Blu-ray Review Picnic Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Charles Smith]

I'm always happy to learn more about the use of overtures and anything else pertaining to road shows or any other special limited engagements.

Here's one I always forget exists until I pop in a disc: "Spellbound". Overture and Exit Music. Can anyone fill us in on how or why that got picked to have these? Were they played in standard theatrical showings? Are there other "regular" feature films from the 1940s that were given this treatment?

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by Joe Caps
There is the impression that ANY film that has an Overture attached, need to be roadshow. Not so.
Warners lasrdisn andnow dvd of High Society has an Overture - and that was certainly not roadshow..

I would like to add that JOHN WAYNE & THE COWBOYS had an Overture, and was not a Roadshow. I recall when Disney first announced the extended Directors Cut of PEARL for DVD that they said an Overture and Intermission would be added, but that fell through. Wish it had happened though.

I received both PICNIC and THE ROOTS OF HEAVEN yesterday and watched both last night, heavy eyelids today. Both really looked good. I had decided earlier not to purchase PICNIC in Blu for I was fighting the I got in a good DVD now so why go for another. I am glad this thread changed my mind. There is just something about that film, I was just going to watch a few minutes of it and then go to bed. It dragged me into the story and I could not turn it off. The detail I had missed in previous DVD viewing makes this a new film.

I love a good Overture and miss them, It would have been great to have Overtures on the LORD OF THE RINGS films and also on this years WAR HORSE. WAR HORSE would have been the perfect film for Overture and Intermission today.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by haineshisway /t/317912/picnic-blu-ray-review/30#post_3890412
I also guess we should state again that just because an "overture" was created or used on a soundtrack album does not necessarily equate that it was also used for or with the film.

Wasn't the Overture for the THE KING AND I created for the soundtrack only but did not appear on any of the prints until the re-release in 1961? I recall reading that the soundtrack was so popular that Fox added it and it was basicly the tracks recorded for the LP.

 

[KPmusmag]

The KING AND I overture on the LP includes "I Have Dreamed", which was not in the film. The overture used for the first DVD release was not the LP overure, it sounded to me like a patchwork of underscore cues.
By the way, I was stunned by the PICNIC blu-ray. What a good movie and both picture and sound are top-notch in my opinion. I do miss the Overture, and like some others have said, when I am seriously watching a film that once had an overture I will play it before I start the film by switching inputs.

 

[Charles Smith]

Haven't watched the Picnic BD yet, but at a glance it looks fantastic. Not that I expected anything less. I did take out the LD to hear the Overture, and it certainly is a lovely piece of music.

 

[TheVid]

I sometimes do the input switch using soundtrack CDs at home to create my own overtures simply because it sets a nice mood for me. It's always bad news, in my opinion, when original overtures are dropped, even if it was a studio decision. Oh well.
It may be my imagination, but I remember hearing an overture during the original release of Friedkin's SORCERER in Kansas City, and it was a piece of symphonic music by Antonio Carlos Jobim, completely unrelated to the Tangerine Dream score that followed. I'd argue that overtures or musical preludes to most any release is always a nice touch - even a short intro before the studio logo works for me, like they did with Clayton's THE INNOCENTS.

 

[TheVid]

I'm saving my PICNIC blu-ray for a screening this weekend, but I did check it out and it's glorious at first glance. Looking forward to playing it nice and loud!

 

[jseabough]

Just ordered mine. This was one of my mom's favorite films. Growing up I heard the soundtrack album so many times. Moonglow and the theme from PICNIC-- just goes so well together! Sounds like this is a great transfer for blu ray.

 

[jseabough]

Just ordered mine. This was one of my mom's favorite films. Growing up I heard the soundtrack album so many times. Moonglow and the theme from PICNIC-- just goes so well together! Sounds like this is a great transfer for blu ray.

 

[jseabough]

Sorry about the double posts!

 

[Joe Caps]

The Overture on King and I LP and cdwas recorded for the cd, as were several other selections to compete with the Decca cast album.
the overture and Intermission music on the old dvd was edited togehter from background score within thefilm and added in 61 for the 70 mm reoissue and not part of the original release.

 

[PaulMSchneider]

Thanks to all who weighed in about the Screen Archives sales, pricing, selling out, etc.
While I think the price tag is a bit much for my pocketbook, Picnic is one of my "must have" titles. I've taken your collective opinion that the quality is well worth it, so I ordered away.
A rare exception for me these days, but no regrets. I'm really looking forward to seeing the HD restoration and adding it to my collection.

 

[PaulaJ]

