Spielberg is on our side - Jaws news

[danielsan4610]

From Ain't It Cool News

Quint: Is there a Jaws Blu-Ray in the works?

Steven Spielberg: Yes, there is. Yes, there is. I’ve already seen some of it. I don’t have a date yet, but there’s a Blu-Ray absolutely in the works.

Quint: I can’t wait, man. I love that the last DVD release actually had the original mono soundtrack on it as well. I wasn’t a fan of the remixed 5.1 sound… the splashing sounded canned…

Steven Spielberg: Oh, I know. I totally understand that. (In the future) there’s going to be no more digital enhancements or digital additions to anything based on any film I direct. I’m not going to do any corrections digitally to even wires that show.

If 1941 comes on Blu-Ray I’m not going to go back and take the wires out because the Blu-Ray will bring the wires out that are guiding the airplane down Hollywood Blvd. At this point right now I think letting movies exist in the era, with all the flaws and all of the flourishes, is a wonderful way to mark time and mark history.

Quint: I’m in total agreement with you. I wish you could talk George (Lucas) into doing the same thing!

Steven Spielberg: Well, I can’t!

Quint: (laughs) Yeah, I don’t think anybody can!

Steven Spielberg: George goes his own way and I respect him for it, but my new philosophy on this is to let sleeping dogs lie.

Quint: That’s great news for film lovers.

Steven Spielberg: When people ask me which E.T. they should look at, I always tell them to look at the original 1982 E.T. If you notice, when we did put out E.T. we put out two E.T.s. We put out the digitally enhanced version with the additional scenes and for no extra money, in the same package, we put out the original ‘82 version. I always tell people to go back to the ’82 version.

Quint: Having the option is the big deal for me. Using the Star Wars example, I don’t think there’d be an outcry if we could watch a nice transfer of the original versions. We’d be like, “George can do what he wants and I’ll watch it… but you know maybe the fans would like the option of watching the movie they fell in love with, too.”

Steven Spielberg: Yeah. And I think the other good thing is that they understand when they see a movie and they suddenly see something that obviously could have been done much better today and could have been corrected in the DVD/Blu-Ray transfer, they really appreciate seeing the strings attached.

If somebody put out George Pal’s War of the Worlds and took the strings off the machines I’d be very upset. When that machine crashes in downtown Hollywood, and you see the strings going from taut to slack, that’s the thing that allows me to both understand this movie is scarring the hell out of me and at the same time this movie is a creation of the human race.

That little taut-to-slack moment of those wires on that wingtip makes the original George Pal War of the Worlds work for me. It embraces my fears and it also alleviates them in the same breath.

------------------------------------
Excellent news. I've always though movies should be a snap shot of the time and technology used. If you want to muck with old movies and modernize them, do not eliminate the original.

[frogmort]

I'm all for keeping things "true to the original", but personally, I don't want to see wires attached to stuff. I think it would take me out of the moment. I also don't think that most directors intended for the wires to show. I'm not sure how I feel about this.

[Kristian Idol]

It should just be both. That's why Star Trek (classic TV) is so cool; updated CGI or the way you remember it, your choice.

[rickah88]

So IF/when Plan 9 From Outer Space comes out, SS would like to see the strings attached to the flying saucers? OK!
Glad to hear Jaws is in the works. I figured it was when I caught(no pun intended) the HD version on Directv last month.

[Atreyu]

Originally Posted by rickah88

So IF/when Plan 9 From Outer Space comes out, SS would like to see the strings attached to the flying saucers? OK!
Glad to hear Jaws is in the works. I figured it was when I caught(no pun intended) the HD version on Directv last month.

I know I want to see Plan 9 From Outer Space in all of it's trashy glory, the way it was when it first came out.
Also blu ray is suppose to capture the movie and make it look like film as if you were seeing it the day it was originally released. Taking out wires or what have you ruins that. For me anyways So if a movie is "tampered" with just release the original and "tampered" versions together. That way nobody's feeling will be hurt.

[Canada]

Taking visible wires out of a movie is an entirely different animal than adding in CGI and changing a scene ( Greedo and Han shooting at the same time). Or am I wrong?

[Blu-Runner]

That's excellent news, and a bit slightly off-topic, I'm glad to see what he had to say about E.T. - gives me every reason to believe we'll get both cuts on blu-ray.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Canada

Taking visible wires out of a movie is an entirely different animal than adding in CGI and changing a scene ( Greedo and Han shooting at the same time). Or am I wrong?

I agree with you.

[javir]

at least we know he wont use DNR.

[Ssnake]

Originally Posted by Canada

Taking visible wires out of a movie is an entirely different animal than adding in CGI and changing a scene ( Greedo and Han shooting at the same time). Or am I wrong?

Certainly the latter is more offensive than the former. But I tend to agree with SS here, the goal should be to retain the origianl quality of the movie when it is transferred to blu ray, blemishes and all.

[ole geezer]

Originally Posted by Ssnake

Certainly the latter is more offensive than the former. But I tend to agree with SS here, the goal should be to retain the origianl quality of the movie when it is transferred to blu ray, blemishes and all.

Naaaaaaaaaaa....the goal should be to make it better just like George says.

