Speaking of quality realeases, I wonder if many SWs will be released in the HD/Blue ray format in the future?
Probably only Leone’s films or what do you think?
Both Wild East and Koch Media don’t sell much we’ve been told, and you have to have the original film negatives in good condition to be able to make HD quality.
So it seems unlikely that these releases will be re-released in HD.
Not that it matters to me, a good quality DVD is sufficient to me and I think you’ll need a huge screen to really appreciate HD quality.
I think in the future Wild East and Koch Media discs will probably be collectors items.
[quote=“Silvanito, post:1, topic:660”]Speaking of quality realeases, I wonder if many SWs will be released in the HD/Blue ray format in the future?
Probably only Leone’s films or what do you think?
Both Wild East and Koch Media don’t sell much we’ve been told, and you have to have the original film negatives in good condition to be able to make HD quality.
So it seems unlikely that these releases will be re-released in HD.
Not that it matters to me, a good quality DVD is sufficient to me and I think you’ll need a huge screen to really appreciate HD quality.
I think in the future Wild East and Koch Media discs will probably be collectors items.[/quote]
These are interesting points you mention, and I have thought about myself at times.
The less well known titles do not stand a chance for a long time I suspect.
The number of spaghetti westerns released on DVD is considerably less than what’s come out on VHS and it’s not going to be any brighter with the new formats. The Leone westerns will come out of course but not much else I’m afraid. So long as they keep pushing new titles out on DVD I don’t mind really, the HD-format is not for the spaghetti western.
First up, I would like to see a blu ray section separate from the DVD section. It may not be filled rapidly as spag BD’s will most likely not be released that often on BD.
That being said, these are the specs for the upcoming US release of the GBU blu ray:
Blu-ray Disc Features:
Region [unknown]
NTSC
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French, Spanish
DTS HD Master Audio - English
Mono - English
Subtitles - English, French, Spanish
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Extended 3-Hour Version
Documentary:
“Leone’s West”
“The Leone Style”
"The Man Who Lost the Civil War"
Featurette:
“Reconstructing THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY”
"Il Maestro: Ennio Morricone and THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY"
Trailers:
Original Trailer
French Trailer
Audio Commentary:
Richard Shickel - Film Historian
Christopher Frayling
Interactive Features:
Easter Eggs:
Uno, Due, Tre
Italian Lunch
New York Actor
Gun in Holster
Not the wait is on for the other leones on blu ray (I already have fistful of dollars from Italy, that one comes recommended!)
The Italian Blu-Ray is reviewed at DVDBeaver http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews42/fistful_of_dollars_blu-ray.htm It is 1080p with Italian TrueHD 5.1, Italian mono, and English mono as well as English and Italian subtitles. The extras are not English-friendly but the image looks impressive.
I recently received both A Fistful of dollars and For a Few Dollars More on blu-ray from Italy with italian soundtrack in Dolby True HD. My equipment nothing fancy: Sony Playstation 3, Yamaha YSP4000 sound projector and Pioneer PDP428XD plasma display and I must say the experience was marvelous. I have both these films on DVD in restored versions, but blu-ray is just another world. I am looking forward to GBU on blu-ray.
Of course I can be the Blu Ray ‘go to guy’! My equipment is excellent. Panasonic 42 inch plasma (award winning), Onkyo receiver, supporting ALL audio formats, such as TrueHD, Master HD, etc., Sony BLu Ray player, with the latest firmware en everything connected with top of the bill HDMI cables. So far for the equipment. I do own Fitsful on blu ray, which is just excellent. It would be unfair to compare quality with recent flicks like dark knight, but it is the finest presentation of any spaghetti ever! I was like seeing a whole new movie. So many details that used to be lost in the lower resolutions now come forward to shine! Expectations are way up for GBU. I’ll post a review as soon as I have it on BD. By the way, I own the collectors edition blu ray of fistful, which comes loaded with tons of goodies, like a miniature script, fotobustas, booklet with facts and a new cardboard sleeve. Get it while it lasts. By the way, blu ray players ‘upgrade’ regular DVD’s to a higher resolution as well, so even watching once upon a time is a completely new experience, even on DVD.
I wonder if Blu ray is a good medium for most SW’s. What’s the point of High Definition, when most sources are ‘not up to par’, to put it mildly? Would it be worth the while to put Django out on Blu Ray? How about The Great Silence? I guess it will only be the Leone westerns for a long time…
Remember, there are other movies than SW’s that do benefit a great deal from HD. And do not forget, Blu ray players ‘upscale’ standard DVD, so the quality will improve over a regular DVD player. Do not upgrade just for SW’s, but I assume so watch more than the Italian flicks…
upscaling doesnt always result in better picture. it very much depends on the equipment.
but on another note. a regular 32mm film has a higher physical resolution that HDTV or BluRay… so BluRay is definitely still within the possibilities if the sourc ematerial is at least in good enough shape to be scanned
.