The Picnic Blu-ray is a big improvement over the DVD, IMHO.
However, my friend Max who is an HTF lurker has some concerns about the new Picnic Blu-ray's aspect ratio and asked me to post his comments. Here they are.
Hi Richard,
I am a reader of the HTF, but not a member so I can't post/email. I asked a friend who is a member to forward this to you.
In your review of Twilight Time's PICNIC Blu-ray, you state: "It appears to be properly framed at 2.55:1."
I take issue with this statement, because it is *not*. The actual image on my TV screen is 2.48, measured with a tape measure. The width of my screen is 43.5"; the height of the PICNIC image on my screen is 17.5".
This may be considered a "minor" difference, but it is very annoying to me because of the number of DVDs/Blu-rays that *SAY* they are in a specific ratio but aren't. *Every* image that fills a 16x9 screen is 1.78, not 1.85, as many ratio specs on a box claim.
I simply don't understand why these ratios do NOT display *correctly* on a TV screen.
Are the discs "flagged" to *display* at a different ratio in order to fill *more* of the screen? (I know there is a part of the viewing audience that wants *every square inch* of their screen to have an image, and they are quite vocal in complaining when it doesn't.)
I have brought this issue up with those who are more knowledgeable than I am and have been told that my TV "must be" over-scanning, but it isn't. There *are* discs that DO display in the ratio they state on the box, and if my set *was* over-scanning they wouldn't display in the *proper* ratio, which they do -- I have measured those out, too.
I have also been told that when a disc that is supposed to be 2.55 (or whatever) is measured *on a computer screen* that it *is* in the stated ratio. But, when I asked someone who told me this to measure the image *on his TV screen*, he told me he was "surprised" to find that it *did* only measure to 2.48 instead of 2.55.
So...as I said *I don't understand* this. And further, I don't understand why HTF reviewers/contributors -- including experts such as Robert Harris -- don't bring up THIS issue when they can be so nit-picky about many *other* points. Are they so used to discs NOT being the correctly stated ratio that it simply doesn't matter?
It does to me, because the filmmaker framed his image PURPOSELY, if only to give it some slight "breathing room" on the sides, and he should be shown the respect of it displaying AS INTENDED. It would likely *not* be a "minor difference" to him.
If you can explain this to me -- or perhaps get an explanation from an expert -- I would be grateful.
Sincerely,
Max Preeo

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Max- While I'll leave your questions to those more knowledgeable than myself, stop being a lurker and join the conversation! Its free and easy.

 

[Matt Hough]

And with Max's being the former editor/publisher of Show Music, he'd be a very valuable resource/go-to person here at HTF.

Please join us, Max!

 

[Charles Smith]

Indeed, please do.

 

[RolandL]

The Picnic Blu-ray is a big improvement over the DVD, IMHO.
However, my friend Max who is an HTF lurker has some concerns about the new Picnic Blu-ray's aspect ratio and asked me to post his comments. Here they are.
Hi Richard,
I am a reader of the HTF, but not a member so I can't post/email. I asked a friend who is a member to forward this to you.
In your review of Twilight Time's PICNIC Blu-ray, you state: "It appears to be properly framed at 2.55:1."
I take issue with this statement, because it is *not*. The actual image on my TV screen is 2.48, measured with a tape measure. The width of my screen is 43.5"; the height of the PICNIC image on my screen is 17.5".
This may be considered a "minor" difference, but it is very annoying to me because of the number of DVDs/Blu-rays that *SAY* they are in a specific ratio but aren't. *Every* image that fills a 16x9 screen is 1.78, not 1.85, as many ratio specs on a box claim.
I simply don't understand why these ratios do NOT display *correctly* on a TV screen.
Are the discs "flagged" to *display* at a different ratio in order to fill *more* of the screen? (I know there is a part of the viewing audience that wants *every square inch* of their screen to have an image, and they are quite vocal in complaining when it doesn't.)
I have brought this issue up with those who are more knowledgeable than I am and have been told that my TV "must be" over-scanning, but it isn't. There *are* discs that DO display in the ratio they state on the box, and if my set *was* over-scanning they wouldn't display in the *proper* ratio, which they do -- I have measured those out, too.
I have also been told that when a disc that is supposed to be 2.55 (or whatever) is measured *on a computer screen* that it *is* in the stated ratio. But, when I asked someone who told me this to measure the image *on his TV screen*, he told me he was "surprised" to find that it *did* only measure to 2.48 instead of 2.55.
So...as I said *I don't understand* this. And further, I don't understand why HTF reviewers/contributors -- including experts such as Robert Harris -- don't bring up THIS issue when they can be so nit-picky about many *other* points. Are they so used to discs NOT being the correctly stated ratio that it simply doesn't matter?
It does to me, because the filmmaker framed his image PURPOSELY, if only to give it some slight "breathing room" on the sides, and he should be shown the respect of it displaying AS INTENDED. It would likely *not* be a "minor difference" to him.
If you can explain this to me -- or perhaps get an explanation from an expert -- I would be grateful.
Sincerely,
Max Preeo

All TV's have a bit of over scan so, getting 2.48 out of 2.55 is excellent. Your seeing 97.5% of the image. You are not missing anything significant.

 

[Matt Hough]

Originally Posted by RolandL /t/317912/picnic-blu-ray-review/30#post_3891531
All TV's have a bit of over scan so, getting 2.48 out of 2.55 is excellent. Your seeing 97.5% of the image. You are not missing anything significant.

I agree. It would have been much more of a concern if it had been framed at the later 2.35:1 ratio.

 

[rsmithjr]

I measured almost 2.6 on my projector. I am using a Mitsubishi HC3800 1080P DLP fed from a Sony 550. Overscan can easily affect these measurements.
The picture certainly has more width than I have ever seen in the film. All of my theatrical viewings were from optical-only prints, which would have been 235.
Does anyone know if there were mag-only prints made? Some 1955 films had mag-only, some had mag/optical.

 

[Joe Caps]

The dcorrect ratio of Picnic (premiering in Feb 1955) is 2:55. stereo prints were mag only
mag/optical prints permanently changed the ratio of scope films down to 2:35.
the first mag/optical film was in August 1956 - Twentieth Century Foxs Bus Stop with Marilyn Monroe.