I'm sure glad when Warner Bros released How the West Was Won on Blu ray, they eliminated those ugly Cinerama join lines.

[rickah88]

How about this: Just get the damn movie released on blu-ray already!!!!
Before Jaws V comes out!

[Ssnake]

Originally Posted by ole geezer

Naaaaaaaaaaa....the goal should be to make it better just like George says.

I don't really object to putting out an updated, 'improved' version as long as we also have the 'unimproved' version for old fuddy-duddys like myself. I realize that the only way to really see an old fim as it was originally presented is to see it in a movie theater - but I think it a worthwhile goal for blu ray to come as close to that original presentation as possible.



When watching Star Trek on blu, I much prefer to watch the original, non-cgi enhanced versions.

I'm sure glad when Warner Bros released How the West Was Won on Blu ray, they eliminated those ugly Cinerama join lines.

Were those lines present in the theaters setup to show Cinerama movies? Though I am old enough to have originally seen some of those movies when they were originally released, I don't recall having done so.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Ssnake

Were those lines present in the theaters setup to show Cinerama movies? Though I am old enough to have originally seen some of those movies when they were originally released, I don't recall having done so.

Yes, three-projector Cinerama always had those vertical lines, which weren't really lines - it was more of an overlap between the projectors and displayed as more of a vertical strip. In some of the later Cinerama installations, they used some kind of vibrating gobo device to try and make the "lines" less annoying, but they were still there.

However, this was always considered an annoying artifact and it's most certainly not one you would want replicated on BD. No matter how large a screen one has in their home theatre, it is not possible to accurately replicate the feeling of watching a film in Cinerama in a true Cinerama theatre, so it's not like you'd want those annoying lines just to re-create the experience.

Aside from "The Best of Cinerama" compilation film, "How The West Was Won" was the last three-projector Cinerama film, so it was the last to have those lines. After that, it was basically a 70mm print shown on a big screen, sometimes optically corrected to accommodate the deeply curved Cinerama screen and occasionally with a 1.25x anamorphic expansion (Ultra Panavision). In all, including the compilation, there were only nine 3-projector Cinerama films produced + a few international films in similar formats.

Starting with "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad World" in November of '63, all the so-called Cinerama films were 70mm single projector. What's funny about that is that Michael Todd co-developed Todd-AO because he wanted "Cinerama coming out of one hole". So he did that, but then Cinerama basically did the same thing. It saved a lot of money, but it killed the format. Sort of what like Lie-Max is doing. It confused the theatres as well. The Loews Capitol, in NYC, became the Loews Cinerama, then switched back to the Loews Capitol even when it played Cinerama films.

[Ssnake]

Thanks for the info, ZoetMB.

[Bluyoda]

Originally Posted by Kristian Idol

It should just be both. That's why Star Trek (classic TV) is so cool; updated CGI or the way you remember it, your choice.

Agreed. I would usually go for the improved versions, as I a don't want to see the matte lines when the boys cycle in front to the moon in E.T., or wires holding airplanes. It takes me out of the movie, and should only be left in, if the movie was supposed to be cheap looking, such as Ed Wood.

Both should be available on BD, and I hope that' will be the case with E.T. as well, as the 20th Anniversary edition is also a product of its time.

[ole geezer]

Originally Posted by Ssnake

I don't really object to putting out an updated, 'improved' version as long as we also have the 'unimproved' version for old fuddy-duddys like myself. I realize that the only way to really see an old fim as it was originally presented is to see it in a movie theater - but I think it a worthwhile goal for blu ray to come as close to that original presentation as possible.

We disagree and that's Okay.

Me, I prefer enhanced versions of older movies/TV shows, i.e. updated 5.1 sound, scratches removed, 4:3 converted to 16:9, etc. It just looks and sounds a lot better to me.

But, along a similar vain, I do hate when directors take it upon themselves to alter the movie, without offering the original version as Mann did with Last of the Mohicans.

Were those lines present in the theaters setup to show Cinerama movies? Though I am old enough to have originally seen some of those movies when they were originally released, I don't recall having done so.

For How the West Was Won they were. I got to see a much larger, wider screen than Cinemascope, but at the cost of seeing those damn separation lines which were very distracting.

Later, those Hollywood technical wizards (bless their souls) were able to pretty much duplicate the Cinerama effect and eliminate those lines with 70 mm film presentations. Boy, those were the golden days....seeing those 70 mm films.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ole geezer

Me, I prefer enhanced versions of older movies/TV shows, i.e. updated 5.1 sound, scratches removed, 4:3 converted to 16:9, etc. It just looks and sounds a lot better to me.

Jesus just killed a couple million kittens.

I hope you're happy.

[Ssnake]

Originally Posted by octagon

Jesus just killed a couple million kittens.

I hope you're happy.

Man you are so right. Can't believe that anyone would support converting 4:3 to 16:9. There simply ain't no justification for that position.

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by octagon

Jesus just killed a couple million kittens.

I hope you're happy.

But the updated 5.1 sound is something you don't mind at all? Wanting to have sound come out all of your speakers is just as bad as wanting to have your screen filled when neither was how the movie was produced, in my opinion.