DYRL BD Remaster - the Good.......and the BAD.

[Capt Hungry]

Thanks for the clarification.

[ZenAmako]

It's funny. I just pulled out my copy of the Gold Book and the shot of Miriya squishing the Zentran's head is in there. Also, for the scene where the BGM was missing, it shows there is music. I really hope the release version doesn't have these edits since it won't be the original film anymore.

Regarding the missing BGM, if there is there another audio track available on the disc with the original audio (even if it isn't in 5.1), I'm okay with it. It reminds me of when the new 5.1 track was created for The Terminator and people didn't like how the original gun sounds were replaced. Really, as long as the original track is there in some form, there would be fewer complaints.

As for the game... I'm not really sure what the rating is. It seems like it might actually be rated B now.

[drop]

On why with the HD?...

The only time i notice the lesser quality on my DVD copy is during the Itano circuses. Especially the final battle. With all the missile contrails and beam weapons flashing, it's too much detail and high contrast, the image sort of chokes up and everything gets all pixel-ish.

Granted, that COULD just be my bootlegged DVD copy.

To those bemoaning their awful TVs and systems that would keep them from seeing any benefit of upgrading:

Consider the possibility that someday you might upgrade. This Japanese Blu-ray release is expensive, sure... that's reason alone to not snatch one up.

No need to blame your TV.

At any rate, i was looking forward to having an official, and high quality copy of what may well be my favorite movie of all time.

My hope is that SCOOPUDA! is flat out wrong. But we'll see. i'll wait in the shadows, read reviews of the actual release and see how things turn out.

i'm worried about the soundtrack. Voices, music, sound effects.

i don't want it beefed up. CLEANED UP, sure... carefully split into 5.1 maybe, but i LOVED those old 80's sounds. i mean, that's part of the whole package for me.

Why do we have to change things? At the very least it could stand as a snapshot of Japanese cinema in 1984. Grrr... why mess with history?

[Renato]

It's funny. I just pulled out my copy of the Gold Book and the shot of Miriya squishing the Zentran's head is in there. Also, for the scene where the BGM was missing, it shows there is music.

Erm.... Of course it is? The book came out right after the movie did. If the book had come out yesterday, I would see your point, but...

[ZenAmako]

Erm.... Of course it is? The book came out right after the movie did. If the book had come out yesterday, I would see your point, but...

My point was that they never attempted to hide the gore until now, even though it was a very quick shot. Instead, they highlighted it. There was really no need to show that split second in the book. Which is why it's odd that the scene would be toned down now...

Edited July 13, 2012 by ZenAmako

[sketchley]

Maybe they're self-editing as the new-school Macross fans (MF generation) don't want to see ultra-violence that the old-school Macross fans either don't mind, don't care or inversely, actually want to see?

I better question to ask is: does the blurring of it change the story in a major way (i.e.: like the removal of the BGM at a key point)? Removing it has an impact on Miria's character arc and the overall perception of the Meltran, but the scene wasn't cut, right?

Edited July 13, 2012 by sketchley

[Keith]

I refuse to believe that the people putting together this http://www.macross30.com/1stmovie/anniversarybox/ with so much love and care would stick us with an censored print of the film. A new audio mix, yeah, I can see that. Chances are 2chan will see this release before most of us, so news will be out probably by Tuesday-Wednesday on exactly what's going on.

[Oihan]

Most likely this is just the promotional edit. Doubtful those scenes will be missing from the release, though it wouldn't be the first time. Regardless, very happy to hear the film is looking good and sounding even better.

I refuse to believe that the people putting together this http://www.macross30...anniversarybox/ with so much love and care would stick us with an censored print of the film. A new audio mix, yeah, I can see that. Chances are 2chan will see this release before most of us, so news will be out probably by Tuesday-Wednesday on exactly what's going on.

The more I think about it, I believe you and Mr. March are probably right about the film being unaltered on Bluray...at least I hope you are anyway.... There's still that missing BGM however.... While my fears about the print have eased up, I'm still quite nervous about the missing BGM track.

Here's hoping that it's just some inferior edit for promotional purposes!

Lastly: There was at least one rather noticeable edit for me. This one is uber-geeky, though. However, though I wouldn't say it ruined the movie, it certainly meant that this version fell quite short of perfection. I will put it in spoilers because if you do not notice it, you probably will be happy. Ignorance is bliss, etc.

