W.C. Fields shorts - Criterion vs. Madacy vs. Platinum?
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W.C. Fields shorts - Criterion vs. Madacy vs. Platinum?
I know some of you are probably saying "Criterion vs. Madacy? Are you nuts?" However, I did a search in the forum that said that even Criterion's W.C. Fields - 6 Short Films has pretty bad audio and video quality, partly because of original film deterioration but partly because of a bad transfer. Madacy has their own DVD 2-pack with these same 6 shorts, and Platinum has a 3 short DVD out.
That being said, and knowing that Madacy and Platinum are known for low quality DVDs in their own right, this is my question: Is there any real difference between these versions in terms of audio/video quality? Was the earlier review wrong? Thanks in advance.
That being said, and knowing that Madacy and Platinum are known for low quality DVDs in their own right, this is my question: Is there any real difference between these versions in terms of audio/video quality? Was the earlier review wrong? Thanks in advance.
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I have the Criterion and a friend has one of the others, I don't remember which. But I remember thinking it would have to look really bad so it must have been Madacy. I was going to show her the superiority of the Criterion.
So I checked out her version on a notebook computer and was surprised that with a cursory viewing the "Brand X" version looked about as good as the Criterion. I didn't check it really critically, but it sure looked about the same to me.
So I checked out her version on a notebook computer and was surprised that with a cursory viewing the "Brand X" version looked about as good as the Criterion. I didn't check it really critically, but it sure looked about the same to me.
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Thanks for posting this-- I've been wondering, too. I saw 3 of these shorts on TV a few years ago and the print looked pretty bad, to the point that I didn't think there would be much difference on the Criterion. They can only do so much with what they have to work with.
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According to the DVDTalk review the Criterion transfer blows away the Madacy transfer, but I haven't seen either.