HOW THE WEST WAS WON in High-Def -- Spectacular!

[AndyDursin]

Just got the Blu Ray version and the new HD transfer is just spectacular...presented in both "regular" widescreen and a "Smilebox" format that simulates the curved Cinerama screen. Both have been digitally remastered, removing (for the most part) those seams in the 3-strip process that made prior widescreen versions a bit ungainly to look at. This new restoration is AMAZING for a catalog title, the movie looks like it could have been filmed yesterday, and overall I like the curved "Smilebox" format the best as it eats up more of your 16:9 set and comes closer to replicating the original format experience.

Absolutely recommended for HD enthusiasts -- and a reminder what can be done for classic movies in high definition. Too bad more companies don't seem to be interested in releasing catalog content

[JSWalsh]

I've never seen this, though I have the 3-disc score. I shrink from watching it because it seems like one of those movies with a hundred cameos and no central characters.

[Eric W.]

Absolutely recommended for HD enthusiasts -- and a reminder what can be done for classic movies in high definition. Too bad more companies don't seem to be interested in releasing catalog content

It'll happen more after the holidays and in to next year.

I'm really looking forward to this!

[AndyDursin]

Absolutely recommended for HD enthusiasts -- and a reminder what can be done for classic movies in high definition. Too bad more companies don't seem to be interested in releasing catalog content

It'll happen more after the holidays and in to next year.

I'm really looking forward to this!

I heard that a year ago, too

Did you see Sony's November slate of BD titles? My God, if that's what we're supposed to get excited about...seriously, I DON'T understand their thinking whatsoever. Do they even care if someone buys into this format? Are they trying to make it fail? "Great idea, let's can GHOSTBUSTERS and release a bunch of Martin Lawrence movies and several films nobody ever saw instead!"

[Eric W.]

I heard that a year ago, too

And we got some, albeit not much. Remember: This format has only been on the streets two years as of this last August. It was just like this in the first couple of years or so of DVD.

Did you see Sony's November slate of BD titles? My God, if that's what we're supposed to get excited about...seriously, I DON'T understand their thinking whatsoever. Do they even care if someone buys into this format? Are they trying to make it fail? "Great idea, let's can GHOSTBUSTERS and release a bunch of Martin Lawrence movies and several films nobody ever saw instead!"

It's pretty terrible. Thankfully there are plenty of other studios out there besides just them.



I may not be fully grasping what you mean by "catalog title" but here goes:

I agree, but all of this reminds me of the way it was in DVD's first couple of years or so: We saw a bunch of junk get cranked out left and right while slowly but surely the good stuff started to come out as well.

Look at what the other studios are doing.

For junk like that, we have titles like these, or the restored Godfather trilogy (this is huge. How long did we have to wait before these showed up on DVD that first time?) , and the rest. I'm still hearing talk that Lawrence of Arabia might hit for Christmas.

Dec 2. Casablance Ultimate Edition, The Criterion Collection hits in November, not sure if this counts but Final Countdown, Last time I saw Paris, American in Paris, The Bond films, Poltergeist, Body Heat, Beetlejuice, Indy 4 (it's big technically), Omen Trilogy, Sleeping Beauty, A Ray Harryhausen boxed set in early October, Young Frankstein, Halloween, Amityville Horror, The THing, Ronin end of September finally, Blow, LA Confidential, Kill Bill 1 and 2, Shrek 3

^^ All this before Christmas and they still keep announcing stuff.

I suspect these aren't all "catalog titles" or are they? I'm not 100 percent sure what that means.



Certainly I'd love to have more catalog titles going than we currently do. Less junk.

I'm as eager as you are! I feel like it took forever for some this to show up on DVD.

Right now, I'd classify that situaton as "decent." Next year it needs to be past well past "decent" and I expect it to be.

[AndyDursin]

I hear you Eric. The main problem with comparing BD to DVD is that it's not the same situation surrounding the format. DVD only had VHS as its main competitor -- Blu Ray has not only DVD but downloads, video streaming, etc. stacked against it. These are things that are quickly gaining steam and by the time BD reaches the "masses" (which isn't happening quickly) they could well be viable viewing options for the majority of folks. I'm sure you will disagree, but I don't think they're that far off.

Either way, I just think it's in the best interest of BD to put out some quality content that is going to make people go out and invest in the format...Sony ought to be LEADING the charge in terms of software and it looks like they've basically said goodbye to 2008. I honestly don't understand their approach whatsoever. Disney just told us how many animated movies they'll be bringing to BD -- which is, what, a half-dozen classics through 2010 or 2011? I like what Fox is doing as you do, and Warner is doing, but Universal doesn't seem too interested in doing anything in 2008 beyond reprising what was on HD-DVD in 2007.

They really, really need to get the ball going to make this format fly...other than a few select releases honestly it's been a ho-hum 2008, and other than a few titles left like a smattering of Bond titles and Godfather, there's not a ton to get excited about as we close out the year either.

[Eric W.]

I hear you Eric. The main problem with comparing BD to DVD is that it's not the same situation surrounding the format. DVD only had VHS as its main competitor -- Blu Ray has not only DVD but downloads, video streaming, etc. stacked against it. These are things that are quickly gaining steam and by the time BD reaches the "masses" (which isn't happening quickly) they could well be viable viewing options for the majority of folks. I'm sure you will disagree, but I don't think they're that far off.

