The Ultimate Oz box or Criterion Wizard of Oz?

[KELLYK74]

Which is the best buy?

David

[Douglas Pratt]

KELLYK74 (kell...@aol.com) wrote:
: Which is the best buy?
:
: David

I haven't seen the lastest LD release of the TWOZ, which is
THX CLV, but I definitely recommend The Ultimate OZ boxed
set over the earlier release by Criterion.

- Doug Pratt (nope, I really am not the Doug Pratt you think I am)

[Erik Olson]

KELLYK74 (kell...@aol.com) wrote:
: The Ultimate Oz box or Criterion Wizard of Oz?

: Which is the best buy?

I'm a big Oz fan and I've owned the THX MGM LD boxset for a couple years.
I got it for $50 through Columbia House by using a bouns point.
What a deal!

But I have to say that the "best buy" is without a doubt is the $20 DVD.

I've compared the DVD version of Oz head to head with with my THX LD
boxset and the DVD just clearly wins when it comes to resolution and
detail. The LD picture is softer and fuzzy in comparison.
And this is with a Pioneer CLD-99.

It seems that the film to tape transfers of the THX LD and DVD are
the same. Freeze framing and looking at the upper right corner
reel change burn holes in the film are identical. The colors seem
slightly over saturated on the THX LD. Is this just DVD extra chroma
resolution or did they "crank down" the color on the DVD?

Best price, best picture. DVD wins.

Don't ask me why a mono film is encoded with 2-channel AC3 on the DVD disk?

erik olson
er...@best.com

[JHarw91601]

As far as the laserdisc versions of OZ are concerned, the Ultimate Oz is
superior to Criterions pressing, both in terms of color and sharpness.
The color on the Ultimate Oz is outstanding. The Criterion disc has pale
color in comparison.

The Laserdisc Newsletter says that the recently released CLV version that
MGM/UA has put out is slightly better due to a better transfer of the
black and white opening material, however I have not personally seen that
disc.

[a...@mindspring.com]

er...@best.com (Erik Olson) wrote:

>erik olson
>er...@best.com

Oh good, so since you are so infatuated with your DVD movie only
edition why don't i just take that annoying LD box set off your hands,
what with it's commentary, extras, beautiful design i'm sure it's just
reminding you of the inferiority of the LD and the wonderful
advantages of having DVD. :)

[73157...@compuserve.com]

David writes:
>Though the MGM set includes a bit more supplement material, I
>really like the picture on the Criterion set. Where MGM has
>used an old IB print for all their editions of Oz, Criterion had
>a new print struck from the elements in China awhile back for
>theirs. The differences are astounding if your willing to
>accept the fact that IB prints do not look real (though
>some people swear by them). Colors on the Criterion are
>substantially sharper, and there's far less 'pulsing' from old
>Technicolor prints that are, unfortunately, apparent on every
>single version MGM has put out.

I think you may be confusing the Ultimate Oz box with the 50th
anniversary edition. The 50th version was from an old IB print.
The Ultimate Oz box was from a new print made from the original
negative. In addition, the sound was processed to remove noise,
and ticks and pops. It is EQ'd much better than previous
editions. Reviews in magazines at the time of Ultimate OZ's
release state that it is the superior version, and I agree!

Derek Gee

[DaViD Boulet/Don Harley]

Any idea if the DVD version of OZ will be made from the same digital
master as the ultimate OZ (ie-not the 50th anniversary version)?

-dave