King Kong: Special Edition #2 (1933) [CC102L]

this has 2 discs inside of a Silver box with a lid, tray style.
so the top of the lid lifts off of the bottom box. the box set is about 1/2 inch larger than regular box sets.

great CAV set, second release from Criterion.
film has cue markers in the corners, audio has some background hiss, i was able to turn on or off the CX.
first issue with Analog audio only, L1 has film and R2 has commentary.

i didn't take the time to read the box but i sort of remember from the past what i read is:
the sorce is from 16mm and 35mm, you can see some picture quality and audio difference.

overall you can tell the film has some issues, like scratches or repairs, some scenes are not as clear
and i believe these are from the 16mm prints.
nice to have in the collection since it was an early release from Criterion.

second edition set from Criterion is King Kong: Special Edition #2 # (1933) [CC102]
this silver box set has the 2 discs in sleeves inside of a sleeve that holds both discs.
the size is the same as regular box sets but they are in an outer sleeve.

for both of these releases that i own the picture quality is the same, only difference is the outer package.

i will try to post pictures in a day or two.

Very cool. One of my favorite movies of all time. They also did a fantastic job on the restoration for the special edition DVD that comes in a tin (I own it). The Blu-Ray I hear is also very good with even more scratch removal and repair work done.

Its a shame that King Kong was made long before film preservation, but even if the orignal negative was alive today, it would have been in horrible shape.

Including Que Dots as well.

i had at one time the double set KK/son of kong, but i sold that to have the box.
it's always nice to own stuff that was once 100 bucks.

I seen that double set going cheap on eBay.

You mean Reel Change Marks.

yes.

Well everyone has different way of saying it that still means the same thing.

A and B projector switch over. Once projector A has finished reel 1 and projector B started-up playing Reel 2, reel 3 has to be set-*up on projector A and so on... I never had to do a reel change-over at any of the cinemas I worked at as it was all auto-rewind cake platters which made it easier.

yes also, it was acuozzo who said cue markers, i did a search and found that is what was listed on one site.
but i'm sure it's one of those things that will have many names.

I always wanted the special edition with the silver box. The bastardized (for some) colorized version is only available on LD I think. I have the blu ray and the sound really changes things.

I think the colourized version is also available on VHS and maybe even on a very rare out-of-print DVD as well as I remember hearing about it once.

The colorization was certainly a experiment, but it was a sloppy primitive one that failured and has not held up. With the vastly superior technology today compared to the early 90's, a modern day remastered colorization would look significantly better but it still shouldn't ever be made. The film was created in black & white and that's the way it should stay.

i'll have to post pictures, but i feel that the second silver box is much better.
its thinner but each disc is in a sleeve with graphics that are really cool.

as for colorized films, i though it was the mid 80s??
i remember king kong, it's a wonderful life and a few others at the time.
they were always showing them on TV when they first did it.

funny how that was EVIL but now making older films into 3D is fine

Yes I think you are right it was the mid 80's, my mistake.

I'm pretty sure there is no colorized dvd version. Of course someone may prove me wrong.

For me, because of the audio, it was worth it to get the blu ray. The accompanying booklet was a nice touch to the package as well.

No the colorized version is available on DVD as I said, but it does use the Laserdisc master and its not exactly as rare as I thought since it can be found here for $10 - http://marketplaceadvisor.channeladvisor.com/StoreFrontProfiles/DeluxeSFItemDetail.aspx?sfid=20530&c=460206&i=15655930

The "all region" dvd you linked is a bootleg. There was never a region 1 colorized version. Its turn out your right in that there was a colorized dvd version but it belonged to a box set that is region 2 only. A bit on the rare side if you can't even find it on ebay, hence my uncertainty. Others have had the same conversation as you and I. Follow the link in the thread. http://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/for ... ic=16777.0

Interesting, thanks for the correction, didn't realise the individual DVD I linked to was just a bootleg version.

I wonder if the actual DVD colorized version included in the region 2 boxset is of higher picture quality then the Laserdisc version which compared to the crummy VHS version would be the best available print out there...

I wondered the same thing about the region 2 disc. They could have used the laserdisc as a source but cleaned it up somewhat because it was officially distributed. Somehow though I doubt it. I've seen "official" releases get some crappy treatment.

After corresponding with Dracs, the owner/operator didn't even no there was ever an official release. It shows how obscure it is. I might look into getting it just for curiosity (if I can find it available even in the UK).

A bit off the King Kong topic, but speaking of bootleg releases, my desire is for one if the bootleg LaserDisc's of Jurassic Park, Sleeping Beauty, or Dick Tracy - all of which were made by the Chineese Technicolor plant. When those bootleg discs first surfaced Pioneer sent notices to dealers and the press hysterically telling them to let customers know that the fact that the discs were bootleg meant that the plastic they were made from was super brittle and would come flying apart in the player, destroying the player or possibly injuring a user (yes, they really claimed that).

From what I've heard from those who own one of the bootleg LaserDisc's is that, except for the awful video/sound quality, the disc pressings themselves are excellent and are no different than an official release. And look at how bad the video quality was of so many Officially licensed VCD titles from china or Taiwan - the VCD format is very limited in video quality, but the transfers used and mistakes made with them are worse that almost any bootleg I've ever seen. Heck, the bootleg DVD of Star Wars Ep1 is a nice pressed disc with excellent 5.1 channel sound and a good MPEG encode with WAY less EE than the official release.

But beware of bootleg disc titles - they'll give you Ebola or HIV or make your TV melt as they shatter and send plastic shards slicing into your face.

There are a whole bunch of companies out there (even putting bootlegs aside) that are churning out tape to dvd pieces of junk. They stick a dolby digital symbol on a revised jacket artwork cover and make it "official". A company called Legacy is shamefully famous for these acts.

If you going to put out a cold pressed dvd, clean the film up and put it out right. The original purpose of dvd was to enhance the quality of viewing films. Over the years this has degraded into making a buck on lesser known titles that look like sh*t. Even recently I picked up "The Doors- Soundstage Performances" on dvd and you would swear you were watching a vhs tape. All the hiss, jumping, wow and flutter of a tape makes it onto the dvd (and this is not entirely from the original source material). Eaglevision put that dvd out with no regard for quality. Just put a tight cellophane wrapper over a creative cover and, walah, an "official release". Total BS.