Does the ME edition have the same "false" start (with un-restored footage) that the previous Elite version had? Believe it or not, I'd hate to give that up. Also, are the 2 commentary tracks different on the ME edition? I couldn't tell from the comparison Johnny Zhivago was nice enough to provide a link to.

I ordered it too, from DeepDiscountDVD - I don't really feel like dealing with Overstock. I used to own the previous Elite SE but sold it as soon as news of the ME appeared on the net. It's nice to have this baby back in my collection.

I ordered mine from DDD as well. Wish they had the correct cover up for it though.

I hope so! When I popped the first release into my player for the first time and the crappy picture started playing I almost fell off my chair in disgust. Then the Elite Logo burst on the screen....

Very Cool!

As I was a new customer at Overstock, I went to $5 off $10 purchase and signed up, I then logged in and added NOTLD to my cart and checked out for a total of $13.29.

Yeah, me too.

Weird timing.

Just ordered. This was on my "to buy someday" list since I already had the first Elite release. This OOP info, whether true or not, was just the little push i needed.

Damn it, I just tried ordering it on overstock.com but apparently they have no way of charging my Canadian credit card, while shipping the DVD to the US mailing address I have set up (thus saving me on postage and possible taxes/handling fees that I might have to pay if I have it sent to Canada). Oh well, if it is going OOP, I'll have to go to DeepDiscount where they do have such technology.

No.

Quote:

Also, are the 2 commentary tracks different on the ME edition?

No, same commentaries as the previous DVD (which were recorded for the 25th Anniversary LD).

DJ

But this was during the days of laserdiscs, when anamorphic widescreen 16x9 transfers didn't exist. How do you not know that now that Romero can see how beautiful a widescreen transfer can be, he would want to matte the film to 1.85? This puppy played in the theatres, and those HAD to be matted to fit the theatre screen! Much like Kubrick, I honestly believe had Kubrick lived to see what widescreen anamorphic transfers can look on DVD, I doubt he would want his films on DVD in fullscreen! Remember I seriously doubt SHINING and EYES WIDE SHUT was presented 1:33 at the theatres.

I think I will wait until a widescreen edition is presented, isn't Anchor Bay released a 25th anniversary editoon that was widescreen? I think I'll stick with that, besides werent they limited editions and is now OOP?

Well, Romero's still kicking it today and hasn't touched NOTLD, not lately anyway. Seems to me he's happy with the existing version.

Well, this puppy played at a lot of small theaters and drive-ins that weren't too concerned with filling the screen up.

Not to get into the Kubrick debate all over again, but I'd have to agree with you there; if Sk was convinced that widescreen TVs would be the future, perhaps the DVDs would have been a lot different.



25th anniversary? I think you're confusing this film with Romero's later work.

I'm not going to speculate on hypotheticals about what GAR would want or wouldn't want. He's still alive and active. If he was displeased with Elite's presentation he would make his opinion known... just as he did about Anchor Bay's 30th Anniversary Edition.

Anchor Bay released a 2 disc 30th Anniversary Edition. It contains additional, recently shot footage specifically for the DVD release, and has a new soundtrack.

To each his own, but I can't see how a fan of this film would rather have a version with different background music and added footage that was shot 30 years after the rest of the film.... all because they have this perception that the Aspect Ratio is wrong.

True, the AB disc is OOP, but it has been OOP for nearly 2 years and they are still abundantly available. (THAT should say something about that version)

Yep... I just ordered this from Overstock.com. I actually just saw this film for the first time about a week ago. WOW, better than I would've ever thought. Thanks for the heads up!

I'm not going to search for the quote, but he was complaining not about the picture quality/resolution, but about the framing.

He couldn't get the picture to look right when he matted it -- important information was being cut off. The compositions didn't seem appropriate. Again, he said that he was basically a novice at this point and didn't know how to properly compose images. He thought the best solution was to just present the entire 1.33:1 image.

1.85:1 framing has the same dimensions on a laserdisc as it does on a DVD. If he disliked the matted image on LD, he's going to dislike it on DVD. People waiting for a widescreen release of this are waiting in vain.

www.northamericandvd.com has them for 16.50 right now... just an FYI.

I don't think this title is truly going OOP. If I remember correctly, this happened about a year ago. Turns out, the disc wasn't actually going OOP, it was just between pressings. After about a month of supposedly short supply, a new batch of the discs hit and everyone was able to get a copy. Still, it may truly be going OOP, and if you have interest in this title you can't go wrong by buying it, whether it's OOP or not.

If it was "just between pressings", why would Overstock have a quantity of them at a reduced price?

I'm with you, Peep! I have given it up and, like you, I now miss it.

It completely amazes me sometimes the extent that some people will go to in order to justify a non-OAR widescreen release. And that these are often the same people who will picket Blockbusters because they don't want P&S versions of films because they are not the directors intent.

Overstock no longer just sells closeouts, overstocks, etc. They carry a full catalog of titles now including new releases. And I don't think it's much of reduced since it can be found at other sites for around the same amount. I have my doubts as well about this dvd going out of print.

I know because I heard him say it with my own ears. This past January, I attended a screening of NOTLD at The American Museum of the Moving Image (on 35mm and at 1.37:1). Romero did a Q&A session on stage at the end of the screening, and someone questioned him about exactly this topic. Romero said that the film was composed for 1.37:1 and should only be shown at 1.37 (well, he actually said 1.33:1, but...). Romero also specifically shot Martin for the same AR and ensured that the (now OOP) Anchor Bay DVD had a correct transfer, and he discusses the issue on that disc's commentary track. No guesswork is needed. There's no need to invent fantasies about Romero secretly wanting an anamorphic widescreen transfer to justify your own desire to want films to be in widescreen. The proper (and beautiful) framing of NOTLD is not 1.85:1, no matter how hard you want to pretend it is.

At that event, btw, Romero signed my NOTLD ME DVD and both Romero and his wife Christine signed by Dawn of the Dead Director's Cut LD box. Since that time, both John Russo and Russ Streiner also signed by NOTLD ME DVD.

Quote:

This puppy played in the theatres, and those HAD to be matted to fit the theatre screen!

It didn't have to be matted. It is only in the modern age of cluelessly-run multiplexes that theatres often don't have 1.37:1 aperture plates. I'm sure many, if not all, theatres were able to properly exhibit NOTLD in 1968 so long as the distributor had a proper 1.37:1 framing leader on the reels.

Quote:

I think I will wait until a widescreen edition is presented

Scary.

DJ

Maybe I'm an idiot. But I just checked out overstock.com & I couldn't find this version of NOTLD anywhere. Are they out of stock or am I just retarted?

Yeah I just checked as well, and it is not there anymore. I'm glad I ordered mine last week

"Retarded". You are "retarded", not "retarted".

"Retarting" is a verb meaning "to provide more pastry", as in "the waiter is retarting the dessert cart".

Got mine today. I haven't seen the film in years, and this release is beautiful. I would love to see the false start, but I'm happy with the ME.

"They're coming to get you Barbara!"