Discs - Comments / Reviews by George Slv

Discs - Comments / Reviews by George Slv

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Member	Item		Review/Comment
George Slv 27th Mar 2023		DVD Le Avventure E Gli Amori Di Moll Flanders - Paramount (2021)	Review This is indeed the 2.35 widescreen for the first time, in a 16:9 frame. It is the cut US edition, bringing the length down from 2:06 to 1:47. The picture quality is not sharp at all. There are Italian and English language tracks. The Italian edition contains an original male vocal over the opening titles. No extras. It is all region, but PAL format. I don't think NTSC DVD players will display it, but your computer likely will. Dual layer. I think the movie is alright, with lovely sets and interesting characters. Some of the attempts at humor are just too lame though, especially with Jemmy's sidekick Squint. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 15th Mar 2023		DVD She [1965] - Warner Home Video (2009)	The shape of this picture is around 2.2 letterboxed within a 4:3 frame. The original film is listed as 2.35. I don't know why the difference. I've posted an image of how the DVD displays.
George Slv 13th Sep 2020		VHS Unforgettable Performances Vol.1 1950-52 - Swingtime Video (1985)	The Rita Rio Girls' Orchestra. I'm not sure if that's the same Alan Ladd as the actor. It's not the actor's voice anyway. They also used some stand-in girls who are not even playing the instruments. As a Soundie it was overdubbed. [YouTube Video] Youtube video is not mine but from harryoakley
George Slv 8th Sep 2020		VHS Unforgettable Performances Vol.1 1950-52 - Swingtime Video (1985)	Teresa Brewer from this tape [YouTube Video]
George Slv 18th Aug 2020		VHS Unforgettable Performances Vol.1 1950-52 - Swingtime Video (1985)	Review It seems they intended this to be the first in a series titled Unforgettable Performances, but I see no sign of any further release. Their Vol. 101-120 were basically bands, while these are mainly vocals. Video quality is very good. These were musical shorts filmed for theaters or television in the 1930s to early 1950s. I don't see followup DVD releases but these films are available in many compilations. Nat King Cole sings Mona Lisa with makeup to make him look less black on some of these Snader films. He objected to the look and and the rest were filmed without that. Looking at the girls, we get a Connie, a Connee, a Bonnie, and a Ginny before we get to a Teresa. The Dinning Sisters had the brother named Mark Dinning who sang Teenangel in 1960. Connie Haines' song is Duke Ellington's It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing. Ada Leonard and Rio Rita were females leading all-girl bands. Far be it from them to just stand and swing a baton. Ada holds one but dances elegantly before the camera throughout. Rita (Dona Drake) gets vocalist Alan Ladd to hold the baton while she stands and flirts with him, and does some dancing too. She is a great looker, but not quite a pro dancer. This tape has been the only source for Teresa Brewer's 1951 Snader film of Music Music Music. The Snaders were all recorded live, while the earlier Soundies were often dubbed and lip-synced. 6 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 17th Aug 2020		VHS Unforgettable Performances Vol.1 1950-52 - Swingtime Video (1985)	Inside cover scan shows contents of Volumes 101 to 112.
George Slv 12th Aug 2020		VHS Meet The Band Leaders - Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton (1985)	There are a few of this series on sale at ebay now.
George Slv 8th Aug 2020		VHS 50 Classic Cartoons - Embury Communications (1990)	Rated 7/10 The video quality is reasonable. A wide variety of early color cartoons. 3 complete Superman. Many Warner Brothers Looney Tunes including A Corny Concerto (1943). One Casper The Ghost, one Mighty Mouse, one Woody Woodpecker, one Betty Boop, four Paramount singalong. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 12th Jul 2020		VHS Box Set Memories Of The 30s 40s 50s. The Big Band Years. The Great 48 Shows - Al Gannaway Collection (1990)	Here are the selections on this volume: Show 37: Count Basie - Basie's Conversation Sarah Vaughan - These Things I Offer You Ada Leonard - It's the Same Old Shillelagh West Point Story preview Bonnie Baker - What Are Little Girls Made Of Eddie Peabody - Marchetta Merle Travis - Lost John Wilma Middleton - Buzz Me Baby Frankie Laine - Only If We Love Bob Crosby - Dream Show 38: Artie Shaw's Class In Swing .. Nightmare Jan Arden - Because Of You Lucky Millinder - Hello Bill The Gang's All Here preview Delta Rhythm Boys - Just a-Sittin and a-Rockin Red Allen - Count Me Out Tennessee Ernie Ford - Woman Is A Five Letter Word Tune Tumblers - Honolulu Skeets Tolbert - No No Baby Gale Storm - Isn't It Romantic Duke Ellington - Harlem Rhythm
George Slv 12th Jul 2020		VHS Box Set Memories Of The 30s 40s 50s. The Big Band Years. The Great 48 Shows - Al Gannaway Collection (1990)	A video sample from Volume 19, of Sarah Vaughan. [YouTube Video]
George Slv 11th Jul 2020		VHS Unforgettable Performances 1950-1952 Volume 20 - Charly Video (1989)	There is one on sale at ebay now, but I can't use PAL. This is the source of Teresa Brewer's Snader film of Music Music Music which can be found all over the web. [YouTube Video]
George Slv 21st Jun 2020		Blu-ray The Amazing Spider-Man - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2012)	I saw a copy of this and notice a couple of faults. The picture is dark. A 50% increase in contrast is needed. And the dialog is often not clearly audible. Anyone else? But Emma Stone is a sight for sore eyes.
