Tweet The Garden of Allah - 1936

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-ray_ ... lu-ray.htm

On Blu-ray.
Great screenshots.

I once interviewed Daniel Mayer-Selznick, and he named this as his personal favourite of his father's productions. The DVD I have of this looked gorgeous, and it appears to have been surpassed by the blu-ray. Looking forward to the next Kino-Lorber sale.

Been pre-ordered for a month, looking forward to seeing this. I adore this film. I first saw it in my local revival house on "rare film night" and the print was a newly struck 35mm and I stayed to see the midnight screening it was so lush and gorgeous.

What others have said. The Garden of Allah may well be one of the silliest film I have ever seen, but it's gorgeous eye candy, and sometimes that's enough once you happily check left brain at the opening credits. Stir in the lush Max Steiner score, and you've a feast. I'm looking forward to hearing the blu plop into my mailbox next week.

I once interviewed Daniel Mayer-Selznick, and he named this as his personal favourite of his father's productions. The DVD I have of this looked gorgeous, and it appears to have been surpassed by the blu-ray. Looking forward to the next Kino-Lorber sale.

It's on sale for $20 on Amazon, does it usually go for less during a Kino-Lorber sale?

I am glad it looks amazing!

I once interviewed Daniel Mayer-Selznick, and he named this as his personal favourite of his father's productions. The DVD I have of this looked gorgeous, and it appears to have been surpassed by the blu-ray. Looking forward to the next Kino-Lorber sale.

The most beautiful technicolor use I have ever seen. Nothing like the garish, MGM, "Yolanda and the Thief" style technicolor that would come soon enough. One is tempted to watch it with the sound off, but then one would miss hearing C. Aubrey Smith at his most quintessential, warning Marlene in his booming gargle, "Take care! You have come to a place of fire, ... and I think you are made of fire!"

And Marlene herself at the very end, shorn of her customary irony, alone, crying her eyes out, beseeching the coachman, "Drive fast, Drive fast!"

The film is something to see, and hear.

Forever Amber (1947), despite be younger than Garden of Alah, had no luck. The only surviving master know is a very poorly made CRI (color reversal internegative) made fromm camera negatives. It looks washed out, dull, muddy, contrasting missing shadow detail, nothing like technicolor. But in other forum people found it good.

The Twilight Time blu ray was a reported new 4K tranfer, but people to got the disc told me it look nearly the same as the french blu ray of 2012 :

https://www.cinefaniac.fr/dvd/test-466- ... inger.html

New transfer with the same muddy color adjust?

I once interviewed Daniel Mayer-Selznick, and he named this as his personal favourite of his father's productions. The DVD I have of this looked gorgeous, and it appears to have been surpassed by the blu-ray. Looking forward to the next Kino-Lorber sale.

It's on sale for $20 on Amazon, does it usually go for less during a Kino-Lorber sale?

By a few bucks, at least (it's currently $18 on the K-L site). When you're ordering from Canada (where it's considerably more on Amazon.ca), and can get free shipping from Kino (but not on Amazon.com) every little bit counts!

Another review:

https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72719/g ... allah-the/

Rick

I was going to order THE GARDEN OF ALLAH blu ray when I read a review of the disc on Blu Ray.com. (Forgive me as I am no good at posting links from the tablet I use.) That review says that the print used on this blu ray is not the same (excellent) print that was utilized for the Anchor Bay and MGM dvds, and actually suggests that one should seek out one these now oop discs rather than the blu ray. If anyone who owns the dvd and now has the blu ray would be so kind as to say if this review is accurate or pure balderdash, I would be most appreciative. I do own the 2004 MGM version which I just rewatched on my big screen, and it looked lovely as ever.

[silentfilm]

BluRay.com's review of the Kino disc.

Quote (below) from the Bluray.com Review:

The Garden of Allah makes it initial splash on high-definition on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-25 courtesy of Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Appearing in Academy Ratio of about 1.33:1, the 1936 classic has been given a healthy average bitrate of 28123 kbps. I was hoping that Kino would derive its transfer from the same restored print that appeared on the 2000 Anchor Bay and the 2004 MGM DVDs but they've sourced a different archival print that's not as clean and sports video artifacts. DVD Talk's Glenn Erickson lauded MGM's image for appearing "in perfect shape; only a few shots exhibit color haloes indicating a misalignment of Technicolor matrices. The colors leap off the screen." By contrast, KL has a softer picture that occasionally displays color splotches in the form of small polka dots (see especially Screenshot #20). You can also spot some of the artifacts in frame capture #s 9 and 19. Additionally, there is some image flickering during extreme long shots, location exterior shots, and during reel transitions. I detected some dust particles in the opening shot (#18). I bought the MGM disc nearly eight years ago instead of the A.B. because it was more readily available and also had subtitles (which its predecessor lacked). I re-watched it after viewing KL's transfer and consider it to have a richer and bolder color palette, superior definition, and a clearer appearance. The Kino does contain more detail and grain, however. The Blu-ray has an above-average transfer but I'm disappointed that Kino did not work off the same print.

Kino provides only eight scene selections. (My MGM DVD has twenty chapter stops.)

See frame below to evidence the small splotches of polka dots he is talking about in his review which spoil the blu-ray viewing experience. Considering you are paying for a bluray (and they could so easily have been removed) it is quite a shame.

Quote (below)See frame below to evidence the small splotches of polka dots he is talking about in his review which spoil the blu-ray viewing experience. Considering you are paying for a bluray (and they could so easily have been removed) it is quite a shame.

Have you watched the disc? I have. Yes, there are some occasional bits of detritus - most if not all appear to be baked into the composite element - but it's hardly filthy. They're probably most obvious in the scene in the screenshot. I decided to check it out frame-by-frame. The section with the colored dots - which vary in size, color, position and quantity, lasts 14 frames.

I can't quite understand the reviewer's statement that the MGM DVD has “superior definition” yet says the Kino Blu-Ray contains “more detail.” Be that as it may, the Kino Blu-Ray on the whole looks gorgeous to me. Robert Harris agrees:

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/words-garden-allah-blu-ray/

The fact is, both versions are gorgeous. But, there are dvds that approach blu ray clarity, and blu rays that are not huge improvements over their dvd counterparts. If you don't own the now oop dvds, the blu ray will look (and is) beautiful. But, for those who own the dvds, there is no salient reason to double dip.

The fact is, both versions are gorgeous. But, there are dvds that approach blu ray clarity, and blu rays that are not huge improvements over their dvd counterparts. If you don't own the now oop dvds, the blu ray will look (and is) beautiful. But, for those who own the dvds, there is no salient reason to double dip.

So apparently I'm a member of the unsalient minority because I'm happy I did exactly that.