Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: MGM HD presents West Side Story

my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

»	Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE » Community » Film-Yak » MGM HD presents West Side Story (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2

Author

Topic: MGM HD presents West Side Story

Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 09-04-2011 02:00 AM

quote:

MGM HD Presents West Side Story

Location: Avery Fisher Hall (New York City)
Price Range: $35.00-$75.00

Wed, Sep. 7, 2011 - SOLD OUT
7:30PM

Thu, Sep. 8, 2011
7:30PM

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of this iconic film and winner of ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The New York Philharmonic plays Leonard Bernstein’s electrifying score and memorable songs with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim live, while the newly re-mastered film is shown in glorious high definition on the big screen with the original vocals and dialog intact. This classic romantic tragedy, one of the greatest achievements in the history of movie musicals, features breath-taking choreography by Jerome Robbins and a masterful book by Arthur Laurents.

I'd love to see this performance, but unfortunately I'll be busy up in the Minneapolis area doing a Marcus digital conversion.

| IP: Logged

Rick Raskin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1100
From: Manassas Virginia
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 09-04-2011 12:12 PM

Both performances are sold out.

I wonder if it is digital projection?

| IP: Logged

Mitchell Dvoskin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1869
From: West Milford, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 09-04-2011 01:48 PM

> Location: Avery Fisher Hall (New York City)

This is a live performance hall at Lincoln Center. While the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center is equipped for 35mm and 70mm, Avery Fisher is not. I would assume 1080p video.

| IP: Logged

Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 09-04-2011 01:54 PM

Was is interesting is that over here in Toronto, we just had an engagement of West Side Story in 70MM

| IP: Logged

Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 09-04-2011 05:24 PM

quote:
shown in glorious high definition

I've heard of "glorious Technicolor" and "glorious 70mm" and "glorious ToddAO," but glorous BluRay....for theatrical presentation of a film that was shot in 70mm? Can these bullshitters even look at themselves in the mirror in the morning, let along into the eyes of their wives or children?

No doubt this is nothing but a publicity promotion for the BluRay release supposedly happening sometime in October (it's about time), which is fine -- for HOME VIDEO, but at Lincoln Center in New York CITY, they couldn't even muster up authoring a 4K digital print? Cheap bastards.

| IP: Logged

Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 09-04-2011 06:33 PM

Them high price tix buyers ain't gonna like it sitting close to the screen - being such a blurry presentation down there ..

| IP: Logged

Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 09-04-2011 07:16 PM

If they really wanted to do this right, they could get the 70mm print and make up a new set of DTS disks without the music tracks...just the dialog and effects track.

| IP: Logged

Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 09-07-2011 03:17 AM

Exactly. How incongruous -- the spectacular sound of the great New York Philharmonic contrasted with a home video image on a theatre-size screen.

Here, let me say it again...maybe it won't sound as bad as when I first read it:

MGM HD Presents West Side Story

Location: Avery Fisher Hall (New York City)
Price Range: $35.00-$75.00

Nope. Still makes me up-chuck lunch.

| IP: Logged

Paul Gordon
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 580
From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Aug 2005

posted 09-07-2011 06:03 AM

Not surprised... Paramount just told me they are junking all their 70mm prints in Canada. That includes Titanic a year before the 100th anniversary of the sinking. Also all the Star Trek films, Untouchables the list goes on... in this digital age they don't want to store this large heavy analog stuff. Sad stuff.

| IP: Logged

Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 09-07-2011 07:51 AM

The digital projection aspect of this isn't the only one that worries me. The film was never conceived or intended to be shown with live music. Significant artistic decisions went into the recording and mixing of the music, in relation to the other components of the final mix (dialogue, dead track, SFX etc). These are going to be lost with a live orchestra playing, presumably in passages when the film soundtrack is muted (or are they going to play back the voice channel in the singing bits only, and have the orchestra try to play in sync?). Furthermore, orchestral playing styles and even the technology and materials in some of the instruments are completely different now to what they were then. If you listen to a recording of, say, Fritz Reiner conducting a Beethoven symphony in the '60s and then Gustavo Dudamel doing so now, you'll find it a totally different experience - and I'm not just talking about the recording and playback technology, but the style of the performance as well.

Of course I'm not so much of an anal purist as to claim that it's wrong for them to be doing this at all, but essentially what we've got here is a new dramatic performance inspired by the film as distinct from a reproduction of the film itself, on virtually every technical and artistic level.

| IP: Logged

Jonathan Goeldner
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1360
From: Washington, District of Columbia
Registered: Jun 2008

posted 09-07-2011 09:40 AM

sure it's a unique presentation of the film, but no 70mm print engagement in the Big Apple?? wow, what an insult, glad I saw said print at the AFI Silver.

| IP: Logged

Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 09-07-2011 09:48 AM

quote: Leo Enticknap
The film was never conceived or intended to be shown with live music. Significant artistic decisions went into the recording and mixing of the music, in relation to the other components of the final mix (dialogue, dead track, SFX etc). These are going to be lost with a live orchestra playing, presumably in passages when the film soundtrack is muted (or are they going to play back the voice channel in the singing bits only, and have the orchestra try to play in sync?).

I would hope this version will have a special "minus music" mix with a click-track cue for the orchestra. I can't think of any other way for them to establish/maintain sync.

And by "minus music" I mean ONLY the ORCHESTRA would be dialed out. (The vocals would be preserved.)

| IP: Logged

Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-07-2011 09:51 AM

Oh well, this is probably good enough for the digital generation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3HnS_W2zA4E

| IP: Logged

Jonathan Goeldner
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1360
From: Washington, District of Columbia
Registered: Jun 2008

posted 09-07-2011 09:52 AM

in regards to Manny's comment: granted they are newer films and music removal is possible, the orchestra/film presentation of 'The Fellowship of the Rings' 'The Two Towers' (at Wolf Trap) were generally in sync with what was occurring on screen.

| IP: Logged

Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 09-07-2011 02:04 PM

They did it in 2002 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles with ET during the film's 20th anniversary with John Williams conducting the Los Philhamonic. The segment showing Maestro Williams conducting the orchestra during the showing was included in the special boxed set edition of the movie on DVD and I have it.

- Claude

| IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.