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The HD Movie thread

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Of the forty or so HD movies I own, Dune is the most visually startling. Possibly because I hadn't seen it in the theater since I was literally 11 or 12, the details I'd missed from multiple DVD viewings LEAPT out. It also has the best reverse engineered digital audio I have ever heard. Very subtle and very well positioned and mixed.
 
http://www.dvdtown.com/reviews/stardust/5436

Video:
Here's the thing: I believe the filmmakers intended the movie to have a slightly soft focus, probably to underline the fairy-tale quality of the plot. This is what shows up in Paramount's MPEG4/AVC, 1080-resolution, 2.35:1 aspect-ratio, HD DVD transfer. The reproduction doesn't have the sharp outlines of some of the high-definition "Harry Potter" fantasies, for instance, but the softness is undoubtedly intentional, and in any case is hardly a matter for discussion because it enhances the story. The picture looks fine, sometimes even too bright to the point of looking a smidgeon washed out. There is also a small degree of print grain that gives the image a realistic texture, so you know you're watching a real film and not a glossy clean, digitally scrubbed picture.

Audio:
The HD DVD's Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio uses one of the most intensive surround tracks you'll find. One notices the rear-channel effects almost immediately, evident from the very beginning of the tale when young Dunstan Thorn first enters Stormhold. The sounds of the town put you dead on in the lad's position. What's more, the soundtrack is one of the most natural you'll find, especially noticeable in the smoothness of voices. Then, too, you'll find excellent clarity and focus in the midrange and a strong dynamic impact, even though the response seems a trifle light in the deepest bass.
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DVDTOWN.com rates this HD DVD:
Video 8
Audio 9
Extras 7
Film value 8
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Edit: Beaten.
 
NekoFever said:
I still need to watch 2001. It's been sitting here for a while but since it's a film that you need to sit down and watch rather than have on as background noise I haven't gotten around to it yet. Soon.

In non-disc HD news, I just found out that the BBC is going to be showing Sin City and Kill Bill on their HD channel over Christmas. I don't have it :(
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I do :) there is also Channel4HD thats just launched, and will have some good movies on over christmas. The Dish is one that i'm looking forward to. they also have Bridge on the River Kwai and Breakfast at Tiffanys

don't worry though, they'll fuck it up by broadcasting in stereo like they usually do. their picture quality is outstanding though. Sin City has also (I think) Been on skyHD. Thats helped me get by with out HDDVD. I have V for Vendetta sat on my PVR waiting for an opportunity to watch. The star wars sexology (what do you call 6?) was also in HD on sky and that was really really nice. the first time my son saw episode IV (the first one to watch), was in HD on a projector with 5.1. lucky bastard :D


I need to get 2001. Sounds amazing from everyone who has seen it.


didn't love die hard, but have the box set anyway - mostly for 1 and a bit for 2. Thought the latest one was more of a True Lies movie with Bruce Willis. The vulnerable guy picking glass out of his feet is suddenly replaced by a superman who jumps on fighter jets?



BTW, this thread is great, but it will cost people a lot of money :P
 
Solo said:
Still need to get PE myself. The price point has consistently scared me off.
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Same here. Although the fact that its constantly repeated on BBCHD puts me off too.

I need to buy The Searchers. If my dad, who is a huge John Wayne fan, comes down to us for Christmas, he'll love seeing that in HD on a big screen. Most of his collection is still on VHS and he's only replaced a few on DVD.


And I hope Warner bring some of their other classics out on bluray soon. I heard great things about casablanca and Robin Hood.
 
Superbad has great PQ. Showed it to my friends and they didn't know i had HD player. They were all like wow your tv is the best i have ever seen. urgh...casuals.
 
I've been waiting for a good deal on any of the three Wayne westerns (Searchers, Rio Bravo, or the Cowboys) to no avail; two had supposedly shown up on Amazon's b1g1, but I never saw 'em there. Rio Bravo is probably the least impressive of the transfers, with a fairly brown, ruddy image, but it's still very nice. The other two are absolutely lovely, and mrklaw, your father would flip to see the Searchers like this.

If you and/or Van actually like the movie enough to bother, Jonathan Lethem has a great essay about his love of the film, part of which you can read here.
 
SWEET! I was worried because I got the dreaded "Backorder" email from Warner Home Video for my harry potter set. Well, I just received the email saying it shipped, AND when I went to check up the tracking number it shows it's already been delivered!! HAHA!!

I was somewhat regretting the HD-DVD purchase of it.. Now finding out the BRD version has HD supplements and the ABC special.. however the IME support on the HD-DVD version sounds excellent and should make up for the lack of that special (or the HD format for the supplements). It sounds excellent.
 
