The Ten Commandments Deserves a Special Edition .... Don't You Agree? (1 Viewer)

[Justin Doring]

The current release of The Ten Commandments looks stunning. I'd rather see Paramount release some of their unreleased titles.

 

[Vic_T]

I agree with Justin, the 10C looks great already. There are plenty of great films that have not been released at all on DVD. Unless some great undiscovered original footage is found I see no reason to re-release it. I would not go out of my way to buy it because an Entertainment Tonight style documentary was thrown in.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

The existing version of The Ten Commandments is essentially a Paramount answer to one of those Sony "super bit" releases. They took not one but TWO RSDL DVD's to hold just the movie, giving lots of room for bits. Man the colors look great on my system (SD-6200 going into a Marquee 8501LC projector).

 

[GregK]

Yep, the bit-rate on this one is great. Compression artifacts are not a problem with this 2-disc set. About the only thing I wish they would have done is included Joe Cap's stereo mix as the 2.0 track instead of the 2.0 track that was on the DVD, which was a simple downmix from the newer 5.1 mix. This way there would be a true choice of audio tracks: Joe's 2.0 Dolby Surround mix, or the newer DD 5.1 mix.

 

[David Von Pein]

Oh man! My stomach hurts!
(Take a bow, Matthew! I've been laughing all day!)

 

[Brian W.]

I thought Robert Harris said the current Ten Commandments "restoration" was an abomination.

 

[David Von Pein]

As time (and Moses) march on .... any further SE updates?

 

[Joe Caps]

Did Robert Harris say the restoration is an abomination - I don't remember that - wheere was it said?

 

[SteveP]

Joe--
I think you should repeat once again what is wrong with the music tracks on the current TEN COMMANDMENTS DVD, for those who have never heard the story and those of us who don't recall the details.

 

[Stephen PI]

BrianW quote:
I thought Robert Harris said the current Ten Commandments "restoration" was an abomination.

If Robert Harris is referring to the excessive use of DVNR dirt/scratch removal then, yes, it is an abomination. I can't watch this dvd because of it. If not the worst of the digital artifacts, other than edge enhancement, it hardly ever gets any mention or discussion on this forum.

 

[Hakan Powers]

Great movie, but I don't really see the nead for a new release. The current one is more than ok.

That having been said, the movie does celebrate its 50:th anniversary soon.. I wouldn't be surprised if Paramount does something with that in 2006.

 

[Bill Burns]

In the wake of To Catch a Thief, I believe it was established that all Paramount DVD titles (up to and including that one) which originated as 8 perforation VistaVision had been transferred from 4 perforation reduction elements, presumably due to cost (The Ten Commandments, White Christmas, etc.). This is what I've gathered, but I haven't specifically read that, so if this is wrong -- by all means, correct me.
If this is right, a new The Ten Commandments could and would improve by returning to 8 perf original elements, assuming such elements survive in good shape; 8 perf is large format (indeed one of the very largest projection area formats of its day, as per Mr. Harris' chart and detailed article at The Digital Bits) and with its "double frame" negative would yield greater "character" fidelity than a single frame size reduction (via some degree of resolution improvement as grain and fine detail obscured by the reduction process could be brought into greater relief for low resolution DVD encoding -- the greater the clarity of the original, the greater the clarity of the end product, despite resolution limitations -- thus revealing some info otherwise lost, but also a truer sense of color detail and saturation, etc ... somewhere on the internet there's an extensive article detailing the way luminance is favored and color resolution takes a back seat on DVD, but I've lost track of the site; someone else here may know the one I mean, as it discusses the "chrominance bug" on certain DVD color decoders; at any rate, for whatever combination of optical and technological reasons, much as mastering from 35mm offers superior image fidelity to 16mm reduction on DVD, despite the format's inability to capture even full 16mm resolution, so too a return to 8 perf yields results truer to the original film than a 4 perf reduction of pictures shot in VistaVision).
I have The Ten Commandments, but haven't watched it in quite a while. I don't recall it as capturing the flavor of large format in the way managed by Vertigo (I continue to hope for an anamorphic remaster of that title from the same film elements, which for the video master first used on laser, now on DVD, Robert Harris has explained elsewhere were a combination of 65mm restoration and 8 perforation VistaVision) and High Society (excepting those location inserts). Opinions differ on this. But a remaster of The Ten Commandments taken from 8 and perhaps further restored with care in the video realm (as per Lowry's recent, outstanding work on Sunset Boulevard or their upcoming work -- if it is theirs, and I think John Lowry suggested as much in his chat -- on The Adventures of Robin Hood and other color productions ... in other words, their post "grain is good when it's on the negative" work , or indeed as per the work Criterion continues to do in the video realm) could be a great cause for celebration, depending on the surviving quality of original elements (obviously, if a reduction survives undegraded but an original large format element does not, there may be clear reason to compromise with the reduction element, and the state of the film in restoration circles might better illustrate the plausibility of returning to 8).
I seem to recall reactions, somewhere, stating that the White Christmas DVD is poor in its representation of the original elements (I love it for the late great Rosemary Clooney's commentary, if nothing else), but I don't specifically recall any comments about The Ten Commandments from Robert Harris or anyone else in the know (specifically anyone who has seen these films in their 8 perforation state and might compare the current DVDs with other discs taken from 8 perf or other large format elements). I found White Christmas pleasing the first time I watched it (while anamorphic, I recall it as similar in its visual impact to the laserdisc), but that's about all I can say on the matter. Mr. Harris may wish to chime in and set us straight about his reactions to these discs, particularly if my memory fails in recollecting past comments.*
Personally, I remain very curious if Paramount's recent The Desperate Hours was taken from 8 or 4. I mentioned this on that disc's thread, but never had a response. Anyone who knows -- I'd love to know. The fact that it's in B&W may or may not impact the value of returning to 8, but ... well, as said, I'd love to know what decision was made, particularly given the debate that came about after To Catch a Thief's release. Opinions on its quality, one way or the other, will, as always, differ, I'm sure.
*UPDATE: In re-reading the full article linked above, I see that Mr. Harris here comments that White Christmas isn't representative of its original form. His comments about 4 and 8 perf mastering are of great value, and certainly encourage the seeking out of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, a disc I haven't yet seen. Was Fear Strikes Out also taken from 8? I'm not quite sure from the way the info is phrased.

 

[Joe Caps]

I thought the laser looked slightly better for WHITE CHRISTMAS. The sound was better on the laser.
Ten commandments is tougher. There is great color and detail on thed DVD of Ten Commandments, but it doesn't look like any print of the film I have ever seen.

 

[Jeff_HR]

classic epics

In the area of classic Paramount epics, how about the Oscar winning "Greatest Show on Earth". This has long been a favorite of mine.