Comeback & Aloha...once more...

[mn-designs]

Did you all read the news on ElvisNews.com?..BMG is going to release the comeback and aloha sets again...but this time as a single dvd! can you believe that? first we had to buy the well prized sets...and now they selling us a single dvd...? i bet this will be dual layer dvd, with almost the complete footage..man BMG never learns!

[Captain Elwood David]

I think it is too early to comment substantively on this topic, other than the following:

If it is true, .... I'd tend to look on the positive side of things here ---------> it means the DELUXE SE DVD SETS were a huge success and makes the prospect for similar future DELUXE SE sets all the more likely to happen in due time (ie: EOT .... and perhaps one very cold day in hell, EIC In fact, I'd buy EIC twice, even thrice if it would help it happen any sooner ).

It also makes it clear that the TTWII SE was a mishandled - on multile levels - aberration.


- Capt. "EL."

[mn-designs]

Yes i know what you mean...but they are going to do the same thing as the 30 #1hits...re-release it! Why do they never put a follow-up on the market..? For me it looks like if the '' old" col. parker runs the BMG office, why bother a decent follow-up if the old record sells...
If BMG starts to continue this release schedule than the people really only know Elvis from the Aloha, Comeback and his 50's recordings. I wish BMG is/was wise enough to contact MGM and starting to talk about that Elvis On Tour movie, they have the strong sells to prove that MGM can make a lot of money and to make the fans happy, and this release isn't hard to make, if they follow the Aloha and Comeback dvd's concept, just put every minute in it that was filmed and remaster the whole thing...

Disc 1: The original movie (in remastered sound and picture) + some outtakes (like the lost performances
Disc 2: On Tour SE, like TTWII make it into one nice concert (cut the fan comments ect.) and rehearsals, maybe some New York footage...
Disc 3: The Hampton Concert or Texas Concert (the Hampton concert was used for the big part anyway)

[elvisdownunder]

not just 1 concert should be on disc 3, ALL concerts.the hand held cam footage from Buffalo, Hampton Roads, Richmond, Charlotte, Greensboro, Jacksonville, and San Antonio. i want it ALL and so does everybody else. even if it has to be spread out of 5 discs, i'll get it!

[eileen]

EPE had said early on that single disc releases were likely, before the Deluxe sets were even released:
http://www.elvis.com/elvisdvds/faq/faq.asp?id=25

Eileen

[rockinrebel]

BMG will probably try and justify these releases by saying they are for the general public, but this isn’t something I can agree with.

It’s common place now (in fact it’s expected) that new DVD releases feature extra discs with special features, and as both the Aloha and 68 DVD’s were available at very reasonable prices from a number of large retailers I don’t see how the extra features would be off putting to any casual buyers.

It seems to me BMG re-release everything; as they know that many fans will buy things over and over again just to keep their collections complete.

[mn-designs]

It seems to me BMG re-release everything; as they know that many fans will buy things over and over again just to keep their collections complete.

That's exactly what i mean! I think we fans are sometimes a little to loyal ...most of us are buying everything that's put out by BMG...

[JerryNodak]

Patrick: Hopefully this version of the '68 DVD will have "It Hurts Me" restored to its proper place in the "Road" medley. If so, I'll buy it. Otherwise I ain't interested.

[karlos]

I have read the article on the rumors of bmg releasing the 2 box sets - . I hope that they insert the song - it hurts me- from 1968 in its usual place and not deleting the song .


If they come out on single discs - i surely as a fan will get it .

I hope we do not have to wait too long for the Elvis on tour - dvd .
They could release this on 2-3 disc sets . - I have numerous dvds that have been released to date and when they release e.o. : it this will be a gt. DVD to go with the other live material that has been released . -
-

[Captain Elwood David]

... getting back to the DVD's, nobody is forcing anybody to buy these DVD singles, if you don’t want them just don’t buy them.....don’t seem like much of a problem to me.

Much agreed.

The real problem is, .... many just simply are unable to control or stop themselves.

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Generally speaking & to be blunt:

Only anal cheapskate collectors (ie: completists who must have everything properly in order / people who are having trouble affording their hobby) ..... are the most vocal about this topic.

If the releases are too many & too expensive (hell, even I admit FTD's have gotten pricey) .... then set a budget & have some patience. Either that, or simply give some a pass (ie: pick and choose).

EPE made a mistake on the '68 DELUXE SET, and have admitted as much (it isn't their first, nor will it be their last). "It Hurts Me" is available on other releases. Given all that was done with ALOHA I'd give EPE 100% = "A+" / based on '68 SPECIAL, I'd still say it's a 99.0%, which is still an "A" anyway you slice it. To those still complaining about this, ..... (JMO) ...... you're spoiled.

Fellow fans, .... trust me, .... we've NEVER had it so good on multiple levels. Enjoy it while it lasts. For good & bad, $$$ is what makes The Elvis World go round-n-round. Can't have it both ways.



- Capt. "EL."

[Cryogenic]

Strong but good words, Captain El.

Having only seriously been into Elvis for just under a year and being heavily strapped for cash (living away from home and surviving on a student loan), the number of DVDs and CDs I own doesn't even (quite) get into double figures.

However, I must address some points.