First of all -- Check here:

Go to Youtube and check this video: /watch?v=okaAd85dF_E

(I'm not putting the full link up just in case the exposure leads to it getting taken down)

Go to 1:37:00. There is silence as Minmay still makes up her mind as to what she should do. Then the Valkyrie right behind them explodes. The soft piano music leading into the strings indicates to us that she has made an important realization. She hesitates as to how to express it in words for a few moments, until she says "gomen ne, Hikaru". She finally understands that as part of the responsibility of her having chosen the life of a singer against the wishes of her parents, it is her duty to sing right now. Then there is a brief silence and she accepts the lyrics and we get the first power strains of the title song, "DYRL".

Right. The screening last night, however, was quite different. The BGM was ENTIRELY silent for that scene until the DYRL intro. It may be subtle, but it takes away a WHOLE LOT for me. I am very sensitive to the usage of BGM in movies/TV (remember our podcast on Sayonara no Tsubasa and how the Brera/Ozma battle kind of was dragged down by the stock BGM usage IMO) and DYRL is perfect as it was -- I don't know if this omission is on purpose or a mistake, but it is much, much more detrimental to the work overall than the violence being cut. This is Minmay's monumental decision we are talking about, the whole climax pivots on this one scene, and the BGM indicated the exact moment she realized, "oh my god, it's all up to me". Without the BGM there, you lose the emotional punctuation of that scene. It's almost like writing a novel in capitals. There is effective silence, of course, but remember that this scene is silent right up until Minmay actually looks up -- then we hear the music.

I'm not crazy, I know what I heard/saw, and yet no-one else seems to have noticed it. Even the Japanese ultrafans who go to many more of these events than I do, and buy everything. In fact, when I told them about it, they said "I didn't notice that... You must have watched this movie a lot!" Well.... yeah. Haven't we all?? I can't imagine I have watched it more than them, they had a decade's headstart!

Anyway, whatever. The sound, apart from that, was MAGNIFICENT. I loved it. Especially the opening shot of the Macross logo when the horns kick in: "BA BA BA BAAAA-DAAAAH!" I thought the place was going to come down.

[EXO]

The important thing is... Is the Budweiser can still there?

[Gubaba]

Maybe they're self-editing as the new-school Macross fans (MF generation) don't want to see ultra-violence that the old-school Macross fans either don't mind, don't care or inversely, actually want to see?

Then how would you explain, as Renato brought up earlier, all of Grace's people getting viciously and pretty explicitly massacred in the second Frontier movie?

[sketchley]

Then how would you explain, as Renato brought up earlier, all of Grace's people getting viciously and pretty explicitly massacred in the second Frontier movie?

I can't with the ultraviolence angle. UNLESS if (big IF) the new school fans reacted negatively to the massacre, and their collective complaints about it have forced the issue?

Edited July 13, 2012 by sketchley

[Mr March]

The more I think about it, I believe you and Mr. March are probably right about the film being unaltered on Bluray...at least I hope you are anyway.... There's still that missing BGM however.... While my fears about the print have eased up, I'm still quite nervous about the missing BGM track.

Here's hoping that it's just some inferior edit for promotional purposes!

Maybe I'm a little more relaxed about it, since these types of promotional edits have been done before. I've seen them at pre-release soirees and the occasional film festival. But I admit I do share at least some of your nervousness simply because these types of "objectionable content" edits keep rearing their ugly head with far too much frequency for my liking. I guess the battle against censorship really does never end, it just really makes my eyes roll when it's done to a production that is so old that it should be beyond such pettiness. Since new fans of such an old film will be in the minority, such puritanical alterations only serve to infuriate us old fans

[JetJockey]

What should be the version of DYRL better not be edited. I remember the old days of that "Clash" movie which was edited. I didn't even want to look at that. A friend somehow got an unedited, dubbed in English version of DYRL on VHS with Japanese subtitles! I still have it to this day.

[Beltane70]

I'm not overly concerned about the possible edits, but I would like the film to be unaltered. Besides, I'm sure most of us have older versions of DYRL, so if we really need to see the movie in its original format, we can always watch our old copies.

