Ben-Hur (1959) (Ultimate Collector's Edition)

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by KubrickFan

Or just import it from the UK. That's what I don't get. All of those releases were available as discs-only releases in Europe from the start, and yet people in the US would rather wait until it's given a release there .

I guess the reason I left out importing is because I never do it. I know, kind of odd but I don't mind waiting for a US release. In some cases(Swingers, The Crow, Good Will Hunting, Rounders, Starsky & Hutch) are just barebones releases. As a fan of the UCE version of Ben-Hur, I like some meat on my blu-ray bones...in the form of good bonus material. Again, that's just me!

[Atreyu]

I usually do not buy the UCE of films. I just figured the price of Ben Hur for $44.99 was great because the movie only version will be about $25, so I figured why not just add another 20 dollar bill and get the whole shebang.

[RipleyLV426]

The packaging on this UCE actually seems quite good (better than Casablanca). The books, art and binding of everything is a well put together package. I'm thinking I'll just wait for the UCE to drop in price, as it inevitably will in time. Gone with the Wind dropped to $27.99 and Casablanca and Wizard of Oz went to about $37 at one point.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by rickah88

For the US release? PLease provide a source.
The best I could find was http://www.dvdaf.com had it scheduled for 9/27/2011:

http://www.dvdaf.com/releases.html?w...t_form=med_0_B

I do know this...it will be a great day when this is finally in my possession

Looks like 9/27 is the release date, or at least according to Bill Hunt via today's posting!

[Jimbo976]

Amazon UK order placed..

$18 Cdn in total.

[lkmg]

i had pre-ordered this too. it would be a nice collection beside my Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, The Ten Commandments & Sound of Music UCE.

[jaaguir]

Any news about the silent version being in HD or SD? I guess not. I wish Bill Hunt would check up on that. He often asks his contacts about Warner releases. I'm not a fan of the silent version but I just see no excuse for a SD presentation. It would be a joke.

[oaguirre]

And I thought Ben Hur DVD 4 disc edition was the best they could do for this one. Fortunately I was wrong. This new edition is superb! I saw the trailer and it was fantastic. I would like to see some detail screencaps from the transfer!

I cannot wait to see this in my collection!

[rokritr]

From yesterday's press release......explains why this "50th Anniversary Edition" missed the actual 50th Anniversary by two years:

For this release, Ben-Hur has undergone a $1 million restoration -- frame by frame from an 8k scan of the original 65 mm camera negative, making this the highest resolution restoration ever completed by Warner Bros. studio.

“We have been working on this extensive restoration for several years, hoping we could be ready with a 2009 release for the actual 50th. The meticulous process took longer than expected, but our primary goal was to deliver the finest quality presentation possible, and we have succeeded in doing just that,” said Jeff Baker, WHV’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, Theatrical Catalog.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by rokritr

From yesterday's press release......explains why this "50th Anniversary Edition" missed the actual 50th Anniversary by two years:

For this release, Ben-Hur has undergone a $1 million restoration -- frame by frame from an 8k scan of the original 65 mm camera negative, making this the highest resolution restoration ever completed by Warner Bros. studio.

“We have been working on this extensive restoration for several years, hoping we could be ready with a 2009 release for the actual 50th. The meticulous process took longer than expected, but our primary goal was to deliver the finest quality presentation possible, and we have succeeded in doing just that,” said Jeff Baker, WHV’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, Theatrical Catalog.

I'm 100% okay with that decision, and don't mind one iota that it's late!

[rokritr]

Originally Posted by rickah88

I'm 100% okay with that decision, and don't mind one iota that it's late!

totally agree with you!
can't wait myself.....

still they could've just called it the "Ultimate Collector's Edition".....the "50th Anniversary" marketing thing just bugs me a bit, but thrilled that they waited until they were happy with the restoration work!

[frightism]

This is so awesome, totally my next Pre-order!

