SCROOGE (Albert Finney) is coming this October to Blu-ray! (1 Viewer)

[LCD22]

Funny. Been communicating with Jeffrey Kaufman
about his review as well.

He did an EXCEPTIONAL job with that review. Very
well written.

Jefffey just wrote back and said that there is no overture
on the Blu-ray release.

So now I am thinking. Was there one included on the
DVD release? I thought there was.

Yes, it was included on the DVD.
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/barriemaxwell/maxwell092603b.html

 

[Ronald Epstein]

You know, no disrespet to Jeffrey Kauffman.

I hope he's wrong about the overture.

I mean, I can't fathom it not being included. Would
it not have been part of the master the studio used
since the DVD release?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Okay, been in continued communication with Mr. Kauffman.
He's a great guy and has been very willing to help get to the
bottom of this question concerning the overture.

He first claimed there was no overture on the Blu-ray. I asked
him to check the DVD against it. Here is the latest reply from him...

OK, as weird as it is, here's the scoop: The "Overture" is actually the underscore to the credits, so, yes, it is included on the BD. The confusion stems from the fact that the DVD offers a "Play Film With Overture" option which simply means play the film from the beginning LOL.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein /t/279421/scrooge-albert-finney-is-coming-this-october-to-blu-ray/60#post_3838599
Now available for preorder. Please support HTF

http://www.amazon.com/Scrooge-Blu-ray-Albert-Finney/dp/B005DKS1XK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1312542996&sr=8-2

As I did with Ben-Hur, this and few more titles are done.

 

[plinfesty]

No, the overture for SCROOGE is NOT the underscore to the opening credits. And the DVD's PLAY WITH OVERTURE selection takes you to the OVERTURE (a 4 minute overture that precedes the opening credits) on the DVD. Choosing the non-overture selection takes you to the opening credits. In the original release, the 4-track magnetic prints came with the 4-minute overture (and a reviewer on Blu-Ray.com got this wrong, the overture on the original LP WAS the same overture that was on the DVD and (even on the LD AND even VHS). The opening bell ringings were accompanied with the "G" rating tag (now blank) before the Cinema Center logo. And then of course the movie ended with the exit music, a reprise of THANK YOU VERY MUCH. So if this overture is missing, a major mistake was made. I hope what I'm reading is just incorrect.

 

[GMpasqua]

The Overture was instrumental only, the opening credits are sung, so if there is an instrumental piece it's probably the overture - and probably the overture from the theaterical release/and DVD

 

[RobertR]

Mr. Kaufmann sounds rather confused about what an overture is.

 

[Ethan Riley]

The Overture was instrumental only, the opening credits are sung, so if there is an instrumental piece it's probably the overture - and probably the overture from the theaterical release/and DVD

Yes, but is the overture on the bluray or not? I still am not sure...

 

[LCD22]

This portion of the review has been revised:

Update: There has been some consternation about what constitutes an Overture for Scrooge. As a longtime fan of the film I am well aware that the film initially had an Overture, an orchestral prelude featuring a medley of the film's songs, which was included on the Original Soundtrack LP. However, my particular DVD of this film had a "Play Film With Overture" option which simply started the film from the credits, with the choral underscore of "A Christmas Carol." This would certainly not be the first time a musical selection had been mislabeled an Overture when it really was not. Evidently some are insisting that their DVDs did contain the Overture, so I must assume that CBS/Paramount must have had at least two pressings of this title, one with the Overture (an orchestral prelude) and one without, though for some reason they kept the "Play Film With Overture" menu option on the DVD. The other possibility is that I have a defective DVD that is for some reason lacking the Overture. The Blu-ray lacks a "Play Movie with Overture" option and begins (as does my DVD, which I have rechecked twice now) with the opening credits and the choral underscore of "A Christmas Carol". The Blu-ray also features the Exit Music, an orchestral reprise of "Thank You Very Much."

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Chris,

This is odd, because checking my DVD this morning,
there is indeed a PLAY WITH OVERTURE option that
takes you to a still title screen with music playing beneath it.

I wonder if Paramount did do a second pressing of this
title on DVD and omitted that option.

 

[LCD22]

Deleted

 

[Mark-P]

Just checked my DVD. I think it's because off odd authoring that Mr. Kauffman doesn't see the overture. On my DVD the overture is actually a secondary menu. In the primary menu when you select "Play movie with overture" (there is no play movie without overture option) it takes you to another menu screen where the overture plays and when the overture finished it takes you to the beginning of the movie. In this overture menu there are two selectable options: "Play movie" and "Menu."
I think perhaps Mr. Kaufman's player is choking over the authoring and bypassing the overture menu.

 

[jmk56]

Hello, and thanks to everyone for their interest in my review of "Scrooge" on Blu-ray.com. As Ron will confirm, I initially thought that my DVD did indeed have an Overture, but in checking it again, hitting the "Play Film With Overture" simply took me to the opening credits, so I assumed the Overture had simply been mislabeled and I was misremembering. I am in no way confused about what an Overture is, LOL. As many who follow my reviews on Blu-ray.com know, I am a professional musician-composer with many orchestral, choral and stage works (as well as a few television soundtracks) to my credit.
However, I just discovered something fascinating--my DVD does indeed have an authoring error. About every 3 times (it hasn't been consistent), it will indeed go to the Overture. The other times it simply starts with the opening credits. Hence this 24 hour or so period of much confusion. I have updated my review accordingly.
Finally, there is NO Overture on the BD. None, nada, zilch, bupkis. If any of you find an Overture on your BD, my head will promptly explode.

 

[RobertR]

Thanks for the clarification, Jeff.

 

[Matt Hough]

Glad to have the issue settled, but what a CRUSHING disappointment!

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by MattH. /t/279421/scrooge-albert-finney-is-coming-this-october-to-blu-ray/90#post_3856567
Glad to have the issue settled, but what a CRUSHING disappointment!

Yes a big disappointment, but will keep pre-order and keep DVD.

By the way an exceptional review Mr. Kauffman. It was well written and informative.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

First, I want to thank Mr. Kauffman for contributing here.

I actually came to him after reading his exceptional review.
I was really taken back as to how well-written that piece was.

I am also somewhat disappointed the overture is not included.

Who at Paramount felt that it was necessary to drop it? Why
make the Blu-ray something less than what the DVD was?

You know, some of us feel that Blu-ray may be one of the
last formats (outside of possibly 4k), and that anything the
studios are releasing to it, should be handled with the utmost
care.

If this were one the last opportunities to own this film on
packaged media I would be upset that the studio decided to
cut corners by removing the overture from the film.

 

It could have been an oversight....perhaps we could ask and they could add it.

 

[LCD22]

Deleted

 

[Joe Caps]

Enough, enough !!
Paramount released this film before, withoverture, even if in a strange way.
Its not like they did ot know. I just cancelled my order.
DEAR PARAMOUNT, MY FAIR LADY HAS INTERMISSION MUSIC. DON'T FORGET IT !!!!