ValentineXavier
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Posts posted by ValentineXavier
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> {quote:title=willbefree25 wrote:}{quote}VX, thankfully I never saw this mess, but it sounds like Casino Royale, which was an embarrassment to all involved.
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> The 1960s. It was a good time, and it was a bizarro time. Mostly because those trying to make money polluted the intent of the 1960s.
Well, I like *Head* a lot, and the original *Casino Royale*, with David Niven, Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, and many other great stars, is also a favorite of mine. I don't think it is an embarrassment to anyone, unless they drug a friend to the theater expecting a James Bond film.
Both may be relics of the 60s, but both are a lot of fun. Obviously, the vast majority of movies are made with the intent of being profitable. But, I don't think that Bob Rafelson, Jack Nicholson and the Monkees had profit uppermost in mind, when devising the content/script of *Head*. I think they were trying to make an amusing piece of art, and I think they succeeded.
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I think we have different interpretations of this sentence:
>Long gone are the days where we can choose between cable services or even the decision to have cable or not!
I take the "decision to have cable or not" to be based on affordability, not availability of (or lack of) OTA channels. One can quibble about options, because many can get satellite, UVerse, FIOS, or something. But, they all cost $, and most, if not all, go up regularly.
Will we lose OTA transmissions, and if so, how soon? No one knows. It's all big money, and politics. But, the percentage of people who use OTA keeps declining. So, sooner, or later. I hope for later, even though I don't use OTA.
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I've also heard "postage stamped." "Pictureboxed" is just the term I have heard used the most for it. I assume that's because the film is in a sort of picture frame.
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*The Green Slime* is actually a great film, you just need the right perspective. Listening to Frank Zappa sing I Am the Slime From Your Video before watching it will help. But, the most important thing, is to realize that the green slime is really a metaphor for a brain on LSD.
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> {quote:title=darkblue wrote:}{quote}
> > {font:Calibri}or even the decision to have cable or not! {font}
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> Has over-the-air broadcasting (VHF and UHF) been terminated?
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Not yet, but soon, it is currently up for discussion. Megacorps would like to sell that bandwidth, and rake in the $. But, the current digital ATSC OTA broadcasts don't carry TCM, so that is hardly pertinent to the OP's plaint.
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> {quote:title=Sprocket_Man wrote:}{quote}I have never experienced any of these problems with TCMHD on my Samsung set. I always get the proper ratio.
Then you just haven't been watching on one of the few films where they have screwed up. However, the proper ratio isn't necessarily the problem when they mess up. If they show a WS film in LB on the HD channel, the ratio is fine, but it is picture-boxed, with black bars on all four sides.
The other occasional problem is when they think a 4x3 film should be LB, but it isn't, and they zoom it on the HD broadcast, cutting off the top and bottom of the film. If you see a film made before 1953 listed as LB in the TCM schedule, check it out on the HD channel, and it will probably be cropped, top and bottom, and fill the 16x9 screen. Thankfully, these problems are rare.
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I've found on the IMDb that many don't know the meaning of "Head," in the context of this movie. So, for the benefit of younger posters on this forum, I'd like to point out that "head" is meant in context with "acid head," or "pot head."
I know that at the time, a lot of people thought they were just trying to show how hip they were, by making the film, and naming it "Head." Personally, I liked the film a lot, for various and many reasons, including Zappa's appearance. I also liked their show. In the last season, they often ended with a great musician of the era, playing a song. I think that's the first time I saw Tim Buckley.
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And *Time Bandits*, and *The French Lieutenant's Woman*, and many more. Glad you didn't list *Titanic*
TCM is giving us *Morgan*, a classic from the 60s. Watch for a scene in the end, where Morgan is tending a flower garden. They use a simple cinematographic trick to make the scene very powerful.
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Well, you better hurry, because they have just become extinct. Wallmart got their last shipment of Magnavox DVDRs with HDD, and they are sold out, unless they turn up a few more somewhere. J&R will have open-box returns sporadically, for a while, at a discount. But, the prices are already climbing, since they are getting scarce. Good luck!