I just checked my newspaper, idunno if it has been posted Frys is running BOGO on select blu-rays.
 
Cosmic Bus said:
I've been waiting for a good deal on any of the three Wayne westerns (Searchers, Rio Bravo, or the Cowboys) to no avail; two had supposedly shown up on Amazon's b1g1, but I never saw 'em there. Rio Bravo is probably the least impressive of the transfers, with a fairly brown, ruddy image, but it's still very nice. The other two are absolutely lovely, and mrklaw, your father would flip to see the Searchers like this.

If you and/or Van actually like the movie enough to bother, Jonathan Lethem has a great essay about his love of the film, part of which you can read here.
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I actually had it on HDDVD, but sold it when I ditched HDDVD to go bluray only. Although the only time I watched it, I didnt' realise until afterwards that I had the HDDVD player set to 480p!
 
If anyone wants a fixed copy of Pirates: Curse of the Black Pearl, Disney has them now.

I just called, even though I don't really care about the framing issues, and it was really easy (just had to give mailing details and I'll have it in 7-10 days). They don't even want the old copy back, so theoretically you could just use this to get a free copy of the movie.

Number: 1-800-723-4763
 
I pre-ordered The Bourne Trilogy HDDVD set for $49.00 on Amazon. I believe it shipped yesterday and now im just waiting.

Hurry up and get on that deal because its normally $89.00 plus the trilogy is an amazon.com exclusive.
 
Costanza said:
It was filmed mostly in 480i, so it pretty much looks exactly like the DVD.
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Yeah pretty much, except the shots at the end (probably about 3 minutes of the film) is shot in normal film so you can tell the difference there.
 
:lol My free HD-DVDs FINALLY showed up today. Sent them at the beginning of August and Toshiba kept telling me, even 2 days ago, that they were in processing.
 
I picked up band of brothers @ hmv.jap

It is simply stunning!

Here is hoping my free ones arrive people have been getting August-Oct orders now.
 
VanMardigan said:
I'm watching The Host now, looks excellenet. Well, aside from the cgi. :lol
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Did you like it?

I bought it when it came out based on the hype and the average ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and came out disappointed. The first half was pretty good but the last half didn't do much for me.

Transfer absolutely looks superb though.
 
The Main Event said:
Did you like it?
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I've only watched the first part and I think it's ok. Hopefully I like the second part more than you did. It's entertaining so far, but nothing special. I'm enjoying it more than oldboy, which I thought looked bad and I didn't much like the movie either.
 
snorggy said:
anyone have rescue dawn? just wondering what the PQ is like and whether it's actually a good movie or not...
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I've seen screenshots and it looks pretty good - not perfect, maybe a little soft and flat, but not too bad. It's also an enjoyable movie in its own right, though, so.
 
What didn't you like about the second half of Host, main? Like the first part of the film, I thought it was pretty competent.

I definitely enjoyed viewing the cityscapes, and stuff in HD. It all seems so different from what we have here in the US, including the food.
 
The Host is one of the best monster movies ever made, and a fantastic piece of black comedic social satire. The unusual mix of slapstick, dysfunctional family drama, comedy and horror opens up for so many unique scenes. I LOVED the characters of the family, especially the dad, perfectly played by Kang-ho Song. I loved the creature as well, especially the scene in broad daylight at the beginning where it wobbles towards the poor folks. Not high-budget CGI but capable, and a good creature-design. I was also a big fan of how it depicted a national catastrophe and the panic-mongering the government and the media creates. This wasn't typical anti-american allegory as some pointed out, it was more a commentary and criticism of the fear-based society many people in power and authority contribute to.
 
I saw part of HP5 last night. It's loaded with extras, but I gotta say, hours != quality. Somebody needs to edit down all the tech people going on and on about how they might have modelled something but didn't. :(

Movie itself looks fabulous, though.
 
snorggy said:
anyone have rescue dawn? just wondering what the PQ is like and whether it's actually a good movie or not...
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I really enjoyed it, felt like a Vietnam version of Deliverance. Also, I just read a review that gave it an 4/5 in PQ on BD, so there's probably no need to worry about that.
 
So finals ended last week, that means lots of movie watching. :D

me and a friend watched a bunch of dvd's and blu-rays.

Superbad, pristine PQ but thats to be expected with such a recent movie, and still awesomely funny.
Re-watched the Fifth Element, i think everyone knows about this though
Disturbia, what an intense movie. Great PQ and AQ. If you havent seen it and you like thrillers this is a good movie to rent.
Cast Away, the plane crash is definite demo material. Awesome sound design with the rain and the waves fully alive in the surround speakers. Tom Hanks is the man.

