Watching The Martian this very second. Matt Damon ran out of ketchup seven days ago, so now he's dipping Martian potatoes in crushed Vicodin.

I'm enjoying this very much so far. Though I did already see a couple of "Are you kidding me" moments.

Today I watched All Quiet on the Western Front on DVD. The early sound version, not the disappointing remake. One of my favorite war films, though I suppose it should more properly be termed an anti-war film. Visual quality on my edition isn't the best and would definitely benefit from restoration. The case front cover oddly states WIDESCREEN at the top, which had me worried that the film might be presented in pan-and-scan format. The case back, however, lists the DVD as 1.33:1 standard ratio which is thankfully how it is seen. The back also implies an option for Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound, whereas the disk is two channel mono only.

This afternoon I watched another all time favorite, my Collector's Edition DVD of the early 1950s High Noon with Gary Cooper. Marvelous movie, and unlike with my All Quiet on the Western Front DVD, both video and audio quality are top notch. I chose the 'enhanced original restored audio' option, which produces sound in 3.1 channels. Excellent music score, btw.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Feb 5 2016, 11:18 AM

This afternoon/evening I watched yet another long-time favorite, the 1933 King Kong. I own it as a Criterion Collection Laserdisc, an early LD that sports what is supposedly the first ever commentary track. Having not seen it in years I first watched it sans commentary, then played it again with commentary. The two disks have held up well, with no hint of laser rot beyond a slight bit of 'gumminess' at the seams. Video quality is fine if not stellar. It upscales to 1080p via my Pioneer AV receiver rather well.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Feb 6 2016, 02:59 AM

Speaking of commentaries, my favorite is the musical commentaries from 'Dr Horrible' (sample found here Commentary1). The entire movie was made specifically for posting to YouTube. I bought the dvd and watch it on a regular basis. I just can't watch it without watching it again with the musical commentaries.

Tonight's feature film was the 1988 fantasy flick Willow on DVD. It's a fine movie though not, in my estimation, a timeless classic in the same sense my previous three reported watches are.

Thanks to listening to songs like Unforgettable and The Sound of Silence so many times in my GNR radio replacer mod for FO3, I am now watching The Watchmen. This movie has one of the best opening credits I have ever seen. I love how it tells the previous 40 years of history, setting the stage for the movie that follows.

Tonight I watched The Wizard of Oz on laserdisc. The disk doesn't look bad at all upscaled to 1080p. Colors are very vivid, to the point of oversaturation at times. I have a distinct memory of seeing it in color as a wee lad. One of the brief extras following the film states that it had a theatrical rerelease in 1955. That might have been what I saw, though I'd have been only four at the time. That seems awfully young to remember after all these years. Then again, I can see how a film like Wizard would make a deep impression at that age. One thing for sure, it couldn't have been one of the film's numerous television airings. Our family didn't own a color TV set until I was in my teens.

I've been watching The Musketeers.

Damn good show, with the exception of the truly awful first episode. It's based on the characters rather than the book itself, so they've got plenty of latitude. And it's got Peter Capaldi playing the Cardinal

This post has been edited by Callidus Thorn: Feb 10 2016, 03:19 PM

Real Husbands of Hollywood = hilarious!

Yesterday afternoon, in the hour and a half prier to supper, I watched The Iron Mask on Laserdisc. This film is considered Douglas Fairbanks' swang song to silent cinema, produced as a traditional silent in 1929 when most of Hollywood was well into the transition to 'talkies'. It is also something of a swang song to Douglas acting career, since he was one of those who did not embrace talking pictures and additionally felt that he was becoming too old to continue playing the roles which brought him his fame. The film itself is a fine one, and in my opinion withstands the test of time better than not only a good many silent era movies but also a fair number of more recent films.

My particular LD edition features pleasing tinting throughout and an effective piano accompaniment composed for the film. Visual quality is for the most part satisfactory if not stellar. 'Title cards' seem to have been spliced in from a lesser quality source and are much inferior to rest of the presentation.

This morning, while ordering an electric razor replacement foil and a sheet set through Amazon, I added in the silent film Wings on DVD. I saw it as a laserdisc rental during the mid/late 1980s and have wanted to own it ever since. A couple of years ago it was given a new release on DVD and Blu-ray, with much restored visuals and sound. That's what I ordered.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Feb 18 2016, 02:05 PM

Today I watched, on laserdisc, the 1987 (released) Georgian (the Eurasian country, not the American state) film Repentance. It's a quite interesting movie but not, I think, for casual viewing. I'd not seen it in years, but have the distinct impression I understood more of it this time round than on previous viewings. Bits of it still bewilder me, but then I don't claim to have an overly developed intellect.

"Ripper Street," series 3

"Rectify," season 1- interesting exploration of a man released from death row after 15 years... we begin to learn that not all of his demons came about because of his incarceration...

"Gilmore Girls," which we missed most of during its run. I think it had some of the best writing on television at the time, and Lauren Graham is always a treat.

Lots of good shows going at the moment - Ripper Street, Black Sails, The 100, Beowulf.

