The Master - Opening Credits

In 1984 LVC had a weekly action series on NBC, called "The Master", where he played a (you guessed it), Ninja Master.  The series was canceled after 13 episodes, and was later released as Master Ninja on VHS.



Below is the intro to the show!

 

Return of Sabata - German Lobby Cards

Here are some German lobby cards from The Return of Sabata.

Click 'em to make 'em bigger!

LVC Fan Art

Here is a great piece of original art that was drawn by one of the blog readers; Gustavo, who emailed this to me.  Looks great!

Click to enlarge!

Candid Photos at Cameraphoto Epoche Archive

Available to purchase without watermark-

http://www.starsinvenice.com/photo.php?id_categoria=1&id_soggetto=165&id_foto=1002&rew=N

eBay Watch - Eddie Vedder LVC Poster

From time to time I will post interesting items that I see on eBay that would be of interest to a LVC fan. These are not endorsements of the sellers, just merely my observations of interesting or rare items.


Primus does not appear to have the monopoly on LVC concert posters!

EDDIE VEDDER

Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
November 13th 2012
Houston, Texas

5 color silkscreen poster on heavy 250gsm paper stock printed with metallic inks.
s/n edition of 200
12 x 36 inches

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eddie-Vedder-Poster-Houston-2012-s-n-Rhys-Cooper-Lee-Van-Cleef-Pearl-Jam-/251213150550?pt=Art_Posters&hash=item3a7d787956

 

 

Magnificent Seven Ride! - Poster Gallery

Click to enlarge!

 

 

Blu-ray Compare - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This one is for all you movie perfectionists out there!  Blu-ray is a relatively new technology (about 5 years old now), which allows us enjoy films in glorious high definition (HD)

As of right now, GBU is available from 2 different prints/studios on blu-ray; MGM and Mondo.  The MGM print is the one you will find in most countries (even if not on the MGM label).  The Mondo version is exclusive to Italy.  Both prints feature the extended version of the movie.

One of the main complaints with the MGM version is the quality of the transfer, specifically the digital noise reduction (DNR), the studio used.  DNR is a process in which film grain is reduced or eliminated to give a film a smoother look on video.  When overly processed it caused the image to look overly smooth, or "waxy", resulting in fine details to be lost.  Kinda defeats the purpose of HD if you ask me!

I'll be upfront right now, and say I prefer the transfer on the Mondo version.  It is a night and day difference over MGM, especially when projected on a large screen.  Watching it was a revalation, and when I popped the MGM disc into my player, I was disgusted with the quality.  What a mess.

Below is a blow up to show the quality difference.  MGM is on the left, Mondo on the right.

Below are some additional screen grabs.  MGM left, Mondo right.  There is a difference in the color timing between the two transfers.

Finally it appears the MGM version has tighter framing resulting in loss of about 8% of the image. 

Studio: MGM
Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 2

Amazon.com link
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging)

THE GOOD:
Multiple languages (including English)
Many extras (commentary, documentary, trailer, etc...)
Easy to find and affordably priced


THE BAD:
DNR creates a soft image
Framing issues - there is a loss of total image as film is slightly cropped


THE UGLY:
No LVC on the cover!

Studio: Mondo Home 

Language: Italian ONLY

Subtitles: Italian

Region: Region B/2

Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com link
Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo

THE GOOD:
Improved image quality over MGM
Better framing than MGM


THE BAD:
Italian language only!
Costs twice that of the MGM
No extras


THE UGLY:
What is Col. Mortimer doing on the cover?

To sum up I think the MGM version is fine for the casual fan, but for the a LVC superfan or video snob, the Mondo copy is the way to go!

El Condor Trailer



Escape From New York - Black and White Press Photos

Here are some behing the scenes photos from 1981 classic, Escape from New York

Click 'em to make 'em bigger!

Happy New Year!

Wishing all LVC fans a Happy New Year!  Regular blog post will begin tomorrow, at a slightly reduced rate of two per week. 

Happy 2013!