[garyrc]

Originally Posted by rokritr

From yesterday's press release......explains why this "50th Anniversary Edition" missed the actual 50th Anniversary by two years:

For this release, Ben-Hur has undergone a $1 million restoration -- frame by frame from an 8k scan of the original 65 mm camera negative ... Jeff Baker, WHV’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, Theatrical Catalog.

I thought it was 6K ... I'll like it if it turns out to be 8K, even though it might not make a difference visible on Blu-ray; someday we will have a home format better than Blu that can reproduce the full quality of a fine grain 65 mm negative, and having an 8K master might help with that.

Who restored it? Maybe they can confirm or deny that they used 8K.

[DaViD Boulet]

any news about a possible HD presentation for the silent version???

[JVB2]

This certainly looks awesome!

YouTube - ‪BEN-HUR 50th ANNIVERSARY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION Blu-ray trailer‬‏

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by garyrc

I thought it was 6K ... I'll like it if it turns out to be 8K, even though it might not make a difference visible on Blu-ray; someday we will have a home format better than Blu that can reproduce the full quality of a fine grain 65 mm negative, and having an 8K master might help with that.

Who restored it? Maybe they can confirm or deny that they used 8K.

Blu-ray.com originally reported it to be a 6K restoration but Warner has confirmed a 8K scan.It would be awesome to one day have a 300+ inch projector that could handle native 8K quality.

Warner did a one million dollar restoration which included a 8K scan of the original frame negative.

Quote

“If you're wondering why the math doesn't add up on that 50th anniversary, the restoration process, which cost $1 million, took longer than expected and the 2009 release for the actual 50th was missed. Warner Bros. says the the frame-by-frame restoration from an 8k scan of the original 65mm camera negative was the highest-resolution restoration ever completed by the studio.”

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20072491-1/exclusive-trailer-ben-hur-blu-ray-coming-9-27/#ixzz1QGRJ834o


Quote from Home Media magazine:
“Directed by William Wyler, the 1959 gladiator epic underwent a $1 million restoration — frame by frame from an 8k scan of the original 65 mm camera negative, making it the highest resolution restoration ever completed by Warner.”

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/war...-sept-27-24259

This also means Ben Hur is the very first Christian movie in history to receive a super high quality 8K scan of the original camera negative.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

any news about a possible HD presentation for the silent version???

The 1959 version of Ben Hur will be downconverted from 8K to 1080P quality (technically a little less than 1080P due to the black bars taken up scan lines to maintain the original ratio). Disc 1 and Disc 2 will contain the HD version of Ben Hur.

Disc 3 contains the 1925 version of Ben Hur with some of the extras in HD. The silent version of Ben Hur might not have received an 8K or 4K restoration with a 1080P transfer. There is a possibility that only the SD 480I version of the Ben Hur 1925 film is on the third disc. The 1925 version of Ben Hur is 143 minutes long which means it would need to get its own dedicated disc most likely, but there is only 3 discs instead of 4. If the 1925 Ben Hur did get a HD transfer it might be a lower bit rate VC-1 encode so that it can be fit on the third disc with all the extras. I am hoping for a HD transfer of the 1925 version but right now it is unclear. On the positive side at least they are including the 1925 version of Ben Hur that at the very minimum will match the quality of the 480i DVD version.

[aherron]

Originally Posted by JVB2

This certainly looks awesome!

YouTube - ‪BEN-HUR 50th ANNIVERSARY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION Blu-ray trailer‬‏

Wow Wow Wow.Thanks for the video. Cannot wait to finally own this on blu. BEAUTIFUL!

[Socko]

Can someone convince me to blindbuy this
I've only seen a few minutes of the chariot race when I was a child.

[Jumpman]

Don't really want the UCE, but DAMN! That youtube video may have sold me. It looks STUNNING!

Here's hoping we get a regular release version down the road ala both the Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind three disc sets....(PLEASE!).