"Zulu"....what the hell happened?

I just got my Region 2 "Zulu" (one of my favorite movies...I never tire
of watching it), after waiting and being disappointed at the meagre
Region 1 release.

Well. What the hell happened? Paramount have given the R2 a great
print, with a fabulous transfer (far superior to any of the prints I've
seen on the BBC and religiously taped over the years...and they were
GOOD prints.). The sound is terrific. And, there's a pair of great
little 25 minute intervieww documentaries, which are delightful if
you're a fan of the movie, and have a bunch of terrific anecdotes. (The
plastic Amaray case also comes within a nice chunky little cardboard
slipcase)

So...why did Paramount drop the ball with the Region 1 release? It's
criminal!

Peter Briggs

Why did PARAMOUNT drop the ball? I'm afraid if you're going to blame
someone you should blame the proper party. MGM/UA released Zulu here in
the states.

Brockhurst Pertwee

"Peter Briggs" <pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinescribe.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1g1ud1p.1qt5g07tjyx5aN%pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinesc ribe.demon.co.uk...

> little 25 minute intervieww documentaries, which are delightful if
> you're a fan of the movie, and have a bunch of terrific anecdotes. (The

I would have enjoyed those.

Steve

Steve Knoblock

Brockhurst Pertwee <> wrote:

> Why did PARAMOUNT drop the ball? I'm afraid if you're going to blame
> someone you should blame the proper party. MGM/UA released Zulu here in
> the states.

Well, I guess that's the reason, then! MGM/UA dropped the ball, and
Paramount (our distributors!) picked it up.

Way to go, big P!

Peter Briggs

Steve Knoblock <> wrote:

> "Peter Briggs" <pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinescribe.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:1g1ud1p.1qt5g07tjyx5aN%pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinesc ribe.demon.co.uk...
>
> > little 25 minute intervieww documentaries, which are delightful if
> > you're a fan of the movie, and have a bunch of terrific anecdotes. (The
>
> I would have enjoyed those.

Yep. They were pretty spiffy. No behind the scenes footage, alas, but
the recollections of those involved were nice, as were a number of
stills I hadn't seen before, and other bits of documentary material.

The audio commentary's not bad, hosted by Sheldon Hall (a "Zulu"
authority.) Supposedly, he's writing a "Making Of" book too, although
there doesn't seem to be any information on it.

Peter Briggs

pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinescribe.demon.co.uk (Peter Briggs) wrote:

> I just got my Region 2 "Zulu" (one of my favorite movies...
> I never tire of watching it), after waiting and being
> disappointed at the meagre Region 1 release.
>
> Well. What the hell happened? Paramount have given the R2
> a great print, with a fabulous transfer (far superior to
> any of the prints I've seen on the BBC and religiously
> taped over the years...and they were GOOD prints.). The
> sound is terrific. And, there's a pair of great little
> 25 minute intervieww documentaries, which are delightful
> if you're a fan of the movie, and have a bunch of terrific
> anecdotes. (The plastic Amaray case also comes within a
> nice chunky little cardboard slipcase)
>
> So...why did Paramount drop the ball with the Region 1
> release? It's criminal!

Well, for one, Paramount didn't release it in Region 1.
After editions from various Public Domain labels, it was
issued by MGM. As for why the "meager" treatment, I guess
they figured they could make more money selling a bare bones
edition at a dirt cheap price than they could selling a
Special Edition at a noticibly higher price.

Personally, while I like extras, they're...well...extra.
I'm just glad to have the film (the MGM DVD is my third
copy: I also have the Criterion LD and the Troma/Roan DVD).

-- jayembee

jayembee

"Peter Briggs" <pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinescribe.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1g1ud1p.1qt5g07tjyx5aN%pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinesc ribe.demon.co.uk...
> Well. What the hell happened? Paramount have given the R2 a great
> print, with a fabulous transfer (far superior to any of the prints
I've
> seen on the BBC and religiously taped over the years...and they were
> GOOD prints.).

How's the region 1 transfer?

Joshua Zyber

Joshua Zyber <> wrote:

> "Peter Briggs" <pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinescribe.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:1g1ud1p.1qt5g07tjyx5aN%pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinesc ribe.demon.co.uk...
> > Well. What the hell happened? Paramount have given the R2 a great
> > print, with a fabulous transfer (far superior to any of the prints
> I've
> > seen on the BBC and religiously taped over the years...and they were
> > GOOD prints.).
>
> How's the region 1 transfer?

No idea. The R2 has a tiny bit of telecine wobble in places, but it's
still terrific.

Peter Briggs

"Peter Briggs" <pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinescribe.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1g1y6nb.2v6fe9si3ll6N%pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinescr ibe.demon.co.uk...
> Joshua Zyber <> wrote:
>
> > "Peter Briggs" <pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinescribe.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
> > news:1g1ud1p.1qt5g07tjyx5aN%pete@DIESPAMDIE!cinesc ribe.demon.co.uk...

> No idea. The R2 has a tiny bit of telecine wobble in places, but it's
> still terrific.

I'm no expert, but it looked spectacular to me. Extremely clear, very much
like the transfer for Battle of Britain.

Steve

Steve Knoblock

Steve Knoblock <> wrote:

> I'm no expert, but it looked spectacular to me. Extremely clear, very much
> like the transfer for Battle of Britain.

Are you talking about the Region 1 "Zulu"?

I have the R1 "Battle Of Britain", which is an excellent transfer. Nice
rich colours, although there's a little (minute) artifacting evident in
a handful of the "cloud" shots.

The R2 "Zulu" IS excellent (my God, those red jackets are crisp and pop
right off the screen!), but take a look at a few of the shots of the
Zulu heading through the undergrowth towards the Drift, and you'll see a
bit of telecine wobble (and it's there elsewhere). I've read a review
where it points out there's a bit of lack of black shadow detail in a
few places, but I've yet to spot that.

However, I'm not complaining. It's streets ahead of any of the other
copies I own!

Peter Briggs