George Slv 3rd Jun 2020		DVD Une Parisienne - René Chateau Vidéo (2000)	According to a review at Amazon.com this issue has French subtitles but not English. The shape would be 4:3, and the pre-title scene is missing.
George Slv 1st Jun 2020		DVD Une Parisienne - TF1 Vidéo (2015)	Another note about movie length. There is bothersome problem with PAL conversions that changes the length of a movie by 4%. The original English video copy I have is 1:25. This current release is 1:21:40, in European PAL. My best understanding is that this occurs when converting the film rate of 24fps to the PAL video rate of 25fps. I've been confused in the past thinking it's about converting PAL 25fps to NTSC 30fps, but digital conversions can do that correctly without getting mixed up. It does not mean the film is a different edit. IMDB gives the original length as 1:26. Maybe that leaves an extra minute for cut nudity?
George Slv 1st Jun 2020		DVD Une Parisienne - TF1 Vidéo (2015)	Here's a mystery regarding cut nudity. In a review at Amazon.com, Chuck Snow states "I caught this film in its original FRENCH release, and I remember a fair amount of nudity (Bardot's) that is absent". This is an impossible mystery. The releases today are French and there is no nudity. But I can think of three places where there could have been: when she undresses in the bedroom after the wedding, in the bathtub scene, and at the beach when she says she needs to take off her suit. Yes there was full nudity in European films at the time. I never knew Brigitte ever to show her nipples, but this says she did. So the French have turned chicken as the years go by.
George Slv 30th May 2020		DVD Une Parisienne - TF1 Vidéo (2015)	I've added a screenshot where her legs are shown. I've cropped the 1.37 image out of the 16:9 frame, then added an outline showing how the theatrical release would have been cropped for 1.66. Also added a street scene at 1.37 illustrating surplus space.
George Slv 29th May 2020		DVD Une Parisienne - TF1 Vidéo (2015)	Review All previous releases were missing the video of the pre-title sequence. Here it is finally restored. The packaging is not clear about the video shape. It turns out that they have used the entire picture area of the original 35 mm film, without cropping to the theatrical 1.66 shape. That means AR 1.37, leaving surplus image on top and bottom. The picture has been restored in high definition. The nudity is still cut from the bathtub scene. As for the movie, I don't call it "one of her best". Face it, it is her best. 6 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 13th Feb 2020		DVD Helen Of Troy - Warner Home Video (2004)	Uploaded image. Rossana Podestà as Helen in that classic type of scene where the lonely guy on the beach sees this vision coming toward him. The goddess Aphrodites approaching Paris washed up on shore after his shipwreck? The picture is 2.35 within a 16:9 frame. IMDB says the movie was 2.55 but I'd like confirmation of that. Another 2016 DVD release from Warner Archives apparently is DVD-R on demand and shaped 4:3. I don't know about that one. Having seen this in the 1950s the film is part of my blood.
George Slv 5th Jan 2020		Blu-ray Das Rätsel Der Unheimlichen Maske (Phantom Of The Opera) [1962] - Anolis Entertainment (2017)	Here's an article explaining the various releases of this film, at Mondo Digital. This one can be bought at Amazon in Germany and has an English audio option. I'm not sure if there is a DVD option. This is the one to get. The original UK movie was in the 1.66 shape. (I hesitate to order it to Canada due to Customs difficulties)
George Slv 22nd Nov 2019		VHS Huckleberry Finn [1975] - ABC Video	The movie connection is wrong. Look at Tom and Huck.
