'West' blu ray May 31

[stanton]

Well, then the Scorsese rerstoration runs 39 sec longer, which then must all to be find in the first scene. I remembered it being a min, but that I have to check again.

Too bad, the Harmonica Rising scene is still there, and that's a bit disappointing from a guy like Scorsese. He should have done better.


This one scene destroys some of the genius of the long opening with the 3 long scenes which are introducing the 4 main characters.
That's like having 2001 without the so called match cut from the falling bone to the spaceship. Or let's say having a bridging scene in-between or an insert which tells us that the film now switches in the year 2001.

[T.H.]

Why the hell would they restore the theatrical version? What inept fools.

That's pathetic.

Prediction: The old DVD version won't look as good as the hacked up cut.

Hope I'm wrong.

I am I-Fucking-Rate just at the thought of this being so fucked up.

[stanton]

I have compared an old TV version recorded on VHS, and if the counter of my VHS Recorder does not lie, the German theatrical version runs 1 min and 8 sec longer than the Paramount DVD in the first scene.

Hmmmh ...

[Novecento]

Well, then the Scorsese rerstoration runs 39 sec longer, which then must all to be find in the first scene. I remembered it being a min, but that I have to check again.

Why the hell would they restore the theatrical version? What inept fools.

That's pathetic.

Prediction: The old DVD version won't look as good as the hacked up cut.

Hope I'm wrong.

I am I-Fucking-Rate just at the thought of this being so fucked up.

It appears to include the 165 "Theatrical" version (i.e. the one on the current Paramount DVD) and the 166 Scorcese "Restored" version.

[Walton]

DVD Beaver review:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/onceuponatimeinthewest.htm

[dave jenkins]

Here's the Beev's money quote:

ADDITION: Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray - May 11': Comments coming soon! Firstly, I had some difficulty getting a few of the captures with the exact frame due to a permanent time-bar on pauses, but some are exact. The new Paramount dual-layered Blu-ray offers both the 2:45:24 Theatrical cut and the 2:46:01 'restored' cut of Once Upon a Time in the West. These two cuts are seamlessly branched so the quality is exactly the same in the parallel scenes. My fear was that the image would appear too glossy but I am satisfied - grain is there - a shade blotchy by the overall picture quality is significantly richer. I'll put this down to more adept contrast. Skin tones seem warmer. The DVDs looks green now compared to the Blu-ray which may be slightly blue. The trademark Leone close-ups are tight and pleasing. The scope achieves a much grander scale (epic landscapes) and visually in-motion this is an impressive film to see it 1080P.

So by "theatrical cut" they mean the European theatrical cut, not the orginal chopped down American theatrical cut. Those guys at thedigitalbits were, apparently, confused by the nomenclature.

This sounds good.

[Novecento]

Yeh, it sounds to me like the guy over at the digitalbits only watched the "restored" version and simply assumed the "theatrical" cut was the original US release.

Can't wait to get my copy now.

[stanton]

Here's the Beev's money quote:So by "theatrical cut" they mean the European theatrical cut, not the orginal chopped down American theatrical cut.

But again, then it shouldn't contain the Rising scene.

[T.H.]

Thank god.

One last question, does anyone know if the music is fixed in the end credits? It's so jarring and annoying when one of Jill's themes gets abruptly cut off. Did the Scorsese restoration address this?

[dave jenkins]

Doubtful, but we'll see next week.

[T.H.]

I'll hope for the best.

[dave jenkins]

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Once-Upon-a-Time-in-the-West-Blu-ray/7740/#Review

Once Upon a Time in the West's Blu-ray release serves as further proof that it's hard to beat Paramount when the studio gives full effort to a title, new or catalogue. Indeed, Sergio Leone's masterpiece Western looks absolutely superb on Blu-ray, serving as one of the finest-looking pictures of its era yet on the high definition format. The image is sharp without appearing excessively so, enhanced by a natural layer of film grain that positively accentuates the wonderful clarity and definition of Leone's and Delli Colli's sweaty, sun-drenched, rustic Western. Textures of old wooden planks, creases in leather, fine sandy and dusty terrain, and weather-worn and sweaty faces never fail to not only impress, but dazzle at the intricacy with which the transfer yields both general and fine detailing across every frame and at most any distance. Clarity is wonderful, softness is rare, and great natural depth is evident in many scenes. Colors are greatly influenced by the harsh lighting of the hot sun beating down on bronzed faces and earthen terrains; tans, yellows, and browns dominate the palette, but each shade no matter how subtle or (however rarely) bold seems perfectly balanced. Black levels, too, are impeccably inky and never crush out critical details in darker scenes. On the negative side of the ledger, slight wobble is evident, a few very subtle pops and scratches remain in spots, and a hint of blockiness and noise infiltrates a few backgrounds, but such problems range from inconsequential at best to minor at worst and never really detract from the overall Blu-ray experience. No doubt Paramount has hit another home run with Once Upon a Time in the West; this comes pretty close to Blu-ray perfection, and fans couldn't have dreamed of a restoration this gorgeous.

The reviewer does not address the music cue issues this thread has been concerned with.

[Walton]

Another review here:

http://www.highdefdiscnews.com/?p=61703

[dave jenkins]

Thanks. That reviewer sounds reliable. I had to laugh at this comment, though:

Once the harmonica starts you’ll soon get to hear the first bits of dialogue and notice that some of it tends to appear to have been dubbed as lips don’t totally match up — while some others look fine and don’t appear to have been dubbed.

[dave jenkins]

A comment by a poster over at criterionforum.org:

Okay, so the "Restored Version" is quite bizarre. In essence, 'they' (Scorsese?) have cherry-picked some of the longeurs from the Italian version (eg. a couple of extra shots of Elam with the fly; some unconvincing mugging from Elam before Bronson appears) whilst ignoring others (eg. the longer dolly in as Cardinale disembarks from the train; the mashed up music over the final flashback) and retaining the shorter English language titles. As such, it's hard to argue that these minor changes (c.+30s) are damaging exactly, but they certainly don't add anything and imho the Theatrical Cut remains the one to watch.