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Universal 100th Anniversary releases

post #1 of 223
1/7/12 at 6:11am
Thread Starter 
To be updated as and when titles are announced


Parenthood

6th March

Quote:


Three behind-the-scenes featurettes:
- Art Imitating Life
- Family Reunion
- Words and Music
Two 100 Years of Universal featurettes:
- Unforgettable Characters
- The Lew Wasserman Era


The Nutty Professor

6th March

Quote:


Two 100 Years of Universal featurettes:
- The Lew Wasserman Era
- Unforgettable Characters

Harvey

6th March

Quote:


Special Introduction by star Jimmy Stewart with photographic montage
Production notes
Two 100 Years of Universal featurettes:
- The Carl Laemmle Era
- The Lew Wasserman Era
Theatrical Trailer

The Deer Hunter

6th March

Quote:


Deleted and extended scenes
Commentary with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and film journalist Bob Fisher
100 Years of Universal: Academy Award Winners featurette
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post #2 of 223
1/7/12 at 12:19pm
Universal's 100 Year Anniversary releases with this great bonus feature...

Our DNR goes up to 11!

Though, they did state to Bill Hunt that their re-release of Out Of Africa is a "new" transfer and will look superior. Take it for what it's worth, I guess.

Maybe it'll be like the Gladiator re-release, a lot better but still not as good as could be.
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post #3 of 223
1/7/12 at 12:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Hitchman View Post

Universal's 100 Year Anniversary releases with this great bonus feature...

Our DNR goes up to 11!

Though, they did state to Bill Hunt that their re-release of Out Of Africa is a "new" transfer and will look superior. Take it for what it's worth, I guess.

Maybe it'll be like the Gladiator re-release, a lot better but still not as good as could be.

He has been taken in by PR before
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post #4 of 223
1/7/12 at 1:18pm
Mwaha, Uniblunder. Don't smudge them into 720p!
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post #5 of 223
1/7/12 at 1:42pm
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Originally Posted by dvdmike007 View Post

He has been taken in by PR before

No question about that.
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post #6 of 223
1/7/12 at 2:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dvdmike007 View Post

He has been taken in by PR before

Too true.
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post #7 of 223
1/7/12 at 2:13pm
From the sound of it, that Deer Hunter release is a port of the 2007 HD-DVD.
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post #8 of 223
1/7/12 at 6:32pm
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Originally Posted by stwrt22 View Post

From the sound of it, that Deer Hunter release is a port of the 2007 HD-DVD.

If they port it over as is, that would be wonderful. It looks absolutely fabulous. No improvement required on the visual side IMHO.
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post #9 of 223
1/10/12 at 6:09am
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On Jan. 10, Universal Pictures celebrated its 100th anniversary (which is on Apr. 30) by unveiling a new logo and announcing a restoration of 13 of its iconic films: All Quiet on the Western Front, The Birds, Abbott and Costello's Buck Privates, Dracula (1931), the Spanish-language Dracula filmed on the same set at night, Frankenstein, Jaws, Schindler's List, Out of Africa, Pillow Talk, Bride of Frankenstein, The Sting and To Kill a Mockingbird (available Jan. 31 in a 50th-anniversary Blu-ray edition)....

The restorations, which will be released throughout the studio's year-long centennial celebration, took three to six months each and cost $250,000 to $600,000 per title, Universal SVP, Technical Operations Michael Daruty told The Hollywood Reporter and others at a sneak preview of the extraordinarily impressive results on the studio lot on Dec. 1. "This restoration effort was not about marketability and whether we're gonna sell enough DVDs," said Daruty. "That is what we do on a daily basis, but this was a commitment by the company to say, 'We're gonna devote funding and most probably continue that effort year over year, to try and preserve and restore the legacy of the company. We're here to spend the money on these 13 titles and some others, whether we're gonna get our money back in that first year or not.' It's really refreshing."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...ay-logo-279955
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post #10 of 223
1/10/12 at 7:26am
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All Quiet on the Western Front, The Birds, Abbott and Costello's Buck Privates, Dracula (1931), the Spanish-language Dracula filmed on the same set at night, Frankenstein, Jaws, Schindler's List, Out of Africa, Pillow Talk, Bride of Frankenstein, The Sting and To Kill a Mockingbird

All of those sound pretty cool! To Kill a Mockingbird, Jaws, and Schindler's List are definitely must haves for me!
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post #11 of 223
1/10/12 at 8:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RUR View Post

