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A PEEK AT PEYTON PLACE AND MORE (1 Viewer)

haineshisway

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Just a few peeks at the new Twilight Time batch.

I began with Peyton Place. They don't make 'em like that anymore and it's too bad. First off, for me John Michael Hayes is one of the great screenwriters ever. Mark Robson was a wonderful director. And what a cast. And what a score by Franz Waxman. And what photography by William C. Mellor. It's a brand new transfer and it looks absolutely fantastic with stunning and perfect color (I'm just waiting from the blue brigade to start - I'm ready, baby) :). The sound is excellent but I'm fairly certain given what I know about the sound elements that it's not true stereo, but some kind of faux stereo spread - it does sound full and lovely, though. I loved the movie back when it came out, even though I was probably too young for it, and I love it now. High-gloss, soapy moviemaking at its finest, plus a gorgeous new Fox transfer equals a happy me.

Our Man in Havana - I saw it back in the day and didn't understand a word of what was going on. So, I stayed away from the film for years and years. But I got the UK DVD when it came out, and seeing it after all those years was interesting. It doesn't quite come off, but boy is it entertaining and boy does it have the most amazing cast - Alec Guiness, Noel Coward, Ralph Richardson, Ernie Kovaks, Burl Ives, Maureen O'Hara, and a screenplay by Grahame Greene (who wrote the novel), and direction by the great Carol Reed (no stranger to Grahame Greene he). On top of that the usual and by now expected great transfer from Sony. Nothing like black-and-white scope.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - first thing that must be said: MGM/UA. I think by now everyone pretty much knows they simply do not care about their assets other than licensing them out with whatever they happen to have on hand. Yes, they have a LOT of HD transfers, most of them done for the MGM-HD channel almost ten years back. But first, the film. I saw it about six months before its release - Coffee Break, if memory serves was in at that point. I loved the movie (hadn't seen the show, although I ended up playing Finch in two different productions just a year later). The cast was first-rate and of course you could never do better than Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee. Thankfully they recreated Mr. Fosse's choreography, which was wonderful (keep your eye out for two West Side Story movie veterans - Anthony "Scooter" Teague who plays Frump, and Tucker Smith (Ice from WSS), who here is just an ensemble dancer. Also future director Hy Averback plays an executive - I'd work with him a decade later in a pilot). Michelle Lee is terrific, as is Maureen Arthur and David Swift keeps it all moving along swiftly. I saw it again at another preview about two weeks before it opened and Coffee Break was, of course, gone. The transfer is typical MGM/UA - not quite perfect color, although it's pretty good in that regard, and certainly a better transfer could be had if anyone there actually cared - but if you've seen it on MGM-HD it's the same transfer and is certainly okay - we're all just spoiled by the studios who don't settle for just okay.

And finally, Baby Boom. These kinds of "of the moment" 80s comedies are really tiresome to me - they were tiresome then and they're even more tiresome now. That may just be me, but I especially find this husband and wife writer/director's work not to my liking. But these films were all the rage back then. That said, Diane Keaton and the rest of the cast are such wonderful actors that I kind of enjoyed myself this time around. The transfer is, once again, MGM-UA - it's fine - looks exactly like a release print would have and has that 80s diffusion so no problem for me, transfer-wise, other than it could be better.

This is a strong batch, actually, in terms of enjoyment - but Peyton Place and Our Man in Havana are no-brainers, and if you love musicals you'll be really happy with How to Succeed, and if you love 80s romantic comedies, you'll also enjoy Baby Boom.

And there you have it.
 

Robin9

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My disc of Peyton Place hasn't arrived yet, but you've made me very impatient. I have that U.K DVD of Our Man In Havana. I'm still undecided about upgrading. I'll have another look at the DVD and then decide.
 

Mark-P

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...The sound is excellent but I'm fairly certain given what I know about the sound elements that it's not true stereo, but some kind of faux stereo spread - it does sound full and lovely, though...
What information do you have that Peyton Place wasn't a stereo film? I just popped in my old Fox DVD to confirm, and found that it is 4.0 stereo with TRUE stereophonic sound and directional dialog as well.
 
