The Official LUCY ON BLU-RAY Thread!

[Mot Morenzi]

The new Season One Blu-rays will not feature any episodes in color.

[Mot Morenzi]

Can you play regular dvd's on a Blu Ray player? I'm still going to want to watch my dvd's .

You sure can. Plus, with an HDMI cable, standard DVDs will be up converted and look sharper than usual. It's a win win.

[JoeySanJoaquin]

You sure can. Plus, with an HDMI cable, standard DVDs will be up converted and look sharper than usual. It's a win win.

I *think* (but don't quote me!) some models play CDs as well (for those of us who still know what those are! ), so you've truly got a combo player (CD/DVD/BluRay) and MUCHO bang for your buck! 

 

Also, if they come so equipped (as my Sony brand one did, and it's a couple years old, they probably have even more features now!), you can use the player to access Netflix, HuluPlus, YouTube and many more internet based streaming sources!  

 

Ahhhh, technology! Gotta love it! 

[Mot Morenzi]

I *think* (but don't quote me!) some models play CDs as well (for those of us who still know what those are! ), so you've truly got a combo player (CD/DVD/BluRay) and MUCHO bang for your buck! 

 

Also, if they come so equipped (as my Sony brand one did, and it's a couple years old, they probably have even more features now!), you can use the player to access Netflix, HuluPlus, YouTube and many more internet based streaming sources!  

 

Ahhhh, technology! Gotta love it! 

 

Yes! Mine has access to all of those as well.

[Neil]

Hopefully there will be another fan uproar that will result in something much better, such as the controversial early cover art for TLS Season 2. lol

 

What was the controversial early cover art for TLS season 2?

 

I would guess the 35mm of the pilot is still a kinescope. (...insert note: hadn't read the whole thread yet). Did Mrs. Pepito find it by doing a thorough dust bunny removal under that bed?

[snowpeck]

What was the controversial early cover art for TLS season 2?

 

I would guess the 35mm of the pilot is still a kinescope. (...insert note: hadn't read the whole thread yet). Did Mrs. Pepito find it by doing a thorough dust bunny removal under that bed?

tjw said earlier in the thread that a 35mm kinescope negative was found wrapped in brown paper in a seldom used CBS vault.

[Mot Morenzi]

What was the controversial early cover art for TLS season 2?

 

I would guess the 35mm of the pilot is still a kinescope. (...insert note: hadn't read the whole thread yet). Did Mrs. Pepito find it by doing a thorough dust bunny removal under that bed?

 

I didn't realize it was controversial but here is the original design:

 

 

Brock, why was this controversial? Because it's not especially flattering?

[Brock]

I didn't realize it was controversial but here is the original design:

 

 

Brock, why was this controversial? Because it's not especially flattering?

 

Reactions to the ... aesthetics of the main picture were VERY quick and unusually passionate at the time. lol

[tjw]

I was never sure why the reaction was so negative... The cover was put together by the art department (as opposed to by a Lucy fan), and the artist chose what he/she considered a fun/funny pose... but the fan reaction was very negative. I remember most people hated the fact that we do not get to see Lucy's red hair. There were also comments that the Revolutionary War outfit was not "typical Lucy"  (I disagree), and that it was overall not particularly attractive.  We chose instead the shot from the pie contest show, which was deliberately reminiscent of Lucy at the chocolate factory... It evoked the idea of a domestic Lucy in a kitchen -- which was NOT the theme of many episodes of "The Lucy Show" at all -- but everyone seemed happy with that... Of course, once the package came out, people started complaining that both Season One and Season Two had shots of Lucy with her mouth wide open...

 

You can't please all the people all of the time!

 

Tjw

[Mot Morenzi]

I was never sure why the reaction was so negative... The cover was put together by the art department (as opposed to by a Lucy fan), and the artist chose what he/she considered a fun/funny pose... but the fan reaction was very negative. I remember most people hated the fact that we do not get to see Lucy's red hair. There were also comments that the Revolutionary War outfit was not "typical Lucy"  (I disagree), and that it was overall not particularly attractive.  We chose instead the shot from the pie contest show, which was deliberately reminiscent of Lucy at the chocolate factory... It evoked the idea of a domestic Lucy in a kitchen -- which was NOT the theme of many episodes of "The Lucy Show" at all -- but everyone seemed happy with that... Of course, once the package came out, people started complaining that both Season One and Season Two had shots of Lucy with her mouth wide open...

