Sept. 23rd, The Wizard of Oz HD Event (coming to a theatre near you) (1 Viewer)

[Adam_S]

http://www.fandango.com/thewizardofoz70thanniversaryhidefevent_126537/movieoverview

NCM Fathom, Warner Home Video and Turner Classic Movies present "The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Hi-Def Event" featuring the first ever High Definition presentation of "The Wizard of Oz." This One Night Event will take place on Wednesday,September 23rd at 7:00 p.m. (local time). In addition to the feature presentation of "The Wizard of Oz," this exclusive event will include a special introduction by Robert Osborne, a classic film historian and host of Turner Classic Movies, followed by “We’re Off to See the Wizard,” a look into how L. Frank Baum’s classic novel was transformed into one of the most beloved films of all time including archival interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and rare musical outtakes. Whether seeing it for the first time or the 100th time, it is only fitting that audiences nationwide will have the chance to enjoy the 70th Anniversary of this multi-generational favorite in movie theatres for an exclusive One Night celebratory event.

I saw in Friday's Los Angeles times that they were selling tickets to a Wizard of Oz event. Initially I thought that meant the film was getting a 4k Rerelease like Blade Runner did. Having seen the 4k presentation at the Academy a few weeks ago and having my mind completely blown and all my reservations about digital projection eliminated (still not crazy about 2k most of the time though) I was thrilled at the chance to get to see it in 4k again.

So I contacted the Bridge and asked if it was in 4k, alas, it is not, their satellite feed is in 1080i which they will upconvert to 2k for the event. But it is a nation wide opportunity to see the Wizard of Oz in the theatre, so I'm spreading the word.

 

[JediFonger]

hi Adam,

thanks for the link, but i've had experiencing watching fathom events. here's what they do:

u know those slideshow/TV commercials that appear before the actual movie previews and films themselves? the projectors that are used on those are NOT 35mm or DLP themselves. they are el cheapo 2k projector. now i'm no expert but i can tell they aren't because the light is so dim, it's serviceable for those spammy ads... but definitely not for showing feature lengths!

fathom is just a broker that utilizes those digital el cheapo dimly lit projectors to display these "event" showings, from star trek episodes, BSG episodes to classics like Wizard of Oz and so on:
http://www.ncm.com/Fathom/Upcoming/Default.aspx

i would not personally watch anything else from them, they're there as a "hit&run" broker and it is very sketchy with regard to quality. while it's great to see a classic on the big screen, i'd rather have it better contrast/PQ than dimly lit projection & sketchy sound =P.

Blu-Ray@home is waaay better presentation anyways.

 

[mattCR]

Great writeup on MSNBC.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32541960/ns/entertainment-movies/

Very few movies get that deep into our culture, the way that "Oz" did.

 

[Jason_V]

In case anyone hasn't gotten the news, there's going to be a one night only screening of Oz on September 23. It's playing at a bunch of theaters near me, so it should be easily accessible to everyone.


Okay, so I just saw the other thread....

 

[Rayszon1996]

Hey! Thanks For The Article. And Did That Say "[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 255)]Nationwide[/COLOR]?" Is It Going To Premiere In The [COLOR= rgb(255, 153, 0)]Philippines[/COLOR]? Because It Was My Hometown! Oh, I'm From Florida!

 

[Rayszon1996]

Hey! Thanks For The Article. And Did That Say "[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 255)]Nationwide[/COLOR]?" Is It Going To Premiere In The [COLOR= rgb(255, 153, 0)]Philippines[/COLOR]? Because It Was My Hometown! Oh, I'm From Florida!

 

[Brent Avery]

I'm sure some of you have found out about this - I just received an email from Warners detailing this one night event showing across the US in 440 theaters on September 29th only. I imagine tickets will sell out fairly quickly. Too bad I live in Canada! Any comments?

 

[TonyD]

The actual date is sept 23rd, the blu-ray streets on the 29th.

you should email a mod to ask them to fix the date in the title.

 

[naplesgc]

Just got back from the showing in Naples, FL at the Hollywood 20. Seemed sold out, so that was good. We sat at approx. 6:40 PM for the 7PM showing. I notice a DISH Network HD logo on the screen, didn't think much of it while we continued to wait for the preview to the movie that was mentioned. At approx. 7PM up on the screen is a DISH Network DVR list of programs. I noticed Wizard of Oz and they press play. Up comes another DISH Network HD logo so the person in the projector booth thinks it didn't start and goes through the process two or three times until he/she realized it was the start of the DVRed event. So, rather than letting it play, he/she started to fast forward through the anticipated preview (DVD like discussion/history of the movie) stopping at times, then fast forwarding again, then went to far and had to rewind it. Okay, by this time, there are loud grumbles throughout the theater - "Hey!" "Stop it", "What?!" Many of these people were in the theater before 6:30. The theater was to play the preview at a certain time that timed the start of the movie around the 7PM start time.

So, now it's approx. 7:05 and the movie starts. You'll never guess? The lip sync is off, and bad. More grumblings but this time softer as the movie had started. So, enter the color scene. I said to my brother-in-law the reports were that the yellow brick road "popped" and "this should be good!". Not! He leans in and say, "the yellow brick road looks red". I agreed, we discussed but continued to watch and wonder. The audio was still off but we tried to make the best of it. So, while in Munchkin Land, the movie skipped forward to "live" if you know how the DISH DVR works, but it was only like three seconds behind. Then onto the screen is "Stretch", "Full", "Zoom", "Normal", etc. This is now driving a lot of people crazy. They should have really stopped and taken care of all then started again. (Well, they should have screened and tested prior to 7PM). This is no joke - so, earlier when we saw the red washed out YBR, I said to BIL that I bet they don't have the component cables in correctly or one cable is not connected correctly. So, a lady behind us gets up and says this is ridicules. We could tell she was going to go and tell someone. Within 3 minutes of her getting up, whoa-la, Dorothy's dress became a beautiful bright checked white and blue and the YBR became the YBR.

So, we finally were able to enjoy the movie. Oh, somehow the lip sync finally fixed itself. So, one more time did they scroll through the DISH format settings and they left it on stretch for a few minutes then changed it back to normal and left it alone the rest of the way.

This was not DISH 1080i. I'm going to go back to the theater and ask to look at the machine since I have the DISH Hi-Def box I know what I'm looking for. I will promptly complain during business hours on Thursday and ask for a free movie ticket.

There was a Dorothy and wicked witch sighting in the theater in full costume.

Can't wait to experience in blu-ray.