Sergio Leone Blu Ray News

[semore]

http://www.highdefdiscnews.com/?p=52634
once upon a time in america blu ray!

[dave jenkins]

YAAAAAAY!!!

[LITTLE BIG MAN]

From Digital Bits: In announcement news today, Warner Home Video has just set Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America for Blu-ray Disc release on 1/11/11 (SRP $24.98). The film will be presented in its full, uncut length of 229 minutes. Extras will include audio commentary by film historian and critic Richard Schickel, the making-of documentary Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone, a Photographic Memories still gallery with 96 images and theatrical trailers. The release will also be issued as a 2-disc DVD Special Edition that same day (SRP $19.97).

Unfortunately this is just the same 2003 DVD release transferred to Blu Ray - avoid!  Shame on WarnerBros

From previous post on September 6th: For fans in the UK

Film 4 HD 22.50 Monday 6th September - first time showing in HD as far as I know.  On again on Sunday 12th 23.20 - in case you miss it.

Will report back on how it looked. 

OK Unfortunately OUATIA looked quite poor in HD - In fact there didn't seem much difference from it showing on HD Film 4 & it showing on standard Film 4 (the same night) the picture quality wasn't particularly sharp & already the print/master/DVD Film 4 were using (2003 I think) is already starting to show signs of wear & tear (lots of dirt evident).

Hopefully Warner Bros will be looking at a brand new remastering of this film for Blu - Ray, otherwise its going to be a very disappointing release.

A clean up & release along the same lines as the Godfather would suffice. 

Oh well looks like that was too much to ask Warner Bros

[dave jenkins]

From Digital Bits: In announcement news today, Warner Home Video has just set Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America for Blu-ray Disc release on 1/11/11 (SRP $24.98). The film will be presented in its full, uncut length of 229 minutes. Extras will include audio commentary by film historian and critic Richard Schickel, the making-of documentary Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone, a Photographic Memories still gallery with 96 images and theatrical trailers. The release will also be issued as a 2-disc DVD Special Edition that same day (SRP $19.97).

Unfortunately this is just the same 2003 DVD release transferred to Blu Ray - avoid!  Shame on WarnerBros

From previous post on September 6th: For fans in the UK

Film 4 HD 22.50 Monday 6th September - first time showing in HD as far as I know.  On again on Sunday 12th 23.20 - in case you miss it.

Will report back on how it looked. 

OK Unfortunately OUATIA looked quite poor in HD - In fact there didn't seem much difference from it showing on HD Film 4 & it showing on standard Film 4 (the same night) the picture quality wasn't particularly sharp & already the print/master/DVD Film 4 were using (2003 I think) is already starting to show signs of wear & tear (lots of dirt evident).

Hopefully Warner Bros will be looking at a brand new remastering of this film for Blu - Ray, otherwise its going to be a very disappointing release.

A clean up & release along the same lines as the Godfather would suffice. 

Oh well looks like that was too much to ask Warner Bros

Well, that's disappointing. I guess I won't be pre-ordering this, but I might still get it if it's reviewed well.

[LITTLE BIG MAN]

Very Very Dissapointing from Warner Bros - would have expected more from this great studio - this is a straight transfer of the 2003 DVD version to Blu Ray - as I said earlier the 2003 version already shown on Film Four in HD is not much better than the standard version - which already is starting to look its age.

Warner Home Video Press Release:

"May be the definitive gangster picture. Rarely equaled."

David N. Meyer, THE NEW YORK TIMES

Robert De Niro and James Woods Star in Sergio Leone’s           Critically Acclaimed Masterpiece

