"Despicable" Patton comparison *PIX* - Page 30

I've never seen this film, but it shocks me that Fox has a remaster in the works, yet they are still releasing the old transfer in new packaging next month, in the marketing hope that they can knowingly stiff-up unsuspecting customers. Now that's shameful.

LOL!

Seriously, this is great news to have confirmed. We might not be getting the remaster in May -- but at least it's in the works. Thanks to Bill Hunt for setting the matter straight.

I've held off buying PATTON hoping for just such news, now it seems the finish line is in sight.

And yes, Xylon, I cannot wait to see the comparison pics when they finally arrive!

Oddly enough, some of the very shots that look so "claymation-like" in the Blu-ray have a very similar look in 35mm. I refer specifically to a scene with John Wayne in a hanger and also a scene later with two officers standing on a deck. I believe that these shots were originally opticals and they don't have much to offer in any case.

Overall, the 35mm print had a grainy and overly greyish look. The Blu-ray does look "cleaned up" but is often more pleasant to watch than the 35mm. [This most recent 35mm print I saw was an archive print shown at the Stanford Theatre. This theatre has access to the best available prints through special relationships.]

I do not dispute that a better Blu-ray can be constructed for this film, but nevertheless the Blu-ray is a more credible offering CONSIDERING THE SOURCE than is generally acknowledged here.

TLD does not remotely belong in the same category as Patton (or Spartacus or the original Gladiator or Out of Africa) for being a bad Blu-ray. It will also never be as good as South Pacific or The Sound of Music (to name two other Fox entries just to show that they can do it when they try).

I am personally happy that we will see a remastered version.

I do have the extant Blu-ray and it is not exactly "defective", just suboptimal.

We need to start supporting the studio's sincere efforts to bring us improvements in catalog titles.

Waiting too to see my fav warrior done correctly. Glad I did not buy that previous junk.

I'm curious how the differences in color timing will be between the old and new versions of Patton. Aside from the major DNR issue, I always felt the color was too pumped up or something on the Patton BD (I noticed it on the new Predator, as well. Was this a Fox thing on these releases?).

I'm also really hoping they will have an exchange program considering I purchased the original version when it came out a few years ago.

An interesting question.

Since the HD master was created at HTV, went through their QC systems, and was then accepted and released by Fox as a Blu-ray...

and since many people seem to have no problem with either Patton or The Longest Day, I would surmise not.

If a new version arrives, it will placate the minority, who feel that there are digital problems, still under debate. But keep in mind that many people continue to believe this to be one of the most beautiful Blu-rays created.

It is certainly very clean.

I stand firmly in the minority.

RAH

Heh. What I'd give to see actual grain there, rather than the anodyne, overly processed mess which assaults my eyes whenever I watch it. And watch it I do, because it's still far better than any DVD version I've ever seen. You've made your peace with it, great. But until it gets redone I'm gonna piss and moan about it every chance I get.

I agree. It seems like Fox is simply repackaging the old discs to sell off as much of the first version's discs as they can before introducing the "new" transfer probably in the 4th quarter of 2011. Much like the case with Gladiator a few months back in which the old, lousy transfer discs were repackaged in the yellow upc cases, sold at very discounted pricing at places like Best Buy in Canada and parts of the West Coast in an obvious and deceptive bid to unload remaining stock of the old discs.

That's not the barmiest conspiracy theory I've ever heard, not least because The Terminator, which has a remaster pending, is part of this digibook lineup too. In fact, several of the others are bare-bones early releases which will surely get redone at some point, e.g. Rocky, Usual Suspects.

The studios are just now getting certain titles lined up for triple dipping, as we saw with DVD.

Coming late to this party, of the screen caps posted early in this thread, the Fox War Classics DVD release appears most "film like" to me and currently is the version I would prefer until a proper BD release is available.

This highlights an important aspect of this hobby- don't be a BD prude. If a catalog title is still preferable on DVD (or LaserDisk for that matter) for whatever reason, then say so.

Studios need to be called out when they fail us, be it overuse of DNR/EE, poor transfer in general, poor packaging/extras, destroying bit perfect audio with watermarking (Cinavia), excessive DRM that affects playback functionality and consumer rights, etc.

