TCM Vault: The Lady From Shanghai

[giovannii84]

Peculiar development.

What are Mill Creek releases like ? I'm not familiar with this label

Crap.

Great... This is screaming for a Criterion release

[tenia]

Peculiar development.

What are Mill Creek releases like ? I'm not familiar with this label

Crap.

More cheap stuff than crap. When they get good material, it's not so bad but dont expect any editorial work.

[FrauBlucher]

I am still way surprised this hasn't ended up with Criterion. Would love to know how the deal for this went down. Did Sony never offer to CC, but then you would think CC would have asked about licensing it if they really wanted it. Maybe Becker hates the film the way he loves It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, which in this case it would be a mad world.

[dwk]

More cheap stuff than crap. When they get good material, it's not so bad but dont expect any editorial work.

That about sums it up. Most of the Sony stuff they have released looks pretty decent, but they don't create/port over special features and they almost never include lossless audio.

[tojoed]

David Hare posted over on HTF about his experience...

Blimey, David Hare defecting to the loons, who would have thought it?

[tenia]

More cheap stuff than crap. When they get good material, it's not so bad but dont expect any editorial work.

That about sums it up. Most of the Sony stuff they have released looks pretty decent, but they don't create/port over special features and they almost never include lossless audio.

I agree with the extras but most of the releases I know from Mill Creek have lossless audio : The Grand Duel, The Replacement Killers, When A Stranger Calls, Hollow Man, Ship of Fools + Lilith, Hollywood Homicide + Hudson Hawk, The Squid and the Whale, Krull, Color of Night, Billy Bathgate, New York Stories, etc etc. I mean : even That 70s Show has a DTS HD MA 5.1 track ! (and extras !)

[dwk]

Rock! Shock! Pop!'s review, with screencaps, of Mill Creek's The Lady From Shanghai Blu-ray

[warren oates]

Ian Jane usually knows what he's talking about. So it's too bad that there are no specifics about the precise bitrate or the contrast problems that have plagued past issues of this title. Maybe the third time's a charm, but it looks like we're still waiting to find out.

[Roger Ryan]

Ian Jane usually knows what he's talking about. So it's too bad that there are no specifics about the precise bitrate or the contrast problems that have plagued past issues of this title. Maybe the third time's a charm, but it looks like we're still waiting to find out.

While there are no comparison screencaps, the provided samples seem to indicate that the blacks aren't crushed as much as on the second TCM edition. In fact, judging by the one common screencap between the Rock! Shock! Pop! review and the DVDBeaver review, I'd say the Mill Creek issue might be a little brighter than the first TCM edition.

[hearthesilence]

It's probably an easy way of covering their ass, just in case anyone complains about a moment of visible damage. But yeah, it is annoying to stamp that on every review.

[jsteffe]

Thanks for your detailed comments, David. They're truly helpful. I saw the 4K last year in Bologna and thought it looked terrific, but I never picked up either TCM Blu-ray edition. It sounds as if the Mill Creek (!) version should be just fine for me.

P.S. - David, have you ever been to Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna? It's cinephile heaven! And it's in Bologna...

[jsteffe]

In fact I already received TCM's Blu-ray of ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS and can't wait to watch it after your comments! Maybe even tonight...

I also just now ordered the Mill Creek BD of THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI. Folks, it's incredibly cheap right now on Amazon. The list price is only $14.98, but I picked it up for $8.99!

Grover Crisp, Ned Price and Shawn Belston were all at Bologna last summer showing off some of their newest restorations and lecturing about their work. I had breakfast with Dave Kehr and Jonathan Rosenbaum, to name just a couple of the people I met. I don't mean to name-drop, just to give you some idea of what's in store. It's a fantastic experience. And Bologna is bursting at the seams with amazing gelato shops, moderately priced espresso and divine hand-rolled pasta. The nighttime screenings - including THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI last summer - take place in the Piazza Maggiore, on a huge screen that stays up all summer and shows movies to the locals for free. Bologna's Pride celebration takes place around the same time, though I stupidly missed out on the parade.

I can't go to Bologna this coming summer, but I really want to return next year and am even willing to consider the aforementioned "supplemental income" to accomplish it!

I really can't wait to see THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI on Blu-ray, now that the brightness problems have been fixed...

[Roger Ryan]

David - Thank you for your encouraging assessment of the Mill Creek Blu-ray. It certainly is odd that this label is the one to do it right and I'm relieved that this title wasn't botched a third time.

[jsteffe]

It's possible that Sony did the encoding in-house and sent it to Mill Creek like that.

[jojo]

Yeah, Mill Creek releases usually always depend on what they're given. So they can be good or bad depending on the source, but I find that they rarely make things worse than what they're given.