Once Upon A Time In America
 
Highly Anticipated Debut on Blu-ray Disc™ and Two-Disc Special Edition DVD
 

Available January 11 from Warner Home Video
 

Burbank, Calif., September 22, 2010 – Considered to be Sergio Leone’s masterpiece and one of the finest works within the gangster genre, Once Upon A Time In America (1984) debuts for the first time on Blu-ray Disc and as a two-disc Special Edition on January 11 from Warner Home Video. Recognized by director Martin Scorsese as a major influence on his career, the film features a star-studded cast of Oscar® winners including, Robert De Niro (“Goodfellas,” “The Godfather ll,” “Little Fokkers”), Joe Pesci (“Goodfellas,” “Casino,” “My Cousin Vinny”) and Oscar® nominee James Woods (“Ghosts of Mississippi,” “Salvador”). The film will be offered in its full length – three hours and forty-nine minutes – and will feature four hours of bonus content including commentary by noted film historian Richard Schickel, a making-of documentary and theatrical trailers. Orders are due December 7 (Blu-ray Disc SRP $24.98 / two-disc Special Edition DVD SRP $19.97).

 

“Once Upon A Time In America” received two Golden Globe® nominations for Best Director and Best Original Score; won the British Academy of Film and Theater Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Score and Best Costume Design; and earned Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, and Best Cinematography nominations for Tuesday Weld, Sergio Leone and Tonino Delli Colli. Composer Ennio Morricone’s haunting score won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award.

 

ABOUT THE FILM

 

Sergio Leone, the Italian filmmaker whose artistic sensibilities created new interpretations of the American western with his landmark productions of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” “A Fistful of Dollars” and “For A Few Dollars More,” and who brought international stardom to Clint Eastwood, crafts an unparalleled saga about two friends and the complex urban underworld in which they live.

 

Starring Robert De Niro (“Little Fockers,” “Machete,” “Goodfellas,” “The Godfather ll,”) as David “Noodles” Aaronson and James Woods (“Ghosts of Mississippi,” “Salvador”) as Max, the boyhood cohort with whom his life becomes inextricably meshed, Once Upon A Time In America chronicles the ruthless ambitions that drive them. The compelling story embraces a world of gritty realities, raw emotions, secret longings, explosive conflicts, and the volatile passions that destroy them and those who love them. Directed by Sergio Leone, the film follows Noodles and Max and their cadre of Jewish gangsters in New York from their early 1900’s childhood, through the glory years of prohibition and their subsequent reunion 35 years later.

 

Once Upon A Time In America features a stellar cast of well-known and respected actors, including the debut of Academy Award® winner Jennifer Connelly (“He's Just Not That Into You,” “Inkheart,” “Blood Diamond,” “A Beautiful Mind”), and such stars as Elizabeth McGovern (“Clash of the Titans,” “Kick-Ass”), Treat Williams (“What Happens in Vegas” “Everwood” TV series, “Prince of the City”), Tuesday Weld (“Feeling Minnesota”) and Joe Pesci (“Goodfellas,” “Casino,” “My Cousin Vinny”) play roles exquisitely interpreted in Leone’s masterpiece.

 

With a haunting score by Ennio Morricone, Once Upon A Time In America marks a milestone in cinema history as the ultimate saga about the life of early urban gangsters and lasts in memory long after the last frame.

 

Special features include:

 

·        Commentary by film historian and critic Richard Schickel

·        Making-of documentary: “Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone”

·        Photographic Memories: Still Gallery with 96 images

·        Theatrical trailers

 

*special features listed above are subject to change.

 

 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984)

 

Rating: R

Run Time: 229 mins

Order Date: 12/7/10

Street Date: 1/11/11

Languages: English

DVD UPC / CAT#: 1000170042 / 883929158300

BD UPC / CAT#: 1000170419 / 883929158713

DVD SE / BD MSRP: $19.97/$24.98

[Novecento]

Dollars Trilogy Blu-ray selling at amazon.com for $27.99: http://www.amazon.com/Man-No-Name-Trilogy-Blu-ray/dp/B003EYEF2S/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1283130149&sr=1-1

Bought this the other day. I haven't had time to watch it yet, but during my internet research I noted a few global curiosities.

The US release is called "The Man with No Name Trilogy" and comes with all three in a single cardboard enclosed regular blu ray case.

The UK release is called "The Spaghetti Western Trilogy" and has the three coming in individual blu ray cases with one large box for all three cases.

The French release is called "La trilogie du dollar" (The Dollar Trilogy) in the same packaging style as the UK.

