The Avengers on Blu-ray in France

[Alan]

If you're saying that part of a series' charm is how dodgy the prints look, I can't say I agree!

[waldotyson]

Maybe I'm stuck in the analog world too much. I can't say a high signal to noise ratio is all that important to me. I don't mean there should be spots and hairs all over the place but to have it too crystal clear is taking something away from the original work IMHO.

[Alan]

That's an odd view, because an HD transfer will give the nearest approximation of the original films. They've only looked like they do because the technology to transfer them from film to videotape for broadcast and home video was markedly inferior even fifteen years ago compared to today.

A Blu-ray edition of The Avengers should give the best representation of the original films to date. What can possibly be wrong with that?

[waldotyson]

an HD transfer will give the nearest approximation of the original films. They've only looked like they do because the technology to transfer them from film to videotape for broadcast and home video was markedly inferior even fifteen years ago compared to today.

A Blu-ray edition of The Avengers should give the best representation of the original films to date. What can possibly be wrong with that?

Yeah, I can see that. It would be better to have it closer to original film quality rather than original video quality.

[Strange Young Man]

That's an odd view, because an HD transfer will give the nearest approximation of the original films. They've only looked like they do because the technology to transfer them from film to videotape for broadcast and home video was markedly inferior even fifteen years ago compared to today.

A Blu-ray edition of The Avengers should give the best representation of the original films to date. What can possibly be wrong with that?

Probably nostalgia. People have been watching dodgy old prints for years now, even growing up on them, and that's how The Avengers is to them. Nothing wrong with that, but personally I'm looking forward to having even less separate us from the world the camera was originally trying to capture some 40 years ago.

[Alan]

If people are nostalgically attached to duff prints, film dirt and other imperfections of the picture, one wonders if they have time to appreciate the programmes themselves.

Frankly, the better the prints are, the more that those imperfections (which are in effect analogue artifacts - i.e. not what the director intended to be there, but which are there due to films not being cleaned properly, or not being stored properly, or being damaged over the years), the easier it is to concentrate on the artistic achievements of a great team of programme makers. If their work can be presented to its best advantage without compromising the original intent (i.e. retaining the approximate framing, colour grade and presenting effects etc as they were seen originally), then it will be doing those actors, writers, producers and directors a massive service, as their work will be preserved in a condition and in a format that will see the series gaining new fans and admirers for many, many years to come.

[Dandy Forsdyke]

It's the dirt and bad prints that put me right off.

I was interested in buying some Hill Street Blues DVDs, but if the quality is as bad as the episodes they show on More4, I'll pass...

[JohnSteedFr]

We don't have news in France for the moment.
We are disappointed by this.
We all hope that the series will be available on blu ray in few months !!!!

[Dandy Forsdyke]

There's a history of Avengers episodes being last to release product. There were no video releases until 1993 and the Contender DVDs were slow to emerge.

It does seem odd when you look on the shelves, certainly in the UK, to see only the odd New Avengers box set.

[waldotyson]

There's a history of Avengers episodes being last to release product.

And why not- apparently there's only 100 of us that like the show that much (Being very tongue-in-cheek, here, okay?)