[tenia]

Writing reviews myself, I admit it's very automatic to notice 2-3 speckles here and there and end up writing "there remains a couple of dust here and there" just because you saw them.

But would I bother my girlfriend who's watching the movie with me to check the timecode (I'm usually using a PS3 so I don't have the timecode on the player, I need to use the OSD) ? Would I bother by having a small notebook and a pen by my side to write the timecodes ?

I used to, but I don't anymore. When I can, I write in which sequence I noticed them (if it's relevant). If it's a really specific issue, I would be down to giving the specific minute ("there is a frame drop during the 60th minute" for instance), but nothing more precise than this.

But then, if he's writing about defects that aren't on the disc, then, it's another story...

[cdnchris]

Writing reviews myself, I admit it's very automatic to notice 2-3 speckles here and there and end up writing "there remains a couple of dust here and there" just because you saw them.

But would I bother my girlfriend who's watching the movie with me to check the timecode (I'm usually using a PS3 so I don't have the timecode on the player, I need to use the OSD) ? Would I bother by having a small notebook and a pen by my side to write the timecodes ?

I used to, but I don't anymore. When I can, I write in which sequence I noticed them (if it's relevant). If it's a really specific issue, I would be down to giving the specific minute ("there is a frame drop during the 60th minute" for instance), but nothing more precise than this.

But then, if he's writing about defects that aren't on the disc, then, it's another story...

I'm the same way basically. If I don't recall seeing anything or didn't make a note of it I'll usually just state "I didn't notice anything" or "don't recall seeing anything". But if I see even a few minor specs of debris or a faint tram line I'll usually note it but not write down the time: in all honesty I never even thought of even mentioning something like that with what are minor imperfections. For Thin Blue Line there's some obvious damage in some of the stock footage or film clips used but I don't recall anything else throughout the rest of the feature, while with Satyricon I noticed a fleck of dirt in a couple places and then (somewhat surprisingly) what looked like a brief splice or stain at the top of the image closer to the end. The only time I recall pointing out the specific moment of a flaw was Heaven's Gate during where that odd stain or bit of discoloration ran through the frame midway through.

But I guess that's another whole topic.

[PfR73]

I understand from others subsequently that Sony were not happy with the sloppy handling by TCM (who would be?) it was likely any further TCM releases of their Crisp 4k titles would get proper handling, as they now have, viz. Only Angels have Wings which was given as good a treatment as It Happened One Night 4k was afforded by Criterion.

So the Mill Creek now supports the higher bitrate encode and is WITHOUT the botched black crush issue.

If true, it's a bit ironic since Sony seems to be crushing blacks on their recent releases

[filmyfan]

Is the Eddie Muller piece worth having or should I go with the cheaper (and better looking ?) Mill Creek-what do you reckon ?

[Finch]

Thank you for the info on the Mill Creek, David. Best image and subtitles for hard of hearing people like me and the unbeatable price at $8,99 clinched it for me. Realistically, how many times is one going to watch the Eddie Mueller piece? I'm sure it's all good but the TCM Blu's really are overpriced.

I am tempted to bite the high import cost-bullet for Only Angels Have Wings though since Sony UK doesn't licence to anyone fullstop, and if a BD from one of Sony's European counterparts doesn't materialise in 3 months or so.

[EddieLarkin]

After the Lady from Shanghai debacle I'm giving the rest of TCM's titles at least another year or two before I lay out the ridiculous shipping costs they want. Spending £25 (and risking import fees!) for the title to see another release less than a year later going for around £8 is such a kick in the teeth.

[Forrest Taft]

Just realized that I don't even have this on DVD, so the Mill Creek it is. Only $6,69 from importcds (take that, Amazon!).

[Finch]

Nice find, RA! Managed to cancel my Amazon order and re-order with importcds.

david, I'll definitely make a mental note to check MovieUnlimited's next sale re the Hawks. Here's hoping Sony decide to handle the likes of His Girl Friday themselves.

[Finch]

I did mean Only Angels as the Hawks coming to Movies Unlimited eventually, yes. I hope His Girl Friday is the next Hawks that Sony are restoring.

Looking forward to receiving the Mills Creek BD of Lady from Shanghai; it's been years since I've seen the film and that was on videotape!

[hearthesilence]

Got mine in the mail a few days ago, and this does indeed look amazing.

Have to say though, this is still a frustrating work, it still feels like it was hacked apart, especially the beginning. I wish there was something like a faux-restoration like the one done for Greed - something that just fills in the gaps of what was removed or reshot, whether it be title cards of the script pages, stills, etc. mixed in with the surviving stuff. Would be a great bonus feature, but probably too ambitious for any label to spend the time to create.