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The Definitive Ealing Studios Collection
RRP: £120.99
Our Price: £44.98 (subject to change)
But where are the rest ?
Review date: 2007-11-01 Rating: 6 out of 10
Ealing made around a 100 films but the same 20 or so get continually trotted out in various repackaged box sets. As good as these films are what we want to see are all the other Ealing films on DVD , even if they are only limited runs. There are enough Ealing film fans Worldwide to justify their issue so what`s the problem ?
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Reviews
Ealing box set
Review date: 2007-06-23 Rating: 2 out of 10
Very poor movies apart from Kind Hearts and Coronets, Laykillers and Man in White Suit. Was hoping for some undiscovered gems, but was sadly disappointed. Nice to see footage of Britain before cars, but otherwise a let down. Not wide-screen format, rather 4:3. Vastly overpriced. When it gets down to £20, maybe.
Not a review,just a query about content
Review date: 2007-02-24 Rating: 8 out of 10
I am writing this as a review since it doesn't seem possible to write this as a product update. This is listed as 16 discs or 16 movies. But you have listed only 15. Please check the package carefully. I have a feeling that you have not listed "Hue and Cry".
Great Collection - Poor Presentation
Review date: 2007-01-31 Rating: 6 out of 10
Most film lovers are aware of the legacy Ealing Studios left to the nation and indeed the film world - and here is a small snapshot of some of their more famous films from over 100 in their history. The comedies are naturally the ones that are more instantly recognisable and enough has been said elsewhere about their lasting memory of class, quality and humour. Ealings output tho covered many other genres and it was a rare year that there wasn't a classic film made out of Ealing Studios that has stood the test of time today.
Unfortunately - as much as I would love to fully recommend this collection I must warn would be purchasers that for the most part the films are shoddily presented by Canal/Optimum and have been given little or no remastering or restoration.
Most of the transfers were done in the 80's and early 90's onto old 1" C format open reel tapes and used to duplicate onto the original VHS releases for Warner Home Video. These were done using pretty much the first print that came to hand - often an original (i.e. from the 40's/50's) In those days before HD, plasma, LCD, and indeed the infancy of surround "Dolby Digital" sound the transfers were adequate and served their purpose.
Many of the comedies 1" masters suffered heavy "rotation" at the duplication factory. It was general practice to review and to often commission a new transfer once the masters went above 50 rotations (each rotation meant loss of oxide on the tape and a weaker signal:noise ratio). However for most old films it was never considered value for money to strike a new duplication master.
When DVD came about it was decided again not to strike new masters for most of the films but to simply re-record the 1" onto Digibeta with no intermediary remastering. Sadly these releases are still using those old old transfers with all the inherent problems of the original film plain to see and hear. (the sound is probably the worst thing about all these releases)
What makes this particularly sad is that many of the films had brand new prints struck from the original negatives in the early 90's for a season at the Barbican. New transfers from these prints would have elicited a superb presentation.
wonderful films - awful discs. shame.
Product Details/Specifications
Artist(s):
Definitive Ealing Collection
Recording label: Optimum Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Optimum Home Entertainment
EAN: 5060034576549
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 16
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-10-16
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 1420 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)