Image info on B5 laserdisc

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: Jim Lawson <Jcl666 at concentric.net>
Date: 16 Nov 1998 12:45:38 -0700
Lines: 58

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This text was emailed to me and appears on the second page of Image's
laatest catalogue. It looks like no letterboxed discs of B5 will be
forthcoming :-(

Jim Lawson   jcl666 at concentric.net http://www.concentric.net/~jcl666 mst3k#3801
   The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink
   what you don't like, and do what you'd druther not.
   Mark Twain


---------- Forwarded message ----------

Oh, how I hate to bore any of you who don't give a hoot about Babylon V, but
I must. Actually, just come back next month; after this we won't be talking
about it anymore. There are times when fanatics just demand more of
something than is actually there. The biggest letter-writing campaign that
this company ever braved was the one for a supposed director's cut of Twin
Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. To this day, we still get about three or four
letters a week requesting it.  It doesn't exist. There's not a film that
you've seen that wasn't edited down from a somewhat longer or worse (or
better) version. That's what editors are for...and when they're good, they
give them Academy Awards®! When a director has the clout to demand it, a
film may be reworked down the road as was the case with James Cameron's The
Abyss. But nobody ever reworked Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. It's a nice
thought though, for some people. Back to Babylon V. The mail we have
received on this laserdisc release dwarfs anything you David Lynch fans
could imagine! Hundreds and hundreds of letters, phone calls and e-mails
demanding that the widescreen versions of these television shows be released
on laserdisc. "How could you even consider releasing pan and scan versions
of this classic television series?" one distraught fan writes...I should've
written back:
"How did you even manage to become a fan of the show watching pan and scan
versions on television?" You see, the truth is this: We are not releasing
pan and scan versions. We are releasing full frame versions. There's a big
difference. Nothing will be missing from your television except the black
bars at the top and bottom of the screen. A couple, not all, of the seasons
were transferred for some foreign markets with a 16 X 9 aspect ratio, but
not to the detriment of the North American television market: the biggest
television market IN THE WORLD. The French, those lucky chiens, often
receive 16 X 9 television broadcasts. This is where all of the confusion
began. We have exhausted every avenue possible looking to get 16 X 9
transfers of some of these shows. They just don't exist in North America.
Getting them elsewhere is an impossiblity; trust me. We've even spoken to
the show's producers in an effort to leave no master unturned, no D-2
unviewed. With that said, you'll still be able to enjoy Babylon V in all its
laserdisc glory, with no commercial interruptions and better resolution than
your cable company ever dreamed of providing. Now, if you really want to
start a worthwhile letter-writing campaign, you should sharpen your pencils
for the 9-hour director's cut of Titanic. It was co-scripted by the late
James Michener and begins with Robert Fulton inventing the steam engine!  
from the new image update




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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 17 Nov 1998 15:18:52 -0700
Lines: 17

Posted to another thread...

The series is available on widescreen; in PAL format for overseas.  It would
apparently cost WB about $1500 per ep to convert to NTSC, and they don't want
to spend the money.  Absent that, the Image release will be the best release in
the best form currently available, and I commend it highly.

jms
 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com




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