The most exciting thing this year however - Vikings season 4 has begun. Good start to the season, setting up some interesting plotlines. Don't think I need to tell everyone how good the show is, I know there are a few fellow fans here.

I've spent the week having a Harry Potter marathon. As before, my favorites are still the first two movies. They are have an innocence and fun which the others lack, as the characters grow up and the world becomes darker. It is fun watching how new things get added to Hogwarts with every movie. The Whomping Willow in the second movie. Or the big bridge that we first see in Prisoner of Azkaban. Or how Hagrid's hut becomes a trio of interconnected huts at the end of that bridge and down a hill in the same film.

I noticed that Steve Kloves was the screenwriter for all of the movie except Order of the Phoenix. That is also my least favorite of all the films. I wonder if the writing is one reason?

When I saw the movies for the first time I had a really hard time accepting Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. But now that I have seen the films a few times, I find I like him more than Richard Harris. Gambon's Dumbledore is more personable, more outgoing and vocal. Where the Harrisian Dumble seemed a lot more distant and taciturn to me.

I never read any of the Harry Potter books. Only time I watched the movies was some years back when my then boss lent me his collection of the first five (???) films on DVD. Overall I enjoyed them better than anticipated. I've forgotten too much since then so can't pick winners and/or losers. I wouldn't mind seeing the remaining films but don't think I'd pay for the privilege, unless I found 'em dirt cheap on disk.

As for myself, this afternoon, in the roughly hour and twenty minutes before supper, I watched The Bride of Frankenstein on laserdisc. It's the first time I viewed it since being able to upscale LDs to1080p. I was very impressed with the image quality, especially as mine's an old 1985 MCA Encore Edition pressing whose source material, so far as I know, received no special treatment. It helps that the disk has not a hint of laser rot.

As to the film itself, Bride is considered a classic for good reason. Made in 1935, it features old school theatrical acting, especially so at the start while the three writers converse as a sort of prelude to the story proper. I like that sort of acting so long as it contributes positively to the film, as it mostly does here. Gotta admit it took me a minute or two to adjust to it, having watched a far more recent film yesterday. I like the humanistic portrayal of the monster in this series entry. I recognized the lady who plays the Frankenstein manor housekeeper, but for a while couldn't place where I'd seen her. It finally dawned on me that she's the actress who portrays Lady Marian's companion/chaperon in the Errol Flynn Adventures of Robin Hood. Leastwise they are dead ringers for one another.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Feb 20 2016, 02:00 AM

I watched 'Goblet of Fire' this week. It's my favorite. I especially liked the tent that prompts Harry to declare "I love magick". Then there was the stained glass mermaid, some awesome dragons, and the charming scene of Hermione descending the steps in her ball gown.

Also, I went through the whole sequence of Star Wars movies from episode 1 (the fourth movie in the series) to episode 6. Then I watched 'Robot Chicken: Star Wars Edition' 2 and 3. The Robot Chicken dvd's were from my netflix queue and just coincidently came up just after the movies which worked out perfectly. I probably would not have gotten some of their humor otherwise.

Aah I do enjoy me some Harry Potter. My friend is a huge fan, and she once convinced me to watch all of the films with her in one sitting. Quite the experience.

I prefer the later films myself, with the darker tone, though the lighter tone of the first 2 films works really well too. I used to be a huge fan of the books, and the films did a pretty good job adapting them.

This morning I watched, on DVD, what is considered to be the oldest surviving American 'feature' film, the 1912 Richard III. I had not seen it since before being able to upscale to 1080p, and suspect not since I watched movies on a mid 80s 27" Sony CRT TV. What I saw today was a definite visual improvement over what I recall from before. Though bits of the film show decided degradation, overall it is remarkably well preserved.

I bought the Kino DVD almost as soon as I became aware of its existence. (The film was thought lost for many decades and only resurfaced in 1996 thanks to a collector and former movie projectionist who gave his well cared for nitrate reels to the American Film Institute.) My first viewing convinced me that, as suspected, the film was a historical curiosity but little more. I doubt I watched it again until today. Being able to see it on a large (47") digital TV in hi-res has increased my appreciation of the movie's entertainment value. Compared to the one-year-earlier (1911) non feature-length British movie adaptation of Richard the Third, available at YouTube, this one sports more elaborate sets, outdoor sequences, and numerous attempts to take advantage of cinematic techniques, primitive as those sometimes are, as opposed to a more or less straight theatre stage filming. A decided plus, Ennio Morricone was commissioned to create an orchestral music score for the film's video release. Original tinting has been restored.

I also watched one of the disk's several short supplemental commentaries.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Feb 20 2016, 04:29 PM

I am on the last of the Harry Potter movies. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the series:


From The Half Blood Prince
Professor McGonagall: Why is it, when something happens, it is always you three?

Ron: Believe me, Professor. I've been asking myself the same question for six years.


From Deathly Hallows part 2
Hermione: What? We can't do that! We've got to plan! We've got to figure it out...

Harry: Hermione! When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose!