Classic films, which DVD release?

This may be hearsay but a colour version of Casablanca on Blu-Ray in Feb 2010.

I prefer Laurel and Hardy's Way Out West in colour so I may give Casablanca a go in this new format.

I saw the B&W version of Casablanca on TV again last week and it is an outstanding film. I'm not sure if colourisation will do much for it, but I'd like to see it that way at least once.

I have to say 'Yes that is heresy', it was shot for black and white, and should be seen that way. A great film however you watch it though.

Just watched Woody Allen's 'Manhatten' this afternoon, shot in 1979 in black and white, and can't be improved on.

Double Indemnity Fred Mac Murray & Barbara Stanwyck
Citizen Kane
The Bicycle Thieves
Rififi
Miracle on 34th Street (Just in time for Christmas)

Hey Jamie

Maybe what you are looking for is allmovie.com

I love the site allmusic.com for research and what not, and allmovie.com is a related site that will answer alot of questions for you.

Best

John

Thanks John

The allmovie site is good, although it gives a lot of information about the actual films, it does not give advice about which of the current DVD/Bluray/etc. releases has the best quality in terms of picture and sound, as well as extras and quality of manufacture.

I am particularly interested to get a copy of 'His Girl Friday'. I watched a recent release a couple of years ago, and found both the picture and sound poor. This may be because the available print of the film is not in good condition, or might be from a heavily used print of the film, perhaps it was telecined on poor equipment, or the DVD was not a first generation copy of the transfer.

Amazon has about five different versions of the film on DVD, in both PAL and NTSC, but gives no information about the quality of the copies.

The quality of script, direction, camera work, performances and all other departments on the original films are of the finest order. I would just like to know if spending an extra few pounds will get me a high quality copy of that on DVD, or whether I will just get glossier packaging, but the film after all these years does look and sound muddy by modern standards.

Perhaps the only way to find out is to buy all five releases, and see what if any difference there is between them.

Have you tried reading reviews on sites like AV Forums? They wont be comparisons as such ... but may give you an overall idea.

Eloise

Thanks Eloise.

I tried avforums.com, I searched for 'Girl Friday' and found my question there. Sadly, the one answer to it, recommended the poor quality copy I saw recently, saying it had good picture and sound.

I know it is the problem with forums, you do not know the standards by which those replying are judging their answers. That is partly why I asked here, as I have more faith in the Naim community.

I think I will just have to try one of the copies on Amazon and post my own comments when it arrives. Hopefully others can do the same, especially as there will no doubt be a few DVD's and boxsets arriving over the holiday period.

This site might be what you are after http://www.dvdcompare.net/ .I put in African Queen and it mention picture quality on some versions.Hope it helps.

Regards

Trevor

Thanks Trevor, and everyone for contributing.

I think this is a much more difficult thing to track down than I first thought.

Again www.dvdcompare.net is helpful, but when I try 'His Girl Friday' although there is a lot of information about region, extras, unfortunately in this case there is no comparison of picture quality. The Region 2 version that looks most appealing by features I know to have poor sound and picture.

The Amazon reviews support this:
His Girl Friday - Columbia Classics

It is very possible that no one has done a good quality telecine of the film, and we are just having low quality ones originally done for VHS, which would not show the lack of quality, duplicated on to DVD.

I find it a sad situation where you can buy high quality DVDs and Bluray discs of worthless effects packed, plot less and appallingly acted 'action films', but a copy of a film that deserves a good quality release to hear quite blisteringly witty dialogue delivered by actors as wonderful as Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell is so difficult to track down, if it exists at all.

I guess I should not bite the hand that has fed me in the past, having worked on one of the worst sci-fi movies from the end of the 90's, but I do despair.

Good luck Jamie. It is scary to me that I do not flinch at the thought of purchasing 5 different copies and watching them all to see which one is best. I am that ill I think most people on this forum can relate. As for allmovie I noticed on most searches there is a tab that gives all the releases on DVD with descriptions of the different flavors i.e. extras, directors cut, format etc. I searched His Girl Friday, and drilled down a bit and found there is some technical content to the reviews on each of 40 or so releases on DVD they list (some are part of anthologies and what not.) For instance this one

http://www.allmovie.com/dvd/his-girl-friday-10160

Hope this helps.

Thanks John. That version is interesting, it gets good reviews for the region 1 release, and bad comments on Amazon about the region 2.

That tends to make me suspect that a NTSC telecine and remaster was done for the American market where there is presumably more interest in classic Hollywood films, and then the region 2 version has just had the video from that telecine converted to PAL, so softening it.

Perhaps there is no PAL telecine of the film, and region 2 watchers will just have to make do with a poor quality.

This is exasipated by the fact that a 24 frame per second (fps) image is telecined to 29.95 fps, and then converted down to 25 fps for PAL, so there is an awful lot of mixing frames together. PAL telecine's are run at 25fps, so the film is slightly faster, but we are so used to it that it is not a problem, and so we get each frame unmixed and sharper.

I am not quite sure if this has been slightly superseded on Bluray, it might be worth some research. Bluray would also make the film companies do better telecine's, if and when, they get around to releasing classic films from the 40's and 50's.

