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Last movie watched...

Started by SmallBlueThing, 04 February, 2011, 12:40:44 PM

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TordelBack

#13380
Quote from: Frank on 31 August, 2019, 03:48:01 PM
I don't mind the extra stuff - I don't like it; no reasonable person would - but even something as innocuous as adding A NEW HOPE to the opening crawl gave me a Herbert Lom twitch.

Basically, I now have the version of the film I watched 200* times (on a video I taped off the telly) back, minus the ad breaks and the screen/audio wobble when the Death Star explodes.

Sadly (?) the version you taped off the telly would have already had the Episode IV: A New Hope biteen on it. This was added just after Empire came out*, and Star Wars didn't make it to telly on ITV until 1982, two years later.

I only managed to tape the audio, lacking a VCR, but even that was ruined by my continually yelling at my brothers to shut up, and a failure to sync the side-changes with the ad breaks.


*IIRC some claim to have seen the retitled version as early as 1978, but there's no hard evidence of this, and Lucas denied it.

Frank

Quote from: TordelBack on 01 September, 2019, 02:23:12 PM
Quote from: Frank on 31 August, 2019, 03:48:01 PM
I don't mind the extra stuff - I don't like it; no reasonable person would - but even something as innocuous as adding A NEW HOPE to the opening crawl gave me a Herbert Lom twitch.

Basically, I now have the version of the film I watched 200* times (on a video I taped off the telly) back, minus the ad breaks and the screen/audio wobble when the Death Star explodes.

Sadly (?) the version you taped off the telly would have already had the Episode IV: A New Hope biteen on it. This was added just after Empire came out*, and Star Wars didn't make it to telly on ITV until 1982, two years later.

*IIRC some claim to have seen the retitled version as early as 1978, but there's no hard evidence of this, and Lucas denied it.

That's m'boy.



JOE SOAP

#13382
Apart from some shot/FX and numerous audio changes that occurred even between releases in 1977, the crawl was completely redone and the opening shot changed.

For the 1981 re-release, the line "Episode IV: A NEW HOPE" was added to the opening crawl. While this is the most noticeable alteration, the entire opening crawl was redone. A new starfield was used, one that was made and used in The Empire Strikes Back, the "Star Wars" title is also from The Empire Strikes Back, but it fades out before the crawl starts. The crawl was reformatted for the music to stay in synchronization and the word "rebel" in "rebel spies" is capitalized, which was not capitalized in the original 1977 crawl. The Tantive IV and Star Destroyer were recomposited with finer border, removing some prominent black lines. More subtly, the lasers and engine glows were adjusted to fit and the moons are in different positions relative to the planet.

Frank


Great work, guys. This really takes me back to those bygone days, playing with my Hasbro Boba Fett action figure and his rocket-firing backpack.

May the Force be with you, all the time.



Hawkmumbler

I'll not be satisfied until the re-release of Return of the Jedi with Declan Mulholland CGI'd in for all Jabba's scenes, George you fuckin' coward!

Steve Green

Quote from: Mattofthespurs on 01 September, 2019, 08:37:07 AM
I have Region 1 DVD's of all 3 Despecialised and these are legit. Had them awhile. Think they were released around the time the first of the prequels came out. They also have the correct soundtracks.

Those are from the Laserdisc masters I believe.

The Despecialised ones are fan efforts to restore from better sources.

I've seen a 4K one, and it's very good quality - there are 2 versions, one with a light grain removal, one without.

There was also another project with some guy actually reshooting extra scenes/miniatures for Empire - no idea what happened to that.

Professor Bear

You fucking nerds.

Quote from: Steve Green on 01 September, 2019, 04:17:10 PMThere was also another project with some guy actually reshooting extra scenes/miniatures for Empire - no idea what happened to that.

I got a Youtube rec for a review of a fan edit of The Last Jedi that seemed to be based on the idea of Luke being dead through the whole movie rather than just at the end, and apparently the guy doing it had some sort of crowdfunding whip-round and actually shot scenes with stunt performers to stand in for Luke/Ray's training sequences.  I kind of admire that fanboys turned their disappointment into something practical and productive rather than just spending their time harassing actors on social media, but tbh I also think this sounds kind of cringe-inducing and I'm convinced I must never watch it under any circumstances.

Keef Monkey

Did a couple of rewatches at the weekend, both of films I wasn't keen on in the cinema but was curious how they'd hold up on a re-appraisal.

