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Paramount will release Hondo on Blu-ray on June 5. Looks to be just Blu-ray, though, NOT 3-D. Alas. Not that I have a 3-D television (nor am I interested in getting one). But there are folks out there who do have 3-D TVs now and I'm sure they'd love this in 3-D.
Here's an article about the filming of Hondo in 3-D:
http://www.3dfilmpf.org/info.html
For those interested, the Circus World Blu-ray from France has been confirmed to be region-free. The print is gorgeous, sourced from the original Technirama camera negative. It's a dual-layer BD, too, encoded at a very high bitrate at 24.00fps.
Unfortunately with the English audio one is forced to view French subtitles, forced meaning you can't turn them off.
The extras are in PAL format but that shouldn't deter Region A fans without a multi-region BD player who want to see the film the way it should be presented (minus the French subtitles, which aren't all that distracting in light of the wonderful picture quality).
To coincide with the May 8th release of the Region A Blu-ray, Fox is also releasing The Barbarian and the Geisha in a 10-movie DVD box set titled John Wayne Film Collection. So for the first time, of course, the film will be available on a Region 1 DVD.
The box set will also include The Big Trail, Red River, Legend of the Lost, The Horse Soldiers, The Alamo, North to Alaska, The Comancheros, The Longest Day, and The Undefeated.
I suspect Fox, who have distribution rights to the MGM library, will include some new DVD transfers used for HD television and domestic/international Blu-rays, those that have been released.
I have heard internet rumblings about The Shootist and The Quiet Man being released on Blu-Ray this year, any truth to this? These films deserve a decent release with as many extras as possible, but so do many of Duke's films. The release of Hondo in June ( and hopefully soon after in the UK) fills me with hope that more and more films will be released on this format.
I have heard internet rumblings about The Shootist and The Quiet Man being released on Blu-Ray this year, any truth to this? These films deserve a decent release with as many extras as possible, but so do many of Duke's films. The release of Hondo in June ( and hopefully soon after in the UK) fills me with hope that more and more films will be released on this format.
The rumblings are based on Illinois-based Olive Films acquiring licensing rights to some of the Republic library, including The Quiet Man. These rights were acquired directly from Paramount who seem to want out of classic film distribution.
My understanding is that Artisan still has US home video licensing rights to the Republic library, though. But who knows what goes on in a back room somewhere, changing distribution agreements. Olive Films has already released a number of classic Paramount titles, with more to come.
The industry is changing. Look at some of the European John Wayne titles on Blu-ray: the studios provide HD masters and license their product to distributors like Koch Media, Opening Euromediane Group and Soul Media instead of handling it themselves. Now, with Olive Films, we're seeing this trend in North America. It's all a good thing because it expedites such Blu-ray releases, lessening the overhead burden of the studios themselves.
Amazon US has an entry for The Quiet Man Blu-ray, with the notice "Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available."
So maybe something is in the pipeline?
If anybody sees The Barbarian and the Geisha, available on dvd format, ( not on blue ray and not in a box set) Region 1, let me know. iv'e decided not to go to blue rays. the difference is not enough for me to change. thanks.
Already pre-ordered my copy of hondo! If it's as good as Fort Apache on Blu Ray we're in for a treat. Hondo is one of my fave Duke films.
If anybody sees The Barbarian and the Geisha, available on dvd format, ( not on blue ray and not in a box set) Region 1, let me know. iv'e decided not to go to blue rays. the difference is not enough for me to change. thanks.
Barbarian and the Geisha is widely available here in the UK. May be region free, I can check my one, if you're interested. I also got my copy of the barbarian and the geisha CD, which has just been re-released for the first time in ages, limited to 1,000 copies so move fast if you're interested in the music from The Duke's films.
Off to Watch King of Pecos now for the first time, a tough one to track down here in the UK.
Thanks Dooley! I'll wait and see what happens here. I can always get on Amazon UK and order it if i have to later on.
Thanks Dooley! I'll wait and see what happens here. I can always get on Amazon UK and order it if i have to later on.
