"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[MerrickG]

I am shamelessly going to give my props to Texas Rangers baseball today in Penton's blog!!

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by merrick97

Penton,
A few reviews of the Alien Anthology have come up.
And guess what?
James Cameron apparently DOES have a clue how his films should look

Good to hear.

I would be interested to know if any of the more technically inclined reviewers who have a personal interest in film grain (given Jim’s public comments) believe that the grain in Aliens has been *reduced* to a more pleasing amount or, on the other hand, if it was completely removed and then subsequently regrained with artificial grain. Do you know if there is any Supplement or Extra which goes into the details of the making of the Blu-ray edition?

It’s funny because Jim is known as a ‘control freak’ with his motion pictures (for which he makes no apologies, and given his work…none are needed) but, I think that Michael Mann puts Jim to shame as far as being an exhaustive perfectionist (Kubrick is probably looking down at him from heaven with a big smile). For example, if memory serves, regarding The Last of the Mohicans, several original Dept. Heads (the Transportation Director, the Unit Production Manager, the original D.P., etc.) either quit or were terminated, essentially due to the grueling nature of the on-location production and Michael’s driven Direction with his obsession to detail. I remember somebody telling me that the night scene early on in the movie with the main characters having dinner with the settlers in their cabin was a ‘Kubrick-esque’ type marathon with a lot of takes.

With any project in which these guys become involved, Blu-ray or not, you can pretty much assume that Jim and Michael will personally ‘go the extra mile’ as to making the material the best it can be…according to their creative sensibilities and perspective. I think the real question with Aliens was whether or not, for the Blu-ray incarnation, Jim purposely revised the look from the original theatrical presentation to which it would appear ultimately unsatisfactory to videophiles and cinephiles…..not his competence.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

My first ex-wife,....

Well, you asked me how many home theaters I have....so, I dare ask, how many 'ex-wives'?

If I remember correctly, your daughter attented U.Va.? If so, she has great taste.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by merrick97

I am shamelessly going to give my props to Texas Rangers baseball today in Penton's blog!!

They play baseball in Texas? Is that like on Tuesday nights or something?

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

They play baseball in Texas? Is that like on Tuesday nights or something?

At least for the next week they do.

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, you asked me how many home theaters I have....so, I dare ask, how many 'ex-wives'?

If I remember correctly, your daughter attented U.Va.? If so, she has great taste.

Ex-wives: 2. It enables one to begin a sentence with , "My current ex-wife..." At which point you catch yourself, saying, "Ewww..."

(In high school, I was a shy wall flower. If you asked me back then whether I could see myself with this history 35 years later, I would have justifiably looked at you as if you had two heads.)

As for attendance at U.Va, sorry, that was my sister that attended, not my daughter. My daughter is in only in fifth grade (call me a late bloomer), so college choices are still on the horizon.

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

Ex-wives: 2. It enables one to begin a sentence with , "My current ex-wife..." At which point you catch yourself, saying, "Ewww..."

(In high school, I was a shy wall flower. If you asked me back then whether I could see myself with this history 35 years later, I would have justifiably looked at you as if you had two heads.)

Sorry, that was my sister that went to UVA. My daughter is in only in fifth grade (call me a late bloomer), so college choices are still on the horizon.

James,

When I first read your last sentence, for some reason my mind told me that your sister was your first ex-wife...I had to do a double-take! Thankfully I misread it the first time

Go SF Giants!

[sharkshark]

I've still never seen SOUND OF MUSIC (one of those, like GONE WITH THE WIND, that I take a peverse pleasure in avoiding), but the restoration vid linked from the front page:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video....50282259450612

has some pretty egregious uses of "3-D like" in describing the image.

Boo.

Still, looks like a pretty nice setup, curious what model of Panasonic Plasma that is that they're using as a check set.

[PeterTHX]

Well, they just announced Michael Jackson's Vision: DVD only, no Blu-ray.

Dammit.

[Doctorossi]

And really, if Michael Jackson didn't have HD vision, who does?

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

And really, if Michael Jackson didn't have HD vision, who does?

At the Walter Murch talk, he did mention one of the projects he got together to work with Coppola on was, of course, CAPTAIN EO.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

I've still never seen SOUND OF MUSIC (one of those, like GONE WITH THE WIND, that I take a peverse pleasure in avoiding), but the restoration vid linked from the front page:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video....50282259450612
has some pretty egregious uses of "3-D like" in describing the image.