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Jim*Tod

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PEYTON PLACE was a Cinemascope film with four track magnetic sound. Some of the posters for the film even tout "the wonder of stereophonic sound." Recommended reading is the AMERICAN WIDESCREEN MUSEUM site... explains all of the old widescreen formats and their sound formats.
 

haineshisway

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Thanks for the lessons fellows but I was talking about the Blu-ray, not what it was once upon a time. Nick listened to it, Mike M. listened to it and it was their opinion that it wasn't real stereo - it sounds great, but if you listen to the music, it's pretty mono-sounding. What they had for the DVD I know not. I understand how the film originally played as I saw it back then and remember all those wonderful Fox stereo films. I do know the reasons there is no isolated track - obviously if there were good stereo music tracks there would have been an isolated score track. :)
 

Dick

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(I'm just waiting from the blue brigade to start - I'm ready, baby)

This transfer isn't merely teal -- it is various shades of actual blue. The grass and leaves on the trees make sapphires look colorless by comparison, and the whole outdoors appear to be an alien landscape. The actors...well, they appear to be Na'vi. I am not merely a member of the blue brigade, I am its leader and founder, and this is my official report. I would suggest that not one further comment about any perceived "blueness" need be posted here as it would be redundant. ;)
 

Joe Caps

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This is strange news about the sound in Peyton Place.
If Fox no longer has the stereo mags, they could sypon it off by dubbing the sound from the regular dvd which is true stereo.
 

RolandL

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I was thinking of getting this but, if it's not 4.0 with directional dialog, fahgettaboudit!
 
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John Skoda

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The really strange sound issue in this TT batch is HOW TO SUCCEED, which is presented with 5.1 and 2.0 isolated music/effects tracks, both of which are only slightly tweaked mono. It doesn't sound so bad, but it's all mono.
 

Eastmancolor

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Just a few peeks at the new Twilight Time batch.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - The transfer is typical MGM/UA - not quite perfect color, although it's pretty good in that regard, and certainly a better transfer could be had if anyone there actually cared - but if you've seen it on MGM-HD it's the same transfer and is certainly okay - we're all just spoiled by the studios who don't settle for just okay.

Bruce, I think this is a different transfer from what has been available for years in HD streaming and on the MGM-HD network. For one the new Blu-ray doesn't have window-boxed credits, like the old master does, and there appears (to me at least) to be quite a bit more detail in the image.

Regarding the color, I had a lowfade print of the film that I've since jettisoned and the new Blu-ray is miles ahead color-wise. I do know the negative has some sequences and shots that were duped decades ago (for damage?) that were then cut into the original negative. These looked fairly hideous in my print but they've made them look much nicer in the new transfer.

Anyway, while the disc ain't perfect, I still think it's a success and am glad to have it.

I also can't agree with you more about PEYTON PLACE. What was left of the Fox "studio system" in the mid-1950's was firing on all cylinders for this one. A fine film. And for having an over two and half hour running time, you don't notice it. Lovely disc too!
 

Mark-P

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The really strange sound issue in this TT batch is HOW TO SUCCEED, which is presented with 5.1 and 2.0 isolated music/effects tracks, both of which are only slightly tweaked mono. It doesn't sound so bad, but it's all mono.
Meaning absolutely no disrespect to anyone in this thread, but perhaps there is a bit of confusion between Peyton Place and How to Succeed regarding the soundtracks? I hope you're right and that it is How to Succeed that is reprocessed mono and not Peyton Place. That would make perfect sense as How to Succeed has always been mono.
 

haineshisway

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Bruce, I think this is a different transfer from what has been available for years in HD streaming and on the MGM-HD network. For one the new Blu-ray doesn't have window-boxed credits, like the old master does, and there appears (to me at least) to be quite a bit more detail in the image.

