The Thin Man DVD: B&W at its best! (1 Viewer)

[Patrick McCart]

I just got my The Thin Man DVD and I'm blown away by the quality of the image. While there are some instances of scratches, lines, and minor scars...it's still a fantastic B&W image! The overall "dark" look of the film is well reproduced, with flawless black levels.

I'm especially fond of the smooth nitrate look it has...and that it's not overly processed to remove detail.

The audio is fantastic, too...


Anyone else impressed with the DVD?

 

[Tim Glover]

Thanks for the heads up on the quality Patrick. I've ordered this for my parents...as they LOVE this movie. I've never seen it before so I may have to give it a spin.

 

[Jon Robertson]

I should be recieving this tomorrow. I'm a huge fan of My Man Godfrey (still one of the most laugh-out-loud, mercilessly funny films I've ever seen) and was eager to see some more of William Powell's magnificent work, so picked this one up.
I agree with you on transfer issues, Patrick - it's not how magically clean the print is, it's how much it looks like film!
I've been highly impressed with many Warner Bros classic B&W titles recently - Now, Voyager and The Shop Around the Corner both have that beautifully deep and lustrous quality that one rarely sees nowadays.
From what I've seen, I'd say Warner Bros and Criterion are certainly ahead of the game when it comes to the restoration of their classic B&W titles. They seem to transfer the finest elements around and simply digitally clean them of print defects as best they can without introducing digital processing (resulting in detail & grain reduction, etc.)
I'm really looking forward to this disc now!

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Your's is a much more positive review of the PQ of this title, than I've seen on the web.
Love this series, will now be more inclined to pick it up.
Also bodes well for the upcoming King Kong release.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I agree with you on transfer issues, Patrick - it's not how magically clean the print is, it's how much it looks like film!

Exactly!

Think of it...

Would you rather want a DVD made from a new interpositive off the o-neg which has some print damage... or a 3rd generation print with non-existant film damage, but lousy picture quality?

I can put up with a few scratches for a 90 minute film, but can't stand 90 minutes of a washed out (but clean) print without the ability to showcase what is grey and what is black.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I've had this on my shelf, still in its original wrap, since November. I watched THE THIN MAN Laserdisc(the older MGM one issued during the eighties) during the summer so I wasn't in a rush to see it again just yet. But I think the time has come; what a wonderful movie, and I'm looking forward to seeing how nice it looks.

 

[Scott Leopold]

I watched this just a few nights ago. It was a Christmas gift, and I'd watched a VHS copy several times over the last couple months, but I was still quite eager to watch the DVD. I was extremely pleased with the quality. I just hope the other 5 follow, and soon.

 

[Deepak Shenoy]

Patrick,
I am surprised it took you so long to pick this one up.
Anyway, I was quite impressed too and though it is not one of the best B&W transfers I have seen, it is still excellent given the age of the movie.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I am surprised it took you so long to pick this one up.

Well, I've been a little "dried up" in terms of finances. With preparation for college this fall, I'm kind of watching my pennies.
That being said, the first thing that came to mind when I got a gift certificate from my brother was "get The Thin Man!" So I did.
Someone should have put a small booklet of mixed drinks featured in the film into the DVD cover, now that I think of it.

 

[oscar_merkx]

Thanks Patrick for the reminder and just ordered this one

 

[Ken Stuart]

I watched this just a few nights ago. It was a Christmas gift

My wife is a fan of The Thin Man series, and so I bought her the DVD for Christmas, and we also watched it a few nights ago.
Excellent engineering on the transfer - I know that because I wasn't aware of anything other than the movie itself for 91 minutes.
The series is fairly unique in presenting a married couple who clearly enhance their lives by being married. (Since that is so contrary to the experience of showbiz people, one rarely sees that portaryed on the silver screen.)
PS Don't miss the trailer on the DVD (actually all 6 trailers are there) - quite different from modern trailers...

 

[Brook K]

The Thin Man is quite good, but I'm still most impressed by Warner's earlier DVD of 42nd Street. It looks unbelieveable compared to other movies of the time like Universal's All Quiet On The Western Front, Criterion's M, or Kino's The Blue Angel

 

[Mark-W]

In case anyone missed it in an earlier thread, where
Ron E reviewed The Thin Man, Warner did
what they could do with this title without going through
an expensive restoration process that simply cannot be
done to every title.
Furthermore, buying this title now increases chances
that Warner Bros will release the other Thin Man films,
as this one is the test to see if there is enough
a market for these.
Regards,
Mark

 

[Mark-W]

For those who missed it,
here is Ron's review, complete with screen shots.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=98528

 

[Mark-W]

Just as a "heads up:"
Turner Classic Movies is showing
Shadow of The Thin Man
is playing on TCM on January 26, 2003 at 12:00 PM.
(Check local time, since I don't know whether TCM
things my DirectTV is set for the East or West coast.)
Not as good as the first, but still more than worthy
of a look, and hopefully, Warner Bros will give us
a change to own it on DVD.
Mark