1776 on Blu-ray 6/2!

[Gorlois]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 7:57am

"Sony PicturesSony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially announced the Blu-ray release of Peter H. Hunt 's 1776. Based on the international stage triumph that won the Tony Award® and The New York Drama Critics Circle Award as "Best Musical of the Year," the musical classic is presented with a Director's Cut meticulously restored in 4K from the original camera negative, under the guidance of Hunt and Sony Pictures Entertainment Executive Vice President of Asset Management, Film Restoration and Digital Mastering Grover Crisp. 1776 makes its Blu-ray debut on June 2nd.

Synopsis: Based on the international stage triumph that won the Tony Award® and The New York Drama Critics Circle Award as "Best Musical of the Year," 1776 is a musical celebration of the founding of the United States of America based on the award-winning Broadway production. The story centers around the familiar historical characters as they organize a movement for independence from Mother England: the tough unyielding John Adams (William Daniels); the charming and pragmatic Benjamin Franklin (Howard Da Silva); the brilliant young Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard), who is chosen to write the Declaration of Independence even as he longs for the company of his new bride Martha (Blythe Danner); and the rest of the Continental Congress. All events lead up to that most significant date July 4, 1776 when the Declaration was signed. Now fully restored for its high definition debut on Blu-ray, 1776 looks and sounds better than ever.

The film was nominated for both an Academy Award (Best Cinematography, Harry Stradling Jr., 1972) and a Golden Globe (Best Motion Picture-Musical/Comedy, 1972). Brought to the screen by legendary producer Jack L. Warner, 1776 was shot with most of the original Broadway cast, and features William Daniels as John Adams, Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin, Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson and Blythe Danner as Martha Jefferson. "The movie is not a 'whodunit'—we all know who signed the Declaration of Independence—it's a 'howdunit,'" Hunt said. "It creates dramatic tension from a story where everyone knows the ending."

The new Director's Cut restores the film to its original visual brilliance and features newly discovered material. In addition to the Director's Cut, the Blu-ray also presents an Extended Cut of the film via seamless branching, along with a newly restored and remixed 5.1 soundtrack. "We worked tirelessly to return this film to as pristine a condition as possible and are excited to bring the newly restored version of 1776 to audiences worldwide," Crisp said of the restoration, which will have its world premiere screening March 28 at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

The restored Director's Cut is based, in part, on an earlier restoration carried out for a 2002 DVD release. That version, also prepared with Hunt's oversight, added a number of scenes and lost elements that were missing from the original theatrical release. Among them was a musical number that had been dropped from the film by Warner at the request of President Richard Nixon (who felt the scene cast conservatives in an unfavorable light). Further detective work for the new version uncovered additional "lost" material, including dialogue that had been changed over ratings concerns. "There were a few lines that Jack Warner wanted changed… but the changes weren't funny," Hunt said. "The original lines from Broadway were funny, and now, for the first time, they are in the movie."

State-of-the-art 4K digital technology made it possible to address problems and restore color fidelity to a level not possible at the time of the earlier restoration, which was done through photochemical processes. Variations in color, due to different levels of degradation in negative elements, have been eliminated as much as possible, resulting in a seamless look. "When a scene comes up that had been cut out or compromised in some way, it looks like it is supposed to be there because we could maintain consistency with the image and keep its natural filmic quality," Crisp explained.

Colorworks Colorist Sheri Eisenberg said that much time was spent studying existing film prints and other reference material in order to ensure the restoration accurately represented the movie in its original form. "We did a lot of eyeballing," Eisenberg said. "We kept asking ourselves, 'Does it feel right?' 'What can we do to make it better?' We wanted to keep the theatrical feeling of the original." Hunt said that, in some ways, the results go beyond the original. "I'm ecstatic," he said. "1776 is back to where it should be. The work done by Grover and his team is miraculous. It looks better than when it premiered. It's gorgeous!"

