A Blu-ray is likely on its way....

Petrie · **on:** January 17, 2014, 07:02:57 PM

No, I wish I could say it was official, but its very likely that a blu-ray of LBT will be available before very long. With An American Tail getting its blu-ray release on March 4, 2014, LBT remains one of the only ones left from Don Bluth not on blu-ray when Don was doing good business.

Given what I've seen with NIMH, it probably will not be sparkling clear and crisp as if the film was made yesterday, but that's ok. Its a dark film anyway, so it shouldn't be all bright and cheery like Disney has done to its older stuff. Probably will be widescreen as well. I know the OAR is 1:33 but widescreen would be how it appeared in a theater, so picture loss shouldn't be a major issue. I wouldn't hold out hope for a commentary; Bluth (as I put in the sticky topic in this section) was not very happy with the production of this film, so I can't see him wanting to revisit it.

I hope for a decent release, given that the previous DVD releases have been.....

What do you all think?

Ducky123 · **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2014, 07:31:01 PM

I dont have a Blu-Ray Player. I'd be very excited to see such a release nonetheless (outcut scenes).

rhombus · **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2014, 07:36:35 PM

I don't own a Blue-ray player either. However, it would be nice to see the Land Before Time get a proper Blue-ray release. If horrible B movies from the 1970s and 1980s (like Basket Case) have obtained Blue-ray releases, then obviously a great film like the Land Before Time deserves to have its own release.

jansenov · **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2014, 07:43:10 PM

It would be logical for LBT to appear on blu-ray (in 1920x1080 I hope, since the HD version already exists) in that case, but then you can't rely on logic too much. I expect the release to be pretty bare, basically just the movie.

Kor · **Reply #4 on:** January 17, 2014, 09:26:28 PM

I guess it would get a blu-ray release. How it looks depends on what they do, if anything. The classic dr who dvd's get a lot of treatment. The dr who restoration group, I think they are called, use to give detained information on what they do and they use to have a forum. One of them mentioned that the reason some dvd's, and I guess blu-ray, are not as nice as others is some just grab a master, not doing any work to clean it up, or the video they get from the master, or they may use a 2nd generation master, or a 2nd generation master used for copies they sell to tv stations.

Besides the audio work one person does to clean up the audio, remove background sounds, hiss, resinc sounds to video, they do video clean up to remove dirt and such, do more work, to replace scratches and stuff, and then usually vidfire. Forgot what vidfire is. They mentioned that most studios don't do all the work for their dvd releases that the bbc/2 entertain has them do for classic dr dvd's.

Mumbling · **Reply #5 on:** January 18, 2014, 06:08:43 AM

I'd love to see a blu-ray release of the original. Would definitely be worth it. And since I have a Ps3 now I can play blu-rays as well!

Malte279 · **Reply #6 on:** January 18, 2014, 07:37:33 PM

If there was to be any additional material like outcut scenes I would be interested in the blue ray version (don't have a blue ray player however). But if it comes just to the difference of seeing a cartoon on DvD or on blue ray im afraid I am kind of a philistine for not seeing any notable improvement of any sorts. For all we know and from what Mr. Bluth had said on his webpage there are not surviving reels of outcut scenes that could be released... but hope dies last, right?

Kor · **Reply #7 on:** January 18, 2014, 08:15:39 PM

It depends on the film stock that they can take from if there would be any improvement on blu-ray or not. For the classic dr who, for example, they could put them on blu-ray but there would be no improvement since, except for the story Spearhead From Space, most of the episodes are not in film where that would make any difference. I think most of the classic dr who, for example, is say 12 inch (forgot the terms for the different types of film) and a movie use to be put on say 30 inch film. So Spearhead From Space, filmed while there was a strike at the studio and filmed all on film there is good enough quality there for a blu-ray release. But for the typical story that is on 12, there would be no difference.

Some movies may only survive on what I think is called a tv master, that is lower quality then the original movie master. And some older tv shows would be no different from their dvd versions if put on blu-ray. Tv shows after a certain year are often shot in higher quality film then older ones were, due to modern tv's and now there being blu-ray out.

Though I don't see the need for the quality of blu-ray. Some area amazed they can see the pores on the actor's skin. If i want to see pores on skin I can just look at my own hand and arm. Though blu-ray may last longer since the glue used isn't made from partially organic materials like dvd's are. And they have a layer on them to make them harder to scratch then dvd's.

Pterano · **Reply #8 on:** January 28, 2014, 04:07:47 PM

Not sure how I missed this. I'd LOVE to see a Blu-ray release! While I can't expect much increase in quality, digital restoration can sometimes do amazing things (I only need to point out how good the James Bond films from the 60s look and sound in high def). Any cut scenes would be most welcome, and I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for this.

bestariana1girl · **Reply #9 on:** January 28, 2014, 05:00:58 PM

Personally I don't think the first movie is that dark.... their are dark moments but it's not like Littlefoot and his friends kill everything lol. @Petrie

jansenov · **Reply #10 on:** January 28, 2014, 06:17:12 PM

^He's talking about the coloration of the movie, not the plot.

Danosaur · **Reply #11 on:** February 05, 2014, 04:24:37 PM

I would enjoy it if the Blu-Ray had noticably improved picture quality, but it all depends on the print of the film that they use. The only other 2D animation I've seen on Blu-Ray released by Universal was Watership Down and you could tell they didn't do a lot of work on the picture and sound front. I've found Universal's treatment for their back catalogue films pretty terrible for the past few years and I am wary about whether they will change anytime soon, but I will still get it just so I can have a Blu-Ray copy of it.

What would be relly cool is if they did what MGM/United Artists did for the re-release of Nimh and got a commentary track recorded, but I doubt Uni are particularly bothered considering the 'Special Anniversary Edition' of the DVD had nothing on it in the way of bonuses.

(One thing that is likely though is that the original aspect ratio will be retained as with all Blu-Rays, I was quite annoyed that the UK LBT DVD was in a 4:3 ratio when we were one of the only countries where Uni released American Tail in 1.33:1 format)

Petrie · **Reply #12 on:** February 07, 2014, 10:39:05 PM

^ Why wouldn't they put the aspect ratio as seen in theaters? TVs by and large are widescreen these days, same as it would have appeared in theaters so I actually don't think you will see a 1.33:1 aspect ratio on the blu-ray. While it may not be perfect, it would be ok with me, given that Bluth designed the film to be matted for theaters in a widescreen format so no heads should be chopped off or anything.

Kor · **Reply #13 on:** February 07, 2014, 10:47:07 PM

My guess is they'd use the film and use that to do a blu-ray version. It may not look as wow as a new movie, but one has to remember it came out decades ago so there would be some stuff that may not be as super. I'd not mind.

Danosaur · **Reply #14 on:** February 20, 2014, 05:20:39 PM

Quote from: Petrie,Feb 8 2014 on 02:39 AM

^ Why wouldn't they put the aspect ratio as seen in theaters? TVs by and large are widescreen these days, same as it would have appeared in theaters so I actually don't think you will see a 1.33:1 aspect ratio on the blu-ray. While it may not be perfect, it would be ok with me, given that Bluth designed the film to be matted for theaters in a widescreen format so no heads should be chopped off or anything.

Ah yes, I got confused between aspect ratios there. If they do keep the original aspect ratio then I'll imagine it will be 1.78:1 since thats the ratio most animated films of the time were, although judging by previous Uni blu catalogue releases it wouldnt surprise me if it was a straight DVD port in 1.33:1 format. Unlikely though since I imagine there would be fair backlash from people if they released something in that format now.