What Blu-Ray did you watch last night?

[Graham Ritchie]

Thanks Ed, If there was one opening to a film that has always stood out in my memory, it was when I went to the cinema to watch "The Sand Pebbles" around I think 1966. Jerry Goldsmith score was brilliant. The music starts quietly then builds up as the camera moves in, what a great way to start a film. I have it on blu-ray its a long film, but a good one, thankfully like many films back then it had a Intermission.

[Ed Gordon]

Watched the blu-ray of this one not so long ago I will have to search out the soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith its brilliant. Ed I agree, sometimes you just want to be entertained "Outland" is another one for me its always stuck in my mind since I saw it at the cinema when it was first released.

Outland - Film Soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith is available on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI7lg5yfie4

[Graham Ritchie]

Watched the blu-ray of this one not so long ago I will have to search out the soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith its brilliant. Ed I agree, sometimes you just want to be entertained "Outland" is another one for me its always stuck in my mind since I saw it at the cinema when it was first released.

[Ed Gordon]

Last night I watched A Christmas Carol (1984) with George C. Scott. This version of the Dickens classic is my favorite. It is available to stream free on Youtube.


Link to full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd31WpkEi_8

[Ed Gordon]

Watched the blu-ray of "Plane" two nights ago good movie with lots of action.

Graham, I agree you on this one. I saw it last year and did not expect much, but it turned out to be very entertaining.

As one reviewer said:

Now that's entertainment!

I love films like this where there's no confusing plot, no hidden agendas, no shock twists. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those kind of films as well, but sometimes I just want to sit back and enjoy a movie for it's entertainment value instead of doing in-depth analysis.

...'Plane' is fast-paced and became more and more intense by the minute. There's loads of action, gunfire, and suspense, and very good character development. This is also a very physical role for Gerard Butler, and I thought he did it wonderfully. Mike Colter also makes a credible hero.

Fair enough, the film probably won't be winning any awards, but this is an entertaining movie well worth seeing.

[Graham Ritchie]

Watched the blu-ray of "Plane" two nights ago good movie with lots of action.

[Graham Ritchie]

Just reading that actor Richard Briers passed away in 2013 this scene with him and that parrot in the above 2003 film is brilliant. Who remembers the BBC series from the 1970s called The Good Life?, it was very popular out here in NZ at the time. One DVD I had watched lately with Richard Briers in it as the poor house buyer in the 1965 comedy was "A Home Of Your Own" you can see it in full on you-tube from a blu-ray source.

Anyway back to Peter Pan and that parrot

[Graham Ritchie]

Watched the blu-ray of the "Peter Pan 2003". Of all the Peter Pan films, including Hook and Disney, this one I consider the best screen version. One thing I do remember was, that when we ran the 35mm print at the cinema it was one of the best quality prints I had put together. The music, the cast, and special effects all looked great. I still have the flat trailer on 35mm however the Scope Super 8 trailer of this film I got from Derann in the Scope format is excellent.

Anyway, rather than include the trailer here, I thought I would include instead "Jason Isaacs" home move instead...enjoy.

Blu-ray picture and sound quality is one of the best transfers I have projected using the Panasonic VP.

[Graham Ritchie]

Two nights ago on blu-ray "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" this was a import from Germany and its excellent. Shot in Todd AO the screen ratio on the blu-ray is 2.20:1 a nice ratio for my screen, it fills it right up sound is English 5:1, what a cast.

Last night and something this time a bit different, after watching the excellent Super 8 Derann print of "Holiday Camp" that gave me the idea to watch this one below. Its out on blu-ray but don't have it at the moment, but do have the DVD so projected it using the Panasonic VP. "Holiday On The Buses" came out way back in 1973. This below scene is when Stan is in a hurry to drive the bus back and takes a short cut. Its typical British humor all the way.

[Ed Gordon]

Now he needs to apologize to Wilson for screwing up so badly.