Exclusive Blu-ray special features include:
All-new commentary with director Peter H. Hunt, William Daniels & Ken Howard
Extended Cut of the film
Deleted and alternate scenes with Filmmaker Commentary
Four never-before-seen Screen Tests
Original Theatrical Teaser & Trailer
Also featured:
Commentary with Peter H. Hunt & Peter Stone
Archival Screen Tests"

It's annual Fourth of July airing on TCM is a tradition for me, and I've held back on purchasing the DVD since I'd heard rumbles of a potential Blu-Ray release. Very excited to pick this up to see the new bits and the restoration!

Source: Blu-Ray.com

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 11:00am

I'm really curious about this! The last version I had seen included the deleted scenes, but they were in rough shape and the transition was so awkward, it didn't really work to incorporate them back into the film in their current state.

[DAME]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 2:32pm

I hate this show and detest the movie. But somehow I still must have it. I will put it in the shelf right next to Can't Stop The Music.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 5:01pm

I hate this show and detest the movie. But somehow I still must have it. I will put it in the shelf right next to Can't Stop The Music.

DAME that is fvcking hilarious, but I totally get it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 9:11am

It's been a busy week, so I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but I put on the first 45 min. last night (had to tear myself away for bedtime).

The image and sound are fantastic. Only quibble, sometimes the ensemble singing seems to be only in the outer discrete channels, which makes it seem a little timid or muffled. Main vocals are always front and center, and the orchestrations sound incredible.

I put on the Extended Cut, rather than the Director's Cut (which is already on the DVD), because I wanted to see if they had restored some of the things I sorely missed from the Pioneer Laser Disc, which has the complete shot footage, essentially replicated everything (and I do mean everything) from the Broadway show.

Sure enough, the second verse and chorus of Piddle, Twiddle was there, and I love it! I like this version much better than the Director's Cut. There is a brief exchange between Dr. Hall and Cesar Rodney (about his cancer) on the outer steps of Independence Hall which was also on the LD, and it's in this cut, too.

And the best part is that this added footage isn't from a sepia-toned work print, like it was on the LD. It's in full color, either from the negative or from a print that's in good shape. You can sometimes see a softness to the image, other times not. There is also a tiny jump in the shot where the second verse of Piddle Twiddle begins, probably because it came from a different take (?). It's minor, though. And I understand they used "seamless branching," like they did with Close Encounters, when they authored this Blu-ray Disc to keep the two edits (Director's and Extended) on the same disc. It works beautifully.

Can't wait to watch the rest, but so far, this new Blu-ray Disc gets an A+ from me. If you're on the fence about upgrading or buying it, don't be. Well worth it. And it's on sale for about $13 now at Amazon. :)

Updated On: 6/5/15 at 09:11 AM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:10pm

Thanks for the report, best!  Mine came the other day and I'm probably going to watch it this weekend. 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:13pm

Besty, how does seamless branching work?

[DAME]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:06pm

Bestie...  my sound system is sounding like crap.  Curious as to what you have and what you recommend.   My Bose speakers are 17 years old and my Onkyo 5.1 receiver is only about 5 years old.  Will be keeping the receiver.  I think I blew out something in the speakers. Not doing Bose again. 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 4:19pm

B!tch stop being such a tight-wad and get yourself some new speakers. What are you Jewish?

[DAME]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 4:50pm

Bitch I am!    And my wad hasn't been tight in years.  

 

I would ask you what speakers you have..but I am sure they are some oversized ghetto thing.   

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 5:05pm

"Bitch I am!    And my wad hasn't been tight in years.  
 
I would ask you what speakers you have..but I am sure they are some oversized ghetto thing.   "

OH. NO. YOU. DI'NT!!!

 

Updated On: 6/5/15 at 05:05 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 5:25pm

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 5:50pm

I have what you have, except mine aren't so old, Dame.

*rimshot

 

I have Bose speakers, which I love, and an Onkyo receiver, which I also love. Everything sounds hunkydory to me!

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 5:53pm

These are my speakers and this is my receiver.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 5:55pm

Is that your giant white box I see down yonder DAME? LOL!