You could buy the Blu-ray which also includes the DVD version.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/The-…ay-DVD-Exclusive/20531023
You could buy the Blu-ray which also includes the DVD version.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/The-…ay-DVD-Exclusive/20531023
Thanks Rough Rider.
I'll be interested if anyone has bought these to see if they've been properly remastered for Blu Ray?
How the West was Won and Rio Lobo for instance are fantastic transfers as is Fort Apache. Horse Soldiers on the other hand is a little ropey in places and not massively better than the DVD.
Thanks Rough Rider.
I'll be interested if anyone has bought these to see if they've been properly remastered for Blu Ray?
How the West was Won and Rio Lobo for instance are fantastic transfers as is Fort Apache. Horse Soldiers on the other hand is a little ropey in places and not massively better than the DVD.
I have the Danish Blu-ray of The Barbarian and the Geisha, and find it disappointing because, in my opinion, it isn't encoded very well. The print itself is lovely, albeit a little grainy, but does suffer from less than stellar AVC encoding. Although licensed from Fox, the video was supplied by Hollywood Classics Ltd. and the BD distributed in Scandinavia by Soul Media.
I should mention that Soul Media's BD of North to Alaska has a mastering flaw: every 1000th frame is repeated throughout the entire film, causing a very slight pause about every 42 seconds. This defect ended up on the DVD, too (it's a combo pack), although at a different interval because of the different frame rate. I sent Soul Media an e-mail and they said nobody has complained about such a defect. But it illustrates a lower level of quality supplied by Hollywood Classics Ltd.
The Region A BD of The Barbarian and the Geisha, released today exclusively to US Walmart stores, is all Fox so to speak. Hopefully they've put more effort into the encoding.
The Danish BD and Japanese DVD (an official Fox release) both have 2-channel stereo audio, yet typical of Fox's CinemaScope the 4-track stereo soundtrack is nowhere to be heard except for a little matrixing. The UK DVD from Fox has 2-channel stereo, too.
Walmart Canada doesn't carry the new title, but it's supposed to go into general release after Walmart US's exclusivity deal. I'd be curious to know if the encoding is better and if it has the original audio (unlikely).
The Region A BD of The Barbarian and the Geisha, released today exclusively to US Walmart stores, is all Fox so to speak. Hopefully they've put more effort into the encoding.
Thanks so much Rough Rider that's a huge help all round.
I am a self confessed techno freak so it's good to hear there are others out there.
I have been tempted with the Barbarian and the Geisha and North to Alaska but it sounds like they're worth giving a miss, hopefully studio based releases will follow.
Have you tried the Legends of the Lost Blu ray?
I look forward to someone posting a technical review of the walmart Barbarian and the Geisha release.
Display MoreThanks so much Rough Rider that's a huge help all round.
I am a self confessed techno freak so it's good to hear there are others out there.
I have been tempted with the Barbarian and the Geisha and North to Alaska but it sounds like they're worth giving a miss, hopefully studio based releases will follow.
Have you tried the Legends of the Lost Blu ray?
I look forward to someone posting a technical review of the walmart Barbarian and the Geisha release.
Yes, I have the Legend of the Lost Blu-ray from Koch Media.
It's a lovely print, and I can think of no negative comments. It's region-free, too.
The film itself is encoded at 23.97 fps. The extras are 25.00 fps, which are the English and German trailers and a slideshow of stills, posters and lobby cards.
It has both German and English mono audio along with the same for the subtitles.
Like the Soul Media BDs (The Barbarian and the Geisha and North to Alaska), this too is licensed from Hollywood Classics Ltd. on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Soul Media's The Conqueror BD is licensed from Hollywood Classics Ltd. on behalf of Universal Pictures International.
To get these BDs I went through private sellers. It was only later that I discovered anyone can use their normal Amazon login and buy from their international sites. There'll be a language barrier to traverse but it's 'doable'. Of course on this side of the pond one must have a region-free player for those titles locked to region B.
Yes, I have the Legend of the Lost Blu-ray from Koch Media.
