Ramblings on tech details Re: New TSRTS cover

[TangerineMan <tangerineman@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks again, Steve!

Besides the cover design, there are a couple of other important  
pieces of information on that pre-order page that, if accurate, can  
help us assess how much of an "upgrade" this new release is going to  
be. And based on those two pieces of information, running time and  
aspect ratio, I'm not optimistic.

For anyone who was hoping that the inclusion of OTHaFA, Celebration  
Day, The Ocean and MMH meant that we would get the full concert, in  
correct running order, with the fantasy sequences removed, don't hold  
your breath. The running time of the reissue is listed on Amazon as  
being 138 minutes. The running time of the existing DVD release is  
137 minutes. I'm guessing the extra minute is due to the inclusion of  
extra credits for the reissue, e.g., Kevin Shirley's credit for  
remastering the sound, and some credits for whoever edited the  
footage of the above songs. In other words, it's the same-old, same- 
old "most expensive home movie ever made" (to use Peter Grant's  
description). And we'll have to watch Plant munching magic 'shrooms  
and dispatching nasty castle guards etc. etc. instead of seeing new  
onstage action.

We know from the press releases back in July that there are 40  
minutes of bonus material. THAT's where we'll see the extra songs,  
along with the Plant/Grant interview, bank robbery footage and the  
Cameron Crowe radio show.

Also, note that there is still no tracklisting for the DVD reissue.  
But it looks like we _are_ going to be getting OTHaFA and Celebration  
Day, two never-before-seen songs. (The Ocean and MMH will surely be  
identical to what's on "DVD".) Plus the audio on the DVD is  
remastered by Shirley, so at least the sound will be better,  
presumably, than what's been available previously.

The other disappointing thing is that it's going to be widescreen,  
not fullscreen. As I've written at length in at least one post, a few  
years back, the widescreen releases of TSRtS do not give you the  
biggest picture. I'm not going to go into the detail I did in those  
posts, but it boils down to this: The film was originally shot in 4:3  
and cropped when shown in theaters. The existing DVD reproduces that  
cropping, and so will the reissue. The _laserdisc_ and original VHS  
(I think) home video releases of the film are the only ones that  
reproduce that format and give you more picture on the top and  
bottom. 'Course, more and more people have 16:9 flatscreen TVs these  
days, and want that screen to be filled, without black bars on the  
sides, so I can understand why they went with the widescreen format.

Here's another thought, though. There are HD-DVD and Blu-Ray releases  
as well. So that almost surely means the video has been newly  
digitized, in higher resolution, from a (hopefully) pristine 35mm  
print. And that _may_ in turn mean better video quality/less  
artifacting on the plain-old DVD reissue.

Btw, the "collector's" version of the DVD also has a page on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Song-Remains-Same-Led-Zeppelin/dp/B000UR9TQO/ 
ref=pd_bxgy_d_img_b/103-0479828-0285459?ie=UTF8&qid=1188093453&sr=8-4

Box and cover design look quite nice!

AND... on that page there is a review from someone who is very  
probably Kevin Shirley himself (screen name "Deven Wayman" aka  
"Caveman"), complaining that the press releases are misleading:

"Note: this movie is not just remastered, or even remixed! The audio  
has been entirely revisited, and the performances are stellar with  
the images now. For whatever reason, Warners just say remastered when  
they don't have a clue. like the Page/Plant Unledded DVD and CD, the  
audio is brand new. And it's fantastic! KS"

> I see Amazon is now taking pre-orders for the new
> TSRTS DVD. The cover looks to be based on the original
> movie poster.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/2xd2pc