Chicago (1927) - Oct 6, 2020

[GeoffOliver]

Coming from Flicker Alley.



This is based on the 1926 play of the same name, which later inspired the classic musical (and the 2002 film adaptation). Wasn't expecting to see this on Blu-ray, but I'm not complaining.

[TravisTylerBlack]

That cover is a riot! Definite blind-buy.

[SanCarolina59]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Coming from Flicker Alley.



This is based on the 1926 play of the same name, which later inspired the classic musical (and the 2002 film adaptation). Wasn't expecting to see this on Blu-ray, but I'm not complaining.

And I was just about to get the DVD of it too. I'm quite surprised as well to see Flicker Alley upgrade it to Blu-ray out of nowhere like that, but I'm definitely down for it.

[revgen]

So far, I'm only seeing a listing for this on Amazon.

I've searched Flicker Alley's website and it only lists the previously released DVD.

[DemonPreyer]

Originally Posted by SanCarolina59

And I was just about to get the DVD of it too. I'm quite surprised as well to see Flicker Alley upgrade it to Blu-ray out of nowhere like that, but I'm definitely down for it.

I was about to say the same thing. I wanted it before but the dvd disappeared super quickly!

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by SanCarolina59

And I was just about to get the DVD of it too. I'm quite surprised as well to see Flicker Alley upgrade it to Blu-ray out of nowhere like that, but I'm definitely down for it.

For once I can say I did not buy the expensive DVD first. Whew. I like and respect Flicker Alley a lot, but their pricing just has a way of sledge hammering my enthusiasm to crumbs. I understand they are a tiny boutique label often releasing titles no one else will, but they tend to be out of my league for the cost of just a single movie. So at least with this one, if it really is coming out on Blu, I don't have the pricey DVD mocking me for the double dip.

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Coming from Flicker Alley.



This is based on the 1926 play of the same name, which later inspired the classic musical (and the 2002 film adaptation). Wasn't expecting to see this on Blu-ray, but I'm not complaining.

Don't forget the great William Wellman version, 1942's Roxie Hart starring Ginger Rogers!

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

For once I can say I did not buy the expensive DVD first. Whew. I like and respect Flicker Alley a lot, but their pricing just has a way of sledge hammering my enthusiasm to crumbs. I understand they are a tiny boutique label often releasing titles no one else will, but they tend to be out of my league for the cost of just a single movie. So at least with this one, if it really is coming out on Blu, I don't have the pricey DVD mocking me for the double dip.

$23.99 for this one isn't a terrible price Considerably lower than their other titles, which I too find a little cost-prohibitive.

[StarDestroyer52]

My only concern is this may be a BD-R, since it has the code FA-MD-[number].

Example of a MOD BD title that has the same code:



Regular Flicker Alley titles usually have the code FA[number]. I asked Flicker Alley if this was a pressed disc and I am waiting on a reply from them, they are usually very quick to answer my inquiries when I have communicated with them in the past. If it's a pressed disc I will be all over it. Though also of note, I can't find it on MovieZyng where they sell their MOD titles.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

My only concern is this may be a BD-R, since it has the code FA-MD-[number].

Ugh, I hadn't even thought of that, but given the relatively low price (for Flicker Alley), I'm now wondering if you're right.

An easy pass for me if so. The only BD-Rs I have are KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL and PATTERNS from Film Detective because I didn't think anyone else would ever release them on Blu and also they were pretty cheap. Maybe no one else will ever release CHICAGO, but I can't see paying upwards of $25 with tax for a burned Blu. I hope it won't be.

[theater dreamer]

I haven’t seen this one, but based on the enthusiasm displayed by you guys, forum members I have come to respect, if this is a pressed disc, it’s an easy blind buy for me.

The little trickle of silent films coming down the pipeline from various studios has been a most pleasant surprise. And I’m good with that price point, knowing the amount of restorative work that is typically required. It breaks my heart knowing how many films we have lost due to time, but I see Chicago, and releases like it as little victories.

[StarDestroyer52]

From the MovieZyng link:

Important Product Information: This product is manufactured on demand in the BD-R format.