Regarding the color, I had a lowfade print of the film that I've since jettisoned and the new Blu-ray is miles ahead color-wise. I do know the negative has some sequences and shots that were duped decades ago (for damage?) that were then cut into the original negative. These looked fairly hideous in my print but they've made them look much nicer in the new transfer.

Anyway, while the disc ain't perfect, I still think it's a success and am glad to have it.

I also can't agree with you more about PEYTON PLACE. What was left of the Fox "studio system" in the mid-1950's was firing on all cylinders for this one. A fine film. And for having an over two and half hour running time, you don't notice it. Lovely disc too!

I believe How to Succeed is indeed the same transfer - on MGM HD it wouldn't have been 1080p, though. Twilight Time, in fact, had MGM redo the opening window-boxed credits - that's pretty much how I figure it's the same transfer. They had MGM redo the opening window-boxed credits of Exodus, too.
 

haineshisway

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As to the Peyton Place sound, no one is really sure, from what I'm told - but the simple fact is there were no sound elements that could be used for an isolated score, so that should tell us something. As I said, it sounds very nice, but I stuck my ear up to my speakers and it sounded spread to me (and to Mike M.), with no real separation on the strings, for example. But who knows? In the end, How to Succeed, to me, sounds really good and we know that's a fake spread in a very similar vein.
 

Alan Tully

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This is strange news about the sound in Peyton Place.
If Fox no longer has the stereo mags, they could sypon it off by dubbing the sound from the regular dvd which is true stereo.

Yes, but the ntsc tapes would run a tiny bit slower than true 24fps, 99.92%, almost there, but five minutes in it would be noticeably out of sync (& getting worse all the time), maybe there's a simple solution (maybe not). Still so many Blu-ray reviews where the sound is described as 2.0 & no mention of mono or stereo, don't any of these super-duper home cinema sound systems have a headphone socket somewhere? And isn't the Blu-ray of Taras Bulba mono whereas the DVD was proper stereo.
 

Will Krupp

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Yes, but the ntsc tapes would run a tiny bit slower than true 24fps, 99.92%, almost there, but five minutes in it would be noticeably out of sync

I don't understand what you mean, Alan. The audio (as well as the video) of PEYTON PLACE is stored on the DVD at 24fps the same way it would be on blu-ray.
 
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Alan Tully

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I don't understand what you mean, Alan. The audio (as well as the video) of PEYTON PLACE is stored on the DVD at 24fps the same way it would be on blu-ray.

Is it? I'm sure you're correct. It's just that DVDs are made from video tapes, 25fps in PAL & 30fps with the extra fields with NTSC (only it's not 30fps, it's 29.97), but my technical knowledge is not that great.
 

Will Krupp

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Is it? I'm sure you're correct. It's just that DVDs are made from video tapes, 25fps in PAL & 30fps with the extra fields with NTSC (only it's not 30fps, it's 29.97), but my technical knowledge is not that great.

The overwhelming majority of NTSC DVDs (except low quality transfers made from aged, pre-interlaced video masters) are 'progressively" stored on disc at 24fps with flags to force the interlaced frames to be added by the PLAYER on output. It's called soft telecine. This is why blu-ray players, freed from the specs that bound DVD, can ignore the flags and play DVDs back at their original 24fps if they were stored that way initially.
 
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Stephen PI

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I don't understand what you mean, Alan. The audio (as well as the video) of PEYTON PLACE is stored on the DVD at 24fps the same way it would be on blu-ray.
My understanding of it is, as Billy Batson says, the DVD audio is NTSC 29.97 (which I think is 23.976 fps), and same on the blu ray. The audio is synchronized to the video and both are referenced or locked to a common video signal. Video can alternately run at 24 fps frame rate but does not change speed which would affect sync if it did!

As I mentioned in the Robert Harris thread, in my opinion the audio on the TT release is the same original 4.0 soundtrack, with the correctly configured channels (Left, Center, Right & mono surround) with directional dialog as on the dvd, so the music would be reproduced as intended.
 
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