The film itself is encoded at 23.97 fps. The extras are 25.00 fps, which are the English and German trailers and a slideshow of stills, posters and lobby cards.
It has both German and English mono audio along with the same for the subtitles.
That is a great help; thanks again Roughrider!
I take it the English audio doesn't have forced subtitles as per the French release of Circus World?
All sounds like it's one to get.
Is anyone else stunned at the choice of films they've released to date on Blu Ray!?! The Conqueror and The Barbarian and the Geisha are hardly high points in the Duke's career!
Hello RoughRider! Read your recent comments, thanks for the Info! I had considered purchasing my copy of The Barbarian and The Geisha through that Hollywood classics but not i won't. I'll wait. Did buy my copy of Circus World through them, I'ts OK, print is good, it's a DVD which i did not have. Curious, where abouts in Canada are you? That's a big country! Are you near Montreal? that's a hour and a half from me! bill
That is a great help; thanks again Roughrider!
I take it the English audio doesn't have forced subtitles as per the French release of Circus World?
All sounds like it's one to get.
Is anyone else stunned at the choice of films they've released to date on Blu Ray!?! The Conqueror and The Barbarian and the Geisha are hardly high points in the Duke's career!
Nope, Legend of the Lost has no forced subtitles like the French release of Circus World.
It should be noted that the subtitles for Circus World aren't hard-encoded directly onto the print itself. By re-ripping the BD they can be removed, but this is something most people won't do of course. I removed them and then re-encoded the film using the x264 encoder. My BD player can play ISOs directly from a USB hard drive, so there was no need to burn the film to a BD disc.
The x264 encoder is so good that I can't tell the difference. I threw AviSynth's Undot filter at the 211 GB master file (in Lagarith lossless codec format) before encoding to AVC.
Call me crazy but I really don't want to see subtitles if I don't want to.
Hello RoughRider! Read your recent comments, thanks for the Info! I had considered purchasing my copy of The Barbarian and The Geisha through that Hollywood classics but not i won't. I'll wait. Did buy my copy of Circus World through them, I'ts OK, print is good, it's a DVD which i did not have. Curious, where abouts in Canada are you? That's a big country! Are you near Montreal? that's a hour and a half from me! bill
I live in the outskirts of Vancouver just above Seattle. Wayne used to bring his yacht up to this neck of the woods. Just across the border in Port Angeles is the John Wayne Marina.
You must have a region-free player -- more people should have one!
Nope, Legend of the Lost has no forced subtitles like the French release of Circus World.
It should be noted that the subtitles for Circus World aren't hard-encoded directly onto the print itself. By re-ripping the BD they can be removed, but this is something most people won't do of course. I removed them and then re-encoded the film using the x264 encoder.
Call me crazy but I really don't want to see subtitles if I don't want to.
Totally, totally agree with you on the subtitles front. I've ripped a few Blu Rays before for exactly that reason!
I'm working my way through my older DVDs and ripping them onto an external drive so I can put them in the loft to create some space so I hear where your coming from.
I've had a chance to sit down and look at the 10-disc John Wayne Collection from Fox.
The bad news is that 9 of the 10 titles are simply re-issues of previous releases, right down to using the exact DVD masters (dates shown in parentheses).
The Big Trail (2003), Red River (1997), Legend of the Lost (2002), The Horse Soldiers (2001), The Alamo (2000), North to Alaska (2003), The Comancheros (2003), The Longest Day (1999), and The Undefeated (2003).
So instead of getting some new and better prints, there's nothing for these titles. In the least Fox could have included an anamorphic version of The Horse Soldiers instead of the 4x3 letterboxed version. Six of the 9 titles have been released on Blu-ray, but none of the new masters made it to DVD in this collection.
The good news is that The Barbarian and the Geisha looks lovely and to my surprise has the original 4-track audio soundtrack. The extras are as follows: original theatrical trailer, 4 Fox Movietone newsreels and a photo gallery.
Duke fans who have the other 9 titles should stay away of course. It's best to buy the combo pack (Blu-ray/DVD) from Walmart.
