"The Blue Max" French blu

[mr nostromo]

According to Amazon.fr this edition is a Fox release.

Could anyone here advise as to whether this is the same PQ/AQ as the German release, or is it a better release ?

I love this film but cannot currently afford the TT price + carriage to the UK + customs duty coupled with the Royal Mail extortion for collecting same.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[BJQ1972]

There won't be any customs charges for TT releases from Screen Archives.

[tenia]

This is a very good release PQ wise. I've written the review for Retro HD (filed under the french title Le crepuscule des aigles) if you want to have a look. It has screencaps and include a disc scan for encode info.

[mr nostromo]

Thanks Tenia, I've read an English translation of your review. Whilst the image quality appears to be first rate, I'm a bit concerned regarding the sound issue. Unfortunately the Google translation is probably too literal to convey what the problem is.

Could you please explain so that this Englishman (who, like most, hasn't learned a second language) can understand.

Thanks again.

[tenia]

Originally Posted by mr nostromo

Thanks Tenia, I've read an English translation of your review. Whilst the image quality appears to be first rate, I'm a bit concerned regarding the sound issue. Unfortunately the Google translation is probably too literal to convey what the problem is.

Could you please explain so that this Englishman (who, like most, hasn't learned a second language) can understand.

Thanks again.

No problem.

I found the sound a bit hollow. The review of the TT disc made me expect a very open and wide mix but the French disc doesn't offer this AQ. TT offers a 5.1 mix, the French one a 3.0 mix. I guess it explains much of this difference.

So it's certainly not bad but it doesnt match the PQ and lowers a bit the experience IMO.

[mr nostromo]

Thant's very clear now Tenia, thank you.

This appears to be better than the German release, but I might wait a bit longer and see if there is a better release somewhere.

[BarnDoor]

Originally Posted by mr nostromo

Thant's very clear now Tenia, thank you.

This appears to be better than the German release, but I might wait a bit longer and see if there is a better release somewhere.

There's also the Italian release (La Caduta Delle Aquile), which appears to be exactly the same as the French one. It can be had for less than £8 delivered on Amazon UK's marketplace.

[CinemaScope]

Well as I understand it, Fox had an old HD transfer & that's the one that was released in Germany. They recently re-did it (& much better it seems), & Twilight Time released that. Now...is the French (& Italian) release the old or the new transfer?

[BarnDoor]

Tenia's review suggests it is the same one used by Twilight Time. The German release was licensed from Fox, but in Italy, France and Japan they've put it out themselves with various audio and subtitle options, and it seems this one features the new transfer.

[tenia]

It certainly looks like FOX has used for Europe the new master, since the picture has a clear nice PQ, and seems to look like the TT caps I've seen here and elsewhere.

Going from the usual method FOX has for such titles, the Italian disc uses most likely the same master, but might have indeed different dubs and subs, but the same track for the English soundtrack.

[mr nostromo]

Great feedback thank you. Looks like I'll opt for either the French or Italian blu ray, unless a UK release with the same PQ is announced soon.