[DAME]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 6:01pm

YUP.   

 

That is what I have as well.  My Onkyo is the htrc160.  But it is the same thing.  And those are my Bose speakers as well.  Just a lot older.  My problem with them has always been that you can't really adjust the sound with the receiver because of the Bose all inclosed module.  Did your receiver come with the little mike thing to set up levels?  Whenever I use it it sets my center speaker to very low and I can't hear anything.

 

 

@Carlos   Pay attention.  This is how adults talk.  

Updated On: 6/5/15 at 06:01 PM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 7:28pm

@ DAME: oh now I see the pic! LoL I love it....totally stealing it! xo

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 7:05am

Dame, I didn't use the little mic to set levels. I just used the Onkyo system sound check that emits white noise from each of the speakers in a rotating cycle until you're satisfied with the mix. I let me ears tell me when it was balanced. And to be honest, I didn't mess with it much at all. I left the factory level settings pretty much alone. They worked great for my basement "movie room" setup.

We watch a lot of movies with heavy mixes (sci-fi, blow-the-world-up stuff, musicals, etc.) and I have never been disappointed with the Bose/Onkyo combination.

But 17 year old speakers? Dude. Did they come with a sound horn like a victrola? lol

Carlos, sorry I missed your question before. Seamless branching allows for Blu-ray playback to jump from one segment of decoded audio/video to another without any pause or "seam" in the playback. DVDs tried this, but there was always a break in the playback, so it wasn't very effective or successful. But Blu-ray playback caches some of the data in the player while it's jumping to the next segment, so there is no pause between segments. It allows for extra footage to be inserted into a scene, then return to the same spot (called "branching") without disruption. It's very cool. Close Encounters was able to put three different edits of the film on the same disc. Beauty and the Beast (Disney) put two edits. I believe they have to use a separate audio stream, though, since often the music or effects can't be branched. Sometimes it's scored differently as the footage jumps. For that reason, you may notice that (in the case of 1776) the Director's Commentary track is only available for the Director's Cut and not the Extended Cut, because it's accompanying a different soundtrack.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 10:47am

Thank you besty for that explanation. So the foundation basically are all the scenes that both versions of the film share in common and then depending on what version you chose to view it "branches out" and inserts the scenes that correspond to that version.

Updated On: 6/6/15 at 10:47 AM

[DAME]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 2:27pm

@Bestie. They have been awesome speakers.  Part of my problem started happening when I replaced carpeting with hardwood floors. I was never able to adjust them to my satisfaction.  And then I went into all the setups with the receiver and they didn't help.  So I went online and read a bunch of the AV forums and they were all very negative towards Bose.  I'm going to check out Bose new lineup in the upcoming weeks.  And I think I'm also going to take the receiver in for a tune up.  My mike thing sounds the same as yours.  It emits white noise from the speakers.  I should say I also use my speakers for music.  

 

 

 

@ Carlos.   a little off topic.. But I just bought my Ricky Martin tickets for his new tour.  You going?

 

 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 5:14pm

Yes I am DAME!

[DAME]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 5:24pm

Did you watch him the other night on  Fallon?  He was on with Chita Rivera.  But not together.. Which is a shame.

Updated On: 6/6/15 at 05:24 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 7:09pm

Dame, if you're getting any kind of echo off the wood floors, that's going to cause the sound to be more muddy, less crisp or defined. That could be a big part of it, regardless of the brand of speakers.

My basement media room is carpeted (first and second floors are hardwood). So I don't have that issue, but I bet I would if I did hardwoods in the basement.

[DAME]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 7:30pm

Hopefully a new rug will help.  My friend has a similar set up on hardwood floors.  And his sound is amazing.  His speakers are also ancient and built into the walls so he can't tell me what they are.  His receiver is also Onkyo.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 8:48pm

@ DAME: No I did not get to see that. It's a shame he and Chita were not on together. I am sure they met and talked back stage.