Hugarian Rhapsody

[QUOTE] [b]AdamMethos wrote:[/b]
I'm wondering about a couple things not related to the sound. (haha) Who was the second guitarist? I missed catching the name in the end credits. And why was Brian's guitar trailing a long cord when John and Freddie (during Crazy Little Thing) had wireless packs for their bass and guitar. Was there some sound quality that Brian would lose if he went wireless too?[/QUOTE]

The guy who played rhythm guitar in Hammer To Fall was Spike Edney, who also played keys throughout the show. There was a shot of him at the start of I Want To Break Free, and he was also clearly visible on piano in Tutti Frutti and Crazy Little Thing. He's toured with Queen on and off since 1984.

Brian always used that long curly cord, so he obviously preferred it over wireless technology for whatever reason. Maybe he was just more comfortable knowing that his guitar was physically connected to something, or it might've been to do with difference in sound.

Oh man! I actually recognized Spike on keyboards but didn't recognize him on the guitar. I thought it was a different person. DUH on me!

[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]AdamMethos wrote:[/b]
Well, one of the special guests is Jeff somebody, co-founder of Eagle Rock. He's introducing the film. He says Eagle Rock has taken over the Queen film archive from Hollywood Records as of Sept 1 and they have more concert film planned.[/QUOTE]
^ most important post in the thread right there.[/QUOTE]

Well, Bob, I cannot agree.
For people - like me - who stopped working early, drove quite a few miles and paid tickets to go and see the "Hugarian Rhapsody" to then find a screening with totally appalling sound...

Well, trying to get rid of that enormous frustration is a lot more important to me than the fact there will be other releases in the future.
What I witnessed was some of the worst promotion for the band which is such a pity...beacause the actual performance is absolutely mindblowing.

I knew exactly how it COULD sound but it sounded nothing like that.

I'm sure the blu ray and CD's will sound great so I'm sure I'll be able to enjoy it in my "home cinema" where I only have stereo sound which is a million times better than the crap at the cinema.

Seems like QPL messed up again. Embarrassing.

I just came back a few hours ago from the cinema Showcase from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I really liked very much the concert, the refreshing remastered film and the awesome quality (you could notice drops of sweat at Freddie, or real and vivid colors, the Brian's hand take at the piano on WWtLF, just awesome quality). The show gave you some times the feeling you were in a concert if you really wanted to get envolved, with the people clapping after some songs. I'm glad they didn't cut off the bits of the band members, those are a good inclusion, to know a bit better their personalities. The beggining documentary was a good brief to put you in the context. There were lots of funny moments.

The people in the cinema was very mixed: children taken there by their parents (and viceversa) young people, older too. I took my father to watch the concert. This movie was a good way to reach new markets. Full cinema, 16 rows and 26 or 28 seats in each one, so about 400-450 persons there .

The cinema was half clapping and singing, mainly after the "EEEEEEEROOOO" part. In Radio Ga Ga you could notice that, how the 50/60% of the audience raised up their hands, singed and clapped. The songs in which the people didn't get too involved were in the first ones (till UP), Now I'm here, and Tutti Frutti. Anyway, it gave me shivers how the people singed along WWtLF, BohRha, WATC, WWRY, RGG, HtF, FWBF, CLTCL, and the acoustics, it was like an "all together" feeling. This doesn't mean that they were standed up shouting to the screen (how I expected it to be); all this was from the seat.

I think the main problem was that the sound wasn't the loud enough. When people clapped at IWtBF, they felt a bit stupid (including myself), because the claps sounded louder than the movie you coudn't hear the song (like when opening a snacks bag). The sorround was very low (or it just wasn't there), so all the music came from the fronts and one speaker at the back, which sounded like the center speaker to me. At least it was on stereo, as at WAtC Freddie came from the right channel and Roger from the left one. On RGG you could feel the sequencer behind you. There were many volume differences, after guitar solos mainly. The piano and the guitar were very low, and stole body to all songs; when suddenly, Freddie and Roger explodes all. Roger's cymbals were too low (except the hi-hat).

The experience: 9/10. I expected more participation, but I enjoyed watching the concert with my dad and being with some other die hard fans. Some sound problems (I hope from the cinema), but great quality. A good product.

I'm just surprised noone is criticizing the biggest problem with event: the entire eastern half of EU, with the sole excpetion of Hungary, isn't being shown the product, and the EU is supposed to be a single market!
Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania... why are we not getting it shown? Is this some form of discrimination?

[QUOTE] [b]Battler wrote:[/b]

Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania... why are we not getting it shown? Is this some form of discrimination?[/QUOTE]
I don't understand it too - there are MANY Queen fans in this part of Europe. We would love to see the movie too

it may be because we are in this territory 24 years ago saw it in cinemas ...

Well even Hungary saw it 24 years ago, yet they're still showing it there, so that can't be the reason. I think they will show it here too, except later, like every company does anyway.

[QUOTE] [b]jozef wrote:[/b]
it may be because we are in this territory 24 years ago saw it in cinemas ...[/QUOTE]


Not according to QPL you didn't if you believe the press release!!

Just saw it in the cinema. Quick review: wasn't in surround sound, only stereo. No sound problems at all. Weird watching a concert in the cinema. There were oly about a dozen people in at most. There was no clapping or cheering. Queen Productions have done a good job this time. Although the bass guitar might've been higher in the mix, this was pretty good, and I heard a lot of "new" things I hadn't noticed on the old VHS. Fred sounds really good on the lower and falsetto notes, and only a little rough at other times. Overall, very impressed. Roger gave a high energy performance and sang well. Brian did a very professional show but didn't seem to be enjoying it quite as much as the others. Deaky's a madman: his dancing during WWRY has to be seen to be believed. I also like how he harrassed tourists beside the Danube; his yellow jogging outfit looks like it was a Xmas pressie from his mother, and those shorts were straight from an '80s porn movie. Great to see him having so much fun. The overall sound was powerful and brash -- just like a rock concert should be. Best performances were UP, Lap/Gods and AKOM. The documentary was just okay -- weak at the start, but improved as it progressed. A few emotional moments for me. I had a real sense of both pleasure and sadness seeing Fred so fit and into it. We lost a lot when he passed away :(

ps was that a Gibson Melody Maker Spike was playing during Hammer to Fall?

cmsdrums wrote:
Not according to QPL you didn't if you believe the press release!!

QPL is today filled by incompetent arrogants... :-(

With sound only coming from the front, or louder in some parts and quieter in others, audience noise coming in and out, my quick diagnosis is that the material was perhaps presented to theaters properly with 5.1 sound, but that many theaters didn't adapt it to their existing sound systems very well. Quiet bits could be the result of missing channels. Documentary might be louder because it would be mixed to proper stereo rather than 5.1.

Unfortunately sometimes a 5.1 mix is rendered in stereo simply by using the L + R of the 5.1, rather than by using a proper downmix. This results in the material from the other channels being absent.

Went today, sound was very low for nearly half, then grew louder. I looked around and seriously thought one of the senior centers was having a day out! lol...oh my. I think one dude was sleeping. I'm not exaggerating, most appeared quite a bit older than me, as in 70's and 80's. It was pretty funny. I had to sit on my hands to keep from over head clapping during Radio Ga Ga. I sang when I wanted to ...figured their hearing aids were turned way down.
Unbelievable. No one laughed, no one cried, or sang or reacted in anyway whatsoever. Theater was about half full.


Now I'm wondering if I should go again this next Thursday and beg the manager to turn the damned sound up?!

Sounds pretty similar to mine, I spotted a couple of oldish people who seemed to be asleep. The Queen fan base in my area are evidently not very enthusiastic.