Either way, I just think it's in the best interest of BD to put out some quality content that is going to make people go out and invest in the format...Sony ought to be LEADING the charge in terms of software and it looks like they've basically said goodbye to 2008. I honestly don't understand their approach whatsoever. Disney just told us how many animated movies they'll be bringing to BD -- which is, what, a half-dozen classics through 2010 or 2011? I like what Fox is doing as you do, and Warner is doing, but Universal doesn't seem too interested in doing anything in 2008 beyond reprising what was on HD-DVD in 2007.

They really, really need to get the ball going to make this format fly...other than a few select releases honestly it's been a ho-hum 2008, and other than a few titles left like a smattering of Bond titles and Godfather, there's not a ton to get excited about as we close out the year either.

You get no argument from me here. Part of the problem here really stems off of this: They essentially forfeited the first half of this year outright and I still find that inexcuseable and unacceptable. Yeah, I understand there was a transistion period of sorts when HD-DVD shut down and all that, but there's no way it should have merited the first half of this year being the ghost town that it was.

[AndyDursin]

You get no argument from me here. Part of the problem here really stems off of this: They essentially forfeited the first half of this year outright and I still find that inexcuseable and unacceptable. Yeah, I understand there was a transistion period of sorts when HD-DVD shut down and all that, but there's no way it should have merited the first half of this year being the ghost town that it was.

Exactly. Now Sony canned GHOSTBUSTERS...and Warner is doing GREMLINS and GOONIES, but they're only (as of right now) coming out overseas!!

[Eric W.]

You get no argument from me here. Part of the problem here really stems off of this: They essentially forfeited the first half of this year outright and I still find that inexcuseable and unacceptable. Yeah, I understand there was a transistion period of sorts when HD-DVD shut down and all that, but there's no way it should have merited the first half of this year being the ghost town that it was.

Exactly. Now Sony canned GHOSTBUSTERS...and Warner is doing GREMLINS and GOONIES, but they're only (as of right now) coming out overseas!!

I don't understand what's going on there at all. I'd be buying all three of those titles right away if I saw them on the docket. I would expect the Warner stuff to make it's move here without too much delay. What Sony is thinking about Ghostbusters is beyond me unless they saw they had a bigger remastering chore on their hands than what they thought or something like that.

[AndyDursin]

You get no argument from me here. Part of the problem here really stems off of this: They essentially forfeited the first half of this year outright and I still find that inexcuseable and unacceptable. Yeah, I understand there was a transistion period of sorts when HD-DVD shut down and all that, but there's no way it should have merited the first half of this year being the ghost town that it was.

Exactly. Now Sony canned GHOSTBUSTERS...and Warner is doing GREMLINS and GOONIES, but they're only (as of right now) coming out overseas!!

I don't understand what's going on there at all. I'd be buying all three of those titles right away if I saw them on the docket. I would expect the Warner stuff to make it's move here without too much delay. What Sony is thinking about Ghostbusters is beyond me unless they saw they had a bigger remastering chore on their hands than what they thought or something like that.

They've done it a few times even in the format's infancy...remember MEATBALLS and THE NATURAL? Those were cancelled, never to be reannounced.

[Eric Paddon]

I just watched the "Smilebox" version of the film on the new Blu-Ray. Spectacular indeed! I have never seen a true Cinerama presentation theatrically before, but this is an incredible way of trying to replicate the experience for the home viewer.

[AndyDursin]

I just watched the "Smilebox" version of the film on the new Blu-Ray. Spectacular indeed! I have never seen a true Cinerama presentation theatrically before, but this is an incredible way of trying to replicate the experience for the home viewer.

Nice going Eric! Love to hear you catching up on "the good stuff."

The IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD Blu-Ray, which right now is limited to Walmart, looks spectacular too. MGM did a wonderful job on that transfer...the detail is amazing (and it's only $10).

[Eric Paddon]

Mad World I'm still not pleased we don't have the longer cut which I have transferred to DVD-R off the LD. Although not in the same category as "1776" for more than a decade that's become the "standard" cut for me and it would take a bit of getting used to, to see the short cut again. The LD cut, while not the total original version we wanted to see, at least clears up some of the narrative points better.

On "West" I think I figured out where Hope Lange's cut scenes were supposed to go, because Peppard's meeting with Fonda at his little cabin is very brief and then we get a long exit to some soaring music by Newman closing the "act". It just seems to work against the tone a bit because this sounds more like music that should have come after a much lengthier scene that got trimmed.

[AndyDursin]

I totally understand on MAD WORLD but personally, as much as I like the LD (I still have it as well), those scenes aren't deal breakers for me and I think your misgivings will lessen once you see how spectacular the film looks. There's also a full hour of the deleted scenes in the extras (though I don't know if these are the LD additions or not; the running time on the cut scenes, which are standard def, is 61 minutes) plus the prior LD documentary and a couple of trailers too.

It's also highly unlikely we'll ever get that version again, so I do recommend it myself.

[Eric Paddon]

I'll pay Target a visit (we only have one in the immediate vicinity) Saturday to see if they have it. At the very least, one can look at Barrie Chase in Blu-Ray quality!