TOP SECRET! in the US from Paramount

[AndyDursin]

Has to be a better transfer than the crappy old master. HAS to be.

[Monterey Jack]

I was JUST coming here to post that.



Digital copy, too. It has to look better than the Aussie disc (which I skipped when I heard it was barely better than the DVD).

[AndyDursin]

Hopefully it's a new master, really comes down to that. I'd doubt they'd put out something that aged at this point in time. Also will be cheap too so there's that.

[Monterey Jack]

Still knockin' 'em dead...

[Monterey Jack]

"It means, 'She whose bosoms defy gravity'."

[Monterey Jack]

Hopefully it's a new master, really comes down to that. I'd doubt they'd put out something that aged at this point in time. Also will be cheap too so there's that.

I've noticed that, 90% of the time, if a Paramount release comes with a digital copy, the movie will have a fairly recent transfer. If it doesn't (and especially if it sells for $13 or less), it'll be some crappy 15-year-old "high-def" transfer with extra sharpening. This is why I have some hope for Top Secret!

[AndyDursin]

The THE BAD NEWS BEARS had a Digital HD copy but wasn't remastered. That was not as decrepid a master as TOP SECRET though...I'd be surprised if they used that master, it's so old (and lousy). The only good thing is their disc will have better compression/encoding than the Australian release, so even if it IS that old master, it won't look as bad.

LET IT RIDE is pretty much in the same camp. I did buy the Imprint release and it's a crappy older master, which surprised me because it's never been on streaming. Usually if there's an old master it's been sitting on the streaming services for years. Now Paramount is bringing it out -- and it's one of those $12 cheapies -- and I'm probably going to buy it because the Imprint release has some encoding issues that could be cleaned up (it also has deleted scenes and a good interview with the director, which means I'll have to keep it).

In general Paramount is at least diving into the catalog routinely now and doing a decent job. Many of their "Paramount Presents" titles are new remasters and have 4K Dolby Vision HDR streaming (even if the disc they're releasing is just a Blu-Ray). It's why it's worth redeeming those digital codes at Itunes for the "free 4K" upgrade. RAGTIME, THE HAUNTING, REDS, etc. all have Dolby Vision streaming, so you end up with a digital copy that looks better than the Blu-Ray you just bought.

[Monterey Jack]

The fact that LLL is releasing a new soundtrack -- including the film tracks for the first time -- is a strong indication that this will be a new master, as new Blu/UHD debuts/masters tend to go hand-in-hand with soundtrack reissues.

[AndyDursin]

Hopefully you're right, though it's not part of their "Presents" line which is where the 4K remasters go. How many of the non-Presents titles have had remasters? Not many that I can think of. On the plus side, it could be a newer master than the old thing that they released in Aussie land but not a remaster, even that would be fine.

[Monterey Jack]

Somebody at BR.com got their copy early...

How is the picture quality?
Thanks in advance.

Good, but an old master. Still, no issues. No DNR, edge enhancements, etc.

Sounds like at least a small improvement on the Aussie release, and that's good enough for me. Pre-ordered.

[AndyDursin]

Most of the people there wouldn't know what a new or an old master is but if it's something that doesn't have a lot of DNR then it's probably something new. Anyway the encoding couldn't possibly be worse than the Aussie disc so we're probably safe. Paramount's LET IT RIDE looked substantially better than the Imprint disc and it was the same master.

[Monterey Jack]

I thought it looked pretty good, aside from a number of especially soft/grainy shots that have always looked like that (notably the riotous ballet scene). I never owned the Aussie release, thus I can't compare it to that, but it still looks a lot better than the old DVD, and it's worth owning just for that. The movie itself remains a gas, one of the best wacky, absurd comedies ever.

[AndyDursin]

I love the movie. Showed it during senior year of high school for what was supposed to be a "b movie workshop" we were having during student arts week (that and an episode of Police Squad).

Sounds like it's fine. My copy from DD was shipped the other day so it should be here soon.

[AndyDursin]

It looks a hundred times better than the Australian disc. Looks to me like a new scan -- there's a good amount of detail in some shots, a few still look a little wonky -- but either way the older master had a surplus of DNR (plus poor encoding) and this looked pretty natural and downright solid in many shots I sampled.

[AndyDursin]

Just watching more of this and I can't say I like the 5.1 mix. The dialogue ought to be centered but it often bleeds out of other channels for no reason and comes off as muffled and inbalanced. The original 2.0 audio on the streaming version is much better though the Blu-Ray transfer is superior. Oh well I'll live with the disc but the sound is poor really.