The Fortune Cookie / Der Glückspilz (1966)

[Dan8700]

I noticed this Wilder has been released only a coupla months ago, but sadly, I couldn't find any reviews whatsoever (underrated flick? ). So I was wondering, is the transfer good? A review of the US disc reads "the transfer is razor sharp and rich and inky with its blacks", so I guess this was fully restored or at least rescanned. Does the German disc sport the same master? Also, the specs says there are both English and German subtitles; can anyone confirm? Thanks in advance.

[Bruce Morrison]

I don't have this German edition, but I do have the US Blu-ray released by Twilight Time. On that edition, I experienced very noticeable lip-sync problems in several parts of the film, which were equally apparent on both my BD players. I contacted TT about this but they claimed that only one other person had complained about it, so they didn't take any action.

So if this German edition is free of any lip-sync problems, that would already be a definite plus as far as I'm concerned.

I'll be interested in any comments on the transfer and, of course, the lip-sync issue!

[TPF]

Originally Posted by Dan8700

I noticed this Wilder has been released only a coupla months ago, but sadly, I couldn't find any reviews whatsoever (underrated flick? ). So I was wondering, is the transfer good? A review of the US disc reads "the transfer is razor sharp and rich and inky with its blacks", so I guess this was fully restored or at least rescanned. Does the German disc sport the same master? Also, the specs says there are both English and German subtitles; can anyone confirm? Thanks in advance.

Hello Dan8700.

I only sampled the Koch disc so far but the transfer quality is exemplary. All the attributes mentioned in your post are there. I can´t comment on the TT transfer but I´d be surprised if it was in any way better since Koch are top notch when it comes to encoding their discs and I doubt that there are 2 recent scans. I can also confirm both English and German subs. The back cover only states German subs but the English ones are there.

Hope this helps.

[TPF]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

I don't have this German edition, but I do have the US Blu-ray released by Twilight Time. On that edition, I experienced very noticeable lip-sync problems in several parts of the film, which were equally apparent on both my BD players. I contacted TT about this but they claimed that only one other person had complained about it, so they didn't take any action.

So if this German edition is free of any lip-sync problems, that would already be a definite plus as far as I'm concerned.

I'll be interested in any comments on the transfer and, of course, the lip-sync issue!

If you tell me which part, I can check for you. Only sampled the disc so far.

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by TPF

If you tell me which part, I can check for you. Only sampled the disc so far.

Many thanks for your offer. I'll check the TT disc later today and post again.

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by TPF

If you tell me which part, I can check for you. Only sampled the disc so far.

OK I've checked the TT disc. The lip-sync problem is particularly noticeable in a segment starting at about 58 mins 45 seconds (this is the scene with the two insurance investigators). If you watch the lips at the dialogue "Hey Max!", it's very clear on the TT disc that the audio and video are way out of step. The problem continues for a substantial portion of the film from that point onwards.

So if you could just check whether there is any obvious lip-sync problem at that point on the Koch disc and let me know, I would really appreciate it. Thanks again for your help!

[Dan8700]

Originally Posted by TPF

Hello Dan8700.

I only sampled the Koch disc so far but the transfer quality is exemplary. All the attributes mentioned in your post are there. I can´t comment on the TT transfer but I´d be surprised if it was in any way better since Koch are top notch when it comes to encoding their discs and I doubt that there are 2 recent scans. I can also confirm both English and German subs. The back cover only states German subs but the English ones are there.

Hope this helps.

You're great, thanks! I've just put an order.

[TPF]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

OK I've checked the TT disc. The lip-sync problem is particularly noticeable in a segment starting at about 58 mins 45 seconds (this is the scene with the two insurance investigators). If you watch the lips at the dialogue "Hey Max!", it's very clear on the TT disc that the audio and video are way out of step. The problem continues for a substantial portion of the film from that point onwards.

So if you could just check whether there is any obvious lip-sync problem at that point on the Koch disc and let me know, I would really appreciate it. Thanks again for your help!

Hi there. I just checked this portion. Looks fine to me on my Panasonic DMP-UB900.

[TPF]

Originally Posted by Dan8700

You're great, thanks! I've just put an order.

You´re welcome. Enjoy!

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by TPF

Hi there. I just checked this portion. Looks fine to me on my Panasonic DMP-UB900.

Many thanks for checking this. I'll order the Koch disc!

[Dan8700]

I received the Koch disc, and I can confirm this is at least from a new scan, not sure if it's a new resto because lil damages appear every now and then, but certainly nothing serious. It's not the very fine grain you see in some prints, but it's definitely a recent one; very nice. The upgrade over the very flawed DVD release is outstanding! Gone are the "burned" whites. The framing too benefits from this new scan, since there's much more information on the right side and the image now looks better centered to me.
File size for the video is about 40 GB (!), umpteenth excellent release by Koch.

To Bruce Morrison: I checked the sequence you mentioned and several other spots, and I didn't notice anything wrong with them.

[Bruce Morrison]

Yes I've received the Koch disc as well, and there is no sign of any lip-sync problems on it. My thanks to those who checked it out for me!