Richard Lester's JUGERNAUT MGM (1 Viewer)

[Dick]

Son-of-a-bitch! I know that Lester generally filmed for 1.66, but he also crammed much crucial information against the very edges of the image. What the hell, MGM!!!

 

[Patrick McCart]

Might be incorrect...

Although, Lester didn't use hard-matting. He didn't mind having Help! and A Hard Day's Night shown on video without matting. (Although, I find the 1.66:1 matting to be very nice for AHDN)

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

As two other films in that series -- White Lightning and Gator -- have also been previously issues by MGM in WS transfers on LD (like Juggernaut), I'm wondering if that info is accurate as well. Plus, someone reported that they saw an OAR presentation of Remo Williams on HBO-HD last year. Hopefully we'll get positive news about these films too.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

If I recall correctly, JUGGERNAUT was announced for LD release by MGM/UA (along with THE LAST VOYAGE, in the wake of the incredible success of James Cameron's TITANIC), but was cancelled at the last minute. THE LAST VOYAGE made it onto the LD format at that time, however.

I'm hoping that "fullscreen only" DVD File info is innaccurate.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

DVDFile reports that ALL of these MGM titles will be released in Full Frame only: :frowning:

Catch the Heat
Gator
White Lightning
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
Eve of Destruction
Juggernaut
Rage of Honor
Revenge of the Ninja

I know the Remo DVD will be a massive disappointment to those who admire the cult flick...

I'm just hoping this early report proves at least partially erroneous....or maybe MGM will change their mind. Yeah right.

Particularly distressing is the news about Juggernaut - a movie I've always been very curious to see. Glad to hear I'll finally be able to...but there's no way I'd purchase it Full Frame. Hello, Netflix queue.

(I don't want to imply that it's "OK" for the other listed titles to be released in Full Frame. Those flicks just don't interest me all that much but they should still be released in OAR godammit.)

 

[Dave Mack]

Gyp.....

 

[Jeff_HR]

I can't believe it!! "Juggernaut" is a WS picture. If this turns out to be true I might as well keep my VHS tape. #$%%!!!

 

[Robert Floto]

Are there any plans here to let MGM know how we feel? I would say that most or all of these titles will probably only interest the film-buff majority...which is basically us.

If we are their target audience, then they are in for a pretty big fall.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

I know it doesn't mean a whole lot, but the Amazon listing for Juggernaut mentions Widescreen.

We shall see.

 

[Walt Riarson]

MGM is great when it comes to horror films. Always OAR. However, on their action films, they're mostly hit-or-miss. Regardless of OAR or not, I'll be picking up Rage of Honor and Revenge of the Ninja. I've waited on them too long to not buy them. Can't wait to pick them up!

 

[Randy A Salas]

Screen Format:
STANDARD VERSION (for pan/scan)
Modified to fit your screen.

However, in the past, MGM has been known to list similar prerelease info for DVDs that had both a full-screen and widescreen presentation. It listed just the former, but the disc ended up having both upon release. I wish I could remember a title to provide a sample. I guess we'll find out in several months.

 

[Jeff_HR]

Well I certainly hope that the M-G-M- site info is 100% correct. A widescreen "Juggernaut" is an automatic buy for me.

 

[Jeff_HR]

I've checked several e-tailor sites & the breakdown seems to be the 60% of them list it as WS & 40% list it as FS. Does anyone out there have some definitive info?

 

[Stephen_L]

Juggernaut is one of those hidden treasures that many folks have missed. A real first-rate, nail-biting thriller and it deserves wide screen release. Automatic buy in WIDESCREEN for me as well.

 

[Jeff_HR]

Well does anyone out there have some definitive info on the aspect ratio of this DVD? Hmmmm????

 

[Randy A Salas]

OK, I just got the DVD and can confirm that the press release is accurate. It's 1.66:1 OAR in a letterboxed presentation--not anamorphic. The only extra is a trailer. I don't have time now to check it in the home theater, but the transfer looks pretty clean on my PC.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

Thanks Randy. You didn't happen to get "Gator" or "White Lightning" to see if they're OAR or pan-and-scan, did you?

 

[Randy A Salas]

Gator and White Lightning are "standard format, modified to fit your screen." I haven't cracked the plastic (they're not with me here at work), but I have no reason to doubt the claim on the packaging.

The funny thing is that the Gator DVD prominently shows on the back cover that it was filmed in Todd-AO 35, making its OAR 2.35:1. How embarrassing for MGM to keep that obvious credit and yet pan and scan it anyway.
:frowning:

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

The Juggernaut transfer looks very nice. It is an exceptional 1.66:1 transfer that is very clean and yet still looks like film. It's not anamorphically enhanced, but there isn't much wrong with it aside from that. The audio is decent, although a combination of the mix of production and ADR dialog on the original track and what may be some digital artifacts due to noise reduction/noise gates/that sort of thing make speaker intelligibility an occasional mild issue.

This was one of the better $10 I have spent recently.

Regards,

 

[AlanBrom]

Lester did use hard matting for THE THREE and FOUR MUSKETEERS. The full frame version on the recent Anchor Bay set are cropped, while the 1.78.1 versions (on the same set) look very pleasing and a great example of pan & scan vs. letterbox.