The restorations, which will be released throughout the studio's year-long centennial celebration, took three to six months each and cost $250,000 to $600,000 per title, Universal SVP, Technical Operations Michael Daruty told The Hollywood Reporter and others at a sneak preview of the extraordinarily impressive results on the studio lot on Dec. 1. "This restoration effort was not about marketability and whether we're gonna sell enough DVDs," said Daruty. "That is what we do on a daily basis

That's pretty close to admitting publicly that Universal doesn't care at all about quality releases...
Quote:
Originally Posted by RUR View Post

, but this was a commitment by the company to say, 'We're gonna devote funding and most probably continue that effort year over year, to try and preserve and restore the legacy of the company. We're here to spend the money on these 13 titles and some others, whether we're gonna get our money back in that first year or not.' It's really refreshing."

I'll believe it when I see it, but those are some strong words. It's too bad they didn't come out and do this for Jurassic Park...
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post #12 of 223
1/10/12 at 9:55am
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Originally Posted by cobolisdead View Post

All of those sound pretty cool! To Kill a Mockingbird, Jaws, and Schindler's List are definitely must haves for me!

To Kill a Mockingbird will be released 1/31 and the preorder has been up for a while.
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post #13 of 223
1/10/12 at 10:44am
""This restoration effort was not about marketability and whether we're gonna sell enough DVDs," said Daruty."

I realize I'm being overly sensitive and likely missing the point but I get annoyed when studio people still insist on using "DVD" as the catchall phrase for discs.

Really, if this guy is the Technical Operations Director (a pretty snazzy title) would it hurt him to at least pretend Blu-ray exists. No wonder the format is still trying to get a foothold after six years. Every time I see a story about media, the studio guys are talking about selling DVDs (and that certainly ain't going too well),
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post #14 of 223
1/10/12 at 11:09am
Universal is the biggest enemy of cinematic purity since the Hayes Office.
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post #15 of 223
1/10/12 at 11:55am
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Originally Posted by Dex Robinson View Post

""This restoration effort was not about marketability and whether we're gonna sell enough DVDs," said Daruty."

I realize I'm being overly sensitive and likely missing the point but I get annoyed when studio people still insist on using "DVD" as the catchall phrase for discs.

Really, if this guy is the Technical Operations Director (a pretty snazzy title) would it hurt him to at least pretend Blu-ray exists. No wonder the format is still trying to get a foothold after six years. Every time I see a story about media, the studio guys are talking about selling DVDs (and that certainly ain't going too well),

+1

Drives me nuts as well.

If he doesn't know the difference between DVD and BD, then now am I to believe he would know the difference between a quality transfer and a Stepford Wife version (ie - lots of DNR, cranked up sharpness, contrast, processed to death, etc).

I guess we will see when these titles are released (no preorders for me, thank you.).
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post #16 of 223
1/10/12 at 1:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dex Robinson View Post

""This restoration effort was not about marketability and whether we're gonna sell enough DVDs," said Daruty."

I realize I'm being overly sensitive and likely missing the point but I get annoyed when studio people still insist on using "DVD" as the catchall phrase for discs.

Ummmm...aren't their masters REALLY at a DVD level?


Quote:


Really, if this guy is the Technical Operations Director (a pretty snazzy title) would it hurt him to at least pretend Blu-ray exists.

Until all of the old guys are gone, Universal will always pretend BD is non-existent.

They lost the format war and $$$ and friends.
It's kinda an emotional subject for 'em.
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post #17 of 223
1/10/12 at 1:27pm
I hope they turn out good, and that it's only the start.

Took them long enough. A shame that Jurassic Park and The Big Lebowski missed the boat.
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post #18 of 223
1/10/12 at 1:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fanboyz View Post

Universal is the biggest enemy of cinematic purity since the Hayes Office.

Their new release titles are fantastic to be fair
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post #19 of 223
1/10/12 at 3:56pm
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Originally Posted by dvdmike007 View Post

Their new release titles are fantastic to be fair

"Your Highness" or "Cowboys and Aliens" is not an excuse for "Jurassic Park" and everything else.
I will never forgive them. Singular guilt warrants collective punishment.
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post #20 of 223
1/10/12 at 4:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fanboyz View Post

"Your Highness" or "Cowboys and Aliens" is not an excuse for "Jurassic Park" and everything else.
I will never forgive them. Singular guilt warrants collective punishment.

Don't get me wrong they are crap of the highest order with the entire of their BC titles
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post #21 of 223
1/10/12 at 4:13pm
Screw Jurassic Park I've still livid over The Family Man!

