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View Full Version : Is Carlton's Silver Collection Henry V horrible?

Gypo66
14-01-2002, 14:31
I have an opportunity to buy a cheap copy of Carlton's Silver Collection DVD of Olivier's HENRY V. Seeing as how this is a budget-priced DVD, I'm certainly not expecting Criterion Collection quality, but I'm not eager to buy something that basically just looks like a so-so videotape (or worse). Could anyone who's seen the Carlton DVD be so kind as to post their opinion of the quality? Thanks.
jroadley
14-01-2002, 15:19
Most of these budget titles are awful, 4:3 mono transfers. I'd avoid and seek out a alternative copy.
RoboCop4
14-01-2002, 16:03
Originally posted by jroadley
Most of these budget titles are awful, 4:3 mono transfers.

I'd second that for the early Silver Collection titles such as 'The Medusa Touch' and 'Capricorn One', but I gather that some of the more recent discs (e.g. 'The Last Seduction') aren't too bad.

Carlton seem to be re-releasing some of their early Silver Collection titles as better quality packages (e.g. 'Importance of being Earnest' and 'Genevieve') - so hopefully they'll do the same with the likes of 'Medusa Touch' (I seem to be the only person in the world who likes that film...)
Ghost Dog
14-01-2002, 16:52
Originally posted by jroadley
Most of these budget titles are awful, 4:3 mono transfers. I'd avoid and seek out a alternative copy.

Yeah but Henry V was made in 1944 and is supposed to be in 4:3 and mono. Anyway I bought this for a fiver and the picture and sound quality are perfectly acceptable for a film of this age, no worse than say the BFI Kurosawa releases and they cost £20 each! The only real alternative is the Criterion which will set you back £24.99 from *********. OK it has a few extras but seeing as it also 4:3 and mono (obviously), I can't see the picture and sound quality being much better. I have the Criterion Hamlet and the picture and sound quality on that is far from great, considering the cost of the disc.
Michael Brooke
14-01-2002, 17:17
I can't comment on <I>Henry V</I>, but I was very pleasantly surprised by <I>A Canterbury Tale</I> - here's my <A HREF="http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/reviews/region2/canterburytale.html">review</A>.
Hendrik
14-01-2002, 19:05
...add e.g. Powell & Pressburger's Technicolor A Matter Of Life And Death and The Battle Of The River Plate (the latter in anamorphic VistaVision widescreen) and Hitchcock's Young And Innocent and Jack Lee's A Town Like Alice and Ralph Thomas' A Tale Of Two Cities and David Lean's Technicolor This Happy Breed... all perfectly serviceable transfers of 'clean' copies of 'good' films - most if not all of which, I might add, will very likely never get the deluxe 'Collector's Edition' treatment from anyone - certainly not in the UK...

(signed) A Fan Of British Cinema

. . .:o . . .
Yonathan Gal
14-01-2002, 21:10
I've only got one of their titles, Hitchcock's the man who knew too much 91934) and the picture quality is good for a film that old... very good in fact. Sure, it's 4:3 and ha sno extras, but worth it for the quality meethinks :)
Joe91
14-01-2002, 22:28
Originally posted by Hendrik
...add e.g. Powell & Pressburger's Technicolor A Matter Of Life And Death and The Battle Of The River Plate (the latter in anamorphic VistaVision widescreen) and Hitchcock's Young And Innocent and Jack Lee's A Town Like Alice and Ralph Thomas' A Tale Of Two Cities and David Lean's Technicolor This Happy Breed... all perfectly serviceable transfers of 'clean' copies of 'good' films - most if not all of which, I might add, will very likely never get the deluxe 'Collector's Edition' treatment from anyone - certainly not in the UK...

(signed) A Fan Of British Cinema

. . .:o . . .
Criterion are releasing "A Matter Of Life And Death" later in the year. If it's half as good as their other Powell & Pressburger releases it will be well worth the extra expense :) .
Napoleon
14-01-2002, 23:05
Well i'm hoping 'Porridge' will be released in its proper widescreen ratio,not 4:3.The cinema release was shot in 1:66:1,i assume.
Michael Brooke
15-01-2002, 09:33
<I>Porridge</I> is in 4:3, but there's no indication of any cropping so it's almost certainly an open-matte print. In any case, it looks absolutely fine given that it's hardly a visual masterpiece!
samuelowens
16-01-2002, 04:08
Originally posted by Joe91

Criterion are releasing "A Matter Of Life And Death" later in the year. If it's half as good as their other Powell & Pressburger releases it will be well worth the extra expense :) .

You sure it wasn't 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp' you were thinking of? I really want both on Criterion but hadn't heard anything about 'A Matter of Life and Death'.

I found A Matter of Life and Death to have a quite good transfer (unlike the condition the DVD arrived in from Amazon, which was disgraceful).

BTW, I have the Criterion DVD of Henry V and I like (but don't love) it. While it has an excellent commentary, the transfer had quite a few artefacts (compared to something restored like The 3rd Man) and the rest of the special features were fairly ordinary. If Hal Five only costs a fiver, get the Carlton.