Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Confirmed. No extended versions of the film, sadly.

Thanks for the knowledge..
..but @ Warner.

[garyrc]

Originally Posted by Taffy

...today, studio techs now have it within their power to go beyond the source and perhaps offer something better...something more modern...something different!!!
... I just want my socks blown off by some of that new Hollywood technology.

Although I see no reason to want something "modern" just because it is "modern," or "different" just because it's "different," I am open to "better" -- providing it doesn't violate the filmmakers' intentions. This would be a thin line to walk, but I can think of examples that might work, e.g, if the filmmakers used an ultra fine grain stock and shot in 65mm, producing a 70 mm print that was almost grainless, indicating a clear desire to minimize grain, it might be O.K. to erase the remaining grain with some advanced digital process, IF SUCH A PROCESS EXISTED. So far, I haven't seen this done without losing detail. Likewise, if a filmmaker produced the soundtrack like the old 70 mm ones in 6 channel mag, in which channel number 6 was the only surround channel (often pumped to all surround speakers), it would probably be O.K. to assign appropriate sounds to the correct sides, etc.

As to having one's socks blown off, mine were blown off so often in the theater, and stayed so securely on in the DVD versions, that I can only hope that in the Blu they restore the original dynamic range to such films as Alien, Ben-Hur, and ET, to name three.

[DaViD Boulet]

Originally Posted by Taffy

Yeah....I get all that. Each plateau of media that I bought over the years was better than the last one and closer to the source (film).

Right.

But...today, studio techs now have it within their power to go beyond the source and perhaps offer something better...something more modern...something different!!!

Something "different" than the original? That's not the job of the media. That's the job of movie-makers. The media's job is to deliver the movie faithfully to your HT system as intended by the creators... whatever the case may be.

Now THAT may sound sacrilegious to you but I'm tired of buying the same ole movie over and over again. Example: Lets take Titanic. I still have a VHS, a LD, 2 DVD versions, a HD recording off TNT, of this movie. I say juice it up...give it a fresh coat of 3D paint, run it up the flag pole and see if anyone salutes it.
I don't mean to sound flippant...that's not my purpose. I just want my socks blown off by some of that new Hollywood technology.

You're posting in the wrong forum. This forum is about advocating for faithfulness to the source (or at the very least, faithful to the intentions of the original artists when those aspirations can be accurately assertained).

[STARSCREAM]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Confirmed. No extended versions of the film, sadly.

SIGH......and here I thought no way Warner would screw up these so called "Ultimate Editions". There is now nothing "Ultimate" about these 2 releases. They are the exact same movie I have now thrown in a big box with extra fluff.

[Jeff Kleist]

You're assuming there's more footage that the directors want in there. Sadly they don't

Maybe there's a method to my madness after all ?

[STARSCREAM]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

You're assuming there's more footage that the directors want in there. Sadly they don't

Maybe there's a method to my madness after all ?

You could be right, still would have been nice though. They show both of these as extended versions on ABC family all the time though.

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

You're assuming there's more footage that the directors want in there. Sadly they don't

Maybe there's a method to my madness after all ?

Jeff,

Frankly I'm surprised there isn't more footage that was shot given the length of these books (especially Goblet). In hindsight Warner should have done with 4, 5, and 6 what they're doing with #7...doing two full-length feature films to milk the franchise for more profit. Potter fans wouldn't have complained one bit (at least I wouldn't have).

[Jeff Kleist]

You could be right, still would have been nice though. They show both of these as extended versions on ABC family all the time though.

Movies are padded all the time for TV broadcast, but it doesn't mean those scenes are supposed to be there. It usually happens when they can't cut enough to make 2 hours, or the movie is too short to have the commercials pad it out. Superman 1 and 2 (especially 2), Wrath of Khan (both through Nick Meyer's desire and the need to pad it a bit), Dune, Aliens all had extended cuts on TV, virtually none of which were constructed with the participation of the director.

Frankly I'm surprised there isn't more footage that was shot given the length of these books (especially Goblet). In hindsight Warner should have done with 4, 5, and 6 what they're doing with #7...doing two full-length feature films to milk the franchise for more profit. Potter fans wouldn't have complained one bit (at least I wouldn't have).

They should have gone back and shot any scenes from 5 and 6 they missed while shooting 7. Those are the ones that suffered the most.

[garyrc]

"If it's not 1.5 screen widths, it's not "Home Theater" - it's TV."

David, I agree with this. A (home) theatrical experience should use images of that size or bigger, pq permitting. I estimated that the image (with a 70 mm source) in my favorite theater in the 20th row from the screen was about 1 screen width away (the rows were much closer together when that theater was built, and there was no pit, organ or stage in the way). Many film buffs sat closer, more like the 15 the row or even the 10th (for 2001, many of us moved even closer!). It would be great to have images this size on one's retinas at home, and that's not out of the question with the exceptional BD, if the movie is made with a steady camera, without a lot of quick cuts. Vistas would be a Vision, and close-ups would be "the face as landscape," as one critic put it.

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Movies are padded all the time for TV broadcast, but it doesn't mean those scenes are supposed to be there. It usually happens when they can't cut enough to make 2 hours, or the movie is too short to have the commercials pad it out. Superman 1 and 2 (especially 2), Wrath of Khan (both through Nick Meyer's desire and the need to pad it a bit), Dune, Aliens all had extended cuts on TV, virtually none of which were constructed with the participation of the director

Director's participation or not, the extended versions of these films are still being shown on TV (most recently heavily hyped last week), and for many the buyers this was the reason to buy these versions. Without them, these are just boxes with extra junk and a 1-hour documentary, hardly worth twice (or more) the price for anyone but absolute die-hard fans.

If you check the main thread about these editions in the NA forum, you'll see most people have said they don't plan on purchasing these now. I know I will not. I am not a huge potter fan, but I would like to own all the movies - but was waiting for these "Ultimate" versions.

Now I'm just not buying them at all - I'm irritated that I skipped out on a lot of Potter Blu-ray sales on the standard editions while waiting for these ones, and for all we know future "Ultimate" editions may end up being directors cuts - and I don't want a mix-match on my shelf like that where I have some and don't have others.

So after hearing all this I just went to Netflix, added the first six films to my queue, and I'll watch them all together that way. Warner would have gotten me, a very-casual fan (I still haven't seen 5 or 6), to lay out for the whole set of these releases, now I really don't care and at most will be buying the standard editions sometime when I see them for $10 again (if even then).

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Movies are padded all the time for TV broadcast, but it doesn't mean those scenes are supposed to be there. It usually happens when they can't cut enough to make 2 hours, or the movie is too short to have the commercials pad it out. Superman 1 and 2 (especially 2), Wrath of Khan (both through Nick Meyer's desire and the need to pad it a bit), Dune, Aliens all had extended cuts on TV, virtually none of which were constructed with the participation of the director.

Those are much older films. That doesn't seem to happen much with more recent films. These days all shot footage seems to end up on dvd/bluray.


I wasn't aware that Aliens had an extended TV cut. I was always under the impression that Cameron preferred the Aliens extended cut that ended up on dvd.

Speaking of the Aliens extended cut, did anyone else feel that the scene with Newt and her family at the beginning was out of place? I loved seeing that scene, but I felt it would have been better served at the very beginning or when Newt was telling Ripley what happened. It just happens very abruptly.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by BillieCassin

Director's participation or not, the extended versions of these films are still being shown on TV (most recently heavily hyped last week), and for many the buyers this was the reason to buy these versions. Without them, these are just boxes with extra junk and a 1-hour documentary, hardly worth twice (or more) the price for anyone but absolute die-hard fans.

If you check the main thread about these editions in the NA forum, you'll see most people have said they don't plan on purchasing these now. I know I will not. I am not a huge potter fan, but I would like to own all the movies - but was waiting for these "Ultimate" versions.

Now I'm just not buying them at all - I'm irritated that I skipped out on a lot of Potter Blu-ray sales on the standard editions while waiting for these ones, and for all we know future "Ultimate" editions may end up being directors cuts - and I don't want a mix-match on my shelf like that where I have some and don't have others.

So after hearing all this I just went to Netflix, added the first six films to my queue, and I'll watch them all together that way. Warner would have gotten me, a very-casual fan (I still haven't seen 5 or 6), to lay out for the whole set of these releases, now I really don't care and at most will be buying the standard editions sometime when I see them for $10 again (if even then).

Im also disappointed that these films aren't getting extended editions as well. I strill plan on getting them since they would match nicely with what I currently have on my shelf, but I would rather have an extended edition director preferred or not. Because of that I think Warner is gonna have a tough sell on these.

[miller_time22]

Hi Jeff-
Quick question: how are things looking for a Breaking Bad Season 3 release on Blu-ray?
I know you'd mentioned that Sony TV and Blu-ray weren't off on the best foot back when the first two seasons had been released, but I'm hoping that they sold in sufficient quantities for Season 3 to be released on Blu-ray as well. Thanks!

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris

If you're going to use my words, allow me to do a slight edit...

"Blu-ray releases should be, and can be, near-perfect representations of their cinema counterparts."

Thanks for the reply , however I think it's stronger the way it was (since people already know what Blu-ray can do). I hope you don't mind me keeping it this way?

[Pyoko]

Now that the first classic Ghibli title has been released in Japan, what are Disney's plans for the US market?

Are they going to keep up like with Ponyo (a three-month gap), or will we see a replay of the DVD era with waves being released years later?

[Jeff Kleist]

Well, the Ghibli catalog in general suffered from a lack of familiarity with the Disney brass. They acquired it because the distribution dollars in Asia are huge, but it wasn't till John Lassetter became the WDFA bigwig that anyone there was actually interested in it. Before then they were just filling the terms of a contract.

You're going to see a delay for each and every title because we're all now one big happy region to protect the home market. Keep in mind what Amazon charges for Ponyo you can buy _3_ of them for 1 Japanese disc because everything there is rental priced. Japanese people can use Amazon too, and they want to make sure that they sell a bunch in the home market before cheaper imports open up. Ponyo had a theatrical to DVD window, I expect the catalog stuff to take longer.

Hi Jeff-
Quick question: how are things looking for a Breaking Bad Season 3 release on Blu-ray?
I know you'd mentioned that Sony TV and Blu-ray weren't off on the best foot back when the first two seasons had been released, but I'm hoping that they sold in sufficient quantities for Season 3 to be released on Blu-ray as well. Thanks!

I certainly hope so, we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out. Hopefully Aaron Paul gets his much deserved Emmy this year

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Movies are padded all the time for TV broadcast, but it doesn't mean those scenes are supposed to be there. It usually happens when they can't cut enough to make 2 hours, or the movie is too short to have the commercials pad it out. Superman 1 and 2 (especially 2), Wrath of Khan (both through Nick Meyer's desire and the need to pad it a bit), Dune, Aliens all had extended cuts on TV, virtually none of which were constructed with the participation of the director.



They should have gone back and shot any scenes from 5 and 6 they missed while shooting 7. Those are the ones that suffered the most.

3 was shredded as far as I'm concerned. I love the way the film looks and feels, but it could have used another 20 minutes easy. They left out too much from the book. 4 was about perfect, I can only think of the muggle riots that could have been strengthened. 5 was really disserved by the edit. If it had been me, I'd have made both 5 and 7 into 2 movies.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by SpaceDog

4 was about perfect.

4 is the worst of all the adaptations(although I wouldn't begrudge anyone saying 5 is), they botched that the minute we see David Tennant.

6 still needs an extended cut to include all the memories.

[Doctorossi]

Jeff, speaking of the Ghibli catalog, have you heard any practical feedback yet on your efforts to inform the powers-that-be of our communal request for lossless Japanese audio? Or are we going to have to quietly clasp our hands with looks of consternation on our faces until the next release is detailed on a sale sheet and then go bonkers as necessary?

Thanks, again, for your efforts!

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

4 is the worst of all the adaptations(although I wouldn't begrudge anyone saying 5 is), they botched that the minute we see David Tennant.

6 still needs an extended cut to include all the memories.

I loved the films, but I would love to see the extended editions that were shown on ABC. I don't care if its better or not I would just like to see both films more fleshed out.

These days extended editions are apparently too much to ask though. (See Waterworld and Dune)