Movies that were "rescued" on Blu-ray - Blu-ray Forum

HGN2001 · 05-27-2014, 05:45 PM

It's happened with every format. Movies were released in a wrong edition or format on VHS, LaserDisc, DVD and even Blu-ray. Here, I'm looking to create a list of films that were somehow wrong in all previous formats but were finally presented correctly on Blu-ray.

I'll start with three examples. The most recent is SORCERER. All prior editions featured a miserable transfer with the wrong aspect ratio. William Friedkin's efforts have given us the film in its correct aspect ratio. Some will surely argue about the brightened colors and the added sound effect at the end, but I'm giving those things a pass since this film is now so much better than on all prior formats.

A second example is THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3, the '70s version. While the film got a widescreen transfer on LaserDisc and DVD, unfortunately both were letterboxed so that you ended up with either a postage stamp picture on modern TVs or blurry images from a zoom-in. On the latest Blu-ray, the film looks as it should. Some say it's a bit dark, but I believe that's probably the way it was supposed to be.

My third and final example is FRANTIC, the Harrison Ford movie. Prior DVDs and VHS tapes were all released in 4:3, but the Blu-ray finally gives us the movie in its proper aspect ratio on widescreen TVs.

I'm sure there are many more for this list. I'm primarily looking for visual changes. There are probably a lot of example where an original soundtrack was included on a Blu-ray that hadn't existed in home video before, but those are not quite as devastating to me as visual changes, so let's try to keep in that realm.

Harry

05-27-2014, 05:45 PM	#1
HGN2001 Active Member Member since:Jun 2011 Location:Sunny Central Florida Blu-ray collection:168	Movies that were "rescued" on Blu-ray It's happened with every format. Movies were released in a wrong edition or format on VHS, LaserDisc, DVD and even Blu-ray. Here, I'm looking to create a list of films that were somehow wrong in all previous formats but were finally presented correctly on Blu-ray. I'll start with three examples. The most recent is SORCERER. All prior editions featured a miserable transfer with the wrong aspect ratio. William Friedkin's efforts have given us the film in its correct aspect ratio. Some will surely argue about the brightened colors and the added sound effect at the end, but I'm giving those things a pass since this film is now so much better than on all prior formats. A second example is THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3, the '70s version. While the film got a widescreen transfer on LaserDisc and DVD, unfortunately both were letterboxed so that you ended up with either a postage stamp picture on modern TVs or blurry images from a zoom-in. On the latest Blu-ray, the film looks as it should. Some say it's a bit dark, but I believe that's probably the way it was supposed to be. My third and final example is FRANTIC, the Harrison Ford movie. Prior DVDs and VHS tapes were all released in 4:3, but the Blu-ray finally gives us the movie in its proper aspect ratio on widescreen TVs. I'm sure there are many more for this list. I'm primarily looking for visual changes. There are probably a lot of example where an original soundtrack was included on a Blu-ray that hadn't existed in home video before, but those are not quite as devastating to me as visual changes, so let's try to keep in that realm. Harry

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