Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

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senseabove
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#876 Post by senseabove » Sun Feb 20, 2022 1:06 am

I haven't seen any official source saying this is from the OCN—that br.com news item doesn't mention it, for example, just some commenters below—and given all the stories that all but one reel was lost in the Eastman nitrate fire, I don't know where that idea's coming from. Either way, between a decade's improvement in scanner technology and HDR, I have little doubt the upgrade will be significant.

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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#877 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Feb 20, 2022 3:22 am

Bluray.com's original statement I posted said OCN. They must have removed it.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#878 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Feb 20, 2022 3:24 am

senseabove wrote:
Sun Feb 20, 2022 1:06 am
I haven't seen any official source saying this is from the OCN—that br.com news item doesn't mention it, for example
It did say that when I posted it. A bluray.com mod must have removed it after it was called into question

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#879 Post by yoloswegmaster » Sat Mar 19, 2022 11:34 am

A listing for a 4K release of 'Giant' has been found on Amazon France, with a June release date listed.

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Feego
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#880 Post by Feego » Sat Mar 19, 2022 11:49 am

yoloswegmaster wrote:
Sat Mar 19, 2022 11:34 am
A listing for a 4K release of 'Giant' has been found on Amazon France, with a June release date listed.
A new restoration of the film is premiering at the TCM Classic Film Festival in April.

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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#881 Post by FrauBlucher » Wed Apr 20, 2022 6:39 pm

Robert Harris on the Singin' in the Rain UHD...
Count me as one of those naysayers who didn't believe that Singin' in the Rain could shine any more in 4k than it did via Blu-ray.

And while we're not able to compare the new scans and restorative efforts vs a new Blu-ray, only the original c. 2012, I'm seeing Huge differences.

While there's a nice uptick in overall resolution as compared to the earlier scan, there is also far more in the control of blacks and a major gain in shadow detail. Beyond that, colors pop with not only perfection, but subtlety and purity.

I'm the first to admit that my thoughts were incorrect, and can fully support this 4k upgrade, which any cinephile will find astounding.
Best grab a copy, as I'm betting the first pressing will run out quickly!

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soundchaser
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#882 Post by soundchaser » Wed Apr 20, 2022 8:06 pm

Harris baffles me sometimes - why wouldn't Singin' in the Rain be improved with the format jump? It's not like the existing elements are in rough shape. His views about UHD as a format don't make any sense.

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tenia
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#883 Post by tenia » Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:34 am

As I often say, he seems to be quite lost when it comes to digital incarnations of a movie, hence this kind of nonsensical remark. While he certainly knows his stuff from a photochemical point of view, he clearly had more problem when dealing with Blu-rays, and it seems like UHDs are only making things worse for him.

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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#884 Post by Nw_jahrles » Thu Apr 21, 2022 11:38 am

Harris also watches UHD’s through a projector, so he is not getting the full benefit of the HDR. So HDR skepticism combined with the wrong equipment to get the full benefit of HDR and you end up with the strange remarks about UHD from Harris.

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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#885 Post by FrauBlucher » Thu Apr 21, 2022 3:34 pm

June 21
The upcoming 4K Blu-ray release will be sourced from a new 4K restoration completed by Warner Bros. with the cooperation of The Film Foundation.

"The new 4K restoration was completed sourcing both the original camera negatives and protection RGB separation master positives for the best possible image, and color corrected in high dynamic range for the latest picture display technology. The audio was sourced primarily from a 1995 protection copy of the Original Magnetic Mono soundtrack. The picture and audio restoration was completed by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services: Motion Picture Imaging and Post Production Sound."
Image

patreig
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#886 Post by patreig » Fri Apr 22, 2022 6:12 am

Nw_jahrles wrote:
Thu Apr 21, 2022 11:38 am
Harris watches UHD’s through a projector, so he is not getting the full benefit of the HDR. .......with the wrong equipment to get the full benefit of HDR
Why do you say that?

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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#887 Post by FrauBlucher » Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:54 pm


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Drucker
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#888 Post by Drucker » Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:55 pm

Please note that since the included Blu-ray is a recycled 2012 disc, it doesn't include the original audio option.
Bummer.

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#889 Post by yoloswegmaster » Sat Jul 02, 2022 5:15 pm

Listing for a UHD release for Casablanca in the U.K. has been found.

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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#890 Post by ianthemovie » Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:51 am

Poltergeist is coming to 4K on September 20.