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I haven't read the book, but in the movie, I don't think there is anything to indicate that there was more than one monolith, just one monolith relocating. That's the way I took it.
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> {quote:title=PhygLeGuy wrote:}{quote}
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> Regarding *Kwaidan*, when TCM showed it on 10/29/07 it lasted 161 minutes in a 180 minute slot. It was letterboxed with English subtitles occupying the lower black bar, giving the viewer interesting choices to make when viewing on a widescreen monitor.
I did a bit more research, and apparently the full length version of *Kwaidan* is only available as a region 2 DVD. Even the Criterion release is 161m. I know I've seen the three hour version, probably at the Japanese Film Series I've been attending for years.
I guess TCM's uprezzing equip. won't let them zoom, and scan up, so that they could have shown the film filling the screen side-to-side on TCMHD, and still show the titles below. Too bad. It would have been better to watch that one on TCM SD, so you could do it yourself.
A reminder about *The Illustrated Man*, on at 4:30am - TCM doesn't list it as letterboxed, but its OAR is 2.35:1. If you can, record it both from the HD and SD channels, to be safe. It's well worth watching. I haven't seen it in years.
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Ernest Tubb is great, but Bob Wills is God. If only TCM would run a few films with him in them.
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An important question is how far will you be sitting from the screen? Will it be on a desk you sit at, or in a room, and you'll be in a chair, (or on a couch)? The best deals I see on good TVs are 60-63" Mitsubishi DLP TVs for $6-700. That's what I would buy, were I to buy a new TV today. But, if you're going to watch while sitting on a desk, a 32" TV would be fine.
New HDTVs will have both ATSC tuners, and QAM tuners. An ATSC tuner will tune all digital broadcasts your antenna receives. A QAM tuner will tune in all unscrambled channels on a Cable TV coax feed. These days, that is probably 15-20 channels, mostly local.
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That's my favorite Preston Sturges film. I wish TCM would run it again.
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If you are using the output of your DVDR to watch what comes over your Cox box, that would account for your picture-boxed films. You would have to have either HDMI, or component, running from your box, to your TV, to get a true HD picture, and get a full picture from a HD source. Hope the tech makes things work for you.
I have two Pioneer DVDRs, with HDDs, and do lots of recording. It is sad that no new DVDRs with HDD, nor Blu-Ray DVDRs are being produced for the US market.
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> {quote:title=TomJH wrote:}{quote}I noticed that WGL was the only person, apart from myself, to include *THE BREAKING POINT* as one of their favourite Garfield films. I have to wonder if the reason for this is because most of you have never seen the film. Even Lori didn't list it.
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I've seen it at least a couple of times. I like it, it's a good film. But, it's not in my top four. Probably in my top eight, so in boxed set #2, for me.
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Kyle, thanks for the barn dance history lesson. I had already planned to record it, if only for the music.
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This topic has been discussed in other threads. I didn't see those two films. I did record *Kwaidan*, and it was letterboxed on the HD channel. But, I believe that was because the subtitles were below the film, and might have been lost, if zoomed.
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I can't name a film, but I bet I've heard it in at least a dozen.
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I have several component>S-Video converters. I use them between my Comcast DVRs and my DVD recorders, for making anamorphic DVDs. They aren't specifically designed to strip copy protection, but they do. If you can get a component video output from your Netflix streaming, you should be able to use one of these converters, to record to a DVD recorder, or to a computer, with a S-Video input. No special computer program is required. Below is a link to what is probably the cheapest model currently available. It is back ordered.
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Musikone, you should be seeing on your TV what Filmlover posted. The fact that you aren't, indicates to me that your cable box is set to output to a 4x3 TV, not a 16x9 TV. This adjustment is usually in the service menu, and should have been set up properly by the installer.
