War and Peace (1956)

[Swissangel4616]

Seriously - that release could be much better.
I have already the german release.
And why the hell are there no Bonus-features of this great movie?

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by Pirate King

Already pre-ordered. I believe War and Peace is a steal at 10.48. Perhaps there will be an announcement in the near future concerning Roman Holiday.

Good price.

Originally Posted by BrianS

Somehow, I don't think I've seen this one, and at $10.48, that could change soon!

Yeah, it's at $13.47 now.

I pre-ordered it and ordered two other films that the great Audrey Hepburn was in. The Children's Hour and The Unforgiven.

I wish Wait Until Dark, Bloodline, and Roman Holiday were on Blu-ray

[murphywmm]

I would have thought Olive would get this one for some reason. Interesting to see WHV releasing it. 2015 looks to be a good year for catalogue titles from them already.

As for the movie - I have it on DVD. I love Audrey, but found the film a bit tedious, so I'm not sure if I'll make the upgrade.

[Dr. Humbert]

Does anybody know how this compares to the book?

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by Dr. Humbert

Does anybody know how this compares to the book?

It's shorter!

[Dr. Humbert]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

It's shorter!

You don't say...

[MichaelR]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

If it looks anything close to the quality of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, WHITE CHRISTMAS, TO CATCH A THIEF, THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY, and some of the other VistaVision titles, it should really be spectacular in HD!

Unfortunately, it doesn't. "War and Peace" doesn't even look as good as a new scan from a good 35mm OCN or interpositive.

[oildude]

DVD Planet has this for $9.49 and if you use the 10% off code RESOLUTIONS (big ad when you go to their homepage) it comes to $8.54. Free shipping is available at $35, so I included a couple of Kino Lorber Studio Classics blu-rays to reach the shipping limit. Most of the KLSC titles are $15.49 before coupon.

http://www.dvdplanet.com/

[rollinwith26s]

Just read the review. Boy is the video quality terrible! I WILL be so angry if they treat Audrey's yet to be released films in a similar fashion.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by rollinwith26s

Just read the review. Boy is the video quality terrible! I WILL be so angry if they treat Audrey's yet to be released films in a similar fashion.

At this point, in the dying days of physical media, I think we'll be lucky to get many/any of her other films at all on BD.

I have given up on Fox ever releasing TWO FOR THE ROAD here and am buying the UK disc that comes out next week. (Which should guarantee that Criterion announces it next month, lol)

[Arkadin]

this is just pathetically sad.
so Paramount just used the dvd master for the bd with no new scan. great.
Is the bd that was released in Germany the exact same release?
(I would assume it is)
It's hard to believe that Roman Holiday may not even get a decent bd release after all this time.
I honestly am beginning to feel ill.
There are so many American classics yet to be given proper release on bd, and the future is looking pretty bleak for some of the biggest titles.
A Place in the Sun is also with Paramount, and I have been hoping for a bd release ever since the format started.
Maybe Criterion will acquire it somehow.

[AaronSCH]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

At this point, in the dying days of physical media, I think we'll be lucky to get many/any of her other films at all on BD.
...

I think the reports of physical media's death are greatly exaggerated. I stopped buying for awhile mostly due to economics but have returned to collecting. The rough economy of the last 6 years has had a profound effect on disposable income for many people. I still think there is life for collecting...hell people have returned to buying LPs for chrissake! The studios will quickly jump back in when the economics are in their favor.

[dsman71]

Id like to see this film but that means committing to half a day 4 hour films are a challenge !

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by dsman71

Id like to see this film but that means committing to half a day 4 hour films are a challenge !

I admit i was a bit bored in the last hour, but it was late at night..
Maybe if I had started it in the afternoon...

[javi92]

Really disappointed in the transfer. I wish they had undertaken to do a new scan and priced the release in the $25 range. I, for one, would have at least gone for it then. Especially for a movie whose chief asset is the cinematography.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by AaronSCH

I think the reports of physical media's death are greatly exaggerated. I stopped buying for awhile mostly due to economics but have returned to collecting. The rough economy of the last 6 years has had a profound effect on disposable income for many people. I still think there is life for collecting...hell people have returned to buying LPs for chrissake! The studios will quickly jump back in when the economics are in their favor.

It won't die off completely, of course physical media will keep going for collectors. Hell, there is a whole new format to cater to. But that might just be for the bigger catalog films (otherwise it will be very random coverage of deep catalog). This blu-ray is very likely the last tangible release of War and Peace - and they made sure the blu-ray is pretty much worthless.

Maybe 15 years from now some niche label ala Twilight Time will randomly release a newer scan of this film on a 4K or better media... but that is assuming the studios are even preserving/restoring their deeper catalog films at that point. Not exactly a certainty if the only home video market is for "collectors". Whatever master was used for this shoddy blu-ray, might end up being the last this film ever sees the light of day.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by javi92

Really disappointed in the transfer. I wish they had undertaken to do a new scan and priced the release in the $25 range. I, for one, would have at least gone for it then. Especially for a movie whose chief asset is the cinematography.

I don't get why the studios put out releases like this. They will likely get very few sales, and many of those that do buy will be disappointed. It's not like the studios are cranking out a huge volume, they should at least make sure what they do release has a little attention paid to quality*. If it's not fit for blu-ray, either do a brand new scan, or just move on to the next film!

*and yes I do release that even if they did a brand new 4K scan it might not have a tremendous impact on sales, but at least the people that buy would be pleased with it.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

*and yes I do release that even if they did a brand new 4K scan it might not have a tremendous impact on sales, but at least the people that buy would be pleased with it.

...and the studio would have lost a lot of money...

[UseY0ur1llusi0n]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

Is the bd that was released in Germany the exact same release?

Yep.

[javi92]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

*and yes I do release that even if they did a brand new 4K scan it might not have a tremendous impact on sales, but at least the people that buy would be pleased with it.

It's not so much the resolution of the scan here as the age of the master that was used. Scanning technology today is just so much more advanced than in the DVD era. Even a new 2k scan, perhaps from a source one generation removed from the negative, would have looked worlds better than this in terms of color reproduction and image stability. It's a shame they didn't think even this would see a payback.