George Slv 15th Apr 2019		VHS Box Set Memories Of The 30s 40s 50s. The Big Band Years. The Great 48 Shows - Al Gannaway Collection (1990)	Added sample frame image to illustrate quality. The tape image has a disruption along one inch of the bottom. This indicates a digital delogo function. There was printing along the bottom of some sort, maybe time code due to being a demonstration copy. Gannaway converted to digital and processed this. So this series is not a definitive source. But otherwise it could be considered a goldmine. It also means that the DVDs were made from a digital master and would not carry over the tracking flaws. By the way on the Youtube video which I created I processed to eliminate most of the tracking noise and shaking.
George Slv 13th Apr 2019		DVD Nat King Cole - The Snader Telescriptions (2004)	I see a record of two other editions on the web: a DVD and a VHS tape. There is also an NTSC edition. This is selling for collector prices around $100 now. Selection #18 is not shown in the DVD menu by mistake but it plays after 17. Four of these infamously have him wearing heavy white face makeup, which he was offended by.
George Slv 4th Apr 2019		VHS Box Set Memories Of The 30s 40s 50s. The Big Band Years. The Great 48 Shows - Al Gannaway Collection (1990)	Gale Storm - Isn't It Romantic [YouTube Video]
George Slv 7th Mar 2019		VHS Box Set Memories Of The 30s 40s 50s. The Big Band Years. The Great 48 Shows - Al Gannaway Collection (1990)	Review I now have a sample vol.19 tape. The "shows" are half-hour each so each tape is one hour. The base video material is excellent quality. The videotape recording is miserable. It was obviously done with high-speed duplication, and does not track perfectly anywhere on the tape. The DVD series would avoid this problem if you could find it. Tape speed is SP and audio is linear mono, and the tape is not bent. This volume includes Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Gale Storm singing Isn't It Romantic in a nice setting with a male. In each show there is a movie preview, like The Gang's All Here. I'm not sure but think these were half-hour short films shown in theaters in those days before TV, and in the 1950s were made into TV shows by Al Gannaway. My copy was a release that used the cover for his Great Country Legends series and pasted a label saying The Big Band Years. Found on ebay. 6 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 20th Feb 2019		VHS Elvis, The Great Performances, Vol. 1, Center Stage - Buena Vista (1990)	His wife Priscilla appears as host and narrator. In 1996 the MuchMusic channel in Canada broadcast parts 1 and 2 as one show, about 1h30m long. In 1997 a part three was created titled From the Waist Up. Later all three were reissued in a DVD set. Written material keeps saying that George Klein does the narration in these later issues. I don't understand this, since I have the 1990s recording and Priscilla hosts and narrates.
George Slv 6th Feb 2019		VHS Box Set Memories Of The 30s 40s 50s. The Big Band Years. The Great 48 Shows - Al Gannaway Collection (1990)	This was reissued on DVD in 2007. I don't know if they simply copied the VHS to DVD. Most likely they use the same tape master for both the VHS and DVD, so VHS faults are not carried over. I'm interested in Volumes 7,8,9 containing some Teresa Brewer. I have posted images for volume 3, off ebay. The back cover is listing artists for the entire series.
George Slv 8th Nov 2018		DVD The Jimmy Dean Show - Season 1 Volume 2 (2016)	This second set is not being advertised yet but if you call their 800 sales number you can request it. It includes Teresa Brewer's 1963 appearance.
George Slv 1st Apr 2018		DVD Twist All Night - Delta Music GMBH (2005)	The movie clips are at an amateur collector quality level. Includes Don't Knock the Twist. The concert is better quality. On retail pages it is designated as a DVD-Audio disc, but this is incorrect. It is a standard DVD. Not to be confused with the 1961 movie with Louis Prima.
George Slv 10th Jan 2018		DVD The Jimmy Dean Show - Season 1 Volume 1 (2016)	All available episodes of the 3 seasons have been restored now. They are airing on the RFD network in US. It's also possible to buy streaming in any country. So far I only see Vol.1 of Season 1 offered for sale, at https://www.thejimmydeanshow.com/purchase. But someone has been able to purchase Vol.2 by phoning, so you might be able to get more. Vol.2 contains the Teresa Brewer episode. It has some audio damage so was not included in RFD airings.
George Slv 1st Jul 2017		DVD The Best Of The Jimmy Dean Show, Vol. 1 - Time-Life (2007)	Guests included Rowlf the dog, Buck Owens, Eddy Arnold, Homer & Jethro. This is a one-hour compilation to simulate one complete TV episode.

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