[B5JMS] Attn JMS: (And semi-OT) "Forbidden Planet" Blu Ray

Sun Sep 12 04:32:43 EDT 2010

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From: Joseph DeMartino <jdemarti at bellsouth.net>
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:05:23 -0700 (PDT)
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On Tuesday Sep 7 "Forbidden Planet" was released on Blu Ray.  I have
to assume you got a copy as son as it was out, if not before, and am
wondering what you thought of it (assuming you've had time to watch
it.)  I pre-ordered this back in May, and had actually forgotten that
it was coming out this week - so I didn't get to watch it until
Wednesday night, having taken Tuesday off for car and dental
maintenance.  (I have all deliveries sent to my office because my cats
refuse to sign for packages.  They say they lack opposable thumbs, but
I think this is just an excuse.)

Anyway, I was blown away by the presentation, and urge any SF fan with
a Blu Ray player to pick up this disc.  My 56" TV is a few years old
and a "mere" 720p and my sound system is 5.1 not 7.1.  (But it does
decode the lossless digital audio formats.)  So I'm not even seeing or
hearing the film at its absolute best - but I can compare the BD to
the laserdisc and the two DVD releases, and in my humble opinion none
of them come close.  (In fact, I thought the laserdisc looked better
than the first DVD, despite the lower resolution, because the color
fidelity was better.)

The BD was a revelation, almost like seeing the film for the first
time.  (OK, way *better* than the fist time.  The first time I *did*
see it all the way through and uncut, was in the pre-cable TV, pre-VCR
days, and I had to stay up until 3 AM to do it on a local PBS station
and a 19" TV.)  The visible detail in most of the scenes is amazing.
The extras are also very good, with three documentaries:  "Watch the
Skies" about 50s SF in general featuring Lucas, Speilberg, Cameron and
numerous others.  (Sadly not JMS <g>), one on the legacy of the film
and a third focusing on Robby the Robot.  The producers also included
an episode from the 50s "Thin Man" TV series where Robby guest-
starred, plus the entire feature film "The Invisible Boy", a sort of
sideways "sequel" to "FP".  (I think the Robby doc is new.  The other
items are all carried over from the 2-disc 50th Anniversary DVD.  The
only things included on the earlier release that are *not* inclulded
on Blu Ray are a handful of trailers for other 50s SF titles released
on DVD by Warner Bros. - presumably because they haven't been released
on BD yet.)

Anyway, I was knocked out and was curious to hear what another "FP"
fanatic thought of the disc.  Also if there is anything you can tell
us about the current state of the possible remake.  IIRC the last I
saw here was sometime in January and you had turned in another
draft.

Hope things are going well with you,

Joe

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From: "jmsatb5 at aol.com" <jmsatb5 at aol.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2010 19:19:35 -0700 (PDT)
Lines: 66

On Sep 11, 5:05=A0pm, Joseph DeMartino <jdema... at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> On Tuesday Sep 7 "Forbidden Planet" was released on Blu Ray. =A0I have
> to assume you got a copy as son as it was out, if not before, and am
> wondering what you thought of it (assuming you've had time to watch
> it.) =A0I pre-ordered this back in May, and had actually forgotten that
> it was coming out this week - so I didn't get to watch it until
> Wednesday night, having taken Tuesday off for car and dental
> maintenance. =A0(I have all deliveries sent to my office because my cats
> refuse to sign for packages. =A0They say they lack opposable thumbs, but
> I think this is just an excuse.)
>
> Anyway, I was blown away by the presentation, and urge any SF fan with
> a Blu Ray player to pick up this disc. =A0My 56" TV is a few years old
> and a "mere" 720p and my sound system is 5.1 not 7.1. =A0(But it does
> decode the lossless digital audio formats.) =A0So I'm not even seeing or
> hearing the film at its absolute best - but I can compare the BD to
> the laserdisc and the two DVD releases, and in my humble opinion none
> of them come close. =A0(In fact, I thought the laserdisc looked better
> than the first DVD, despite the lower resolution, because the color
> fidelity was better.)
>
> The BD was a revelation, almost like seeing the film for the first
> time. =A0(OK, way *better* than the fist time. =A0The first time I *did*
> see it all the way through and uncut, was in the pre-cable TV, pre-VCR
> days, and I had to stay up until 3 AM to do it on a local PBS station
> and a 19" TV.) =A0The visible detail in most of the scenes is amazing.
> The extras are also very good, with three documentaries: =A0"Watch the
> Skies" about 50s SF in general featuring Lucas, Speilberg, Cameron and
> numerous others. =A0(Sadly not JMS <g>), one on the legacy of the film
> and a third focusing on Robby the Robot. =A0The producers also included
> an episode from the 50s "Thin Man" TV series where Robby guest-
> starred, plus the entire feature film "The Invisible Boy", a sort of
> sideways "sequel" to "FP". =A0(I think the Robby doc is new. =A0The other
> items are all carried over from the 2-disc 50th Anniversary DVD. =A0The
> only things included on the earlier release that are *not* inclulded
> on Blu Ray are a handful of trailers for other 50s SF titles released
> on DVD by Warner Bros. - presumably because they haven't been released
> on BD yet.)
>
> Anyway, I was knocked out and was curious to hear what another "FP"
> fanatic thought of the disc. =A0Also if there is anything you can tell
> us about the current state of the possible remake. =A0IIRC the last I
> saw here was sometime in January and you had turned in another
> draft.
>
> Hope things are going well with you,
>
> Joe

Looked at it just the other day, and enjoyed it as much as ever.

This is essentially the same disk that came out under HD-DVD a few
years ago before it lost the race to Blu Ray.  I had that version, and
while there's a slight difference between the HD and BluRay editions,
it's pretty close.

To the current disposition of FP...since Cameron had to withdraw to
focus all his efforts on Avatar 2, WB has started the process of
looking for a new director.  The hard part is finding someone with
enough hard-core EFX background AND a real knack for characterization,
both of which are required to make the script work.  They want to get
it made, it's a big tent pole movie for them, but it's a matter of
finding the right person to make it.

jms