International German "Roman Empire" problems (1 Viewer)

[john a hunter]

No its not about the image quality-more about defective discs of The Fall of the Roman Empire to give it its full title.
Tony Mann's fine lavish intelligent epic and unfortunate flop.

I just tried to load my copy and my Oppo refused to do so.
Got two friends of mine to check their copies-one wouldn't load like mine, the other did but then jammed and wouldn't play any further.
If you have this disc-which is the best available transfer until someone does it properly-you need to check it out.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I like the film too and have The Miriam Collection dvd which is ok but would love to see a fresh new release on Blu-ray. Both Blu-rays of Circus World & 55 Days at Peking look great.

 

[DP 70]

I have the UK Blu ray and the USA DVD box set, but remember they forgot to add the overture to the Blu Ray.
It just a shame all the 70mm prints have colour faded, as the BFI has the 70mm slightly longer version.

 

[Danny_N]

Yesterday I wanted to play my German BD of El Cid and it would not play anymore. Checked Fall of the Roman Empire and it's also dead. It's apparently a known problem and it only affects the 3 disc releases from Spirit Media (from 2009 I believe).

 

[RICK BOND]

Yesterday I wanted to play my German BD of El Cid and it would not play anymore. Checked Fall of the Roman Empire and it's also dead. It's apparently a known problem and it only affects the 3 disc releases from Spirit Media (from 2009 I believe).

Danny, Get the UK Blurays of El Cid and Roman Empire. I have had them since they came out. Region 2 Anchor Bay release's. No Problems at all !

 

[Danny_N]

Danny, Get the UK Blurays of El Cid and Roman Empire. I have had them since they came out. Region 2 Anchor Bay release's. No Problems at all !

Thanks for the suggestion but the UK releases seem to be out of print, at least I can't find them on Amazon UK. The UK release of Roman Empire is also missing the overture if I'm not mistaken?
These movies really deserve new 4K masters, sadly these are not on the horizon. As I really love these movies I do want to rebuy them on BD but at the lowest possible cost. Looking at the options the German single disc re-releases seem to be the cheapest so I'll probably get those.

 

[PatrickDA]

The want this to get a Region 1/A release!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[OliverK]

I can't believe that these discs with their problematic transfers also suffer from playback issues - as if the picture quality wasn't punishment enough. I also own the original releases but since I bought them I was lucky to screen both El Cid and Fall of the Roman Empire at 70mm festivals so I never got around to watch the Blu-ray's.

Hopefully my next viewing will either be at another festival or even better a (UHD-) Blu-ray from at least a new 4k scan of the OCN. I certainly do not want to reward the currently available Blu-ray quality with another purchase and maybe in the not too distant future I won't have to anymore.

 

[Douglas R]

Danny, Get the UK Blurays of El Cid and Roman Empire. I have had them since they came out. Region 2 Anchor Bay release's. No Problems at all !

Unfortunately the U.K. Roman Empire doesn’t have the Overture, entr’acte or Exit Music.

My German Spirit Media disc still plays OK.

 

[RICK BOND]

Unfortunately the U.K. Roman Empire doesn’t have the Overture, entr’acte or Exit Music.

My German Spirit Media disc still plays OK.

I know, I wish it had those three extras. I was disappointed when I first saw it. But it's better than nothing. All we can do is Wait like everything else.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

Just checking to see if anybody who has the German Blu-ray released by Spirit Media GmbH has listen to the commentary on the disc? According to the back cover the commentary is in English and any thoughts on the picture quality?

 

[john a hunter]

I have this Angelo.
No pressing problems to report. It still plays fine
It basically repackages the old Miriam DVD release.
The commentary on the film is in English and interesting but far from revelatory.
Main contributor is Bronston's son.
There is a bonus disc of the many shorts about the film such as Rome in Madrid.
Again all in English.
5.1 sound is fine as is the picture as far as it goes.
For those of us who have seen it in 70, it is a poor facsimile of what it should look like, but the best there is until we get a 4k restoration(if only!!!)
Incidentally the Miriam box does provide a great case for the BD, so it wasn't entirely useless.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I have this Angelo.
No pressing problems to report. It still plays fine
It basically repackages the old Miriam DVD release.
The commentary on the film is in English and interesting but far from revelatory.
Main contributor is Bronston's son.
There is a bonus disc of the many shorts about the film such as Rome in Madrid.
Again all in English.
5.1 sound is fine as is the picture as far as it goes.
For those of us who have seen it in 70, it is a poor facsimile of what it should look like, but the best there is until we get a 4k restoration(if only!!!)
Incidentally the Miriam box does provide a great case for the BD, so it wasn't entirely useless.

Thanks for the info John and I will stick with my Miriam dvd box set until there is a better release.

 

[OliverK]

Thanks for the info John and I will stick with my Miriam dvd box set until there is a better release.

Probably the best option considering the subpar quality available right now.

 

[john a hunter]

I do think that the BD is somewhat of an improvement over the dvd.
I found that unwatchable.

 

[roxy1927]

No discussion of the Japanese pressing?

 

[Angelo Colombus]

No discussion of the Japanese pressing?

I only know of a dvd released by Tohokushinsha Corp in 2003. Is there a Japanese Blu-ray release?

 

[roxy1927]

Is this the Tohokushinsha?

 

[Douglas R]

Great article here about Bronston and FALL:

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (Samuel Bronston, 1964) Miriam Collection

Produced by maverick film maker, Samuel Bronston at a jaw-dropping cost of $28 million, Anthony Mann’s The Fall of the Roman Empire (196...

nixpixdvdmoviereviewsandmore.blogspot.com

 

[Ed Lachmann]

Damn it, same untimely deaths of my German "deluxe" 3 disc StudioCanal blu-rays of Fall of the Roman Empire AND El Cid! I just bought the Spirit BDs to replace them and now must wait for these to disintegrate, too. Something is rotten with both StudioCanal and Spirit, I guess. I haven't had that huge a problem with failed discs generally, but when it happens to my most beloved films I get really angry and sad. Yes, these films certainly deserve a stateside release in HD.