Schindler's List announcement soon. (1 Viewer)

[Dave H]

All we are saying is that if this turns out to be true, and if the only thing making it a 2-disc set is the dts track, then lose the dts track and put it back onto one disc.

Many people want DTS though. So, having two versions makes the most sense. However, I am not sure if this is costing the studio more to do this.

 

[Christian Preischl]

Jeff,
they usually use custom length tapes for sale videos, Schindler's list was probably something like a 190. And even when SL was released, those tapes didn't cost considerably more than 120 or 160 tapes. 240m blank tapes have been pretty much the norm in Europe for the last 15 years or so, and they usually cost a buck more than 180s.

Chris

 

[Jon_W]

I think the comparison to The Godfather: Part II is a very useful one in this case(as was mentioned earlier). Part II was 200 minutes long and required two discs to get the quality to Coppola's standards. Those discs had a commentary, and 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital tracks on them. I am not an expert in figuring out bit space for b&w vs. colour but regardless "List" would have to be a Superbit style release with no bit hogging stuff other then a dolby 5.1 track and even than it is can be argued the best picture quality would not be getting put forward. That is assuming we are not talking about silly notions like spreading a movie over 20 discs, LOL. Some people will say anything to be "right". People who might feel wronged by the film being spread over two discs should by all means start some sort of protest if the specs do turn out to be in anyway true. Maybe in the end we can get two releases and compare to see if any of this was even needed.

 

[Joel Vardy]

People who might feel wronged by the film being spread over two discs should by all means start some sort of protest if the specs do turn out to be in anyway true.

I sure hope not. If the studios get a sense that this will somehow turn into a protest issue we will definitely not see this title this year .

Let's put our energies to more useful and worthy causes such as OAR. From reading this thread none of us are experts at the quality vs. packaging issue. If this does become a 2 disk set it won't be because Spielberg or Universal have hopes of increasing their revenues. DTS or not this may still be too long a film with the B&W photography to be put on one disk without some loss of quality.

My hopes are that:

- SL gets released in '03 (earlier the better)
- SL gets released with the quality considerations that a true classic warrants.

Joel

 

[Seth_S]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't the number of DVD owners that can decode and play back DTS only like 10%?

Since Spielberg has a stake in DTS, I'm sure SL will have a DTS track.

 

[Patrick McCart]

And for those of you guys who are convinced that a 209min movie compressed onto a DVD would absolutely ruin the quality of the video then I suggest you start a letter-writing campaign to the studios demanding movies be spread over 20-discs from now on...

It wouldn't ruin it, but it would degrade it somewhat.

The intermission would allow you to take a breather at least...few people can watch a 3-hour movie without having to go to the bathroom, get a drink, etc.

Which is worse....

Getting up to change discs or watch a movie with only average video quality? At least you can excercise your leg muscles a little if you change discs. A little of the arm and finger muscles, too.

 

[Joel Vardy]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't the number of DVD owners that can decode and play back DTS only like 10%?

Here is a case were statistics can be misleading. Of the people who are likely to purchase this title what percentage do you think are capable of playing back DTS? My guess is that it is well beyond 10% if not the majority.

Joel

 

[Seth_S]

Apocalypse Now: Redux is 202 min and there are only a few compression problems with it. While it's not B&W (which supposedly needs more space than color films on DVD) there were never any problems with its large large number of fog scenes. Overall, the video quality is superb.

Like I've said before, I would like the option of being able to watch the film from start to end without any breaks.

 

[Seth_S]

I disagree. While the percentage of sales to DTS people won't be as low as 10%, I think people like my parents who have a low end DVD player hooked up to a 30 inch TV are going to make up a very significant chunk of SL sales.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Schindler's List was a mainstream hit. If someone thinks this is the sort of title that mostly sells to HT enthusiassts, they're sadly mistaken.

 

[Seth_S]

Dan Rudolph,

Did I ever say mostly?

 

[Joel Vardy]

Schindler's List was a mainstream hit. If someone thinks this is the sort of title that mostly sells to HT enthusiassts, they're sadly mistaken.

True. DTS is no longer a HT enthusiast domain. If you have 5.1 capabilities you most likely have DTS 5.1 as well. Many people who are not exactly enthusiasts fall into that category -- even the much maligned J6P crowd (I know of several). For those w/out 5.1 capabilities it won't matter since other 2.0 capabilities will likely be available. As far as splitting a 3hour+ movie into more than one disk I wager that no one will care when the time comes except the small group of people we have already heard from. I doubt it will stop them from buying the title. The outcry will be much more severe if SL comes out with artifact-ridden and poor PQ issues overall, DTS or no. Poor PQ will have consequences on sales and overall there will be an outcry for recalls and/or reissuing such an important title.

Joel

 

[Brian W.]

There was no intermission for the theatrical exhibition.

You are both mistaken about that. I saw it theatrically on its original release and it absolutely DID have an intermission -- it was right after the "girl in the red coat" scene, where Liam Neeson and the woman are watching her from their horses on top of the hill.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I saw it theatrically on its original release and it absolutely DID have an intermission -- it was right after the "girl in the red coat" scene, where Liam Neeson and the woman are watching her from their horses on top of the hill.

Well, then your theater put it in... It wasn't in the print either time I saw it at two different venues.

 

[Craig Beam]

If it was up to me (and damn it, it ain't), I'd say include a DTS track and split it up over two discs. I have a 5-disc player, so swapping discs isn't an issue for me. As for the single-disc folks, nobody's seriously gonna pass on this title because it's on two discs.... right?

 

[Brian W.]

I saw Schindler's List twice in theatres--once in Tuscaloosa, where it began showing the first week of distribution, and once in Florence, where Hickory Hills began screenings several months later. In Tuscaloosa, the film was shown straight through and not a soul stirred. In Florence, the film got an intermission...

http://www.geocities.com/palindrome111/91699.html

 

[Bill J]

Brian, I don't think anyone is really questioning whether yourself or others have seen Schindler's List theatrically with an intermission. The real question should be if the intermission you saw was intended.

Occasionally, theaters force intermissions upon films (as Jason said). However, I would imagine that if Spielberg wanted this film to be shown with a break, all theatrical exhibitions would have been shown that way.

 

[Brian W.]

Hmm, that could be, because I seem to remember hearing some people in the theater saying, "Is it over?" I don't think there was an intermission card on the screen.

But I may be thinking of a reissue of "Gone with the Wind." I don't know.

 

[Lane F.]

I don't care if it's on 1 or 2 discs. As long as it doesn't have Greedo shooting first, opps wrong movie...

 

[John^Lal]

Commentary done by Speilberg? that would be great...but he hasn't let us in to his mind on much of anything except for his views on things shown to us by the film.
Any movie that is over 200 minutes has every reason to be able to be on 2 discs. every movie i own that is 200min + is on 2 discs, except for one, and thats Das boot...it's on 2 sides argh. that is the worst.