 

You can't please all the people all of the time!

 

Tjw

 

Having worked in graphic design I know EXACTLY what you mean. I personally never had an issue with this cover design. This came out before I was on the Lounge so I was unaware of any negativity at the time. But I do have to say that I adore all "The Lucy Show" cover art. So well done and a brilliant motif.

[Mmadluv7]

http://www.tvguide.com/News/I-Love-Lucy-Colorized-1074914.aspx#ooid=NmZW51aTqgFt3s-IiSM6USKITT61p4-t

 

I notice a huge difference now, Its like the christmas show. You notice things you never have before. The scene where Ethel and Fred walk in on Lucy and Ricky talking is almost 3D because of the angle, shadows and reflections of light. When I saw it I suddenly thought of Papa Karl Fruend 

[ajrich17901]

Meh..if there isn't any color I'm not buying the set for that price. 

[pablo]

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=12897

[pablo]

So these will have all the episodes in broadcast versions and/or syndicated "heart" versions?

[LucyImHome]

I think the right choice was made to change the cover art, simply because it covered Lucy's signature red hair!  She had a bucket on her head for season 5, but you could still see her hair.

[pablo]

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Love-Lucy-Ultimate-Season-1/19304

[Luvsbway]

I got my blue ray player over the weekend and wanted to see how it was in upscaling all my Lucy DVDs.  I ran a bunch through it.  Episodes of all 3 series from the bought DVDs, copied DVDs of movies commercially available, and DVDs I made from movies I Tivoed and then burned to DVD.  Here are my reviews.

 

Here’s Lucy and The Lucy Show.  As I am going through HL in order I continued on with the next one I had lined up which was the Wayne Newton one shot on location.  This was super crisp and I noticed a difference in the look right away.  The location shooting looked wonderful.  So I was anxious to see how the next episode would fare once we were back in the studio.  The crispness was not quite as good in the longer shots but once we got into a tighter camera angle it got better.  If these ever go to blue ray the detail is going to be stellar.  I also checked out my favorite TLS, Dean Martin.  The jacket Lucy gets at the auction really sparkles, so we are getting more detail in the picture here too.  One thing I also noticed in both series is the lighting being reflected more in Lucy’s eyes thus really bringing out the blue.

 

So I then moved on to ILL and ran a few from each season.  It’s a good thing these are coming out soon on blue ray as Season 1 did not fare that well in the upscaling.  It looked better, but you could tell the difference the print remastering went through from 1 compared to the other seasons.  It just was not as crisp.  From what has been said on here I think this is going to be corrected with the release.  I watched Second Honeymoon and this was very crisp.  The dress Lucy wears in the nightclub and also the overcoat she has on outside show way more detail.  All the sparkles on the dress pop and the detail of the jewels in the overcoat really stand out.

 

I then ran a bunch of movies.  Big Street looked good and that dress at the end had way more details and sparkle than I ever noticed before.  Dubarry, the scene in the dressing room.  Lucy looks stunning regardless in this scene but it was very crisp and the colors looked great, especially that hair.  So I continued on with color MGM films and went to Easy to Wed.  I was very disappointed here as I did not realize that the print of this movie was not as good as Dubarry.  It seemed washed out and muted.  I got some upscaling but nothing like what I was experiencing before.  Film noirs were next with Lured, Dark Corner and Two Smart People.  All fared well with I think Dark Corner coming out the best.  Film noir is known for the darkness of the lighting.  With the blue ray it seemed to brighten everything up yet still leaving the good color separation of the darks and lights.  I really saw stuff here that I never did before as it was just too dark.  The other 2 films also had more brightness as well but I think this was the better print of all 3 films.   Long Long Trailer and Forever Darling also looked better as well, with Trailer winning here due to the better print.

