'The Front Page' (Billy Wilder) - 8th May 2014

[Bruce Morrison]

This has been announced for Blu-Ray release by HanseSound. I haven't come across this organisation before - does anyone know what sort of track record they have regarding BD releases?

Here's the Amazon.de pre-order page:

http://www.amazon.de/Extrablatt-Fron...rds=front+page

I noticed the aspect ratio is shown there as 1.77. The correct ratio for this film is 2.35. I know Amazon often get these things wrong, but I also know that the film has sometimes been shown on TV in an incorrect ratio, so I just hope it's correct on the BD.

Anyway, I think I'll await a review before ordering it.

[KyotoKid]

I was thinking of buying a copy as well and so far have not found any reviews - I did see one customer review on Amazon Germany that gave the blu ray 5 stars, but do not understand German, but I assume for starters that it is in the proper 2:35 oar.

[Erasmus Craven]

That particular reviewer complains about the Blu being in the wrong AR and still gives the disc 5 points. Hansesound used to be Carol Media, and under that name have released The Front Page on DVD in the correct AR (while only stating 16:9 on the cover). So there's still a chance this might be the case here as well. But it is likely that this is just another upscale and seems to be in 1080i. Since this won't be out for another week, I'd wait for a proper review or confirmation from somebody who has actually seen the disc.

[Monroville]

Originally Posted by Erasmus Craven

That particular reviewer complains about the Blu being in the wrong AR and still gives the disc 5 points. Hansesound used to be Carol Media, and under that name have released The Front Page on DVD in the correct AR (while only stating 16:9 on the cover). So there's still a chance this might be the case here as well. But it is likely that this is just another upscale and seems to be in 1080i. Since this won't be out for another week, I'd wait for a proper review or confirmation from somebody who has actually seen the disc.

That could be the case, as it was with THE LAST MAN ON EARTH. But like TLMOE, THE FRONT PAGE has been played on MGM-HD in true HD, so there is a chance they simply got a hold of the HDTV print and put that onto disc.

Which is the shame about TLMOE blu-ray from Germany, as there is a really nice (albeit DNRed) HD print that has made the HDTV rounds... yet the blu-ray is an obvious upconvert.

[duggie walker]

Happy to report that this IS in the OAR of 2.35:1 and looks very nice indeed. Plenty of grain apparent but the image itself is pin sharp, to the extent that one might suspect an amount of tastefully-applied sharpening. Looks very much like the release of OLIVER! in that respect. English-friendly too.

For the price, I'd highly recommend.

[Howie Munson]

I second that! Got mine today for 8.99 - great price, good product.

[AUS1969]

Thanks for the information, duggie!

[Erasmus Craven]

Also received mine yesterday. No complaints apart from the awkward, slow menu and the missing subtitles.

[Bruce Morrison]

Based on the above good reports, I've ordered this from Amazon.de.

Thanks for the heads-up, chaps!

[Dan8700]

So, there are no subs at all?

[Erasmus Craven]

Originally Posted by Dan8700

So, there are no subs at all?

English and German subs are listed on the cover, but not to be found on the disc.

[Dan8700]

I noticed this has been reissued by Koch Media in Feb 2018, so I took a chance.
First off, the Koch disc has German and English subtitles, both missing on the first release, which is already a plus. However, the master should be the same, even though probably better encoded. It's clearly an old-generation one, the same used for the DVD, but still a lil upgrade over the SD source.
Here's some captures.