RAINTREE COUNTY on Blu? (1 Viewer)

[Jimbo64]

Is it known if all prints of Raintree County with an opticak soundtrack had Perspecta sound?

I would assume so as it was encoded into the mono mix so no reason to print some with and some without.

 

[RolandL]

Since this was probably never intended to be a 70mm release, I'm guessing only one sound mike was used for recording.

Below from the Widescreenmuseum.com

 

[Andrew Budgell]

@Ken Koc just gave me the heads up that both the theatrical and roadshow versions of Raintree County are now streaming on FilmStruck! This is the first time the film has streamed on any platform.

 

[JPCinema]

@Ken Koc just gave me the heads up that both the theatrical and roadshow versions of Raintree County are now streaming on FilmStruck! This is the first time the film has streamed on any platform.

I can't wait to get back from Sao Paulo tomorrow and have a 2 version marathon!

 

[Konstantinos]

Is this filmstruck version in HD or SD?

 

[richardburton84]

@Ken Koc just gave me the heads up that both the theatrical and roadshow versions of Raintree County are now streaming on FilmStruck! This is the first time the film has streamed on any platform.

Isn’t the length of that “Roadshow version” listed just for the general release version with the overture and entr’acte? Cause last I checked, the full Roadshow version runs 3 hours and 8 minutes.

 

[Paul Penna]

Is this filmstruck version in HD or SD?

I haven't streamed to my system yet, but via browser from their website (which uses Adobe Flash), the theatrical version appears to be, but the roadshow is anything but, plus it came through squeezed horizontally.

 

[JPCinema]

Very sad the horrible state Raintree County is in. The cut version is not hd and looks very like it is from a VHS source . The Roadshow is horrific. Faded color and and in the wrong aspect ration....from 2.55 to 1.85.....unwatchable.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Very sad the horrible state Raintree County is in. The cut version is not hd and looks very like it is from a VHS source . The Roadshow is horrific. Faded color and and in the wrong aspect ration....from 2.55 to 1.85.....unwatchable.

Ken, I had a different experience than you. My curiosity got the better of me so I decided to sign up for a trial of FilmStruck to take a peek at Raintree County. I spot checked a few scenes of the theatrical version, fully expecting to see something comparable to what TCM airs, but what I'm seeing is a BIG improvement. This must be what @Ed Lachmann and @RolandL watched on PBS last month. I'm certainly no expert, but I compared it to the DVR recording I have from TCM, and the colours are much more rich and vivid, and there is a lot more detail. Of the few scenes I sampled, I saw the biggest difference when Elizabeth and Monty visit the Windsor Ruins. Shot outdoors, this part of the film always looked washed out, but what FilmStruck is streaming is lush and beautiful. What Roland described as the shimmering on the plantation stairs is gone. There didn't seem to be any extensive digital clean up, as there white flecks on the scenes I sampled, but nothing distracting. One caveat: there was no overture or exit music.

The roadshow version that FilmStruck is more comparable to what TCM shows, although, as @Paul Penna says, it's squeezed horizontally which is very distracting. It has the overture and exit music (although the overture title card has been replaced by a shot of the country church from the beginning of the film).

Anyway, if anyone else has FilmStruck, I'd be really curious to hear your thoughts and impressions on the theatrical cut of Raintree that they're streaming. My hope is that Warner Bros will at least make this available as a digital download on iTunes.

 

[Robin9]

Ken, I had a different experience than you. My curiosity got the better of me so I decided to sign up for a trial of FilmStruck to take a peek at Raintree County. I spot checked a few scenes of the theatrical version, fully expecting to see something comparable to what TCM airs, but what I'm seeing is a BIG improvement. This must be what @Ed Lachmann and @RolandL watched on PBS last month. I'm certainly no expert, but I compared it to the DVR recording I have from TCM, and the colours are much more rich and vivid, and there is a lot more detail. Of the few scenes I sampled, I saw the biggest difference when Elizabeth and Monty visit the Windsor Ruins. Shot outdoors, this part of the film always looked washed out, but what FilmStruck is streaming is lush and beautiful. What Roland described as the shimmering on the plantation stairs is gone. There didn't seem to be any extensive digital clean up, as there white flecks on the scenes I sampled, but nothing distracting. One caveat: there was no overture or exit music.