[Graham Ritchie]

I watched the blu-ray of "Cast Away" lately, so if you ever wonder what was in that parcel, that he never opened all that time on the island, and at the end of the film he delivered it as we never saw in the film what was in it, well all can be revealed now in this below video

[Ed Gordon]

...I no longer have the 35mm print, my pick of disaster films would have to be 1972 "The Poseidon Adventure" from start to finish its all go both the script and actors are top notch in that one. My second choice is "The Towering Inferno" followed by Airport and Airport 75, both the Super8 edits are very good...

My favorites of those mentioned (in order of best first):
Airport
Towering Inferno
Earthquake

If we expand the definition of "disaster movie" then Die Hard gets top billing. It is a disaster movie, crime movie, and Christmas movie all-in-one

A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as a pandemic. A subgenre of action films, these films usually feature some degree of build-up, the disaster itself, and sometimes the aftermath, usually from the point of view of specific individual characters or their families or portraying the survival tactics of different people.

These films often feature large casts of actors and multiple plot lines, focusing on the characters' attempts to avert, escape or cope with the disaster and its aftermath. The genre came to particular prominence during the 1970s with the release of high-profile films such as Airport (1970), followed in quick succession by The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Earthquake (1974) and The Towering Inferno (1974).

The casts are generally made up of familiar character actors. Once the disaster begins in the film, the characters are usually confronted with human weaknesses, perhaps falling in love or finding a villain to blame. The films usually feature a persevering hero or heroine (Charlton Heston, Steve McQueen, etc.) called upon to lead the struggle against the threat; in many cases, the "evil" or "selfish" individuals are the first to succumb to the disaster.[4] The genre experienced a renewal in the 1990s boosted by computer-generated imagery and larger studio budgets which allowed for greater spectacle, culminating in the cinematic phenomenon that was James Cameron's Titanic in 1997.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster_film

[Graham Ritchie]

On my travels last week one of the second hand DVDs at Pennylane Records and other stuff, I came across "Under the same Moon" which on the back cover was a official selection for the 2007 Sundance and Toronto film festivals. So thought I would give it a go tonight. It actually turned out to be quite a good movie. If you don't mind English sub-titles, as the language is in Spanish. I projected it using the Panasonic VP, both picture and sound quality are very good.

So if you want to watch something a bit different this might be for you.

[Graham Ritchie]

Thanks Ed

I no longer have the 35mm print, my pick of disaster films would have to be 1972 "The Poseidon Adventure" from start to finish its all go both the script and actors are top notch in that one. My second choice is "The Towering Inferno" followed by Airport and Airport 75, both the Super8 edits are very good. I watched Airport 75 just the other night on blu-ray, what stands out is the fact, they used a real aircraft for filming. Sadly many of those Universal 8 have faded which is a real pity. Quite often I don't want to watch the full length but just a mix of digests instead. One more up to date disaster film I never tire of is 2012. The special effects folk seemed to have thrown everything they can think of into it, even the kitchen sink.

Last night it was the blu-ray of "Cast Away" I always feel sorry for Wilson as he floats away near the end.

[Ed Gordon]

Actually Ed I was thinking about using the Super8 print as a guide. I do no someone with one I might be able to borrow. If I remember right the edited 35mm scope version was going to be about 40 minutes long. I played the blu-ray at the time thinking I want this at the start, this in the middle, this at the end get rid of all that padding was my thinking at the time, but it was not to be

Graham, attached below is the subtitles for Earthquake. That can be used to identify the section of the film you want for your digest.

Example:

1
00:00:20,020 --> 00:00:21,430
(Helicopter whirring)
2
00:00:21,430 --> 00:00:23,270
Narrator: <i>Virtually
the entire Pacific coast</i>
3
00:00:23,270 --> 00:00:27,310
<i>of our hemisphere rests on
a series of geologic faults.</i>
4
00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,020
<i>One of the most unstable of these</i>
5
00:00:29,030 --> 00:00:32,400
<i>is the San Andreas
fault, running 600 miles</i>

Earthquake 1974 Subtitles.pdf

Update: I noticed that this is for the TV version which had additional footage added.