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Author Topic: The Right Stuff Special Edition Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 05-29-2003 02:20 PM                     Warner has finally done it right with the Right Stuff. It is no longer a flip type disc. It has a newer transfer and a second disc that has documentaries and commentaries by the director Philip Kaufman. And 13 additional scenes and more. The movie looks and sound better than ever. The only thing better than this would be seeing it again in 70MM. They also released a special edition of Giant, with bonus materials as large as Texas. (That's what the package says)  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 05-29-2003 04:30 PM                        Do you already have a copy of "THE RIGHT STUFF", Bill? It is not due out for a couple of weeks yet. If you got a eary copy, you made me very envious and for that, you have to die! By the way, the special edition of "GIANT" has not been released yet but if you have a early copy of that too, you really got to die!! -Claude  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 05-29-2003 05:15 PM                     Yes, Claude I have both of them sitting here on my desk. "Robin Hood" also came out. The "Giant" disc is a flip type disc. Also got the Special Edition of "Once Upon a Time in America" , It's now in 5.1 Stereo. [ 06-02-2003, 03:55 PM: Message edited by: Bill Gabel ]  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 05-29-2003 06:00 PM                        Bill, Grrrrrrrrrrr Only kidding! -Claude  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 06-12-2003 05:42 PM                        Bill, I got "GIANT", "THE RIGHT STUFF" and "BOBIN HOOD, PRINCE OF THIEVES" last Tuesday. I watched the first half of "GIANT" last night and noticed the color was not as vibrant as I remember it was when I saw it during it's premiere engagement in 1956 when I was still in high school. I am not too sure how Warner Brothers preserved their films but they most likely did not use the seperation film method judging from what I had seen last night. Unlike "BATTLE CRY" I watched several weeks ago, "GIANT" did not look as bad as the war film and I can see some effort was made to restore the film because there were some scenes that looked very nice. The picture contrast however was excellent. There has been a debate for years regarding the soundtrack. Many had stated that there were a limited amount of four track stereo mag prints in circulation during it's premiere engagement but others had insisted that "GIANT" was ony released in mono. Although my home town theatre, the Waipahu was equipped for four track mag, the print I saw was in mono. If there were stereo prints, the tracks must have been lost or discarded years ago because the stereo sound on the DVD is the same as the laserdisc, a pseudo stereo mix from a monaural soundtrack. I do know that by the fifties, sound enements were all seperate and why Warner Brothers could not create a new stereo track from these material is something I cannot understand. A classic example how wonderful a new stereo soundtrack mixed from the original sound elements can sound is the DVD of "THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI". Getting back to "GIANT", no matter about it shortcomings, I am very happy to finally have it on DVD. I have not had the chance to watch "THE RIGHT STUFF" and "ROBIN HOOD" yet but I will do in in the next few days and post my comments here. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Michael Coate Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1904 From: Los Angeles, California Registered: Feb 2001 posted 06-12-2003 09:18 PM                     quote: There has been a debate for years regarding the soundtrack. Many had stated that there were a limited amount of four track stereo mag prints in circulation during it's premiere engagement but others had insisted that "GIANT" was ony released in mono. It was announced in the Hollywood trades prior to release that Warner Bros. would begin issuing selected non-scope films in 4-track mag stereo, with Giant being among them. Many have obviously taken that announcement as evidence the film was released in mag. What people need to keep in mind is that an announcement made prior to an event occuring is not scientific proof that such event happened as planned. Studios can change their minds, and frequently have. (Ever wonder why so many historical film lists identifying titles by photographic or audio process published in books and magazines include many errors?) On the other hand, some historians have indicated that Giant was trade screened in stereo, possibly as a double system. So, was Giant mixed in stereo? Probably. Was Giant released to (some) commercial cinemas in 4-track mag? Maybe. quote: why Warner Brothers could not create a new stereo track from these material is something I cannot understand. Because the original material may no longer exist. quote: A classic example how wonderful a new stereo soundtrack mixed from the original sound elements can sound is the DVD of "THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI". This is just as controverisal as the stereo situation of Giant as some insist Kwai was originally in stereo. In the early 1970s there was a European re-issue with 70mm blow-up prints. There have been some occasional screenings here in the U.S. and reports from those who have handled a print have indicated that the six-track soundtrack was still mono (or "stereo-ized" spread out mono).  |  IP: Logged Paul Linfesty Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1383 From: Bakersfield, CA, USA Registered: Nov 1999 posted 06-12-2003 09:47 PM                     In the early 60's, Jack Warner (or someone at the studio) made a penny-pinching decision to recycle (i.e., erase over) the magnetic masters of 50's film soundtracks, including stems and composite stereo masters. So, in some cases, the only remaining stereo soundtracks left were from mag-striped theatrical release prints that still survived (sometimes in the hands of private collectors, such as was the case with EAST OF EDEN). Magnetic stems of GIANT (stereo or not) may very well have suffered this fate. In this particular period of time, Warner usually included the term Stereophonic Sound in the same typeset and size of Technicolor or WarnerColor (or whatever color). None of the ads I saw for GIANT ever included that, not even in NYC.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 06-13-2003 08:59 AM                        Link to the Widescreen Review article about the June 9 screening of "The Right Stuff" at the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood: http://www.widescreenreview.com/articles/event060903.htm  |  IP: Logged Fred Georges Master Film Handler Posts: 257 From: Lombard, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2000 posted 06-14-2003 10:43 PM                     GIANT was released flat with a 4 track mag stereo soundtrack.A friend had reel 2 and I watched/ listened to it myself. Bridge Over the River Kwai was originally 2:55-1 CinemaScope (no optical track) and that meant 4 track Mag stereo too.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 06-24-2003 09:54 PM                    I wonder what sort of print they had for the Right Stuff screening. When we ran it at Ebertfest a couple months ago (with a couple of cast members attending) Warners supplied a print from the original release (based on date code).  |  IP: Logged Michael Coate Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1904 From: Los Angeles, California Registered: Feb 2001 posted 06-25-2003 12:45 PM                     quote: I wonder what sort of print they had for the Right Stuff screening. It was a newly-struck 35mm, with original Dolby A audio. **Post edited to reflect confirmation of information** [ 06-25-2003, 07:18 PM: Message edited by: Michael Coate ]  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 06-25-2003 02:52 PM                        I was very disappointed to find the picture and sound of the new special edition of "THE RIGHT STUFF" to be the same as the previous release, a single disc and a "flipper" I still have in my collection. The nice thing about the new two disc edition however are all the extra stuff that are on the 2nd disc. Please do not get me wrong, the picture quality on the movie is not that great but it is good. The 5.1 sound however is excellent with a lot of split surround sound effects. It would have been nice if they spruced up the picture and sound but I am still very happy with this new release I am also very happy to be able to watch the entire movie play without any interruption like the original theatrical presentation on a single sided disc.. -Claude  |  IP: Logged System Notices Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi Posts: 215 Registered: Apr 2004 posted 07-15-2005 05:04 PM                 It has been 751 days since the last post.  |  IP: Logged Andy Summers Master Film Handler Posts: 397 From: Bournemouth Dorset United kingdom Registered: Jun 2005 posted 07-15-2005 05:04 PM                 This is an American iconic classic film, with the right mix for those visual images up there on the screen… And the disc is WOW when played in THX it’s totally got the Right Stuff and the ending of the film always brings tears to my eyes, with Bill Conti’s score playing to it’s fullest highly recommended…  |  IP: Logged

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