 

On to my Tivo burned disks.  These did not fare as well.  I have varying quality of the initial broadcast of these and some did ok if I had the best quality I could get.  Sadly the one I really wanted to look better did not.  I have not been able to get a copy of A Girl, A Guy, and A Gob in many years and my copy is low quality.  In the upscale it got rid of some of the grain but it replaced it with a bit of a pixilated look. It’s not unwatchable now, just not what I had hoped for. 

 

I still have a lot more Lucy stuff to go through but I thought this was a good sampling.  It is worth it to have the blue ray player just for the upscaling alone.  Only gripe I had and I will have to experiment is on my DVD player it would make the picture go full screen on my HDTV.  With the blue ray it puts it back to a 4x3 box.  I’m thinking that if I switch it I am either going to lose part of the picture or the quality.

[upperco]

Have a blu-ray player at my parents' house, but we don't own any blu-rays. I'll take the plunge for LUCY though. 

 

 

tjw,

 

Was there any additional footage found for those first season installments? 

[tjw]

Not really "additonal footage" -- at least not in the sense of "missing scenes." Gregg found most of all that when he did the DVDs. We are presenting all that again, this time in Hi-def... But we DO have a few items that were NOT on the DVDs as well...

 

tjw

[Mmadluv7]

only I love Lucy, a 60 year old show, could keep me up on technology! lol Ill be going to amazon this weekend to get the Blu Ray player lol.

I went to my old copies of the show over the weekend, and...lol (in the same way Ethel says) Well.... lol After all these years, these disks are kinda scratched from continuous playing! lol not badly, but theres a skip every now and again. The disks inside didn't match up with the disk jackets lol because Im always switching up seasons when I watch it on DVD. Im not hard on them, but after 5,6,7 years of DAILY use, they're becoming a little care worn lol Retiring the DVDs and shelving them all together might be best. I just don't understand why the ILL Blu Rays are so expensive! The Disks cost more than the blue ray player lol Come on CBS, just ten dollars off? lol 

[Joker10]

I see that the set will include "Color home movies from the set of the show". Have these home movies just recently been discovered? Are they really in color?

 

From what I remember, there has been one existing recording shot in color, and taken by an audience member and included in the ILL bonus disc. Wonder why we are hearing about color movies from the set just now. But it does make sense something like this exists. The Arnaz famliy loved fimling home movies.

[pablo]

Not really "additonal footage" -- at least not in the sense of "missing scenes." Gregg found most of all that when he did the DVDs. We are presenting all that again, this time in Hi-def... But we DO have a few items that were NOT on the DVDs as well...

 

tjw

 

There were a few missing scenes on the DVDs if I remember correctly, in one or two eps. I'm guessing this has been corrected, right? And could you elaborate on the first-run/syndicated opening/closing issue, please?

[tjw]

I see that the set will include "Color home movies from the set of the show". Have these home movies just recently been discovered? Are they really in color?

 

From what I remember, there has been one existing recording shot in color, and taken by an audience member and included in the ILL bonus disc. Wonder why we are hearing about color movies from the set just now. But it does make sense something like this exists. The Arnaz famliy loved fimling home movies.

The "color home movies" included on Season One are the shots filmed by an audience member during the production of "The Audition." These were issued before on the DVD version... We have had them transferred to Hi-Def for the Blu-ray...

[Desiluforever]

Will the color home movies that were in the HL DVD releases ever be released in HD when (hopefully) the LDCH Blu Ray is released? Or are the rights to those home movies exclusively for MPI?

[Mot Morenzi]

You can adjust the settings to determine the aspect ratio displayed. For playing back 4x3 discs on 16x9 televisions, you can either have the image stretched horizontally or you can "pillarbox" it, putting black bars on either side to preserve the 4x3 ratio. All players should have the option to adjust those settings. I always pillarbox. It's just like what we used to do with standard televisions and "letterboxing" widescreen images. Obviously these BluRays won't be matted to fit Lucy into a widescreen image. No picture will be lost.