Transfer problems with Bergman Boxset causes MGM to delay Release! (1 Viewer)

[Gordon McMurphy]

Shame and Hour Of The Wolf were shot in and for 1.37:1 projection. Scandinavian filmmaking hadn't embraced matting of films, even by the late Sixties.

Well, I have boxed set in the post, so I might as well watch the films and see for myself how bad the framing is throughout on each film. The Nykvist documentary should be great also. But MGM really ought to say something or hault the distribution and go back to the telecine.

 

[Pike Bishop]

And while they're matting the Bergman movies, they're releasing DEATH WISH 2, 3 & 4 unmatted... :rolleyes

 

[Gary Tooze]

Hans,


You don't need to do any comparisons yourself. MANY alternate region DVDs are compared here:

http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/

This page will help you find the definitive version of many popular and art films...

Regards,

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

www.mastersofcinema.com is a nother great site.

 

[Hans M.]

Most impressive! This is your site, I see, Gary. I also see master film analyst Jonathan Rosenbaum used it as a resource, then it must be good. I remember reading his column when he mentions acquiring a multi-region player and how it opened up new avenues in film viewing. I wanted one ever since, but I could only afford one when prices went down (Yamakawa DVD 218). I shall look forward to scanning this site!

Problem/blessing with my Bergman box-- I ordered it through a site where you get DVDs for free. So, if I didn't really pay for it (though someone else did) I kind of still want it, as it can get a bit expensive to hunt for and buy other region DVDs (I’m just a poor grad student). I don't know-- I am still mixed on this. I do really want to see Persona how it should be seen. Grrrr.

I would really like to see MGM re-do these films right (I must admit I was weary when I heard MGM would release Persona and not a company like Wellspring or Criterion or even Facets, as it should have been [I’m also concerned about the up-coming Dolce Vita on DVD, which I saw should be out this year]), but I also have doubts they would correct something like this. I do recall there was a big brouhaha over Back to the Future being framed bad and the studio offered to replace any of those discs with corrected ones, if I am not mistaken. That's what I heard at least, as I never picked up that film (not my cup of tea, to put it lightly). Maybe, just maybe, that could happen here, but this set is for a very niche kind of audience, especially in region 1, USA. It will never sell on the scale of Back to the Future. I think we’ll be waiting for a long time to see this corrected.

 

[Gary Tooze]

Get the Medusa - Region 2- PAL ... it is magnificent

http://207.136.67.23/film/dvdcompare/dolcevita.htm

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Randy A Salas]

Well, I heard from MGM. Here it is:

"MGM Home Entertainment will NOT be releasing the INGMAR BERGMAN DVD COLLECTION on Tuesday, February 10 due to transfer problems on two of the discs.

If possible, please hold your reviews until we announce the new street date which we expect to be sometime in May. We will contact you once we have further information."

As a result of Gary's work (and my inquiry to MGM about it), that email was just sent by MGM's PR firm to its media list. An MGM rep also called me to confirm the news in a voice-mail message.

Gary, you made a difference.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

That's amazing.

I have very little interest in these films, but what does Ingmar Bergman have to say about this? Last I heard, he was still going.

 

[Paul_Scott]

well!

very interesting following this saga.
Looks like Gary made a BIG difference, and even more surprising, MGM actually was paying attention.
if only you Remo Williams fans had been more on the ball earlier

to be honest i had 0 interest in these films a week ago.
i have too much to already catch up on to look forward to dark and dreary 'serious' movies, but casually following this started to pique my interest and now i will be looking forward to checking out at least a few of the titles here.
glad to see MGM is doing right be these films.

one of the rare times i will publicly applaud them

 

[Hans M.]

Amazing news! BUT what are the transfer problems? IS MGM acknowledging the same problems we have been discussing? Is it only two discs with the problems we've been talking about here?

 

[Randy A Salas]

My inquiry was twofold: Why the zoom on Persona? And, why the cropped widescreen framing on the 1.37:1 films Hour of the Wolf and Shame? I referred them to this thread with the examples that Gary provided.

The voice mail referred only to the latter--"those two titles," as MGM spokesman Steve Wegner put it. I got the impression that the delay is just for those two titles because of the misframing. I believe the other titles, all released singly, too, will still be available. Nothing was said specifically about Persona.

Unfortunately, there's not much to clarify now, because of the time difference between Minneapolis and Hollywood. They called at the end of their work week, well after I had left the office. I was supposed to have this answer yesterday, but MGM dragged it out until the end of today.

By the way, you know this is going to be a situation like Ed Wood. The set will be available in stores until MGM can rein them in.

 

[Brian PB]

A big thank you to Gary Tooze and Randy Salas, and all those who worked to get the word out about these faulty transfers. And an even bigger thank you to MGM for doing the right thing.

Bravos all around.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Title of this thread has been edited to reflect delay in this dvd release due to transfer problems.





Crawdaddy

 

[Casey Neutron]

This is great news! These films mean a lot to me--this box set was going to be the best thing I'd buy all year. Then I read about the incorrect framing.

I'll happily wait until May for the proper transfers (next month's Criterion release of "Scenes From a Marriage" should help tide me over). Thanks to everyone involved in straightening this whole mess out.

 

[Gary Tooze]

Ahhh.. the Internet - wonderful to see it work for a positive goal... and achieve it !


As they didn't specify which two - wouldn't it be something is they 1.37'ed The Serpent's Egg and The Passion of Anna now...

DVDBeaver's review of The Passion of Anna is posted here:

http://www.reviews.dvdbeaver.com/

A solid disc from MGM... I hope the new Shame and Hour of the Wolf will be at this calibre...

Serpents Egg next....

Cheers,

 

[Tom Tsai]

Good job Gary and Randy!

 

[Randall Dorr]

HOORAY!!!


Thank you, MGM.

 

[Marc Colella]

It's great that MGM is willing to correct the 2 films and frame them in their OAR.

However I'll still be passing on the set, as the 2 widescreen DVDs in the set will still be non-anamorphic.

I'll only be purcashing the 1.33:1 titles.

 

[Brian PB]

Gary:

There's an error in this review. You state that the OAR is 1.66:1, but the transfer is 1.33:1 (it is OAR--1.66:1). I'd hate for this to kick up another ruckus unnecessarily.

Brian

 

[andrew markworthy]

Hey, I just got my copy of the now-withdrawn box set in the mail this morning. Does this mean I've got a collectors' item?

Just as a point of interest, the DVD cases all claim that the respective films are in their original aspect ratios.

As I said in previous posts, I'm not too bothered, as the commentaries, extras, etc are still useful for a Bergman fan like myself, and if I want to watch the movies in the correct ratio, either I've already got them or they will be coming out in the generally excellent Tartan R2 series.