[GMANIFESS]

Indeed. I just see this as another way to celebrate/support the 30th anniversary and re-experience DYRL, this time in a pretty box, to be watched on the big screen on my PS3...

Definately more excited about the game then the beloved movie i've memorized scene-by-scene for 27 years. To fly some VF-1's with dual analog blue-tooth controllers will be well worth the price. (No disrespect to the PSP)

[NastyNate]

Any word if they are going to do what Gundam Age did with its bluerays and put english subs on them?

And is this amazing or what?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVGFy3V7a7I&feature=player_embedded#!

Edited July 17, 2012 by NastyNate

[TMBounty_Hunter]

Any word if they are going to do what Gundam Age did with its bluerays and put english subs on them?

The finalized BD info has been around for months and the answer is no.

Gundam releasing BDs with english subs is a very, very special case and not in any way the standard or a new trend. They do it because they're doing simulcasts and simultaneous releases in multiple regions themselves. It's not something just about anyone can start doing.

[peter]

Any word if they are going to do what Gundam Age did with its bluerays and put english subs on them? And is this amazing or what?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVGFy3V7a7I&feature=player_embedded#

!

That's a nice find, a lot better quality than the version I last saw. Thanks for posting. It would be nice to have extras like this in HD on the new BD release.

That's exactly what a remake of SDF Macross should look like. All they gotta do is use the original soundtrack and voices.

Edited July 20, 2012 by peter

[Tochiro]

ANN confirms what those of us who saw the theatrical screening were afraid of: BD remaster will be altered.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-07-20/macross-movie-blu-ray-to-have-changes-from-1984-original

[azrael]

ANN confirms what those of us who saw the theatrical screening were afraid of: BD remaster will be altered.

http://www.animenews...m-1984-original

Time to pull out a bag of popcorn and watch the inevitable MW meltdown thread....

[VF5SS]

or we could not do that

[EXO]

Let mw start!

WHAAAA? Hmph! crap! why I oughta...!!!

[Tober]

Update: Namco Bandai Games updated its online question-and-answer section to address the changes. The Hybrid Pack's "Complete Edition (HD Remaster Edition)" and "Theatrical Release Edition" of the film are the same except for different prologue and ending sequences. Namco Bandai Games reiterated online that both Hybrid Pack versions have changes from the film's original 1984 version.

[Hoptimus]

So after 28 years of it being unaltered they decide to censor it? Pretty wierd. Guess I dont need that BD.

[UN Spacy]

Canceled my order.

(j/k)

[sketchley]

So after 28 years of it being unaltered they decide to censor it? Pretty wierd. Guess I dont need that BD.

I'm not even sure censor is the right term. At worst, it's self-censor. Maybe it has something to do with the restoration process. Maybe something to do with that nebulous "reshoots" (not sure how that's possible in this case...)

[jvmacross]

Completely Uncensored and Unrated Director's Extended Cut with fully restored "lost" animated sequences deemed too gratuitously violent and sexually explicit even by 1984 standards...and just in time for the real Macross - DYRL 30th anniversary in 2014?

[Hikuro]

So I may have to do a few alterations to my English audio track then. I'll just wait and see how bad this is when my copy shows up.

[505thAirborne]

I have my 2 copies of DYRL on DVD and the original VHS (All unaltered), happy with what I have and no need for a censored BD version of this Movie Classic.

[ps99042]

I don't care, I'm still getting it.

[jvmacross]

George has built his "empire" on that line of thinking.......

[Hoptimus]

George has built his "empire" on that line of thinking.......

Very true but for me to import a BD that costs as much as my whole Star Wars set that is censored is a no go for me.

[Radd]

That's exactly what a remake of SDF Macross should look like. All they gotta do is use the original soundtrack and voices.

I love the redone 2D stuff. I'm sure they could do much, much better in terms of the CG mecha. Honestly, I'd rather they do hand drawn mecha, but that's becoming a lost art, it looks like.

[GMANIFESS]

Not super concerned. There is a DYRL game for the PS3. With a crispy clear version of the DYRL film in a pretty box. Happy 30th Macross franchise. I'll get the ultimate version of the film later.

[Keith]

That article still reads a little funky, so I'm not sure it says that the censored scenes specifically reported from the screening are tge changes they're talking about. The changes BV seem to be talking about are op/close changes.