First and foremost, there's a pervading implication in this thread that EPE has simply snuck this up on the fans and pulled a fast one. As a visitor of www.elvis.com and their DVD section, however, I know otherwise. Even before the Comeback Special and Aloha sets had been released in the UK, I'd already perused EPE's official FAQs on both - they admitted even then that single-disc versions of both were already being planned! What's more, they admitted that "additional content" was being considered. So they must be at least excused there. But that brings me to the next point...

If these new single-disc editions wind up having material not found on the existing sets, I feel some people have a right to be annoyed. EPE/BMG touted their 3-disc and 2-disc supreme editions of the Comeback Special and the Aloha Concert as the ultimate, must-have editions that were a seminal moment in the Elvis World. While that hasn't proven to be untrue (they are fantastic), the notion that "cutdown" versions released less than a year later could/would have yet more stuff on them (be it video footage, photo galleries, text essays or whatever) not found on the megalithic (and still full price) 3/2 disc versions HAS to be galling. So galling that I wouldn't blame people for being **** angry and then feeling that they "have" to snap them up.

What else? Oh yes... errors...

The omission of "It Hurts Me" is grating - but understandable. However, EPE also admitted that there was an encoding fault present on ALL Region 2 DVDs of the Aloha From Hawaii release. Again, kudos for their honesty, but in this case, it was a bonafide FAULT and honesty isn't enough. The notion that EPE would release a much-anticipated, knowingly faulty product on an international scale and NEITHER recall the faulty discs nor offer free replacements for those that purchased them (as, for example, happened when the video image on the "Back to the Future" trilogy discs was found to be incorrectly matted) is UNACCEPTABLE - repeat, UNACCEPTABLE. Whether they have since surreptitiously corrected this fault on more recent pressings is another issue (I bought the Comeback Special right away but only got Aloha more recently; when I watched the sequence in question on my PC, it was fine). However, that's not the point. Their own incompetency/obstinancy made me hold back on getting Aloha for a long time and no doubt infuriated many others who had already purchased faulty copies. Very bad.

Oh, did I also mention that they screwed up the PAL Region 2 (and possibly ALL PAL regions) video transfer of the Comeback Special? From the first day I watched those discs and every time since, I've always thought Elvis looks too thin and "stretched". Lo and behold, after capturing some video frames with PowerDVD and resizing them in Paint Shop Pro, I've reasonably concluded that Elvis is indeed stretched because the IMAGE is stretched - after experimentation and to my eyes, approximately 20% in the vertical plane. You may think this point far too subjective, and maybe it is, but I'm VERY confident I'm right. Not only have I viewed a lot of films/programs on DVD and know how a person should appear, but I've also viewed many still photographs from the filming of the Comeback Special - and the PAL Region 2 DVD transfer has simply been botched.

Just to be totally pedantic (this issue doesn't bother me, but in the literal sense of the word, it's another error), the footage for Aloha From Hawaii was also messed up in one place. When Elvis introduces everyone during the main concert, there's a shot of him introducing the Sweet Inspirations which is lifted from the rehearsal concert. Why no one noticed this when the concert was supposedly being RE-EDITED FROM SCRATCH from the original recorded footage is a total and utter mystery.

Sorry to sound like I'm ranting, but to quote a certain album and film, "That's The Way It Is".

OK, so... capitalism is what makes the world go round. I can accept a lot of EPE's behaviour even if I don't happen to particularly like it. Yet there are parts of them - specifically parts outlined here - that I just don't understand. Why weren't these releases scoured by multiple people in multiple locations on multiple pieces of equipment with a fine tooth comb prior to release? This isn't some average Joe or a regular Tom, Dick or Harry: it's Elvis f*uckin Presley - one of the most recognised men in the world. Ever. And these releases are some of the most important and vital in his posthumous career.

[Captain Elwood David]

Cryo -

I have walked in your shoes, so I feel I can comment further -----> Been there & done that.

Like I said before, ..... "affording" the hobby. You won't be a student forever, just gotta be patient.

"Affording & Patience."

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At any rate:

Also like I said, ..... considering what we were given on both counts (Aloha / '68 Special Deluxe Sets) ...... I'm more than pleased - more than satisfied - with my copies & what I have. All the stuff you mention, ..... yes, including the brief Aloha snippet that they missed (band introductions mis-matched footage, ..... I noticed and mentioned it years before the Deluxe Ed. saw the light of day) and lame excuse they gave (nobody bothered to tell them) for not correcting it .........

.... (IMO) is all ............. no BFD.

Do I hope & wish the releases had been perfect? Yes, ... but the world is rarely perfect. That is indeed, .... TTWII.

I'm not crying a river about, because it's all a matter of perspective. (Innocent pun ... ).


- Capt. "EL."

[Cryogenic]

They were very, very good releases - no doubt. If anyone wants to get into Elvis or just be entertained by exceptionally good music, then those are the DVDs I would first and foremost recommend.

I'm just mystified that those faults slipped through the net. And also a little disgruntled (mainly on other fans' behalves) that additional material may be added to the "cutdown" editions of the Comeback Special and Aloha products.

But, you're right...

C'est la vie.

If life was ever perfect, we wouldn't all be here now. In fact, life would be meaningless. But that's for another thread.

** EDIT : BTW... I appreciate your counsel. You strike me as a very experienced, educated and worldly man. It's always a pleasure reading your posts. **

[Captain Elwood David]

Cryo -

My thanks for your comments. My posts, I know, don't always sit well with some (because of my directness / frankness). I always call them like I see them.

On that note, ........ you make me feel old.

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All the best.

- Capt. "EL."