I first saw Let's get lost on a VHS tape about 12 years ago. I was immediately struck by the amazing story of artistic success mixed with tragic drug addiction that made up Chet Baker's life's story as well as the haunting images of the aging musician.
I, like many others have been patiently awaiting a re-issue of this minor masterpiece on DVD. This past weekend (May 7, 2005) I found it at my favorite independent video store! I eagerly rented it in anticipation of how great it would look projected on my 90" screen by my high definition LCD projector. I was disappointed to discover that what I had rented was not a fresh, new, high quality transfer from an original film negative or print . but apparently a copy of a video tape, and not a particularly good one at that. Its softness, increased contrast and video artifacting was made all the more obvious by the high quality projection. The sound quality was mushy also, making conversations hard to follow. There were no revealing deleted scenes, because there were no special features at all. Pressing 'play' after dropping the disc into the DVD tray simply launched the movie and only the original film credits rolled at the end.
I can't help thinking that Mr. Weber and/or whoever else owns the original material of Let's get lost and the rights to re-issue it should be concerned that the longer they wait to do what is needed, the more the reputation of the intellectual property is damaged by the presence of the inferior copy.
I, like many others have been patiently awaiting a re-issue of this minor masterpiece on DVD. This past weekend (May 7, 2005) I found it at my favorite independent video store! I eagerly rented it in anticipation of how great it would look projected on my 90" screen by my high definition LCD projector. I was disappointed to discover that what I had rented was not a fresh, new, high quality transfer from an original film negative or print . but apparently a copy of a video tape, and not a particularly good one at that. Its softness, increased contrast and video artifacting was made all the more obvious by the high quality projection. The sound quality was mushy also, making conversations hard to follow. There were no revealing deleted scenes, because there were no special features at all. Pressing 'play' after dropping the disc into the DVD tray simply launched the movie and only the original film credits rolled at the end.
I can't help thinking that Mr. Weber and/or whoever else owns the original material of Let's get lost and the rights to re-issue it should be concerned that the longer they wait to do what is needed, the more the reputation of the intellectual property is damaged by the presence of the inferior copy.