Universal Backlot Series / Universal Studio Selections

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Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:49 pm

Re: Universal Backlot Series

#76 Post by Perkins Cobb » Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:22 pm

Dave Kehr reports on his blog that There's Always Tomorrow is 1.33:1 vs. the MOC's 1.85:1.

Let the games begin!

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TMDaines
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
Location: Stretford, Manchester

Re: Universal Backlot Series

#77 Post by TMDaines » Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:32 pm

Dave Kehr wrote:Rick K., you’ve put your finger on a consistent problem with Universal’s home video releases: there doesn’t seem to be anyone at the studio with even a freshman level knowledge of film history. I’ve just been watching the Barbara Stanwyck box they’ll be releasing in a couple of weeks, which pretty much contains ever Stanwyck title in the Universal/Paramount library that hasn’t been previously released or licensed to another company, and of course it is wildly uneven, ranging from a thrilling discovery — Alfred Santell’s distinctly Ophulsian “Internes Can’t Take Money” — to a particularly wretched Irving Pichel comedy, “The Bride Wore Boots.” But there’s no excuse, in this day and age, for presenting Douglas Sirk’s great “There’s Always Tomorrow” — by far the most important title in the bunch — in a muddy, full-frame transfer, particularly when MoC has pointed the way with their Criterion-quality edition of “Tomorrow” in England, presented of course in its proper 1.85 ratio. Is it that they don’t know any better, don’t care, or are too cheap to put it on a separate anamorphic disc?
Well Universal have fucked up.

I like how it's still considered the ultimate praise to call releases from other labels Criterion-quality in 2010. :P

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Cinephrenic
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:58 pm
Location: Paris, Texas

Re: Universal Backlot Series

#78 Post by Cinephrenic » Wed Apr 14, 2010 12:08 am

How can this be 1.85:1.?

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tojoed
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:47 am
Location: Cambridge, England

Re: Universal Backlot Series

#79 Post by tojoed » Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:52 am

Cinephrenic wrote:How can this be 1.85:1.?
It's always been 1.85:1, there's no doubt about it. Why do you think it might not be?

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Cinephrenic
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:58 pm
Location: Paris, Texas

Re: Universal Backlot Series

#80 Post by Cinephrenic » Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:22 pm

Sorry, I thought that ratio wasn't incorporated until later. I forgot the age of the film.

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tojoed
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:47 am
Location: Cambridge, England

Re: Universal Backlot Series

#81 Post by tojoed » Sat Apr 17, 2010 11:32 am

No problem. I thought for a moment we were going to have a Mag Obs in reverse thing. :)

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domino harvey
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Universal Backlot Series

#82 Post by domino harvey » Sat Apr 17, 2010 12:52 pm

So is it open-matte? I seem to remember someone (david hare maybe?) who posted VHS screencaps of the film that were full-frame but open-matte. Open-matte isn't a big deal, cropped is

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zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: Universal Backlot Series

#83 Post by zedz » Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:56 pm

If you look at the caps posted on Kehr's blog, it looks like both - i.e. open matte but with a little cropping on the sides. MoC has more information on the sides of both captures. Not a huge amount, but enough to further mess with the compositions. And to me it does look like open-and-shut open matte, with the images clearly composed for the narrower ratio and lots of empty space above and below - not one of those ambiguous instances that lead to pages and pages of tortuous debate. But anything's possible!

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AtlantaFella
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:19 pm

Re: Universal Backlot Series

#84 Post by AtlantaFella » Sun Apr 18, 2010 11:51 pm

Where did you folks find the review on Dave Kehr's blog? I've used the search function and browsed through the most recent entries but can't seem to find this. Thanks...

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domino harvey
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Re: Universal Backlot Series

#85 Post by domino harvey » Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:00 pm



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domino harvey
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Re: Universal Backlot Series / Universal Studio Selections

#87 Post by domino harvey » Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:58 pm

Dang Fox, get on the Bing Crosby bandwagon and release Say One For Me

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domino harvey
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Re: Universal Backlot Series / Universal Studio Selections

#88 Post by domino harvey » Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:52 pm

Don't know where else to put this, but Universal, like a lot of studios, just released a wave of their own 4 Feature collections but unlike Warners (or Universal's other multi-film sets), these aren't double-sided but dual-layer regular DVDs with two films per disc (the original discs were single-layer anyways, so it doesn't matter). The Wake Island/Battle Hymn/To Hell and Back/Gray Lady Down set is only $7.99 right now on Amazon, too

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matrixschmatrix
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 11:26 pm

Re: Universal Backlot Series / Universal Studio Selections

#89 Post by matrixschmatrix » Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:04 pm

Oh, wow- Fierce Creatures is in this one. I wonder if it's still the crappy pan-and-scan version?

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