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I viewed this in the new Kino Lorber Blu-ray release which incorporates a new 4K Scan, last evening. The results are absolutely extraordinary! John Barry's Oscar-winning score and the dialogue of James Goldman's Oscar-winning script are delivered to the ear splendidly in the new 5:1 sound remix. I must add that the imagery here in this new transfer is breathtaking, compared to the old video / dvd which appeared 'smeary and muddy'. The very first scene in the film is of King Henry practicing his swordplay with his youngest son, John. The bright blue skies, sunlight reflecting off the swords and flesh-tones of the actors are rendered perfectly by, (my personal favorite Cinematographer), Douglas Slocombe. I never saw this film when it first came out in 1968, only on television in the 1970's and on video. This release surely must be what it was like at the film's premier; see this version people!
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I love it when you people play the "expert Mr. Harris" card, like you were some sort of "Commissar of Technical Quality." It's the best, most foolproof way to nullify someone else's value judgment.
In the future, please complete a Value Judgment Correction Form, signed by Commissar of Quality, the "expert Mr. Harris."
i didn't use that to prove my point.
I used it as an aid to my point.
Anyway...
"Experts" make mistakes too many times, but in this case I happen to agree with him.
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John Barry's Oscar-winning score and the dialogue of James Goldman's Oscar-winning script are delivered to the ear splendidly in the new 5:1 sound remix.
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5.1 mix in mono!
Kino Lorber is notorious for not saying anything on their disc packaging regarding the sound of their releases. So people end up hearing what they want to hear. For Montana Dave, it's 5.1 sound. For Robert Harris, it's "multi-channel monaural."
Thanks Bob. I'm certainly not an expert in any sense. All I know is that when I put in the disc, upon set-up options, Audio offered two choices: 5.1 as well as 2.0. I selected 5.1 and sat in front of my gigantic flat-screen and heard separation on the left, center and right of music as well as dialogue and sound effects. Sounded absolutely great to me. The picture and detailing in the film was miles above the old dvd / video version, and THAT is what I want to stress to others. And I don't work for Kino Lorber nor do I have stock in the company.
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Just to chime in, I consider Mr. Harris to be a verifiably true expert in these issues -- not just an "opinionater" if there is such a term. There are experts in film restoration and transfers. He is without doubt an expert on film transfers and physical media. His opinion does mean more than other folks. I don't consider this view of mine that he is an expert to be an opinion but a fact.
P.S. I, too, have enjoyed some discs that Mr. Harris has criticized -- but his statements have always increased my knowledge about the possibility of making those transfers and discs even better. His criticisms don't decrease my enjoyment, rather they increase my knowledge -- and I would never criticize someone else's enjoyment of such a disc!
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No one understands film grain - they read stuff on the Internet and think they do, then use whatever catchphrases they've read - every reviewer does this - but then 99% of the people reviewing have no business reviewing toilet paper let alone a film transfer. End of rant part one.
I'm told by those who know that the 5.1 mix is indeed a mono spread - that's not true stereo - it may sound good but true stereo it's not. The film, of course, was mono so why they would need a 5.1 track is anyone's guess. As to the image - for Montana Dave this is a beautiful thing, which is great. But since he freely admits he has only seen this film on TV and prior home video releases (which were awful) then he is not in a position to judge whether this 4K transfer in any way represents what this film originally looked like. I'm looking forward to getting the disc - I saw the film on New Year's Eve the year it opened and I've seen in subsequently in 35mm several times over the years.
Here's the thing: Just because a box touts a 4K "restoration" or transfer doesn't really mean anything. I can do a 4K transfer of a 16mm dupe of some classic - meaningless. It's what the scan is taken from, what condition that is in, and what is subsequently done with the scan, what references were used - with Studio Canal it's a very spotty track record, I'm afraid.
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No one understands film grain - they read stuff on the Internet and think they do, then use whatever catchphrases they've read - every reviewer does this - but then 99% of the people reviewing have no business reviewing toilet paper let alone a film transfer. End of rant part one.
That's a ridiculous statement.
Thanks for proving my point. Tell us all about what you know of film grain and what that knowledge is based on. Because my statement is not only not ridiculous it is entirely and utterly accurate. 99% of the "reviewers" reviewing have never even seen 99% of the films they're reviewing outside of previous home video releases. They know nothing about film, grain, or much of anything else other than what they've gleaned from Mr. Harris and a few others.
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