3D Put THE MASK on now! (1 Viewer)

[Bob Furmanek]

Not on THE MASK. The commentary track is by Jason Pichonsky from Depthsploitation. He's the world's foremost expert on the film!

 

[phillyrobt]

Thanks. Sorry was looking at Mr. Lime's information on the Kino thread for Gog

 

[revgen]

The price of The Mask (1961) 3-D Blu-Ray is now down to $22.99 on Amazon.

 

[aPhil]

The price of The Mask (1961) 3-D Blu-Ray is now down to $22.99 on Amazon.

That was low enough to get me to pre-order!

 

[RolandL]

That was low enough to get me to pre-order!

Me too. Also ordered Comin at Ya! so I don't have to pay for postage.

 

[StephenDH]

Before I forget to ask, is "The Mask" region free? Amazon doesn't appear to have an opinion.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Yes, it is region free.

 

[StephenDH]

Thanks.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

The US premiere of our restoration of THE MASK is tomorrow October 10 at Spectrefest in Los Angeles! http://spectrevision.com/the-mask/

 

[revgen]

I went to the show tonight and had a great time. Thankfully, it was a Saturday, so the $6 parking lot had spaces available.


Very entertaining film. It wasn't really "scary" per say, but similar to a Twilight Zone episode. It's the kind of offbeat b-movie's I liked to watch late at night on cable stations when I was a kid. There was certainly a lot of unintended humor scattered throughout that the crowd got a kick out of. Great job by TIFF and the 3D Film Archive to get this restored and released.


I talked to Bob and Mike at the afterparty. Greg was Mr. Popular, with plenty of people asking him questions, so I didn't interject. Bob explained that Greg and him are trying hard to get Gog finished at the end of the year to meet the March release date. Greg definitely has his work cut out for him. Best of luck to both of you.

 

[Mike Ballew]

My fiancée Maria and I caught up with Bob and Greg last night at the American premiere of the restoration of The Mask. I was also glad to meet Dan ("Revgen") and put a friendly face with the name. I hope I get to see more of all three of these fine gentlemen, and I really hope they can say the same.

I realize anaglyphic 3-D has its inherent shortcomings and its vocal detractors, but I happen to like anaglyphs. I happen to think The Mask is the finest example of anaglyphic 3-D ever presented, and I also happen to think it has never looked better than what I saw last night. To my eyes, it was gorgeous.

Bob Furmanek and Greg Kintz work miracles with modest budgets and on tight schedules, but one might never realize it from what we saw at Cinefamily/Spectrefest. The 2-D segments, restored from a fine grain element by the folks at TIFF, looked clean and sharp to these eyes. The 3-D segments, brought back to their full visual splendor by the masterful Greg Kintz, looked even better. The stereographer on The Mask, Charles W. Smith, was one of the all-time greats, and his original technical choices, along with Greg's fine-tuning of alignment and other variables, make for some very comfortable-to-view 3-D. But this is exuberant 3-D, generous with positive parallax depth but also playfully enthusiastic in its use of "transgressive," off-the-screen pop-out moments. The Mask does more with 3-D in its three hallucinatory segments (running a total of just under 15 minutes) than most present-day 3-D movies do in 90 or 120 minutes. Without giving too much away in terms of plot (for the sake of those who have never seen The Mask), these sequences manage to create a very eerie and mysterious feel. As anecdotal evidence of their power, Maria could not stop talking about them. They really got under her skin.

I hope to share more when time and circumstances permit, but I want Greg and Bob and all the world to know that seeing The Mask in this restored state has enhanced my appreciation for this ambitious thriller with its audacious 3-D sequences. If you're looking forward to the Blu-Ray, as I am, then believe me, you're in for a real treat.

[Let me add, for those who may not realize, the Blu-Ray will include both the original anaglyphic incarnation and the discrete left and right images for playback on modern, color-neutral 3-D television equipment, so you can enjoy the film either way you prefer.]

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Thanks SO much for coming to the US premiere. Dan, it was great to meet you and it was wonderful seeing you again, Mike.


That was a terrific crowd and I loved their enthusiasm. Each of the 3-D sequences got a big round of applause. That was great!

 

[Charles Smith]

This is all great to hear. Congrats, guys!

 

[Todd J Moore]

I am looking forward to getting the blu ray and watching it. I always thought the movie was dopey fun and look forward to seeing it in a way that is even better than what audiences in 1961 saw it.

 

[GregK]

Afterwards Bob and I's big lament was we just didn't have enough time to speak to everyone. Dan, I'm very sorry we didn't get the opportunity to chat, so next time please just break in, as it's all good!

The Stateside premiere was a fabulous event and it was clear from the audience response throughout and questions afterwards that it was a very knowledgeable group who respected the material. After each mystic mask 3-D segment, the theater broke out in applause. The Silent Movie Theater did a thorough check before hand to make sure masking and levels were accurate and such efforts make the difference. The Cinefamily is a tight knit group and their dedication was always apparent.

What's great is very soon being able to Put the Mask on Now and in superior discrete 3-D via 3-D bluray will available to all, with original anaglyph included as a bonus. As mentioned previously, but worth repeating- It's an often heard phrase that something looks better than ever, and in this given case it's far from minor. While the 3-D bluray will allow one to view the anaglyphic segments better than ever thanks to a fresh anaglyph encode from the discrete elements, it is the first-time-ever-shown discrete version that really shines. 3DTV owners will have the ability to sample both 3-D formats, and it won't be a surprise which one they'll prefer. I could ramble on the differences I've noticed, but I'll be VERY curious to hear what the Home Theater Forum members detect between the two.

(Attached image is shown as R/L cross-eyed 3-D)

 

[Mike Ballew]

Greg, your statements about the improvements evident in the forthcoming Blu-Ray edition of The Mask call to mind some very famous words spoken about another important 3-D film, lo these many years ago:


"You read about it! You heard about it! You may even think you've seen it! But nothing that has gone before can compare with this!"


I am not sated. I cannot wait to see The Mask on Blu-Ray. My heartfelt congratulations and thanks to you and Bob for all you have done and continue to do.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Our restoration of THE MASK opens in Toronto tomorrow at TIFF. Check out this fabulous new poster by artist Gary Pullin!

 

[Charles Smith]

Bob, that is beautiful! Congrats, and here's to a great opening!

 

[SFMike]

Great poster and thank you Canada for "The Mask."

 

[phillyrobt]

Now on sale on the Kino website.