I was pretty crushed at the missed opportunity of The Dark Tower when I first saw it, and it's still really disappointing that they didn't attempt to do any of the world-building or to adapt any of the books, but going in knowing I wasn't going to get that I enjoyed it a great deal more. Still think the casting is fantastic, and it really looks the part. There are some great sequences, seeing Roland shoot his way through the Dixie Pig really gave me a thrill this time. It's a shame it's just the bare bones of The Dark Tower, and especially after watching the extras about the making of I get the frustrating feeling that with some more meat on those bones it could have been a lot more satisfying. Even another 30mins to the runtime (it's very short for what it is) to do the world-building needed to give the whole thing weight, and to let the moments and interactions breathe, and it could have been a much better film.

I was really surprised to find myself enjoying it as much as I did though after being so crushed on a first watch, so I may have come to terms with it and accepted it for what it is. Hopefully the Amazon series will be the straight adaptation I'm after. Also, the 4K blu-ray looks and sounds absolutely stunning, one of the best I've seen so far.

And Rob Zombie's Halloween 2, which I didn't enjoy much at the time and didn't improve on a rewatch. It has some interesting ideas and the occasional great shot - I do think he does well with surreal imagery and the dream/fantasy sequences in this show the beginnings of a visual flair that would properly come out in Lords of Salem, which I know is a real Marmite movie but I like a great deal (for my sins).

I've just never found his Michael Myers a frightening presence, despite him ramping up the brutality to ridiculous degrees. It's ludicrously violent, and really mean-spirited - I know all Zombie's films are violent but this is honestly the only one that I think feels cruel like that. Even the awful things that happen in something like The Devil's Rejects are offset by a weird humour that I think makes them more cartoonish than upsetting, but in H2 it feels like he's tried to push the brutality as much as possible and it just feels mean and disturbing.

That's clearly what he was going for but it feels so far removed from Carpenter's masterful control of suspense that it just doesn't work. I do appreciate that after having a surprise hit with the first film he decided to do something so different with the sequel and put his own stamp on it, but apart from some visuals that really stick it doesn't really hang together.

TordelBack

Quote from: Frank on 01 September, 2019, 03:16:06 PM

Great work, guys. This really takes me back to those bygone days, playing with my Hasbro Boba Fett action figure and his rocket-firing backpack?

Naughty boy!  😂

JamesC

Brightburn.

It's not going to win any Oscars but I enjoyed it for what it was.
It's a pretty straightforward 'what if Superman was bad?' story - shifting a bit towards the horror genre.
It doesn't really offer any surprises but it's certainly entertaining.
The nature/nurture thing isn't really explored. Brandon Breyer is just bad because he's bad (which kind of implies Clark Kent is good because he's good). I thought it would have been interesting to put him in a situation where his upbringing could possibly be blamed for his behaviour.

Bolt-01

Really? That's a shame - I think there is a lot of room in telling a story about Superman being bad despite his upbringing and because he just doesn't see why he should care for humans when all he experiences as a child is relentless bullying and intolerance.

Have you read the Cape?

JamesC

There's definitely loads of mileage in the story which isn't even touched upon. [spoiler]They don't really go into why he's crash landed on Earth but it's implied that it may be some sort of alien seeding thing and that his mission from day one was to take over the planet.[/spoiler]
I haven't read The Cape but it looks interesting.

Hawkmumbler

Been watching an awful lot of movies to fill the void during my current stint with unemployment, from revered classic like The Long Goodbye and Night of the Hunter (masterpieces both) to pretentious wank that I still love like the Jean Rollin Vampire Cycle, but the other day I participated in a special tribute screening to Easy Rider and Henry Fonda in Chapeltown Picturehouse. It's held up stupendously, and watching it in a crowd of genuine film fans with great affection was a delight.

Rately

Quote from: Bolt-01 on 02 September, 2019, 02:15:13 PM
Really? That's a shame - I think there is a lot of room in telling a story about Superman being bad despite his upbringing and because he just doesn't see why he should care for humans when all he experiences as a child is relentless bullying and intolerance.

Have you read the Cape?

Have read the original The Cape short, and really enjoyed it, particularly the ending.

Definitely has the potential for a great TV show or movie.

Managed to grab the comic bundle from Humble Bundle, and that was a purchase from about two to three years ago, but still to get around to reading them,


Tiplodocus

Hail Caesar
Finally caught up with this delightful bit of Coen brothers whimsy and really enjoyed it.

It's very slight; almost an exercise in how far you can coast on amusing performances from charismatic stars (and Jonah Hill) but it turns out that is pretty far.

A series of vignettes about life on a fifties movie lot, tied together by a day in the life of studio fixer Josh Brolin. Sadly a lot of the best gags were in the trailer but  it still generates good will and smiles as it progresses.

I'm off to YouTube now in the hope that there are longer versions of NO DAMES and LAZY OL' MOON out there.
Be excellent to each other. And party on!