This Island Earth (1955) and The Monolith Monsters (1957) coming from Scream Factory

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by brasil

This Island Earth and Monolith Monsters just under $19 at Deep Discount while their 15% off sale lasts.

I was happy to pick up both of these and Monster on the Campus for less than $15 each during BN's 40% off sale.

Also, the caps posted above for This Island Earth look beautiful.

[EddieLarkin]

What's the original/documentated AR for Monolith Monsters? 1.85 or 2.00?

[thisis2]

..in fact a viewer of the German release also complained on another thread that the 2.00 presentation had the tops of the monoliths cropped off..so i agree that the 1.85 and the 1.33 would benefit this particular movie..

[EddieLarkin]

The reason I ask is because the review states the alternative ratio on this disc is 2.00, not 1.33.

Bob, do you have documents confirming a 2.00 ratio? I cant remember if Universal had standardised at 1.85 by this point.

[thisis2]

..for the benefit of region B players it seems that the German Koch release of Monster on the Campus has very good picture quality with a maxed out bitrate according to the thread relevant to the release and to dvdbeaver..

[alantracey]

I'm in the UK and my This Island Earth should be here tomorrow or wednesday. Can't wait

[Jack Theakston]

Universal continued to block all their films in 2-1 up until about 1960.

No Universal theatrical films were composed for 1.37-1 after they switched to widescreen. With the way the viewfinders were marked, it would have been incredibly difficult, and besides, the transition in the camera department was company policy, adhered to by all those in it.

[Robert Furmanek]

The studio was completely shut down in May 1953 for that transition.

[Bolty]

Not sure if this review has been posted in this thread.

https://www.doblu.com/2019/06/15/thi...lu-ray-review/

[ewsjr]

Originally Posted by brasil

Ok you win... Universal's non recent non arbitrary decision. But still say MM impact benefits from opening up height to show the monoliths in full form because it put the MONSTER in Monolith Monsters!

According to a DVD Savant reviewer-“saw some of MM last Tuesday to see what the 2.0 scan looked like … everything framed up quite well, even if a few spiky monolith tops were trimmed here and there. There’s a 1:85 (not much taller) but no open-matte 1:37 that some fans (including vocal correspondent Tom Weaver) prefer.” I have The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection: Volume 1 & 2 and MM is the open matte 1:37 version.

[alantracey]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

The reason I ask is because the review states the alternative ratio on this disc is 2.00, not 1.33.

Bob, do you have documents confirming a 2.00 ratio? I cant remember if Universal had standardised at 1.85 by this point.

At least Shout saw sense and included 1.85. Several examples out there that show 2:1 although official is not desirable on home video

[ewsjr]

Two screenshot aspect ratio shots-1.33 from The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection and the 1.85 from the new blu. Here is the link to a review of MM from the Ultimate Collection (https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s2109sci.html) Interesting that in that review the dvd is listed as 1:33 flat full frame but on IMDB it is 1.85

[yellowcakeuf6]

Originally Posted by ewsjr

Two screenshot aspect ratio shots-1.33 from The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection and the 1.85 from the new blu. Here is the link to a review of MM from the Ultimate Collection (https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s2109sci.html) Interesting that in that review the dvd is listed as 1:33 flat full frame but on IMDB it is 1.85

Films were no longer being produced in 1.33:1 anymore in the U.S., especially by 1957. Maybe Shout could've included that AR for those that grew up with TV viewings, but it wouldn't have been seen in the theater like that in 1957.

[ClassicCraig]

Movie arrived today and I fired it up with the Tom Weaver commentary track. I was really looking forward to it after his work on It Came From Outer Space, but this was a mixed bag. He provides some fantastic background info on the production and people involved, but his attempts at humor largely fall flat. He has a couple of running gags that just grated on my nerves like chalk on a blackboard -- one involving children's giggling to show his disdain for humor in a draft of the script, and the other where he (almost) exclusively refers to the girl in the movie as "Little Harpo." He just hammers it throughout the film -- it was barely funny on his first observation, then becomes tiresome but apparently he thinks it's he-larious. (On the other hand, he makes a pun as the title card comes up that made me LOL, and I won't spoil it here.) He also uses troll-speak to deride some weather scientists who wrote a letter complaining about the meteorologist character in the movie. Weaver's insult of those real people is mean-spirited and invokes Internet forum exchanges that are mostly just boilerplate name-calling.
The factual material Weaver presents is great and shows why he gets a lot of love in the forums here. I could see why after ICFOS, so this was a disappointment.
He turns over the mic to David Schecter a short way into the movie and I wish I had more interest in what he was saying, but I don't. I enjoyed maybe half of it -- that's me, not him. He was great, but I wasn't his intended audience.
So, the primary commentary track disappointed me a lot. Maybe I had the wrong expectations going into it.

[ClassicCraig]

Originally Posted by yellowcakeuf6

Films were no longer being produced in 1.33:1 anymore in the U.S., especially by 1957. Maybe Shout could've included that AR for those that grew up with TV viewings, but it wouldn't have been seen in the theater like that in 1957.

It was shot with 4:3 viewable, though. No mics, lights, etc. Were they doing that for hold-out theaters, TV or both?

[yellowcakeuf6]

Originally Posted by ClassicCraig

It was shot with 4:3 viewable, though. No mics, lights, etc. Were they doing that for hold-out theaters, TV or both?

If the film was made in 1953 there would be a possible argument for that, but were talking 4 years later.
I would read Mr. Furmanek's documentation. Universal-International announced the change to widescreen-only production in June 1953.

[babybreese]

Originally Posted by ClassicCraig

So, the primary commentary track disappointed me a lot. Maybe I had the wrong expectations going into it.

Can't win 'em all.

Weaver is generally excellent.

Any speaker attempting humor is a guaranteed miss for me, regardless of whom is speaking. Film commentary is no place for failed stand up material.

[Jack Theakston]

Originally Posted by ClassicCraig

It was shot with 4:3 viewable, though. No mics, lights, etc. Were they doing that for hold-out theaters, TV or both?

To a smaller degree, non-theatrical shows and yes, the scant theaters that had not converted yet, but to a larger degree, international theaters that either ran films in a different widescreen AR or had not converted at all.

The whole point of composing for 2-1 and protect for 1.37 was to cover all their bases, but obviously, the optimal presentation is widescreen. Why else would get have bothered mixing THIS ISLAND EARTH in Perspecta 3-channel stereo if not for a widescreen presentation where that would actually be effective?

It’s also telling that even by 1956-57, Universal had basically dropped the “protect for 1.37” mandate and started shooting and printing with hard mates, as was the case with THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN.

[alantracey]

As I hoped for This Island Earth arrived today. I'm trying not to be too excited but this is one of my fave films of the era and after such a long time of waiting and buying the disappointing German and marginally better French release this new disc is a revelation.
Finally the film looks like genuine HD rather than an upscale which is what many of the Universal titles licenced to Europe look like.

The disc defaults to mono but the Perspecta sound brings it to life. Both tracks require a bit more volume on my amp than usual but that's no big deal.
The case says the alternate version is 1.33 but the menu says 1.37. Either way the obvious choice is the beautiful 1.85 version. If only all Universal sci fi looked this good on Bluray.

The Making of is 47+ minutes so that should be good as I've never seen any of it before.
Another textbook example of how good films of this type from this era can sound and look.
Thanks to all involved

Anyone interested might like to know its locked to Region A and even the Panasonic button tricks won't get it to play on a Region B machine

[f451]

Another review. Looks to be great!