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post #22 of 223
1/10/12 at 4:58pm
The thing is, Jurassic Park looked fine to me. It's The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2 that has the signature Universal flavor to it.
The flavor being: salmon cream-cheese Ice cream, which they had at the Palm Beach Baskin & Robin's and it wasn't good at all.
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post #23 of 223
1/10/12 at 5:13pm
Universal gave this same song and dance for American Werewolf in London, the 'restorations' could of been done years ago for DVD (the article does not even mention BD). Does anybody here actually believe them? For me, I will believe it when I see it.

Take 'The Sting' for example, it's one of the better looking HD-DVD Universal titles, I am pretty sure the same transfer would be used if put on BD, the only question is will extra filtering (degrading) be added.

Another good example is BTTF. It was scanned in at 2K and was even promoted as being 'improved' with filtering to make up for not being scanned in at 4K. Universal should of just stuck with a straight 2K sans filtering.
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post #24 of 223
1/10/12 at 5:39pm
No I don't believe a word Universal says. If a PR person says something they are lying.
Universal is still sore about HDDVD loosing and loosing all the Microsoft subsidizing they got to waste plastic. I'm just glad that Silent Running, Touch of Evil, and Repo Man got done by Eureka so Universal couldn't destroy them.
Universal is bad, and the people who work there are bad.

If I ran a website that tracked movies on digital mediums and attended one of their press junkets I'd let them have it. It would cause a scene and such but I'd be right because you looked the enemy in the eye and said, "I know what you did (to Spartacus), and I am going to set the entire fanboy nation after you until you call my house and apologize personally to me for your failings a human being."

Day after day I would use my site to blast them with truth, attacks, and personal slander.

Only after your enemy is broken, and their honor replaced by shame. Only then after they are defined solely by their failings are they are fit to serve you. After this they are merely an extension of your superior will.

At this point I'd say to the Home Media Director of Universal: Now would be a good time for Mallrats
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post #25 of 223
1/10/12 at 5:44pm
Also you can all fill their Facebook page with truth, truth as you know is the only thing that can defeat lies.
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post #26 of 223
1/10/12 at 6:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fanboyz View Post

No I don't believe a word Universal says. If a PR person says something they are lying.
Universal is still sore about HDDVD loosing and loosing all the Microsoft subsidizing they got to waste plastic. I'm just glad that Silent Running, Touch of Evil, and Repo Man got done by Eureka so Universal couldn't destroy them.
Universal is bad, and the people who work there are bad.

There is no need to re-fight the HD format wars, would you rather have had internet streaming 'win' instead of HD-DVD? As for the Microsoft conspiracy, if they wanted to win it they could of easily outspent in-debt Sony.

As for Silent Running and Touch of Evil, from what little I have seen of those two they look mediocre at best and if Universal owns those titles Universal most likely did the transfers.
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post #27 of 223
1/10/12 at 6:42pm
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Originally Posted by Fanboyz View Post

At this point I'd say to the Home Media Director of Universal: Now would be a good time for Mallrats

Wouldn't that be the ultimate crime?
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post #28 of 223
1/10/12 at 9:37pm
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'We're gonna devote funding and most probably continue that effort year over year, to try and preserve and restore the legacy of the company. We're here to spend the money on these 13 titles and some others, whether we're gonna get our money back in that first year or not.' It's really refreshing."

Always gotta have a way to weasel out of any public commitments.
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post #29 of 223
1/11/12 at 9:46am
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Originally Posted by wuther View Post

As for the Microsoft conspiracy, if they wanted to win it they could of easily outspent in-debt Sony.

There is something of a misconception that Sony WAS/IS the BD format.

From Wikipedia:
The "Blu-ray Disc founder group" was started on May 20, 2002 by MIT and nine leading electronic companies: Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG (Lucky GoldStar) Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, and Samsung.[2] In order to enable more companies to participate, it announced in May 2004 that it would form the Blu-ray Disc Association, which was inaugurated on October 4, 2004.
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post #30 of 223
1/11/12 at 1:45pm
Some weird things such as they mention featuring various films such as Sixteen Candles during their 100th celebration and they already have that in digital hi-def since they had a theatrical re-release of it last year in theaters and yet still no blu-ray planned for 2012. WHy do they sit on stuff so long?

(does applying horrible amounts of EE and DNR to theatrical masters to get titles ready for blu-ray release really take more than a year )
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