it surely won't be the last. Just call me a bit lazy.

 

[Adam_S]

This is sheer speculation, but in the past year, two new warner restorations of King Vidor films have premiered in Beverly Hills at the Samuel Goldwyn Academy Theatre: The Champ, and now The Big Parade. I wonder if it's possible we may be getting a King Vidor box set anytime in the future. I'd love to see a restored version (I don't even need ultra resolution, just give me a clean and properly color timed, nonfaded version!) of Northwest Passage, and I'm sure others would be interested in a Duel in the Sun SE, The Crowd, and possibly Our Daily Bread (haven't seen those last three myself, but I want to see them all!). I suppose Stella Dallas is (unfortunately) another high caliber title that would be considered for any eventual Vidor box.

Again Idle thoughts, but it's something I'd love to see.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Adam,
Both "Duel in the Sun" and "Stella Dallas" are not Warner titles.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

What about Vidor's "Hallelujah"?

 

[Robert Crawford]

That would be my choice along with "The Fountainhead" in a Warner boxset.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I just did some research on other Vidor films and "Our Daily Bread" is another title that doesn't belong to Warner.





Crawdaddy

 

[Jeff_HR]

I just bought "Stella Dallas" on a M-G-M DVD. The transfer was a bit uneven. A great tear jerker though!

 

[RobertSiegel]

The new WIZARD OF OZ will use the Unltra-resolution process for technicolor films, as was done on Gone with the Wind and Singing in the Rain. So in answer to your question, yes it will be a new master.

 

[HaigH]

With respect to the Wizard of OZ, USC film school murmurs
are that it will be a 3-disc set.
It will apparently include a new documentary "anchored" by film historian Dr. Drew Casper, which pertains to the legacy of the film.
Casper's been doing quite a bit with Warner lately.

 

[JoshB]

DVDAnswers has cover art and some tentative specs for the 4-Disc Ben Hur. No street date yet, but it may be sometime in September:

http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?...6615&n=1&burl=

They also state that it will include:

-an all-new transfer from newly restored 65mm elements

-The original 1925 silent film version of "Ben-Hur"

-commentary by Charlton Heston

-screen tests

-Making of an Epic Documentary

 

[DaViD Boulet]

In the warner chat the WB folks mentioned that the aspect ratio issue should be correct this time but never touched on audio.

Have we gotten confirmation anywhere that the original mix will be provided???

 

[Greg Madsen]

Here is what EW.com posted today:

'Wizard of Oz' DVDs set to blow into stores
By Thomas K. Arnold

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fans of "The Wizard of Oz" should be over the rainbow when the classic 1939 film is reissued on DVD on Oct. 25.

"Oz" will be available both as two- and three-disc sets, the latter boasting a new documentary about "Oz" author L. Frank Baum, Warner Home Video said Wednesday. They will be priced at $26.99 and $39.92, respectively. The film was originally released on DVD in October 1999 as a single disc.

Both versions of the upcoming "Oz" DVDs will include a new digital transfer of the original movie using Warner's proprietary "Ultra-Resolution" technology. The soundtrack has been remastered as well. Special features include a new commentary from historian John Fricke; four documentaries, including one on the restoration process; outtakes and deleted scenes; home movies made on the "Oz" set by composer Harold Arlen; and an "Oz Jukebox" of recording session materials, radio shows and promo spots.

The three-disc edition also includes four hours devoted to Baum; five pre-1939 "Oz" movies, the earliest of which dates to 1910; and reproductions of the invitation and program for the film's premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Reuters/VNU

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/reuters..._10_0_,00.html

 

[oscar_merkx]

Absolutely fantastic news with Oz coming in october