Boo.

Still, looks like a pretty nice setup, curious what model of Panasonic Plasma that is that they're using as a check set.

Boo?

Zee mind-control is working. Didn’t you know….even famous classic 2D films subconsciously aspire to be 3D by well-respected restoration fellows like Andrew and Schawn. You guys can not escape it! 3D will take over the world, in one form or another, thru subtlety placed descriptive adjectives or actual filmmaking. That is zee master plan! Not referring specifically to you shark but, given the overall negativity of the most vocal on this forum as to the thought of 3D with movies…or any content, for that matter, I love this guy’s post as it is almost sig worthy….https://forum.blu-ray.com/3866268-post6.html

Anyway, there should be no legitimate dismay with the digital restoration of The Sound of Music, at least in terms of the PQ, as some of the most discerning professional eyes in the business could find nothing to complain about during Andrew’s roughly 30 min. demo at last month’s Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers meeting in Hollywood, of which some pics from the get-together are located here…http://www.hsmpte.org/2010%20Meeting...t%2028%202010/. Andrew should be at/near the bottom of the list.

Heck, this past August at the archivist symposium, even the out-spoken and extremely critically discerning eyes of John Bailey, ASC (http://www.theasc.com/blog/) had no complaints about The Sound of Music split-screened 4k digital projection/newly struck 70 mm. print demo…and John isn’t shy for expressing his opinion. Thank goodness he didn’t express any consternation or dissatisfaction with the sample clips he watched of The Bridge on the River Kwai….and he is quite a stickler for things like accurate contrast and color. The Blu-ray pic of The Sound of Music should look absolutely stunning as long as it was not proportionately Hamlet-sized (to save space for whatever reason) by the respective home media compressionist.

To answer your question, the display looks to be an 11-series Pro plasma like a Panasonic TH-50PF11UK. I think Fotokem has got some newer (and nicer) 12-series Pro plasmas in some suites by now. As an aside, those flat panels really are not super expensive displays in the common consumer sizes….it’s just that, like similarly respected professional post facilities, they are very accurately calibrated and viewed in relatively dark rooms with little ambient light (and none of it being natural)….kinda like a movie theater, imagine that, ‘Mohicans’ bashers.

P.S.
People say that The Sound of Music isn’t 100% historically accurate but, the ties to past WW II history with the actual Von Trapp family home are pretty impressive/interesting (not that the actual villa is in the motion picture). Shark, when you get a chance, Google some phrase like “Sound of Music Von Trapp home Heinrich Himmler ”. I recommend you at least rent the Blu-ray disc when it becomes available. The only downside which I can foresee is that after watching the movie, you can’t get that dang song out of your head for days.

Trivia note – What is the last feature film to be shot entirely in 65mm?

[juanell]

Hamlet

[doctorsteve]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

They play baseball in Texas? Is that like on Tuesday nights or something?

Nope. Tuesdays is Sewing Circle... Wednesday is The Good Book Gang. You're thinking of Thursdays, where they take bats and hit people in the balls.

[Penton-Man]

^
Sounds a bit harsh. All Texas residents please send your e-mails and PM’s to apparently passionate Yankee fan doctorsteve.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by juanell

Hamlet

And very sadly for Hamlet home theater fans…http://www.hometheaterforum.com/foru...agh-in-blu-ray

But....on a happier note , in regards to The Last of the Mohicans, also from fellow Insider RAH, just PM’ed me from one of you guys who cross-pollinate between forums and apparently just reviewed by Bob today…

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/foru...ans-in-blu-ray

Life balances out for home theater enthusiasts.

[Doctorossi]

Yo, Squid! Check 'em in front:

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=5310

[MerrickG]

Penton,

I highly recommend you read Jeff Kaufmann's review of BttF on bluray.com in which he basically says the same thing that Bill did and gives a nice b*tchslap to screenshot science claiming the screenshots represent another botched Universal release.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Life balances out for home theater enthusiasts.

So no comment on MJ's music video collection being SD-DVD only?

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

So no comment on MJ's music video collection being SD-DVD only?

This is utter speculation on my part, but I wouldn't be surprised if a number of those (ones with extensive fx, for example) were finished on video.