Stagecoach-1 disc or 2 disc? (1 Viewer)

[ScottR]

The one disc version of this title is $9.99. Does the second disc have enough quality features on it to justify skipping the one disc?

 

[Roger Rollins]

You bet it does. The 2 disc is worth buying just for the feature documentary from American Masters on Disc 2 about John Wayne and John Ford. It's a beautifully made and crafted piece about these two legends.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Despite what you might have heard, the 2-disc's transfer is stronger on many levels than the old one's.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Neither looks "great" but the SE looks fine. WB really should spend the money for a proper 2K/4K digital restoration along the lines of King Kong.

 

[Ivy Mike]

I assume you are deciding between the 2 disc and the recent 1 disc release version, which is identical except for the lack of an extras disc. I will plug DVD Beaver, which seems to say positive things about the extras, as is echoed in the other replies here.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDRev...dvd_review.htm

You'll find a comparison to the old 1-disc there too, which judging from stills alone (which is obviously not a comprehensive way to judge by any means), the old one actually looks better (better grain, less brightness boost, sharper) - but as you see in this thread, others disagree. I have only seen the transfer of the newer one through netflix, and at the end of the day, it seemed fine to me (but a digi restoration would be nice of course).

This may all be moot anyway as you are looking between discs with the same transfer, since the newer 1-disc appears to be a re-release of the 2-disc, minus the features, as seen here:

http://www.amazon.com/Stagecoach-Cla...0333860&sr=1-3

the old 1-disc from the DVDBeaver comparison:

http://www.amazon.com/Stagecoach-Cla...0333860&sr=1-2

I realize you asked nothing of image quality in your query, but I figured it was worth bringing up (as did others), but I'm not sure how readily available the old disc is anyway.

 

[Richard--W]

The recently released two-disc edition is a must-own. You want the supplements, believe me. You may find yourself watching the American Masters documentary more often than Stagecoach.

The original camera negatives of Stagecoach do not survive. Fox must work from 2nd generation elements. So no restoration will ever be perfect. I had assumed, when I read that the film was being restored, that they were giving it at least a 2K digital treatment, but such is not the case. Most people think the digital restoration looks better, but I prefer the photochemical approach to film restoration first, and the digital processes second. Digital restoration changes a film aesthetically and irrevocably.

Anyhow, the two-disc restoration sells for well under $20 so you can't go wrong. The film still looks good and is quite enjoyable. The supplements are worth the price alone. I recommend you Buy It Now.

 

[Robert Crawford]

You mean Warner not Fox.




Crawdaddy

 

[Richard--W]

Yes that's what I meant.

And I still maintain that The Searchers is not about racism, Crawdaddy.

 

[Robert Crawford]

A film is about anything a person interprets it to be about.





Crawdaddy

 

[Ivy Mike]

I didn't really know about different choices for restoration, although I imagined there were many ways to go about restoring a film - nice to learn something new...As for photochemical restoration, would that be the sort of restoration that was done by RAH and Katz on Vertigo versus the digital restoration methods employed for GWTW, Oz, etc? Just curious of some examples of each type, as I'm not very learned on the subject.

(I don't mean to hijack the thread.)

 

[ScottR]

Yeah, I meant the one-disc edition that came from the two-disc. Sorry that I didn't make that clearer. I just noticed a bunch of one-discers at Best Buy that were taken from the Special Editions. I ended up not getting it...I'll get the two-disc. But I did pick up the two-disc of The Wild Bunch for $4.99!!

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Wild Bunch for $4.99? Where are you at, ScottR?

 

[David_B_K]

I recommend the 2-disc version for the special features as well. However, IMO, the American Masters documentary went a bit out of its way to trash John Wayne, using phrases "right-wing" or "extreme conservative" at every possible opportunity. Some of the critics in the doc are probably a bit overly-analytical, though a few of them make some great contributions (I particularly like it when Bogdonavich talks about Ford and his films). However, you do get a good overview of both Ford's and Wayne's careers together, with lots of restored film clips from the films. You will see so many clips, it might make you yearn for the 8-movie Ford/Wayne collection (the way to go, IMO).

There is also a little documentary on Stagecoach alone, which explains why the film was such a breakthrough for Wayne. So, all in all, it is a nice package.

 

[ScottR]

Stephen, I'm in Indianapolis...Best Buy had them on sale, but it may have been a Memorial Day Sale. I was shocked when I saw the sale tags on the shelves! Just watched it and loved it.

 

[Lord Dalek]

It is important to remember that both transfers are based off a photochem restoration made in the late 80s early 90s by UCLA. The element has been restored to the extent that most of the physical damage has been cleaned up leaving left over garbage from the o-neg (which sadly doesn't survive and therefore can't be fixed). Its the same case as King Kong, which still looks gorgeous despite its problems.

 

[John Skoda]

Just last week I picked up the 2-disc STAGECOACH at our local Borders. They had it in the 'specials' bin priced at $9.99. Maybe that was a mistake and they should have just had the one-disc version at that price.

But anyway, I got it home and I've watched the Ford/Wayne documentary and really enjoyed it. Haven't actually watched STAGECOACH yet.