Best DVD Images From an Older Movie

[ctyankee]

From another thread I was talking about the gorgeous transfer of Barry Lyndon that's out (not the old DVD but the new remastered version).

That got me thinking about what DVD I've seen I could recommend to others as being so stunning in image quality that it looks like I'm in the original movie theatre seeing it for the first time. Older movies only ... let us say pre-80's. Doesn't matter whether they were restored or not.

I have many of the CC releases and many of them are pretty good. Certainly, the older black and whites like Notorious, 39 Steps, The Third Man, Grand Illusion .. take your pick .. they all look pretty good. Of the CC's, I'd probably give the nod to a couple of color movies such as And God Created Woman and Black Orpheus. It is a hard choice because some credit has to go to these much older movies -- but color negatives are much harder to maintain over time too.

Other color films such as Bridge over the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia come to mind. Rear Window and Vertigo were restored and look terrific but I don't really see that much of a difference from my old VHS copy (off of TV) to the restored DVD versions that I own.

My pick ... North by Northwest. Amazing image quality and gorgeous color. Also, an amazing bargain of a DVD for only $12.

What do you think? We've seen different movies so we have different ideas and different experiences. What dropped your jaw when you saw it on DVD?

[Prancer]

These are the ones I have that are simply great:
Cleopatra,Written in the Wind,Spartacus, Black Narcissus, All That Heaven Allows
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany's (it is pretty grainy in the beginning but I didn't notice it that much later.), Charade, Planet of the Apes

I just ordered Ben Hur and waiting for the DVD. Can't wait to see it because I've only seen that one on TV.




[This message has been edited by Prancer (edited 11-30-2001).]

[SeanL]

The Time Machine (Rod Taylor) comes to mind.



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Sean

My ever increasing DVD collection

I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country-General George S. Patton

[BubbleGumUK]

The absolutely best restoration I've seen is "Snow White". Okay, so it's animated, which helps, but comparing the new DVD with a theatrical print I saw in '87 and the 1993 laserdisc box shows a new level of detail. And the soundtrack? How clean!

Live action wise, I've been impressed with the "Citizen Kane" issue from Warners. I think the elements for most films from the '60s onwards still exsist, so it's not so difficult to be able to have decent transfers of many "recent" old titles. Pre '60s though, and I found "Kane", "Vertigo", "The King and I", and "Singing In The Rain" to be great, picture wise!

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"On the other side of the screen...it all looks so easy..."

[Wirehed]

I agree with BubbleGumUK.

My votes go for Snow White and Citizen Kane. Both are stunning.

[SolidSnakeASS]

Citizen Kane is the best. It just looks amazing for a film almost 70 years old.

Snow White is amazing as well.

[The Riddler]

I had never seen Vertigo...but when I saw AND heard the DVD I was blown away....it looked so clean & crisp! Great DVD!!!!!!!

[AnonomusBob15]

I've always thought the Bond films to have a rather nice picture.

[Laughing Gravy]

I second the votes for VERTIGO and SNOW WHITE, and add DUMBO and the 1931 FRANKENSTEIN (I haven't seen CITIZEN KANE yet; I'm waiting for the perfect moment).

I'm particularly fond of Image's release of FLASH GORDON, the 1936 serial starring Buster Crabbe. Since the 1950s, when narration was added for TV and it was re-titled "Space Soldiers", it has looked and sounded like shit, a shame for the best and most exciting serial and a truly groundbreaking sci-fi favorite.

Image's release, while not perfect, is absolutely the finest this chapterplay has looked since its original pre-war release, and kudos to them for their efforts (the two sequels are also available from Image).

[This message has been edited by Laughing Gravy (edited 11-30-2001).]

[Josh]

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO!- Perhaps the best transfer ever!!

Others:
Lawrence of Arabia
Bridge on the River Kwai
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Jaws
Superman
Snow White


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My DVD's!

[Gunther22585]

Citizen Kane, hands down.

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If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes.

[Sykes]

Color: Written on the Wind (Criterion). Though not as clean as Warner's North by Northwest, colors are so eye-poppingly vivid that said film actually appears slightly faded at certain junctures in comparison. The new benchmark for classic color films on DVD.

Black & White: Now, Voyager (Warner). Citizen Kane receives the laurels, but this title blows it (and every other b&w film on DVD) away. Pure digital wizardry from Warner and LDI.

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"Editing is the foundation of the film art."--V. Pudovkin.

[Louie]

Well I might be flamed for this, but Ghostbusters has an excellent transfer a 17 year old movie.

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Louie Arrico
Yavin4.com
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[Chauncey Gardiner]

I would also include titles like Written on the Wind, All That Heaven Allows, and Snow White. Now, Voyager is excellent, as is Kane, but not quite on the level of the best b&w discs, of which the absolute champ is...

42nd Street. Yes, the 1932 film. Visually the most astonishing, breathtaking, mind-boggling presentation of an old b&w film I've ever seen in any video format.

For the best representation of three-strip Technicolor, I'd have to nominate the roadshow version of Duel in the Sun (on Anchor Bay)--jaw-droppingly beautiful. Honorable mention to another Anchor Bay disc, Garden of Allah.

And for the all-around best disc of a pre-'80s movie to date: Doctor Zhivago. What can you say about this disc that hasn't already been said? It's everything DVD should be, but rarely is.

[LBPound23]

Originally posted by Louie:
Well I might be flamed for this, but Ghostbusters has an excellent transfer a 17 year old movie.

Agreed.

