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Post by steeleinc on Mar 1, 2012 12:51:50 GMT -5
"Manions of America" was finally released on DVD On Feb. 28. I'd been waiting for it for *years*. This was the TV mini-series that introduced PB to American audiences and grabbed the attention of Michael Gleason and the RS bigwigs. PB is marvelous in this 6 hr. production and any serious fan of PB should absolutely watch this mini-series.
Before RS was released on DVD, I made dozens of RS music videos using 2 VCRs. While I'd love to see them upgraded using the DVDs, I don't really have any desire to redo them all. But if I *were* to redo any of my music videos using DVDs, it would be "The Dance", which is the "Manions" music video I made. It would be the perfect introduction of "Manions" for anyone who never saw the mini-series.
Ace converted "The Dance" on the computer for me a few years ago, but I don't see it on her site now. Maybe you could upload it again, Ace?
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Post by Ace on Mar 1, 2012 13:11:21 GMT -5
Debra, the video is still up - just linked on the Manions Mini Series Page pbfiles.cixx6.com/mini-series/media.htmlI know it just was released a couple of days ago but I'm waiting to order it until I hear about the transfer - has anyone seen it yet?
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Post by eaz35173 on Mar 1, 2012 13:35:52 GMT -5
I just got my copy yesterday! I've never seen it, yet. I'll probably start watching it later tonite. What about the transfer would you like to know?
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Post by eaz35173 on Mar 1, 2012 13:45:03 GMT -5
Debra - Just watched the video and it's BEAUTIFUL!!!
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Post by Ace on Mar 1, 2012 13:50:26 GMT -5
Does it look cleaned up or just like a 30 year old tape transferred over to DVD ? Are the night scenes still so dark you can barely see the action?
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Post by steeleinc on Mar 1, 2012 14:33:03 GMT -5
Thanks, Ace. Good to know it's still there.
I haven't had a chance to watch the DVD yet, but someone who has says it's a really good print. The box says it's been digitally remastered. It even has a few extras (though I haven't watched them yet).
This is the one show I thought would *never* be released on DVD!
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Post by eaz35173 on Mar 1, 2012 20:33:24 GMT -5
I've watched about 1.5 hours so far and I think the quality is pretty good. It does NOT look like a 30 year old video put on dvd. It's in a widescreen format. You can definitely see Pierce's blue eyes at times and the daytime scenes are bright and colorful. The night scenes and those by firelight are somewhat dark, but you can still see the characters and the action.
I went on youtube to see some of the clips that people have uploaded from the vhs versions, and the dvd is definitely much better quality than what I saw on yt.
There is an interview with creator Agnes Nixon & director Joseph Sargent which I haven't watched yet.
My only complaint with the dvd so far is the sound quality. Maybe it's my tv, but I found the sound tinny at times and then muddy at times (as well as normal most of the time). But there are subtitles, so I was able to catch some of the muddy dialog using that. Overall, tho, I'm very pleased.
You can see that Pierce has star quality in his performance! I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the story!
Ace, I hope this was somewhat helpful.
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Post by eaz35173 on Mar 2, 2012 14:50:51 GMT -5
OK, so I watched the interviews that are considered "extras" and the one with Agnes Nixon is only about 60 seconds - she talks about how shooting a miniseries is very different than shooting daytime tv. She couldn't believe how many takes it took to film one scene! The director's interview was only about 3.5 minutes and he talked about using an unknown PB and how he had to convince the network brass that he was "the guy" for the role of Rory.
So, I wouldn't buy the dvd's for the extras, but as I said in my last post, the quality of the dvd is pretty good.
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Post by steeleinc on Mar 2, 2012 22:00:40 GMT -5
After so many years, I guess we were lucky to get 4 min. of extras, but they shouldn't have 'hyped' it on the back cover! I was expecting so much more. No matter - I'm just thrilled that it's finally available on DVD.
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Post by Ace on Mar 4, 2012 12:17:58 GMT -5
Eaz, Very helpful. Thanks for letting me know. Shame about the diminutive "extras" My ideal would be for Pierce and Kate to do a commentary but that's a pipe dream - I'd settle for a bit more than a few minutes of interviews though.
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Post by eaz35173 on Mar 28, 2012 12:07:45 GMT -5
I was able to upload the "extras" from the dvd onto youtube......
Agnes Nixon - Creator
Joseph Sargent - Director
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Post by steeleinc on Mar 28, 2012 12:25:19 GMT -5
Thanks for uploading these extras.
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Post by Ace on Mar 28, 2012 14:10:44 GMT -5
Thanks for the extras. No wonder they were so short since they were made for previous programs and Manions was just part of the overall discussion. I always love when they ask people details about someone else a quarter of a century later - as if they're accurately going to remember all the details. Like Sargent on Pierce's background. No he wasn't commuting from Ireland as an actor, he was London based and had lived and studied there since age 11. No he didn't have a lot of TV experience with a little stage stuff - it was the other way around.
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Post by eaz35173 on Mar 28, 2012 14:21:21 GMT -5
Ace, I thought the same thing about Sargent's comments!
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