I know at some point I will upgrade to Bluray, but considering my all time favourite film is not even available on DVD (Alain Resnais' 'Providence 1976), and that my most hated film is available on Bluray (Paul Verhoven's 'Starship Troopers 1997) there is not a great incentive to upgrade right now.

For the moment it might be worth getting a region 1 version, and letting the player do the conversion to get the best quality.

Jamie

I get from munch that you are in the industry. I am really glad to read your posts and glean a thing or two from you about this and other subjects re: film. I have a bluray/universal player that has brought me great satisfaction. It has been modified to play all region discs and also both PAL and NTSC. $500 unmodified.

I dont know if you call this a classic, but I just saw "How the West Was Won" on bluray and it was really spectacular from the opening credits to the last notes of the extended score. Alot of overacting but alot of fun too. It comes in a "cinerama" flavor that has elliptical letterboxing on the top and bottom demonstrating how the wrap around screen looked in the theatrical release.

BTW Verhoven has not made a single film since Soldier of Orange that I have thought was worth a crap, and I am a big sci fi fan! I kind of liked Total Recall and RoboCop was fun at the time but his sci fi is generally of the cheesy type. Upon revisit, they look reaallly cheap.

Jamie

Try this site I use, for 'The African Queen' and you may find others you are looking for.

Comparison

Regards
Geoff

Just an update on the search for a good quality DVD of 'His Girl Friday'. I ordered what looked like a good quality version from Amazon.co.uk which was sent on 22nd December, and along with a package from a family member it appears to have gone missing in the Christmas post.

Amazon are now out of stock and can not send a replacement. I will have to search elsewhere.

I can't help but suspect that it has been stolen by one of the temporary staff the Royal Mail take on over Christmas. I would contact Royal Mail, but that is not possible, you have wait until they hope you have forgotten about it, and there does not seem any way of contacting them any way, automated messages that steer you to unless options.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/

On a related note, the above site does review movies according to pic/sound quality. Only for BR films though. Useful for knowing how well older films have converted to the new HD format.


b

CompanyA2ZCDS.com release. AVOID!

Well I finally started to watch this version with apparently remastered sound. I would suggest that after remastering the sound that it might be a good idea to try and synch it to the picture, but that had evidently not been a priority of the makers of this DVD.

Then after a bout two minutes of the film the DVD locked, I reloaded and tried to skip to the next chapter and go back, no luck. I looked at the DVD, there is a big score mark in the metal playing surface under the plastic.

I will have to continue mt quest for a decent version of this film, this is certainly not it.

I would also note that looking at the reviews on Amazon that they just lump all the same reviews for any different release of the film under the movie title, so they are completely useless. I know the film is good, I just want to know if the particular copy is remotely watchable.

That is a great film, sorry you can't get a decent version. I've seen it on Turner movies great stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Blueknowz:
This might help!

Thanks, that site has the usual problem, a review of the film, but not a review of the individual release. I have seen the film a number of times and know exactly how good it is, the script, the performances, the direction.

I still have no idea if the copy I can order is several generations of DVD down the line, if the telecine had been converted from NTSC to PAL, if they even bothered to get a decent copy of the film, or one that had been kicking around cinema clubs for years, or even if the sound is remotely in synch to the picture.

Thanks for the link though.

With copyright having lapsed on the film, any bunch of idiots can press a copy, and are doing so.

I have the Columbia Classics version on order, hopefully that will be better. Certainly buying the more expensive version did not achieve a better quality copy, so maybe one with the production companies name might get closer to the mark.

According to IMDb
This is the best one available on DVD
Gets a real slagging in customer reviews though!

More versions at HMV

quote:

Originally posted by Blueknowz:
This is the best one available on DVD
Gets a real slagging in customer reviews though!

Unfortunately Amazon put the reviews by film title, and not release, so the same reviews are in every edition, and so make no sense whatsoever. I have complained to Amazon about this.

It is really frustrating when there are amazing BluRay and DVD editions of a piece of s**t like 'Transformers' yet a classic with acting, script, direction and real zest can not be found in decent quality.

We are probably fortunate that classical music, and great archive recordings, are not treated in the same way as films are.

My all time favourite film has never been released on DVD, Alain Resnais' 'Providence' (1977), with John Gielgud, Dirk Bogarde, Ellen Burstyn, David Warner, Elaine Stritch and a young Denis Lawson. The same is true for several Peter Greenaway films, which love or hate them, still have more value than the majority of 'fodder' thrown out by Hollywood over the last ten years.

Imagine if Jacqueline du Pré recordings were not available while those hairstyle twins from the Simon Cowel show were pushed at us by mass marketing. That what the case is with many classic films at the moment.

I am getting really frustrated by this,

The Columbia Classics edition has arrvived and it looks excellent, sharp picture, sound clear and in synch.

The sound is not up to the standard of modern films, but is as good as I have heard for 'His Girl Friday'.

It was £10 less than the 'remastered' version I returned, so you do not get what you pay for.

I will post a review on Amazon mentioning the specific release, although it is unlikely to make the front page of reviews.

I also got a copy of 'Philadelphia Story' this week as well, but have not looked at that yet.