Other good ones:
Jaws
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
2001: A Space Odyssey (re-release)
The Shining (re-release)
Bridge on the River Kwai (not bad)
Fantasia and Pinocchio both over 60 years old, look quite nice also!

[Laughing Gravy]

Chauncey: How right you are, and how could I have forgotten 42ND STREET, which ranks with SINGIN' IN THE RAIN as one of the two greatest musicals created specifically for the screen!

[Sykes]

Originally posted by Chauncey Gardiner:
I would also include titles like Written on the Wind, All That Heaven Allows, and Snow White. Now, Voyager is excellent, as is Kane, but not quite on the level of the best b&w discs, of which the absolute champ is...

42nd Street. Yes, the 1932 film. Visually the most astonishing, breathtaking, mind-boggling presentation of an old b&w film I've ever seen in any video format.

For the best representation of three-strip Technicolor, I'd have to nominate the roadshow version of Duel in the Sun (on Anchor Bay)--jaw-droppingly beautiful. Honorable mention to another Anchor Bay disc, Garden of Allah.

42nd Street is indeed a ravishing looking disc, easily in the eschelon of the primo best b&w classic releases. But Now, Voyager, to my eyes, still takes the cake for best replication of the peculiar, luminous quality of the old nitrate emulsions. Tonal separation and range are vigorously rendered, and stirringly beautiful. Frankly, I find it a tall order that it doesn't rank in the very elite class on any aficianado's list.

Of course, I would agree that 42nd Street sports the superior original cinematography (courtesy the brilliant b&w master, Sol Polito), so it can, at times, look even more gorgeous than Now, Voyager.

May I also add that Duel in the Sun and The Garden of Allah are also incredible-looking transfers (definitely superior to All That Heaven Allows). Often, it is a pleasure to spin some of these discs simply to admire the breathtaking Technicolor.

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"Editing is the foundation of the film art."--V. Pudovkin.

[Sykes]

Originally posted by Laughing Gravy:
Chauncey: How right you are, and how could I have forgotten 42ND STREET, which ranks with SINGIN' IN THE RAIN as one of the two greatest musicals created specifically for the screen!

Don't forget Rouben Mamoulian's Love Me Tonight (1932), which may be the most cinematically-fluent musical ever to grace the screen. Unfortunately, a good print is practically impossible to come by these days.



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"Editing is the foundation of the film art."--V. Pudovkin.

[Laughing Gravy]

"Love Me Tonight... may be the most cinematically-fluent musical ever to grace the screen."

That sounded oddly familiar to me. So I consulted my Halliwell's and found:

"Love Me Tonight... the most fluently cinematic comedy musical ever made."

Mr. Sykes, do you write for Halliwell's? If so, I'm impressed!

[Sykes]

No, but I sometimes wonder if Mr. John Walker could use my assistance rating films.

Seriously, Halliwell's has always been my favorite movie guide, especially when Leslie Halliwell was still with us. I enjoy his eclectic knowledge of film, and snappy assessments. It is not at all atypical for me to adopt his phraseology as my own.

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"Editing is the foundation of the film art."--V. Pudovkin.

[Squall]

The CC of The Passion of Joan of Arc has amazing picture, and not just for a movie that's 75 years old. You won't believe how good it looks.

[BathTub]

well I would say Citizen Kane but the picture has quite bad edge enhancement, the picture would have been much better (perfect?) without it.

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Both 42nd Street and Now, Voyager were shot by Sol Polito, but I agree that the former has the more brilliant cinematography. I think part of the reason may be that Now, Voyager lapses into a lot of soft-focus, particularly in close-ups of the two leads, as was customary at the time.

I have a few problems with the LDI work on Now, Voyager, Little Women, and even (to a lesser extent) Citizen Kane. For one thing, black level in the first two seems to be all over the place, and in general slightly too high on Citizen Kane. (You can see Joseph Cotten's face among the newsmen in the projection room scene--surely not intended.)

There are also noticeable DVNR artifacts in the first two, such as pulsating on narrow vertical lines (i.e., doorway moldings). Along with this goes almost total obliteration of the film grain, which to me is not a good thing. Finally, perhaps as a byproduct of all this processing, all three of these films tend to be slightly soft (and I'm speaking here of the shots that are supposed to be sharp).

42nd Street, OTOH, is just about perfect in terms of black level, is razor-sharp throughout, loaded with fine detail, and retains that fine grain pattern that in my view adds to the beauty of the film.

I'm sure the quality of the source material plays a part as well, and I can easily believe Warner's claim on the box that the original camera negative was used for the 42nd Street transfer.

Doctor Zhivago, another LDI project, looks gorgeous in spite of the grain removal, probably because it's a newer film. I also didn't notice many digital noise reduction artifacts in this transfer. What I don't care for is the edge enhancement, but the rest of the transfer is so glorious I can forgive that.

North by Northwest is another disc that despite the lovely picture, doesn't really look like film.

MK

[Welles and Ford Fan]

I agree with a lot of these choices. For color, I must also say Black Narcissus. For B&W, and since no one else has mentioned them, I like Criterion's Lean/Dickens films-Great Expectations & Oliver Twist.

I have always been able to spot Joseph Cotten (and Erskine Sanford) in the newsreel scene in Kane. I was disappointed that Ebert in his commentary for Kane thought Cotten was Allan Ladd! Guess it wasn't sop clear after all?
I was annoyed that the Kane disc bolloxed up the Bernstein/Reporter scene by removing the rain from the window.