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More Film "Classics" Coming To DVD!!!!  

post #1 of 12
2/11/01 at 3:14am
Thread Starter 
In addition to El Cid, Lawrence Of Arabia, Ben-Hur, and The Greatest Story Ever Told, look for 55 Days In Peking, Vera Cruz (Cooper/Lancaster), The magnificent Seven, and The Fall Of The Roman Empire to be released on DVD soon.

As I said before...this will be a great year for film classics!
I just hope the transfers are good looking, particularly the Samuel Goldwyn epics since either Buena Vista and other lesser studios are releasing them. I have no technical information about the transfers other than that they will be released in the next few months...

-THTS

[This message has been edited by Frank J Manrique (edited 02-11-2001).]

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post #2 of 12
2/11/01 at 8:29am
Here is a small update on two of your listed films:

The Greatest Story Ever Told - 2.75 AR Enhanced for 16x9 DD5.1

The Magnificent Seven - 2.35 AR Enhanced for 16x9 DD5.1

Whenever a DVD is enhanced for 16x9 it means that a new transfer has been used as opposed to an existing LD transfer which would not be enhanced.

Nothing yet on the other films.

Oh, just a side note, the new WB DVD SUPERMAN will be using the very rare Dolby 6 track Split Surround stems that were made for this film back in 1979. There were only two films ever offered in this format. The other was Apocalypse Now. DD 6 track SS was the predisessor of DD5.1 as far as the layout of the 6 tracks.

2001 will definitely be a great year for DVD's.

Lee
post #3 of 12
2/13/01 at 10:33pm
Thread Starter 
Yippee! Just pre-ordered Cleopatra on DVD...

This movie was photographed in the so-called Todd-AO 70mm, thus its aspect ratio should be 2:21:1...like Lawrence Of Arabia's. Yet the "technical" information indicates the intended (?) ratio is 2:35:1, which is that of 35mm anomorphic. Let's hope is just a typo or a slight error, and the correct ratio is what we'll end up seeing instead.
Other than this, the running time is listed as 246 minutes! About one of the longest film "classics" ever made.
The DVD package will come in a three (!) disc set and it will contain loads and loads of interesting information.

BTW, I also seen where The Lion In Winter will be released as well. Between March and May (when The Magnificent Seven is supposed to be released), we'll be treated to some really good tasting morsels! I, for one, will be really looking towards the immediate future... http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

-THTS

[This message has been edited by Frank J Manrique (edited 02-14-2001).]
post #4 of 12
2/14/01 at 4:22am
Frank,

Robert George posted some screen shots of the new Cleopatra on the Home Theater forum. The images are breathtaking. It looks like the film was made yesterday. You owe it to yourself to go to the HTF and look at the screen shots.

If Cleopatra is in 2.35 it means that a 65mm to 35mm reduction Interpositive was used, Or it can be an error.

Either way, the difference between 2:21 and 2.35 is extremely small.

Lee
post #5 of 12
2/14/01 at 5:32am
Yippiee too !

Have you seen Spartacus will feature both DD and DTS !!
I wish Ben Hur had too.
Lee: where have you seen details for Magnificient Seven ???

I must say those 2.35 (or even more) films are MADE for large home theaters, with super calibrated CRTs projector to grasp the sheer level of details and the huge gamma variations that those film prints were able to display back in those times ( nothing to compared with the cheap prints used in the eighties, boys, was there a crisis during the 80s ??? http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/biggrin.gif ).

thanks
David

------------------
for cinema sound in your HT, use cinema speakers and cinema amps! unbeatable.

[This message has been edited by David600 (edited 02-14-2001).]
post #6 of 12
2/14/01 at 6:19am
David,

The info on The Magnificent Seven has been on a number of sites. Try www.dvdfile.com and www.dvdreview.com I can't remember which though both may have it. Also try www.thedigitalbits.com

If you have even the slightest interest in Cleopatra you absolutly MUST go to www.hometheaterforum.com and go to the "software" forum and look for a post by Robert George. You will be amazed at how sharp and colorful each frame is.

Lee

[This message has been edited by LeeAntin (edited 02-14-2001).]
post #7 of 12
2/14/01 at 6:44am
Hi Lee

I did. the shots are beautiful.
just saw the details on amazon about M Seven. I hope MGM did the 5.1 "right"....

------------------
for cinema sound in your HT, use cinema speakers and cinema amps! unbeatable.
post #8 of 12
2/14/01 at 7:18am
David,

Personally, I am very concerned about the DD5.1 on TMS. There has never been a stereo version on video. It was to my understanding that the original stems where lost years ago. I wonder where MGM is getting the multi-track stems from? I also remember reading a long time ago that no one was ever able to document that this movie was in stereo in the theaters. All know prints in collectors hands were in mono.

I noticed on the new Manhunter that Anchor Bay put out. It is listed as DD5.1 and my processor shows it as DD5.1, but the sound was "tweaked" by Chace Surround which is a process of taking mono movies and making "fake" stereo out of them. With Manhunter it is in actuallity 4.1. The surround channel is mono, not stereo as they would be in DD5.1. This was the system that was used in the stereo LD of Terminator and it was awful. Manhunter the movie was Dolby Stereo.

Lee
post #9 of 12
2/14/01 at 4:02pm
Thread Starter 
Lee,

I checked Robert's post and for what I can tell, the image appears to have an AR of 2:21:1 (the LD has this aspect ratio), which bodes well for the DVD when viewed on very large screens such as ours.

It's true the differences between 2:21:1 and 2:35:1 are rather small, but with the former the chances of being sourced from 70mm elements is apt to render higher active vertical lines of resolution, while a 35mm IP reduction will not. And you know that the NTSC system needs all the help it can get! Yet the images posted by Bob look incredibly good...at least on my 15" Sony PC monitor (calibrated). Hope they look that good on my 12 foot wide scope screen.

Anyway, thanks for the head up! http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

-THTS

P.S. I guess The Lion In Winter is being delayed for sometime in June rather than May as I read it was to be released. Well, better late than ever! http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Frank J Manrique (edited 02-14-2001).]
post #10 of 12
2/15/01 at 6:59am
Im looking forward to David Lean's "A Passage To India". Not his greatest film, but one of my favourites.
post #11 of 12
2/15/01 at 8:49pm
Hi Frank,
I'm really looking forward to The Fall Of The Roman Empire and The Magnificent Seven. Thanks for the news!
post #12 of 12
2/15/01 at 9:51pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, Larry,

Yeah...isn't great?! Is going to be really good having all those great movies available in the next few months. Can't hardly wait...


-THTS
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