Paramount Catalog Titles on Blu

[jsteffe]

Vidor's War and Peace: January 20th

I've heard good things about this adaptation, so now I'll finally get to see it, and in hi-def too!

But the Blu-ray I really want to see released is the brilliant The Parallax View.

[domino harvey]

I said I didn't think much of it once on the board and everyone else jumped on me in disagreement. If I ever have three and a half hours to kill maybe I'll revisit it. I can 10% co-sign wishing for a Blu of the Parallax View though!

[sir_luke]

I didn't like it, either, Domino. I'm hoping and praying that Bondarchuk's adaptation (which I consider the greatest literary adaptation of all time) will SOMEDAY make it to Blu-ray.

[jsteffe]

Interestingly enough, some Slavicists I've spoken to prefer the King Vidor adaptation over the Bondarchuk. Personally, I feel that the Bondarchuk adaptation is a mighty impressive piece of filmmaking, but I'm willing to approach Vidor's with an open mind. It does have Audrey Hepburn, and I've heard the set pieces are impressive.

The Bondarchuk version might be a long shot for Blu-ray. Apparently the surviving elements are badly compromised, so who knows whether they could produce a hi-def master that people would accept on Blu-ray. I for one would like to see a better restoration, though, and perhaps now it might be technically possible.

[knives]

Though he's about twenty years too old for the role Fonda's probably acting wise the highlight of the film though his role also is the most dramatic without going big so I guess that's bound to happen.

[domino harvey]

"Quadrilogy" rears its head again

[Ashirg]

I'll wait for Quintology... (or is it Pentalogy?)

[FrauBlucher]

There's medicine for all that stuff.

[captveg]

10/13/15

Along Came a Spider (2001)
The Core (2003)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Team America: World Police (2004)
Witness (1985)

All via Warner distribution

[captveg]

Another for 10/13/15 via WB:

Kiss the Girls (1997)

[captveg]

12/1/15

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)

Via WB

[hearthesilence]

Just viewed the new U.S. Blu-Ray release of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, presumably a clone of the region-free UK release that was released a few years earlier. (It's been hovering around $8 on Amazon.)

I'm guessing it's an HD transfer that was used for the prior DVD - in general, contrast, black levels, etc. look good, but it falters with grain management. They definitely did a bit of it - it first became noticeable when Jimmy Stewart and Vera Miles arrive at the train station and some of the darker bits of the screen looked a bit clumped together, if that makes sense. It's comparable to what you'd find in the previous U.S. Blu-Ray for The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (the one preceding the 4k restoration), and it's more noticeable in long shots - with close-ups magnifying details in people's faces, you don't have that slight clumping effect around eyes, shadows, etc.

[FrauBlucher]

[Ribs]

According to the official Facebook page, a reissue of The Untouchables is coming for its anniversary, but there's no word if it'll be a new disc or have a UHD release or anything like that.

[Caligula]

Untouchables is up for pre-order on 9 May 2017

[flyonthewall2983]

It seems to me, looking at Blu-ray.com's pre-orders, that Paramount is starting to re-issue the discs it gave to WB as part of their deal that has since lapsed.

[Ribs]

Blu-ray's forums say their rerelease of Saturday Night Fever will be a new transfer, so it seems there's a chance for any of these upcoming releases they might be sourced from a newer restoration if one's been done already

[andyli]

Saturday Night Fever gets a new transfer because it is actually a different cut.

[colinr0380]

Yes, wasn't there an alternate version at the time that toned down the language (and removed the attempted rape scene) to let Saturday Night Fever and its blockbusting soundtrack reach a wider audience? (In the UK there was both a PG and an 18 version of the film, which was a very rare thing to happen as there was some concern about people being confused at two versions of the same film being available simultaneously) So Paramount has both versions in circulation on Blu-ray now?

[FrauBlucher]

Saturday Night Fever gets a new transfer because it is actually a different cut.

Interesting. Badham is quoted as saying it got a 4k transfer according to someone on the bluray.com forum. I'll consider rebuying. I have an intimate connection to the locations of this film. I grew up and lived in the neighborhoods used in this film. I was in Junior High when they were filming.

Btw... the street with the train overhead is the very same street Friedkin used for the car/train chase in the French Connection. Just a little film trivia.

[Feego]

The new Saturday Night Fever is being billed as a "Director's Cut," so I would say it's most likely not the PG cut (which was also released in the US). I don't think the PG cut has been available since the VHS era.

[captveg]

IIRC Saturday Night Fever was one of those movies that had some deleted scenes added to broadcast on order to fill run time (and make up for a few network trims). So it's likely the R-Rated cut with some of those scenes reintigrated.

[Rayon Vert]

Yes, wasn't there an alternate version at the time that toned down the language (and removed the attempted rape scene) to let Saturday Night Fever and its blockbusting soundtrack reach a wider audience?

Yes there was. That was the first version I saw, at age 10, when it came out. Grease had happened in the meantime - which made kids like me want to see SNF (I already knew the music, not the movie) - so I wonder if that's why they re-released it PG.

[captveg]

Juice (1992) 25th Anniversary Edition - 6/6/17

Notable because this is the first sign in a while that Paramount might release new-to-BD catalog titles again rather than just reissuing titles released during the WB licensing days. It's a tie-in to the new 2Pac biopic All Eyez on Me, but still.

[What A Disgrace]

Does anybody know if the upcoming Chinatown has the same specs as the old one?