What Blu-Ray did you watch last night?

[Steve Klare]

Just Five Minutes until Show-Time: let's head to the snack bar!

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Not a BluRay at all but a DVD with over an hour of Drive-In movie daysets. It showed up today so I put it through the VP just to check it out.

The basic idea is when we have people over to see a show, we start this as soon as we see that first car so there's a little movie-atmosphere while they walk in the door and get settled. It's odd content on screen: really just for atmospherics, but still the same interesting enough that sometimes you can't help but watch for a minute at a time.

The images run through all sorts of quality levels including lines and fade all the way to really nice. Normally this might detract from the experience, but in this case it adds to the nostalgic feel of the whole thing.

The imbedded count-down clocks are meaningless: it was "three minutes to show-time" several times over about 20 minutes! (Don't set your watch by this!)

It's some astounding stuff! For somebody who lives in a neighborhood with a couple of really good pizzerias the very idea of Drive-In Movie pizza is kind of disturbing. Still the same, the adds are full of 1950s and 1960s cars which more than make up for that pizza!

There is actually a practical purpose being served here. I often show film shorts and then a video-based feature or concert. Once or twice I've gone to roll the video and found nothing but "HDMI#1: NO SIGNAL" on screen. After that, it's wiggling cables in front of a sitting audience (-and every so often correctly re-routing them! -Oops!) until the picture wakes up. (-not the greatest showmanship.)

By having this disk run at the beginning of the show, I know that audio and picture are both working: everything is plugged into the right place and fully seated, too!

[Graham Ritchie]

Last night the blu-ray movie was "Dirty Harry", tonight "Jurassic Park 2" using the Panasonic VP. There are some movies I never get tired watching, those two are on that list It was running the 35mm JP2 at Ferrymead park along with other films last weekend for folk that did prompt me to watch the actual feature. However as well as 35mm trailers I did include some of our old cinema ads as well. This one shown below from Telecom New Zealand, I did tell folks at the park watching that 2000ft reel, that although this ad came out a while ago, the message behind it is sadly still very relevant today.

[Graham Ritchie]

Watched this one the other night, highly recommend it.

[Brian Fretwell]

That film should have had a wider showing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Well towards the end as it shows that a virus can mutate to become less dangerous and that things could improved. If shown too early and encouraged people to take risks earier on that wouldn't have been good.

[Ed Gordon]

That film should have had a wider showing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Well towards the end as it shows that a virus can mutate to become less dangerous and that things could improved. If shown too early and encouraged people to take risks earier on that wouldn't have been good.

Your observation that in might have "encouraged people to take risks earlier on that wouldn't have been good" is spot on. A lot of people would probably taken up Sterno and aspirin as a defense against the virus.

The scientists learn that the current form of Andromeda grows only in a narrow pH range; in a too-acidic or too alkaline growth medium, the organism will not divide. Andromeda's ideal pH range is 7.39–7.43, within the range found in normal human blood. Jackson and Ritter survived because both had abnormal blood pH (Jackson acidotic from consumption of Sterno and aspirin, Ritter alkalotic from hyperventilation). However, by the time the scientists realize this, Andromeda has mutated into a form that degrades the lab's plastic seals and escapes containment. Trapped in a contaminated lab, Dr. Charles Burton demands that Stone inject him with a "universal antibiotic"; Stone refuses, arguing that it would render Burton too vulnerable to infection by other harmful bacteria. Burton survives because the mutated Andromeda is no longer pathogenic.

[Graham Ritchie]

Sometimes you just feel like another blu-ray viewing using the Panasonic VP with its new lamp has been great

[Osi Osgood]

The color is brilliant there, Graham. Though there is a strong love for the original 1977 version of Star Wars in my heart, ( and I don't like the changes ), the one sad thing about the 77 version, is the colors look "70's tired", that is, it looks old, where "Empire" and "Jedi" don't look aged in comparison, but the remastered blu-ray of Star Wars has a fresher, more vibrant look to the color that doesn't make it look as dated, as your screenshots show

[Graham Ritchie]

Although I don't have "Morituri" 1965 on blu-ray I did watch the DVD projected with the Panasonic. I had never heard of this film before but its really good, so thought I would mention it here. If you get a chance to see it I would certainly recommend it. Shot in Black and White the acting, story is all first class.

[Ed Gordon]

... If you get a chance to see it I would certainly recommend it. Shot in Black and White the acting, story is all first class.

I recently watched Morituri also. I agree with your assessment!

[Graham Ritchie]

This is a film I am always a bit reluctant to watch its a tough one. "Out Of The Blue" 2006 is a new Zealand film, based on actual events here in the South Island town of "Aramoana" on the 13th November 1990. David Gray shot dead thirteen including a policeman and young children with a high powered automatic weapon before being later killed by a arm defenders squad sent down from Christchurch. Its not just a story of a man and a gun, its also a story of a person with mental illness, losing his mind, and as such control. I first watched it at the cinema when it came out, it was draining to watch, afterwards after that screening I thought what I had just watched could happen again. The film is very well made and careful with the subject matter keeping it in check.

Its been out for a few years now on DVD and is a New Zealand film I feel worth watching.

[Ed Gordon]

I had seen this one a few years ago, and enjoyed it. Yesterday I watched the 3D Bluray version.



The use of 3D in Dredd avoided the gimmick of hurling stuff into your face, but instead used it to give the sense of depth. The screen became a window you see the action through. If you can only find a 2D version, you will still enjoy it. No time is wasted on credits; the action starts immediately and the fast pace continues (much like the Bourne movies) for 90 minutes.

[Graham Ritchie]

Last night and after its delivery from Amazon a couple of weeks ago, I got around to screening from the "Criterion Collection" the blu-ray release of "The Kid", for a film that was made 100 years ago, they have done a amazing 4K transfer of this classic. The picture quality is really something with so much more image detail than the previous DVD release. This is a must have for any film collector, I also watched some the extras than came with it afterwards. Criterion have excelled themselves with this blu-ray. I still can't figure how they can obtain such quality from a 100 year old film.

Now to add just one thing, my previous DVD from Image of this title has a longer running time so a small part has been left out. In saying that,the slightly shorter version I feel is much better, this is the shorter one Charlie Chaplin wanted to release sometime around the 1970s. The "Image Entertainment" DVD below, is the only release you will find being the full length.

To follow on from Jackie Coogan huge success in "The Kid" Image has also released "Oliver Twist", this is another DVD I bough new from the US many moons ago and is also worth looking out for.

Back to Criterion blu-ray of ""The Kid" get it while you can, you wont regret it.


The Image DVD



And lastly this one

[Graham Ritchie]

Tonight it was back to projecting 35m film , but last night and the night before it was these two from the 80s

a couple of quick screen shots

Long before Spielberg did A.I there was D.A.R.Y.L a good 80s movie.


"Outland" well basically its "High Noon" is space brilliant soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith. I can't imagine this film without it. We watched it at the cinema way back in 82 and still like to watch it every so often.

[Graham Ritchie]

Brilliant....

[Graham Ritchie]

Tonight being Saturday it was time to sit back with the blu-ray and the Panasonic VP with a a 60s winner of six Academy Awards from 1968 and that is "Oliver." They really made some brilliant musicals back then and this was certainly one of them, what a great way to spend a Saturday night. I hope this release although it does look good, is one title that gets that 4K transfer in the future, it certainly deserves it

However I must add, I do have the Super 8 Scope trailer shown below