One point about screen caps- they fail to take into account temporal eye resolution and temporal eye-brain integration effects, which can make video sources with relatively lower still-frame resolution appear significantly higher in spatial resolution when viewed in sequence, particularly if well-upscaled and maybe with higher display rates (even multiples of native rate)-

The Organization of the Retina and Visual System
Temporal Resolution

http://webvision.med.utah.edu/book/p...al-resolution/

As I pointed out in the 3D Myths thread, DVD can handily produce outstanding 3 dimensionality on a properly ISF'd display, assuming the display device has sufficient native contrast, accurate colorimetry and excellent gray scale capability.

Yes, we all know the technical capabilities of BD and the potential of increased pixel count and larger color space BD's codecs provide. But they are meaningless if the studios cater to the buzzword-induced ignorance of the mass market.

The Patton BD release and others like it are evidence of the Bose-ification of the BD format (and the HT hobby in general)

I had hoped that DVD would remain the top selling mass market format and BD be the LaserDisk-like format catering to a smaller number of enthusiasts that care about quality, equivalent to the VHS+LD market of the 80's through about 1996- those were the days

Funny you should mention that... I just paid some big bucks for John Wayne's "The Alamo" on LaserDisc (the 3-disc box set, still new and sealed) because it has the original Director's Cut/Roadshow version. The DVD's all have the plain theatrical version which runs a half hour shorter... and of course there's no Blu-Ray release in sight.

Exactly. Whether it's unwanted edits, video processing issues, audio mastering issues, image framing/cropping issues, whatever, it's the FILM that matters (acting, directing, story, plot, dialog, etc), not absolute pixel counts and bit-rates.

The irony is that the Alamo LD you purchased is 100% DRM free- not even Macrovision!- with lossless 16bit stereo PCM audio (of course no watermarking) with Dolby Surround, probably providing a respectable discrete-like soundfield with current DPLIIx decoders.

Yes, we want to optimize the a/v quality, but not at the expense of the art/culture content.

Unfortunately, the laserdisc of The Alamo is not the actual Roadshow version.

RAH

since it seems like we are sidestepping here and there, did anyone see last Saturday's 4K DLP showing of 'Spartacus' at Grauman's Chinese theater - I wonder if Universal FINALLY did a proper 70mm transfer (?)

Was the Roadshow version ever released in any format commercially?

don't quote me, but I thought the VHS version was.

I thought the movie was undergoing a major restoration - what's the status of the project?

No.

Unfortunately, dead in the water. It appears that the new owners of MGM are not aware or interested in saving the UA legacy.

RAH

What is the difference between the "Roadshow Version" and the "Restored Original Director's Cut" (on the 3-disc box set LD)?

The 3-disc box set LD is about a half hour longer than the 2-disc LD and the DVD.

Very interesting - one can hardly believe they would show something that looks nearly as crude as the current Blu-Ray for such an occasin but then you never know with Universal...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ala...erent_versions



The Reconstruction and Restoration of John Wayne's "The Alamo"

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...ris032009.html

http://www.in70mm.com/news/2009/the_alamo/index.htm


http://www.hometheaterforum.com/foru...version-on-dvd

So it sounds to me like the 3 disc LD version is the one to have. It appears to be the Roadshow version + overture, intermission, exit music interludes.

Please continue The Alamo discussion at

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post20395972

I will ask the mods to move Alamo posts from here to there.

It does "appear to be."

But is not.

RAH

What happened to all the comparison *PIX* on the first page between the Blu-Ray & DVD versions? I really wanted to see the contrast in difference between the 2, DNR/EE and all.

Can any re-post them?

Just a heads up to anyone close to the DC area. The AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring, MD is showing Patton in 70mm today and tomorrow at 1pm.

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/movies/dvd_extra_marilyn_blu_streak_sWsc4MjOWytIqDeOEV5vHI

Looks like a remaster is coming this year, for those who were unhappy.

Finalmente!

Only a year later than it was supposed to be released, but at least it's coming. I was afraid it had been scrapped altogether.

"Coming in November"

... I'll begin holding my breath........ now...