what a treat .....

i took a chance on this series based on word of mouth and all the favourable reviews here on amazon ......

i'm a big 'westerns' fan ....... but really ..... i don't think you need to be, to enjoy what this series has to offer ........

great characters, GREAT writing , great actors ..... great drama, great laughs, wonderful use of language , and i mean not just the cursing lol .........

i was easily sucked in after the first few episodes .......

epic scope

not only entertaining ......... it has a lot to say about us all ......

really impressed.

UPDATE - i had no idea this series was ABRUPTLY CANCELLED after season 3. how ridiculous is that ? and no 2 hour film / TV movie 'ending' either .....

i enjoyed the ride, but must admit feeling ripped off for the amount of time i invested in the story and the characters .........

not sure i'd recommend buying the complete series ......... might just want to rent or stream them ........

what a shame.

i knock off a star for HBO and whoever else, was responsible in deciding to abandon the series .......

the aspect ratio described in the product details say 1.77:1

the director and cinematographer composed 'shane' for academy ratio (1.37:1)

some will say the film was originally released theatrically in 'widescreen'

even though that was the case, 'widescreen' had not been introduced to cinema goers when 'shane' was being filmed.

they cropped it theatrically to conform to the new trend of 'widescreen' cinemas .... after the fact.

the only way i'll change this rating is if the original aspect ratio is included.

this is just a warning to those out there who LOVE and cherish this film.

UPDATE !

it appears the studio and george stevens jr, are capitulating to the online stink made regarding this newly re-framed (1.66:1) version of shane ....... it has been announced that the version to be released, of this classic film, will be the OAR of 1.37:1 ...... the aspect ratio the film was originally composed for ........

the release date has apparently been pushed back.

fine by me. do it right. we can wait.

THIS is GREAT news.

i completely look forward to once again, viewing this technicolor masterpiece !!
[...]

i've been a huge fan of 60's ska since my high school daze ....... and have recently started going through the 'studio one' cd catalog ......

received this the other day , and once i started .... i could not turn it off. fantastic !

i also picked up

studio one
-rockers
-scorcher vol.1
-scorcher vol.2
-downbeat the ruler
-full up: more hits from studio one.

love them all.

enjoy!

oddly enough, even though i rate this 3 stars, i am preferring this alliance blu-ray xfer of the film over the universal and criterion, which have been altered from it's original theatrical presentation ...... to be sharper and to essentially have more robust colour timing (by possible removal of filters that were used originally)...... all approved by the director.

the alliance disc is interlaced as well. which is inexcusable really. 1080i

so i dock 2 stars off the score, as a progressive transfer is what this, and ALL films deserve.

I saw this film in the cinema, when it opened, and I am most definitely a fan of that particular version ..... when it comes to it's visual presentation for home video.

the segments in mexico are supposed to look that blown out and soft .....

i think it works beautifully. as does the extremely minimal sound design. i say this as sound fx editor ...... the sound of the film promotes contemplation from the viewer , rather than passively being overwhelmed by the 'in your face' sonic detail of typical modern day films ......... the images, the dialog, and the score, are the big players in this film.

YMMV

5 stars for the film
3 for the transfer.

ultimately, it is nice to have a choice .... and so, one can see comparisons of the various HD xfers of this film online

i have a soft spot for this film.

i'm not going to review the film itself ......

but would like to bring attention to the fact that there are intermittent sync issues with the blu-ray i just received ...... enough to actually be DISTRACTING. and no it's not my set up. i know what i'm doing in that dept. lol

this is ridiculous.

who is QC ing this stuff ?

the PQ is nothing special either .... (knew that going in)

on top of the sync issues, the audio is unfortunately only dolby digital 5.1

i knew that going in too, but didn't read anything about sync issues in all the reviews i read before purchasing this disc.

i did just recently find someone else who posted in a forum who made the same observation about the sync though.

another title to be weary of is 'the searchers' ....... bloody out of sync too. but perhaps they've fixed that one ? buyers beware

