"Tony Palmer's Film of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels" DVD

Check out THIS site!
With an interesting 'explaination' from Palmer:

http://www.frankzappa200motelsdvd.com/


What do you think?

 

Is this a legitimate DVD release? Is it "all region" or only for European market? Is a USA edition in the works?

I recently sold my VHS copy (1988 MGM/UA Home Video edition) of this movie, so I'm interested in getting it on DVD (though Blu Ray would be even better . . . ).

Craig.

 

I'm about to order it, but how much is it in US dollars?

 

I still have the laserdisc & I believe a DVD version...

 

All answers on the site.... according to the 'cover', it says ALL REGIONS! Plus, it looks like it has no extras!
After reading the entire 'explanation', it seems to me that Tony feels he has the right to release it himself, after all the false 'stuff' thats been written about it (and himself)!

 

Still have mine..... haven't watched it, but saw it recently on TCM.... looked just like VHS copy!

 

Ah, thanks! I clicked through the "buy now" link and now I see the additional information. I'd avoided clicking that initially because I expected only to see a shopping cart page (no additional info).

Is "16:9" the correct aspect ratio for this film, or was it 4:3?

Craig.

 

Based on today's conversion, looks like about US$24, plus US$5 for shipping. Total around US$29.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi?Amount=17.99&From=GBP&To=USD&x=31&y=7

Craig.

 

Jeepers.... hard to tell if, like he says, they converted the 'video tape' to actual celluliod!

 

Thanks Craig. I'll have to think about it. That's more than I was hoping to spend for it.

 

Yeah, I'm unclear on the transfer process they used for this release. He mentions in his explanation that he has the "master tapes" in his possession, so does that mean the transfer is directly from the original videotape to DVD?

If so, will we lose the "film-ness" (i.e., the unique attributes that film adds to a videotape that's transferred to that medium) that was seen in the original theaters?

Craig.

 

Not sure how reliable TCM is, but they say that this film was originally in theaters as 1.66:1 aspect ratio, which roughly calculates to 15:9.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=17011&category=Theatrical Aspect Ratio

If that's true, a 16:9 transfer should retain almost all of the content. Makes me curious whether the VHS I used to own - which was 4:3 - was "pan and scan" and lost a good portion of the original visual contents of the movie.

Craig.

 

Well, the little clip of "***** Dementions" look pretty damn good to me!


EDIT: well, let's just say BETTER than the VHS version, watching the clip, I'm seeing some film stains!

 

I believe it's the other way 'round - the 4:3 video added extra image at the top and bottom. 'Baby Snakes' was probably similar (not sure if the theatrical release (such as it was) was widescreen or not.

Sure hope it's at least anamorphic.

Idiot Bastard over the the Zappa board has a copy now and says it "looks a little better than my old VHS copy, and the Director's audio commentary is pretty interesting." http://www.zappa.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18751&start=25

I'd be more enthusiastic if someone had compared it favorably (video AND audio) to the laserdisc edition, though. Not sure what I think of the "Tony Palmer's Film of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels" title on the front cover.

 

Me too either; my laserdisc is rotted clear through. Two rotters in the whole bunch and one of 'em has to be 200 Motels.

Wonder if Palmer got any cease-and-desist calls from Gail. I know ZFT doesn't own this, but GZ needs to stay in practice. At the very least, they're probably not pleased to see Palmer's name plastered on top of something they likely consider to be all-Frank.

Either way, I'm not wowed by the clip.

 

I've got a video around somewhere that Frank released, I belive is called The True Story of 200 Motels. It's got a bunch of deleted stuff, as well as candid things like the group arriving at the airport in London. Also scrolls lots of 'info according to Frank' stuff onscreen, such as why the videos were immediately erased after being transfered.

 

T palmer has made some great music films and irritated many many people (he was Ken Russells ast)
is this any good?

 

That's just it: nobody knows until somebody BUYS ONE!

 

well, I took the plunge and bought one.
I already have it on DVD bought from a reputable music chain, but definitely a quasi-boot (<- copyright me) (it's well packaged, but is on a label known for its digipack-style boot DVDs, and appears to be a VHS transfer - title sequence in particular being very fuzzy and washed-out, although once your eyes 'adjust' it's quite watchable)
Anyway I haven't sat down and done a comparison yet but the good news is, it's certainly an improvement over my previous DVD version; the bad news is, it's still not great quality - very 'video-ish'. The title sequence is certainly a little sharper and brighter than my other DVD version, though, and presumably the rest of the transfer will be a similar upgrade.
The overall packaging is very good - it comes with 'double-sided' artwork (ie. there's 'inner gatefold' graphics under the clear plastic case) and a full-colour booklet; it also arrived shrink-wrapped with a small circular sticker replicating the DVD cover. The authoring is good and the bonus commentary is a nice attempt to beef up the product; it's certainly a nice quality item, far from some dodgy cash-in effort.
I've never watched 200 Motels on laserdisc, or a cinematic screening, so can only compare to my previous semi-boot DVD. I suspect though that the image quality is down to the nature of the original film being shot on videotape - factor in (presumably) several transferrings to and from video/film, lose track of the original parts here and there, and it's never going to look brilliant. Maybe, with huge expense, a frame-by-frame refurb could be done but I don't think a major backer would step in to fund it for a cult film like this. If the Zappa people had the rights they might get behind it more. (It's a shame the 'Story Of...' VHS content wasn't available to add to this release; I'd still love to see that, in any quality!)
I'll try and report more, and comment on picture framing/ widescreen etc when I get to watch it properly.

 

While the disc is a UK release, it has been mastered as NTSC/All Regions. Believe Me. I have the disc. It's a video to film transfer with no bonus material.

 

I hope Mr. Palmers commentary is interesting, at least.

 

Just ordered this one myself after not even being aware it was out. Definitely curious about the commentary, but despite what Palmer says, it doesn't sound like this is really from the original video masters at all. But somehow they managed to snip out a line at the end of "***** Dimension", which is kinda hard to understand, unless it was done to hide the source somehow.

Ah well... when/if an official release comes out, I will buy that too. I just pray they will have a commentary from Flo and Eddie and other cast members!

 

This is pretty commonly available (probably the first time this movie has had decent distribution in any home video format) in every video and record store around here. And yet I still can't quite bring myself to replace my LaserDisc with it.

Has anyone done a comparison yet? It not being presented in 1.33:1 makes me very nervous.

 

Wait, are you saying, they snipped a tip off of...

Oh, never mind...

 

http://www.sotcaa.net/editnews/200-Motels-On-DVD.html