I recently bought the US DVD of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? expressly for the Dana Polan commentary, and while he's well informed and generally keeps clear of Marian Keene-style straight faced insanity, it's so dry and humorless that it almost kills the movie- it 100% sucks the fun out of it, however much good stuff is in there.HerrSchreck wrote:It kind of runs the same with "scholarly" commentaries. Some of the worst commentaries I've ever heard are on CC, because it's so self-consciously overwrought from a to z. Like Pandoras Box is virtually unlistenable . . . these obscure professors and writers believe they are mounting the Olympus of cinema scholarship by recording these specific kinds of track and suck the fucking fun and excitement right out of the cinema. Cinema is alive, exciting, cinema moves and pulses and throbs, and to me there's few things worse than listening to a track wallowing in the mire of a completely voluntary hyperintellectualization of a text, and dispensing the madness as though it all were irrevocable fact.
Give me a raving fanatic like Greg Mank, Kalat, Mike Blake, etc.
The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)
- matrixschmatrix
- Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 11:26 pm
Re: The Exorcist
- manicsounds
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:58 pm
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
Re: The Exorcist
How often does Dana Polan say "on one hand...." during a commentary? Average 18 (obviously an even number...)
I'm one of the few that actually likes listening to Friedkin ramble on. I know I've said somewhere else here that he could be reading a shampoo bottle ingredient list and it would still sound fine to me. So obviously it's not about content, but something like listening to an uncle talk, which I rarely get chances to hear these days.
I'm just disappointed this new set has only about 1 hour of new material, and the book is just an excerpt. Oh well, not the worst thing to happen.
I'm one of the few that actually likes listening to Friedkin ramble on. I know I've said somewhere else here that he could be reading a shampoo bottle ingredient list and it would still sound fine to me. So obviously it's not about content, but something like listening to an uncle talk, which I rarely get chances to hear these days.
I'm just disappointed this new set has only about 1 hour of new material, and the book is just an excerpt. Oh well, not the worst thing to happen.
- Finch
- Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
- Location: Edinburgh, UK
Re: The Exorcist
A question for the techies: if the 4K scan exists and Warner had decided to use this as the basis for a new transfer, am I right in saying that this would still have had to be downconverted (to 1080p) and that a lot of televisions aren't 4K ready (if I recall correctly), so how much of a tangible improvement would have a new transfer likely been anyway?
I'm not excusing Warners for doing nothing with the video and audio (no original mono? boo) though the new extras seem to be more substantial than some of the original bonus stuff.
I'm not excusing Warners for doing nothing with the video and audio (no original mono? boo) though the new extras seem to be more substantial than some of the original bonus stuff.
- tenia
- Ask Me About My Bassoon
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am
Re: The Exorcist
Yes, you're right, but it would mean that the source would have been better. Of course, it could end being marginal, but it would most likely have closed the few limits of the previous transfer.Finch wrote:A question for the techies: if the 4K scan exists and Warner had decided to use this as the basis for a new transfer, am I right in saying that this would still have had to be downconverted (to 1080p) and that a lot of televisions aren't 4K ready (if I recall correctly), so how much of a tangible improvement would have a new transfer likely been anyway?
I'm not excusing Warners for doing nothing with the video and audio (no original mono? boo) though the new extras seem to be more substantial than some of the original bonus stuff.
Think of the 2012 Casablanca release VS the previous one. That's the type of improvement you would expect.
Then, on the more general idea, the issue is more about Warner prefering to recycle old stuff rather than, you know, use the new material they just created. It's not new, though, they've done the same with A Clockwork Orange but the new documentary on the movie was using extracts taken from the new restoration... Go and figure.
- captveg
- Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm
Re: Warner Catalog Titles on Blu
9/23/14
The Exorcist - The Complete Anthology (The Exorcist (1971), The Exorcist - Extended Director's Cut (1971/2000), Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Exorcist III (1990), Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005))
Single releases of:
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
The Exorcist III (1990)
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
It looks like Dominion: The Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) is exclusive to the box set.
The Exorcist - The Complete Anthology (The Exorcist (1971), The Exorcist - Extended Director's Cut (1971/2000), Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Exorcist III (1990), Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005))
Single releases of:
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
The Exorcist III (1990)
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
It looks like Dominion: The Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) is exclusive to the box set.
- Gregory
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm
Re: Warner Catalog Titles on Blu
They need to release a new standalone Blu of just the original film to use the new 4K scan with the color problems fixed, which they should have done last year (and as Friedkin said they were going to do) — especially if they're doing all this.
More disappointing crap from Warner, who don't even correct their past mistakes because people will keep buying whatever they foist onto the market regardless.
More disappointing crap from Warner, who don't even correct their past mistakes because people will keep buying whatever they foist onto the market regardless.
- FrauBlucher
- Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
- Location: Greenwich Village
Re: Warner Catalog Titles on Blu
Next year. They're saving it for the 44 year anniversary.
- sir_luke
- Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 9:55 pm
Re: Warner Catalog Titles on Blu
The Dee-luxe Diamond Mega Ultra Give Us More Money Edition
- manicsounds
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:58 pm
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: Warner Catalog Titles on Blu
I think we're actually approaching the 666th time it's been released
- solaris72
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:03 pm
- Location: Baltimore, MD
Re: The Exorcist
Price is quite good though- $35.99 MSRP.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm