The Ten Commandments 4K UHD (1956)

[DaveF059]

You are likely correct.
All the BB in stock blu rays have 7 digit SKUs.

[3eccaTron]

Originally Posted by rroeder

You would think they would play it on Passover weekend instead of Easter since it's relevant.

Regardless grew up watching it cause I loved the movie, the bluray looks amazing so the UHD should be stellar!

There reallly isn’t a “Passover Weekend”. The Jewish calendar has fewer days and thus Passover can be anytime between the beginning of March and the end of April. Also it is an 8-day long holiday.

For marketing purposes and because most of the country is Christian they align it with Easter. The reason the holidays are near each other is as others have said because the events aligned... and I’ll use the term loosely... “historically”. The last supper was canonically a Passover Seder and all those in attendance were Jewish and observing the holiday.

[BenjaminG]

I'm keen for word on the visual effects clean up? Anyone read anything about what that entails?

[chewbabka]

Originally Posted by BenjaminG

I'm keen for word on the visual effects clean up? Anyone read anything about what that entails?

Don't know explicitly what was done, but the reviews seem to indicate that if anything was done since the last restoration (and not sure if there was), it was only to ensure that the added resolution of 4K didn't make the effects stick out like a sore thumb. It's important to remember that back in theatrical release, effects on these old movies would benefit from multiple generations of grain to "blend" them in a little. So a little massaging on a o-neg resto to achieve similar blending isn't necessarily revisionist. I don't think anything was done to damage the integrity of the original effects.

[infiniteCR]

Originally Posted by Wes_k089

I was really excited for this release when it was announced, but I'm going to hang onto my standard bluray and pass on this release. This doesn't have much rewatchability for me, so the 1080p version is good enough for me

After a couple dozen viewings I feel somewhat similarly. However, an amazing set of before and afters may make me cave quite easily

[Ricky G]

I think I dodged a bullet here with Amazon. I preordered this a long time ago and noticed that my estimated delivery date would be at the end of April! I ordered another copy in hopes of a 'day of' delivery date. Sure enough that's what happened and I canceled my initial preorder.

[Alhlan Ain Ajeeba]

My benchmark for top classic movie picture quality on 4k ,ls wizard of oz.If this can even look the tiniest bit better,its the 4k of the year.The 4k review here on the site sounded promising,but the screenshots are from the blu.

[dlb99]

Spartacus looks better than The Wizard of Oz to my eyes.

That is the reference for classic film video fidelity. Absolutely astonishing how good it looks.

[chewbabka]

Originally Posted by dlb99

Spartacus looks better than The Wizard of Oz to my eyes.

That is the reference for classic film video fidelity. Absolutely astonishing how good it looks.

You may be disagreeing on the meaning of benchmark. A benchmark can be a line where you say, this is really good. If it’s even better, wow, if it’s worse, I’ll be disappointed.

So it’s entirely reasonable that Spartacus could be the best, but Oz the benchmark.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by dlb99

Spartacus looks better than The Wizard of Oz to my eyes.

That is the reference for classic film video fidelity. Absolutely astonishing how good it looks.

Well, for one thing, WoZ is a much older movie with a different filming process than Spartacus and a different digital technique was used to restore the shrunken and warped negatives to better align three-strip Technicolor. Spartacus was not three-strip Technicolor.



You cannot compare the two.

[Seth Plate AM]

Which are subtitles at 4K disc?

[TheBondFan]

Originally Posted by Seth Plate AM

Which are subtitles at 4K disc?

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Well, for one thing, WoZ is a much older movie with a different filming process than Spartacus and a different digital technique was used to restore the shrunken and warped negatives to better align three-strip Technicolor. Spartacus was not three-strip Technicolor.



You cannot compare the two.

Indeed the BD restoration of DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), due the same day as this 4K, is more comparable to WoO than this movie due to its being shot on three-strip Technicolor. Only two other Best Pictures were shot on three-strip Technicolor, and Gone with the Wind & An American in Paris both hit BD more than a decade ago. (Ironically it's in better shape than the first Best Picture shot on Eastmancolor stock, Around the World in 80 Days, now by far the newest Best Picture not on BD anywhere & the second newest not on U.S. BD; both of its negatives are believed too faded to properly restore.)

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by RBBrittain

Indeed the BD restoration of DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), due the same day as this 4K, is more comparable to WoO than this movie due to its being shot on three-strip Technicolor. Only two other Best Pictures were shot on three-strip Technicolor, and Gone with the Wind & An American in Paris both hit BD more than a decade ago. (Ironically it's in better shape than the first Best Picture shot on Eastmancolor stock, Around the World in 80 Days, now by far the newest Best Picture not on BD anywhere & the second newest not on U.S. BD; both of its negatives are believed too faded to properly restore.)

The 30 fps Todd-AO 65mm version of Around the World in 80 Days appears to be the one that is practically beyond repair (often times roadshow releases were struck right from the 65mm camera negatives and so there was an extreme amount of wear and tear when they should have struck an IP and used that instead), which is a tremendous loss for film history. It was simultaneously shot in 35mm anamorphic at 24 fps and that double filming rig setup is what caused Todd-AO to become far too expensive to continue as a cinematographic process.

[ilovenola2]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

The 30 fps Todd-AO 65mm version of Around the World in 80 Days appears to be the one that is practically beyond repair (often times roadshow releases were struck right from the 65mm camera negatives and so there was an extreme amount of wear and tear when they should have struck an IP and used that instead), which is a tremendous loss for film history. It was simultaneously shot in 35mm anamorphic at 24 fps and that double filming rig setup is what caused Todd-AO to become far too expensive to continue as a cinematographic process.

It really is a tragedy. I saw the original roadshow in Todd-AO as a teen, twice-- in L.A. and NYC. It really was an extravaganza and needs to be seen complete. The Oscars should have been for Best Hyped Event of the Era.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

The 30 fps Todd-AO 65mm version of Around the World in 80 Days appears to be the one that is practically beyond repair (often times roadshow releases were struck right from the 65mm camera negatives and so there was an extreme amount of wear and tear when they should have struck an IP and used that instead), which is a tremendous loss for film history. It was simultaneously shot in 35mm anamorphic at 24 fps and that double filming rig setup is what caused Todd-AO to become far too expensive to continue as a cinematographic process.

It was one of only two 30 fps Todd-AO features; the other was Oklahoma!, and both that & its CinemaScope negative were restored by Lowry for its Fox BD. The second rig was actually 24 fps Todd-AO (used for all future Todd-AO films), though that negative was used for CinemaScope release prints; its deluxe DVD release (which I still have) was IIRC the first time that copy was seen at its full 2.20:1 AR. Still, time hasn't been kind to either copy, especially during the years when Elizabeth Taylor (as Mike Todd's widow) personally owned the film before selling it to WB for home video in the 1980's. (Ironically Liz was the top-billed star of Giant, one of the films it beat for Best Picture along with The Ten Commandments.)

[moviebuff75]

I don't know how anyone could fault this restoration, unless it is sour grapes, or ego getting in the way.

[Brian81]

Is Walmart or Target carrying this in store?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Brian81

Is Walmart or Target carrying this in store?

Since we're still on pre-order status, it's very hard to tell. I know around my area Target and Walmart stores' disc displays have been winnowed down to almost nothing with practically zero 4k discs to be found. So much of 4k disc buying (or any disc buying for that matter) will probably fall to online shopping fairly soon.

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Since we're still on pre-order status, it's very hard to tell. I know around my area Target and Walmart stores' disc displays have been winnowed down to almost nothing with practically zero 4k discs to be found. So much of 4k disc buying (or any disc buying for that matter) will probably fall to online shopping fairly soon.

I prefer in store so I can pick nice slipcovers and dent-free (or at least try to get them...) SteelBooks.