Now, Voyager? (1 Viewer)

[Brian W]

Anyone view this yet?, reviews?

 

[John Morgan]

Yes, and like the LITTLE WOMEN release, pictorially, it is stunningly good. A revelation.
BUT...I suspect Chace sound got ahold of this soundtrack, as well as the Little Women soundtrack. And it suffers from lack of dynamics, and flat sound. What a pity. I just wish studios would cancel their contract with Chace.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This dvd is such a gorgeous transfer. What a beautiful black and white picture! Warner, I have a major problem with your classic film release schedule but regarding this dvd release, you've done an excellent job.
Crawdaddy
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Peter Staddon: "I didn't say you can put 'Monkeybone' back!"

 

[GlennH]

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm not surprised at the reports of excellent picture quality -- this is another Warner release that Lowry Digital Images worked on. As they did for North by Northwest, Citizen Kane, and Doctor Zhivago.
I just watched Doctor Z the other day, and I am really pleased with the quality of that package.

 

[Patrick McCart]

BUT...I suspect Chace sound got ahold of this soundtrack, as well as the Little Women soundtrack. And it suffers from lack of dynamics, and flat sound. What a pity. I just wish studios would cancel their contract with Chace.

Are you sure it's not the fact that the sound is mono and is from the 1930's/1940's? Chace, I think, did the digital remixes for Citizen Kane (took the separate music/sound effects and dialogue tracks and digitally remixed them to mono!) and North By Northwest (which I love hearing Bernard Herrmann's excellent score in 5.1) which are both excellent soundtracks.
No one should expect a mono track from before the 1960's to sound spectacular. It's like expecting an A+ transfer from a film like Birth of a Nation (of course, LDI could probably pull off a perfect restoration of this film...)

 

[Claes Ljunghorn]

(Chace?) "took the separate music/sound effects and dialogue tracks and digitally remixed them to mono"
Were did You get this information? I thought the original separate audio tracks (for CK) were lost...and I have not seen any information about the reverse being true...
Chace did IMHO a very good job on Gone with the wind.

 

[John Morgan]

 

[Agee Bassett]

The following review is a repeat of my comments in the "Thank you, Warner" thread in Studio Feedback.
I, too, must join in the accolades for Warner's sterling transfer of Now, Voyager. Just spinning the disc tonight, my jaw practically fell to the floor! The single best-looking transfer of a vintage b&w film on DVD. Positively blemish-free, pin-sharp, and picture-perfect gradation of gray values.
Let me emphasize this last point. I have had the disconcerting misfortune of encountering a plethora of recent classic b&w releases from various studios which exhibit a markedly flat and depressing rendition of overall contrast--disappointing, to say the least. The logic seems to be that a low-contrast image preserves superior detail--at the expense, it seems, of deep blacks and a pleasing separation of gray values. The result can often be a strain to watch. Warner and LDI prove with Now, Voyager (as well as Citizen Kane) that a rich, boldly-contrasted gray-palette can do the job just as well, if not better. An infinite gradation of luminous gray values straddle bold, bright whites (replete without unwelcome blooming or moire effects), and pure, pitch blacks. The single best job of suggesting, digitally, the sparkling gray palette once possible with nitrate-stock film. Please, all other studios take a lesson (and, please, Warner, provide us soon with an equally-beautiful edition of Kings Row!).
While I am in agreement with one of our members that overprocessing has unfortunately drained much of the "punch" from Max Steiner's AA-winning score (this hopefully will be an example which will not become a trend), the visual simply cannot be faulted. The new benchmark, in my judgement, for assessing quality b&w transfers on DVD.