It has a horrible cover. On the plus side the special features mention a making-of documentary, which marks (I think) the first time any such thing has been produced for this title, presumably because of how much controversy has always surrounded the film. So I'm intrigued by what that might look like.

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Adam X
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#891 Post by Adam X » Mon Aug 15, 2022 7:57 pm

It’s apparently the same one that was on the laserdisc. Better than nothing, I guess.

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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#892 Post by ianthemovie » Tue Aug 16, 2022 10:13 am

Ah, ok. It will still be new to me (and surely better than the horrible ghost-hunting TV shows that WB is still trying to pass off as "special features" for this title even though they have no connection to the movie!)

It would be great if someone could get the surviving cast and crew from this to sit down for some kind of on-camera interview. I know there is an episode of the show Cursed Films about the Poltergeist franchise but I haven't seen it yet. Were they able to talk to anybody from the actual production?

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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#893 Post by Gerald Christie » Tue Aug 16, 2022 10:38 am

ianthemovie wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 10:13 am
Ah, ok. It will still be new to me (and surely better than the horrible ghost-hunting TV shows that WB is still trying to pass off as "special features" for this title even though they have no connection to the movie!)

It would be great if someone could get the surviving cast and crew from this to sit down for some kind of on-camera interview. I know there is an episode of the show Cursed Films about the Poltergeist franchise but I haven't seen it yet. Were they able to talk to anybody from the actual production?
Only Craig Reardon, longtime Tobe Hooper collaborator and special effects artist from the film. The rest is mostly podcasters, horror fans the editor in chief from Fangoria and the director of Poltergeist III.

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Feego
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#894 Post by Feego » Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:11 am

Can anyone explain what the issue is with creating supplements for Poltergeist? I'm aware of the tragic fates that befell Heather O'Rourke and Dominique Dunne, but that didn't stop Scream Factory from producing bookoos of supplements for the sequels. Nor did it stop several prominent members of the original film's cast and crew (as well as O'Rourke's mother) from sitting down for interviews for an episode of The E! True Hollywood Story.

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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#895 Post by What A Disgrace » Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:23 am

Feego wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:11 am
Can anyone explain what the issue is with creating supplements for Poltergeist? I'm aware of the tragic fates that befell Heather O'Rourke and Dominique Dunne, but that didn't stop Scream Factory from producing bookoos of supplements for the sequels. Nor did it stop several prominent members of the original film's cast and crew (as well as O'Rourke's mother) from sitting down for interviews for an episode of The E! True Hollywood Story.
I assume part of it is that Warner Bros. is cheap.

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dwk
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#896 Post by dwk » Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:53 am

I think part of it is Spielberg has to sign off on it getting special features and, for whatever reason, he will not do that.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#897 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:12 pm

They're probably in a stalemate over him wanting to replace all poltergeist happenings with walkie talkies in new restorations

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Aspect
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#898 Post by Aspect » Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:22 pm

Yeah, it must be the "who directed it?" controversy, which I always thought was a bit silly. Spielberg co-wrote and produced it, so of course it contains a number of his signatures (everyday family, fascination with the unknown, silhouettes), but he maintains that Hooper directed it. Spielberg's influence is certainly very strong in it, even in some of the framings (especially when the family is camped out in the living room, barely anyone else in the 80s was blocking in the classical style and crossing actors to create new framings within the same shot the way Spielberg was). Nevertheless, I consider the final product to be an incredible collaboration that's ultimately better than if either one of them had directed it on their own. It's more wondrous because of Spielberg, and more horrific and intense because of Hooper.

One need only watch The Funhouse (1981) to realize that Poltergeist is Hooper's anyway. The stylistic similarities are striking, all the more so for coming only one year before Poltergeist.

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knives
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#899 Post by knives » Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:33 pm

I was going to say that part of the problem is that Hooper’s sense of framing is too akin to Spielberg’s. As visual artists they are shockingly similar with the differences coming from their sense for pacing and narratives. Michael Kahn is probably the cause of most the unique Spielbergisms in the film.

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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

#900 Post by ianthemovie » Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:35 pm

A few years ago Oliver Robbins (who plays the son) did an interview for the Movie Geeks United podcast and was readily forthcoming about his experiences on the set of parts I and 2, so that's something. Still I would love to see even a generic "looking back" featurette with him, Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, and of course Spielberg.

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