Just what I feared. I will have to pass on this one.

[theater dreamer]

Well, damn.

[OneWayFilms]

Given that this film will never sell enough to make it profitable for a mass pressed disk order....I'm really glad they are at least making it available for the die-hard fans, even if it is the BD-R format.

It kinda makes since for these smaller titles that aren't expected to sell many at all.

[AllAboutMatt]

Originally Posted by OneWayFilms

Given that this film will never sell enough to make it profitable for a mass pressed disk order....I'm really glad they are at least making it available for the die-hard fans, even if it is the BD-R format.

It kinda makes since for these smaller titles that aren't expected to sell many at all.

Many of FA's regular "pressed" titles aren't mega-blockbusters either but they get the full treatment...

oh well...

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by AllAboutMatt

Many of FA's regular "pressed" titles aren't mega-blockbusters either but they get the full treatment...

oh well...

This, there are way less known FA titles that get the pressed treatment. I would've been happy even if it was a barebones BD-25 release like the Pickford releases and would've paid $30 in a heartbeat but refuse to get a BD-R. This happened with J' Accuse(1919) too, despite it getting a pressed release in France, which sadly is not English friendly.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

Just what I feared. I will have to pass on this one.

Same here. If it were maybe ten bucks cheaper I would consider it, but charging upwards of $25 with tax for a BD-R is ridiculous. I would rather continue investing with labels like KINO and others who are trying to survive by still doing things the right way rather than cutting corners and potentially burning bridges with their loyal customers. It's sad that FA feels they have to go this route, but if that's their only option to stay in business, I guess the most I can do to support them is to wish them well.

[revgen]

I bought it from Movie Zyng. Believe it or not, it's cheaper than the pressed DVD on Flicker Alley's website, which is being sold for 35 dollars.

[DandyDancing]

Originally Posted by revgen

I bought it from Movie Zyng. Believe it or not, it's cheaper than the pressed DVD on Flicker Alley's website, which is being sold for 35 dollars.

Jesus Christ

[kishiro]

I got the BD today. As mentioned it is part of Flicker Alley's MOD series and therefore a BD-R. The good news is that the detail-level is very nice. But I have some rather bad news....

The HD master was originally created by Lobster for the European market and runs at 25 fps. Now, one would think that Flicker Alley would either speed it down slightly to 24 fps as they did with the excellent Abel Gance's 1919-feature 'J'accuse', or go the worse route; frame-interpolate and create a 29.97 fps master at 1080i. They did neither... It seem like they instead took the 25 fps master and removed a single fram every second to get it to 24 fps and keeping the exact same runtime as the 25 fps-master.... That's the absolute worst way to it. I didn't even think that was an option...

I got the french Lobster DVD, which runs at 25 fps and clocks in at the same running-time as the 23.976 1080p Flicker Alley BD. I have stepped through frame by frame in several scenes to confirm that they indeed removed a frame every second... That's about ~6208 frames cut! There's clearly stuttering in panning-scenes on the Flicker Alley BD which are not present on the french Lobster DVD. I'm speechless...

Note: The print/master is not strectch-printed so there's no frame duplications in the feature. Alle the frames are unique in the 25 fps master. Hence you can't just throw away thousands of frames. There have been one instance (that I know of) where a silent movie which was stretch-printed at 25 fps and subjected to the same process, where they removed a duplicate frame every second to get to 24. That was BFI and their UK release of 'Battleship Potemkin'. In that case it was fine because they only removed one of the several duplicate frames every second.


I would reccomend getting the french Lobster DVD over the BD. It looks quite good even though it's only SD 576p. It's clearly not as crisp and sharp as the BD, but it looks superior in motion.

[revgen]

They could have done this two ways.

1) Adjust the fps to 23.976 without removing frames, and change the running time of the audio without changing the pitch. There are audio tools that can accomplish this.

2) Encode using the encoder x264 and use the --fake-interlace option as described here. LINK This fools the blu-ray player into believing it's playing a 1080i interlaced stream when it's not.

I personally prefer the first approach.