Personally I'm happy I got the US one because I much prefer the single blu-ray case. As for the name, either the US or French (if it were in English and with 'dollar' in the plural) would be fine, but the UK one is horrible. To me, it implies that the only Spaghetti Westerns are these three!

[Novecento]

Once Upon a Time in the West Blu-ray release in France in June:

http://forum.blu-ray.com/france/166911-once-upon-time-west-sergio-leone.html

http://www.avforums.com/forums/blu-ray-movies-tv-programmes/1421085-sergio-leones-once-upon-time-west-june-30th.html

[dave jenkins]

   

[drinkanddestroy]

so now that I presume you all have seen the Leone films on Blu Ray, what's your assessment of the picture quality? (The only disc that i recall the picture quality being discussed elsewhere is GBU; all other BR discussions have either involved missing or added scenes, or news about upcoming releases).

I just bought a blu ray player a few months ago, and bought all the Leone films on BR disc within the past couple of weeks. (Note: I have  32 inch hdtv, so the difference in blu ray quality may not be as noticeable for me as for some of you who have 50-60 inch hdtv's).

It's hard to compare very well since I do not have 2 screens and therefore cannot compare them side by side; I can only watch the blu ray and then compare it to the dvd from memory. I have so far watched the entire OUATIA, the first half of FOD, and the first scene of the Scorcese version of OUATITW. The picture quality does not have the sort of insanely amazing improvement that jumps out of you the way some blu ray discs do. (GBU is the one that I thought was very noticeably different, but some of you don't like it at all; I thought that the picture is much sharper however the faces are almost comically red. But the GBU BR disc is still worth buying for the amazing Frayling commentary, which is only available on the BR disc). I still have not seen FAFDM or the regular version of OUATITW.

So, now that you've seen them, what's your assessment of the picture quality of the BR discs? (Please specify whether the version you saw is the American or a different one.....)

[Lil Brutto]

As posted in the other thread, I highly recommend you figure out how to use that website (caps-a-holic.com) I linked to in the other thread. They have comparisons of MGM vs Mondo/RHV (Italian) for all the dollars films. Use the lossless PNG files for all comparisons instead of lossy JPG.

In all cases the Italian BD's are superior to the MGM BD's.

[noodles_leone]

Hum, yeah, and are you sure your TV is well calibrated? Have you tried different color styles? It changes everything.

[Novecento]

As posted in the other thread, I highly recommend you figure out how to use that website (caps-a-holic.com) I linked to in the other thread. They have comparisons of MGM vs Mondo/RHV (Italian) for all the dollars films. Use the lossless PNG files for all comparisons instead of lossy JPG.

In all cases the Italian BD's are superior to the MGM BD's.

Apart from FAFDM.

[Novecento]

So, now that you've seen them, what's your assessment of the picture quality of the BR discs? (Please specify whether the version you saw is the American or a different one.....)

The Italian RHV release of FOD is vastly superior to the MGM one and, unlike the Mondo releases of FAFDM and GBU, has English audio. Check out the screen caps below and note, even regardless of image quality, how much more actual image you get:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare10/for_a_few_dollars_more.htm

[Lil Brutto]

The Italian RHV release of FOD is vastly superior to the MGM one and, unlike the Mondo releases of FAFDM and GBU, has English audio. Check out the screen caps below and note, even regardless of image quality, how much more actual image you get:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare10/for_a_few_dollars_more.htm

Although Mondo's FAFDM is the weakest out of the Italian BD releases, it's still better than MGM's sharpened to hell BD.

My TV is calibrated properly. I take home theater very seriously. There's no question that MGM dropped the ball big time and RHV/Mondo offer superior releases. I guess you can tweak your video settings on your TV but that's a "band-aid" approach for overcoming the weaknesses of the MGM BD's.

[Novecento]

Ok, sure. I don't own the Mondo releases myself (I want English audio), but am just going by what other reviewers have said - i.e. the FAFDM MGM release is comparable, albeit different, in quality to the Mondo one while the MGM GBU one isn't.