RAINTREE COUNTY on Blu? (1 Viewer)

[Gary16]

Yes, TCM tends to air Raintree about two or three times a year... not bad for a three hour film. You should try and catch the next broadcast. The HD version they show, while being the shorter theatrical cut, is a pretty big leap in video quality over what they were previously showing, which is what your friend would have recorded for you.

The TCM on demand channel on DirecTV has Raintree County available now in HD to download.

 

[Mark-P]

Sadly, I missed the TCM Raintree broadcast. I did pull it up from the free TCM "on demand" option. What I found was a horrible 4:3 "widescreen" mess with massive black borders as one finds on many cheapo pseudo-scope DVDs. Just wondering if anyone knows about an existant true HD streaming option for the film. Any help would be appreciated.

How odd. I just pulled it up on the WatchTCM app on my AppleTV streaming box and it displayed like this:

What streaming device/app are you using that displays it in 4:3 letterbox?

 

[Dan_Shane]

Looks correct on my YouTube TV recording, and not half bad.

 

[RichMurphy]

It wasn't even "4:3 letterbox" on my iPhone when using "Watch TCM" - it filled with width of my screen (not the height, obviously). I wonder what settings Ed Lachmann was using.

 

[RolandL]

How odd. I just pulled it up on the WatchTCM app on my AppleTV streaming box and it displayed like this:
View attachment 77982
What streaming device/app are you using that displays it in 4:3 letterbox?

On my TV:

 

[AlanP]

Thanks Andrew will try to DVR it the next time it's on......

 

[AlanP]

On my TV:
View attachment 78005

looks great !

 

[OliverK]

looks great !

Meanwhile members who live outside of the US can only dream about getting that kind of quality, The best version that they can get would be the MGM laserdisc from the 90ies.

 

[RolandL]

Meanwhile members who live outside of the US can only dream about getting that kind of quality, The best version that they can get would be the MGM laserdisc from the 90ies.

TCM is only broadcast in the US?

 

[OliverK]

TCM is only broadcast in the US?

They are available in several European Countries but so far no HD version of Raintree Count has surfaced over here.
In Germany we only have the SD version of TCM these days so it would be impossible to be able to watch the HD version here.
What also doesn't help is that we still get everything in 50 Hz in Europe which is unacceptable for serious movie-watching.

 

[Worth]

Different territories have different rights issues. Even here in Canada, they sometimes swap titles out because they don't have the broadcast rights.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

A new book on Elizabeth and Monty's friendship will be published next year.


Elizabeth and Monty: The Untold Story of Their Intimate Friendship by Charles Casillo will be published May 25, 2021.

Here is the synopsis from the publisher:

Violet-eyed siren Elizabeth Taylor and classically handsome Montgomery Clift were the most gorgeous screen couple of their time. Over two decades of friendship they made, separately and together, some of the era’s defining movies—including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Misfits, Suddenly, Last Summer, and Cleopatra. Yet the relationship between these two figures—one a dazzling, larger-than-life star, the other hugely talented yet fatally troubled—has never truly been explored until now.

“Monty, Elizabeth likes me, but she loves you.”
—Richard Burton

When Elizabeth Taylor was cast opposite Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun, he was already a movie idol, with a natural sensitivity that set him apart. At seventeen, Elizabeth was known for her ravishing beauty rather than her talent. Directors treated her like a glamorous prop. But Monty took her seriously, inspiring and encouraging her. In her words, “That’s when I began to act.”

To Monty, she was “Bessie Mae,” a name he coined for her earthy, private side. The press clamored for a wedding, convinced this was more than friendship. The truth was even more complex. Monty was drawn to women but sexually attracted to men—a fact that, if made public, would destroy his career. But he found acceptance and kinship with Elizabeth. Her devotion was never clearer than after his devastating car crash near her Hollywood home, when she crawled into the wreckage and saved him from choking.

Monty’s accident shattered his face and left him in constant pain. As he sank into alcoholism and addiction, Elizabeth used her power to keep him working. In turn, through scandals and multiple marriages, he was her constant. Their relationship endured until his death in 1966, right before he was to star with her in Reflections in a Golden Eye. His influence continued in her outspoken support for the gay community, especially during the AIDS crisis.

Far more than the story of two icons, this is a unique and extraordinary love story that shines new light on both stars, revealing their triumphs, demons—and the loyalty that united them to the end.

 

[Ed Lachmann]

Guess there is a BIG problem with my on demand from Spectrum. It looked so bad I couldn't watch it. Not sure what I could have done with settings. I don't have a DVR at present, so it was a horrible situation.

 

[OliverK]

Guess there is a BIG problem with my on demand from Spectrum. It looked so bad I couldn't watch it. Not sure what I could have done with settings. I don't have a DVR at present, so it was a horrible situation.

Sorry to hear that Ed, Maybe you would be able to catch it on the TCM app the next time it is available there?

I continue to be puzzled about Warner not offering Raintree County on some streaming platform where nobody complains about quality anyway - I am sure it will not be worse than The Long Ships on itunes!

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Sorry to hear that Ed, Maybe you would be able to catch it on the TCM app the next time it is available there?

I continue to be puzzled about Warner not offering Raintree County on some streaming platform where nobody complains about quality anyway - I am sure it will not be worse than The Long Ships on itunes!

I've been puzzled as well, but I recall Mr. Feltenstein saying on the podcast last month that the HD version was created by a different arm of the company (television?), so perhaps that presents some difficulty? I'm not sure how that would work...

 

[Taylor * D]

A new book on Elizabeth and Monty's friendship will be published next year.


Elizabeth and Monty: The Untold Story of Their Intimate Friendship by Charles Casillo will be published May 25, 2021.

View attachment 78160

I'll have to make sure I pick this up when it comes out. I've always wondered what their relationship was really like (along with Roddy McDowall). But I'm a sucker for a deep dive into Hollywood legends.

 

[OliverK]

I've been puzzled as well, but I recall Mr. Feltenstein saying on the podcast last month that the HD version was created by a different arm of the company (television?), so perhaps that presents some difficulty? I'm not sure how that would work...

I do not think that this should be an issue anymore but who knows how these things work at Warner. It was available at Filmstruck and that was not tied to a TCM subscripton so it would be nice if it could be made available again.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

I do not think that this should be an issue anymore but who knows how these things work at Warner. It was available at Filmstruck and that was not tied to a TCM subscripton so it would be nice if it could be made available again.

Not long after Raintree was added to FilmStruck, and shortly before its next airing on TCM in September 2018, I emailed a friend of a friend in programming at the channel and asked whether it would be in HD like FilmStruck. He said it wasn't going to be but had the file updated, so it would seem that there's flexibility between different branches of the company.

Hopefully the good news about the Brothers Grimm bodes well for Raintree.

 

[PMF]

[...]And let's be honest, outside of some hardcore fans here at the HTF, who else is breathlessly awaiting a release of Raintree County?

We’ll never really know until it’s finally released.

 

[DVBRD]

Hopefully the good news about the Brothers Grimm bodes well for Raintree.

What news about "Brothers Grimm"? Last time I checked, WB was having troubles getting that film restored.