The roadshow version that FilmStruck is more comparable to what TCM shows, although, as @Paul Penna says, it's squeezed horizontally which is very distracting. It has the overture and exit music (although the overture title card has been replaced by a shot of the country church from the beginning of the film).

Anyway, if anyone else has FilmStruck, I'd be really curious to hear your thoughts and impressions on the theatrical cut of Raintree that they're streaming. My hope is that Warner Bros will at least make this available as a digital download on iTunes.

Andrew, many thanks for that.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

I know screen captures can be unreliable, but I made one anyway for those who are interested...

 

[Konstantinos]

TCM (?) one. the filmstruck looks better.

 

[Paul Penna]

I know screen captures can be unreliable, but I made one anyway for those who are interested...

View attachment 45748

That's a good representation of how it generally looked to me once I checked it streamed to my system.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

That's a good representation of how it generally looked to me once I checked it streamed to my system.

I'm glad to hear that it reflects what you saw as well, Paul. I watched the theatrical version in full on FilmStruck yesterday evening. As I said after my initial spot check, I think it's a big upgrade over what TCM shows, and appeared to my eyes like a very good DVD. There were some movement issues, but @Ken Koc told me that this is an issue that plagues other films on FilmStruck. I really hope Warner Bros will release this as a digital download, so those movement issues can be avoided, as well as the other vagaries of streaming. I'd be very curious to hear the impressions of anyone else with FilmStruck who is familiar with the transfer that TCM shows, and can weigh in with some thoughts on how this improvement may have been achieved.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

This is the response I received from the Warner Archive on Facebook:

No new masters have been created on this film in about 20 years. We would assume that the differing compression and/or upconversion tools may be a factor in what you are seeing.

 

[JPCinema]

Hope they are not bragging.

 

[OliverK]

Wow, this is ancient but expected.
In any case if they get the strange combing artefacts sorted out it would make for a better Blu-ray than The Hallelujah Trail
But then compared to MGM and Olive who seem to have no problem to release that kind of quality on Blu-ray Warner would never release a Blu-ray of Raintree cCunty looking like it does now which is a good thing. Now we have a decent streaming option that probably has a bit more detail than a DVD and if that is what they have so be it. The "roadshow" version however is hardly watchable, must be from some even older VHS master.

 

[RolandL]

The "roadshow" version however is hardly watchable, must be from some even older VHS master.

The roadshow scenes came from a private collector and were put together with the theatrical version. This was before HD TV's so 4:3 letterboxed on TCM during the late 90's. I think the VHS tape is dated 1999.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Now we have a decent streaming option that probably has a bit more detail than a DVD and if that is what they have so be it.

I just wish they'd release it on iTunes--I asked WAC if there were plans to, but they didn't answer that part of my question. FilmStruck is only available in the US and the UK, so fans outside of these countries are unable to stream it. And it's set to be removed from FilmStruck in October of this year, anyway, so it would be nice to have to have a permanent digital download.

 

[Ed Lachmann]

The choice between "pretty decent", which is still my impression of the PBS showing I experienced some time ago, and nothing at all just seems ridiculous. I will always treasure my pretty hideous blu-ray of Lon Chaney's Hunchback of Notre Dame and sub-standard DVD of Leisen's Kitty because that is all the existent elements allow. To effectively ban a beloved film because it is not "perfect" smells of selective elitism. Look, the PBS showing I viewed was, indeed, hi-def. The image was sharp and detailed, SO MUCH clearer than standard DVD (as is always the case with widescreen selections). The only occasional white speckles barely intruded as I recall. It honestly looked better than a large part of my disc collection. At some point one wishes WB would just loan these out rather than ignore them. Obviously this movie has plenty of fans who would love to purchase it.