I have a 56" Samsung. It has several Zoom modes. As Clore mentioned, "Zoom 1" is used to make a LB SD picture fill the screen. However, that Zoom function is not available when viewing from a HDMI input, or a progressive scan source over the component input. Zoom will only work from the SD inputs, or a 480i source over component.
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Nope, it was androids. And, they got their orders from the flashing lights, which were in code. The punks were the pod people.
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Here's my latest listing, copied from the TCM monthly schedule, with additional info following the >. "NA" stands for not available, meaning Amazon doesn't list a US NTSC version DVD. Times EST.
Don't miss *Kwaidan*, which is almost always shown in the 183m version these days. This may throw off later TCM programming.
Also, don't miss *Morgan*, it is rarely shown, a popular film when it came out.
1 Thursday
2:45 PM
*Kwaidan* (1964)
Four stories mix love and the supernatural in exotic settings.
Dir: Masaki Kobayashi Cast: Rentaro Mikuni , Michiyo Aratama , Misako Watanabe .
C-161 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format >183m 2.35:1
12:15 AM
*Rock Around the Clock* (1956)
A music promoter decides to get into the new world of rock music.
Dir: Fred F. Sears Cast: Bill Haley and His Comets , The Platters , Ernie Freeman Combo .
BW-77 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format >1.85:1
5 Monday
2:15 AM
*Sans Soleil* (1983)
A woman shares her thoughts as the camera traces her travels and memories.
Dir: Chris Marker Cast: Florence Delay , Alexandra Stewart , Kazuko Kawakita .
C-100 mins, TV-MA, >1.66:1
4:00 AM
*Jetee, La* (1962)
A man's return to the past to stop a war could cost him his existence.
Dir: Chris Marker
BW-28 mins, TV-PG, >1.66:1
4:30 AM
*Illustrated Man, The* (1969)
A man's tattoos tell frightening tales of the future.
Dir: Jack Smight Cast: Rod Steiger , Claire Bloom , Robert Drivas .
C-103 mins, TV-14, >2.35:1
6 Tuesday
2:00 AM
*Morgan* (1966)
Dir: Karel Reisz Cast: Vanessa Redgrave , David Warner , Robert Stephens .
BW-97 mins, >1.66:1
3:45 AM
*Victim* (1961)
A closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.
Dir: Basil Dearden Cast: Dirk Bogarde , Sylvia Syms , Dennis Price .
BW-100 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format >1.66:1
7 Wednesday
6:00 AM
*Untamed Youth* (1957)
When they're put in a small-town jail, two sisters fight to expose prison corruption.
Dir: Howard W. Koch Cast: Mamie Van Doren , Lori Nelson , John Russell .
BW-80 mins, TV-PG, >NA 1.66:1
9:00 AM
*Death in Small Doses* (1957)
A government agent tries to stop the illegal use of amphetamines by truck drivers.
Dir: Joseph Newman Cast: Peter Graves , Mala Powers , Chuck Connors .
BW-78 mins, TV-14, > NA 1.85:1
4:00 PM
*Angel Baby* (1961)
Married promoters try to turn a faith healer into a gold mine.
Dir: Paul Wendkos Cast: Salome Jens , George Hamilton , Mercedes McCambridge .
BW-97 mins, TV-PG, >1.78:1 (DVD)
6:00 PM
*Having A Wild Weekend* (1965)
Advertising executives turn a model's romance with a stunt man into a publicity stunt.
Dir: John Boorman Cast: Dave Clark , Barbara Ferris , Lenny Davidson .
BW-91 mins, TV-PG, >1.33:1 (DVD)
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> {quote:title=Arturo wrote:}{quote}Ditto Foxyman.
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> *It was THE PEOPLE who made Disco music so popular.*
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> Sepiatone is treading on thin ice here.
Thin ice, indeed. It was alien androids that made disco popular, not "THE PEOPLE."
Dynasties
in General Discussions
Posted
Well, there's Jon Voight, and Angelina. But, that's just two generations, so if it takes three to make a dynasty, I guess we'll have to wait and see.