1 star for technical FAIL

bought the blu ...

was more than satisfied by this release ...............

picture is excellent, 16mm source, excellent grain, to my eyes, no DNR or edge enhancement to be seen ..... colour is a little bit faded ...

nice long shots, where one can get a feeling of actually watching the band perform .....

sound quality is great.

supertramp fans will appreciate this release for sure.

one should not expect hyper real modern day HD sharpness ...........

very happy they did not 'mess' with the picture here, like they did with the recent doors hollywood bowl bluray .... where they removed all grain and artificially sharpened the image ...... no waxy blobs here thank goodness.

because of 'the truman show' and 'gattaca' i took a chance on this andrew niccol film, and simply grabbed this blu-ray while on sale. i only read a little blurb about the plot ......... it was enough for me to hope that this would be another niccol tour de force ........ and i thought it was.

i thought it was great.

btw my favourite sci fi films are

thx 1138
2001
children of men
blade runner
alien
logan's run
fahrenheit 451
moon
rollerball (original)
gattaca
zardoz
solaris (tarkovsky)
code 46
minority report

so that is where i'm coming from .....

YMMV

would like to thank bruce botnick for a great sonic experience

i'm glad to own this new restored concert on blu .....

the other reviews have a breakdown of the songs etc ....

warning tho .... the video has been MASSIVELY DNR'd ....... waxy faces, and obliterated detail .... no grain. it's 1968 on 16mm for crying out loud .... no one expects crystalline modern day HD sharpness ...... it's really unfortunate .... but hey , i HATE DNR (digital noise reduction / detail killer) if you look at john densmore in the wide shots his face looks like a blob ..... a well defined and sharp .... blob.

watch it far enough away from your screen and it's acceptable .......

but really just blast this thing.

still an essential purchase for any doors fan.

i don't know if it's the mood i was in or what ........ but i really enjoyed this remake. both brosnan and russo are fan tas tic ! great chemistry. lots of fun indeed ...

i must say that i really love this film ........ not having read the book, i have nothing to compare it to ..... so that is where i'm coming from ....

the film is full of love, patience, and understanding .......

since i never saw it in the cinema, i didn't realize that this film was presented theatrically with a change in aspect ratios ....... 1.85:1 (opening in NY) and then 2.35:1 (as they leave to drive cross country to montana) ........ the blu-ray preserves this cinematic change for it's intended effect of expansion ...... and so the opening scenes in 1.85:1 will NOT fill up your 16:9 widescreen tv ...... the frame in these opening scenes fit within the anamorphic 2.35:1 scale on your tv (so you will see black not only on the top and bottom, but on the sides as well ....... for when we go to the wide scope ratio, the sides of the frame expand (no more black on the sides) ....

the idea being that if you went from full 1.85:1 (that would normally be filling your widescreen tv) to a 2.35:1 ratio , the effect would NOT be 'expansion' ........ i think this was a wise decision, though some may find it odd initially .....

bottom line here is this film is so good, that it transcends it's topic ...... yes it's specifically about a girl, her parents, a horse, and a horse whisperer ....... but really , on a grand scale, it is about relationships, about relating to another, about LIFE. one can learn a lot from this film, if one chooses to ......

robert richardson's cinematography is wonderful
the sound fx editing, especially of the horses is fantastic. i say this as a sound effects editor myself ! but on the whole, the sound edit and mix are wonderful, from the scenes in NYC to the expanse felt in montana , the attention to detail in background effects such as cars and horns to birds and insects and their balance in overall soundscape is wonderful. great sound design is sometimes very subtle ........ but it always comes from attention to detail ... the music works very well too. .... i can sense the thought and effort and time put into this track.

i'm not even obsessed with horses or cowboys ...... lol (tho black stallion is another favourite film of mine)

really well done !

an excellent and affordable upgrade (from the non-anamorphic sd dvd)

this is the way to watch it for sure !