I think im going to watch Pirates 3 later today, and i think im in the minority that i liked it much more than 2. And easily easily more than spidy 3.
 
Anybody have the following?

Simpsons Blu Ray
Pirates Blu Ray
Superbad Blu Ray


Bourne Ultimatum HD DVD
Blade Runner HD DVD

hows the PQ and audio tracks on these?
 
I watched Bourne Ultimatum HD-DVD and Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix Blue Ray this weekend. Bourne Ultimatum is a stellar picture. The scenes in Tangiers really stood out. Harry Potter also looked great, although during some of the early night time scenes there were some weird screen effects going on. Thankfully these disappeared. The Ministry of Magic looked awesome. There are lots of colors in those scenes that I never noticed in the theater.
 
Don't have a player right now so I can't watch it but I got Blade Runner BD today info from the back of the box

3 Blu 2 DVD

Workprint is 110 mins

Final cut has Dolby TrueHD 5.1, other versions have Dolby Digital 5.1 (it doesn't say + but I assume it is)

Disc 1-Final Cut
Disc 2-Dangerous Days (DVD)
Disc 3-US, International Theatrical, and Director's Cut
Disc 4- Enhancement Archive (DVD)
Disc 5- Workprint
 
Bourne Ultimatum - good PQ, good AQ, good movie
Stardust - decent PQ, good AQ, crappy movie
Superbad - good PQ, good AQ, funny movie
Battlestar Galactica S1 - crappy PQ, decent AQ, good tv series
 
I've finished Harry Potter 4 now, and you really see a progression here with each film looking better than the last. Goblet of Fire looked really damn good.

Prisoner of Az - ****
Goblet of Fire - ****1/2

Prisoner I enjoyed tons, it had only been my 2nd watching since it's theatrical release. A real shame Alfonso Cuaron didn't do the next 2.
 
Solo said:
So the PQ for PoA is pretty great then?
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Pretty good, yep. It's the darkest film in the series, which was a concern seeing how the first 2 Potters handled dark scenes, but Prisoner does a good job of cleaning this up.

GoF would have probably gotten 5 stars if not for some banding on a quite a few scenes.

All minor stuff really, hence the high ratings.
 
picking up Blade Runner today. can't wait.

watched superbad over the weekend. meh... didn't really gain anything from HD IMHO...

but god damn is it still the funniest movie I've seen in ages. The Panama Donut scene has overtaken the Master of Puppets Pledge Induction scene from Old School as my funniest most favorite scene in a comedy of all time. Just priceless.

edit - shit.. that reminds me I really need to pick up Old School on HD-DVD one of these days... probably won't gain much, but it's one of my favorite comedies ever.. definitely should own it in HD.
 
I picked up Blade Runner and Star Dust today, both in HD-DVD so I'll let people know how they are after I watch them.
 
borghe said:
watched superbad over the weekend. meh... didn't really gain anything from HD IMHO...
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I disagree, it gains clarity, not looking like a blurry mess when watching it on DVD is a good thing. Clarity and detail is a good thing even if its for something as just a lowly comedy.
It seems theres a stigma that only action movies and sci fi movies benefit from hi def.
 
captive said:
I disagree, it gains clarity, not looking like a blurry mess when watching it on DVD is a good thing. Clarity and detail is a good thing even if its for something as just a lowly comedy.
It seems theres a stigma that only action movies and sci fi movies benefit from hi def.
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Yep. I had mentioned over on HDD's forum that I wanted Once on Blu-ray, which was met with lots of confused responses. Regardless of it being an action film or a low budget musical, I have an HDTV, I'd like to take advantage of it whenever possible.

I picked up Blade Runner today. Saw The Simpsons Movie at the store, but I'm not allowed to buy it until after Christmas, since I put it on my wish list.
 
Blade Runner HDD review (just the important stuff)
The Video: Sizing Up the Picture

'Blade Runner' has suffered over the years in various tape and disc incarnations. Although I didn't hate the two previous standard-def DVD releases as much as some, Ridley Scott's masterpiece has certainly never received the definitive video release fans that fans have long been clamoring for. So when Warner announced last year that -- at last -- 'Blade Runner' would be given a full-bore restoration (complete with the original film elements scanned in at 4k archival resolution), it was clearly call to rejoice.

Even better, Warner has not skimped on any version of the film presented on the different Blu-ray and HD DVD editions. The studio offers 1080p/VC-1 encodes of not only 'The Final Cut,' but also the original 1982 domestic and International versions of the film, the 1992 'Director's Cut.' As 'The Final Cut' forms the centerpiece of the package, I'll focus on that presentation, and then offer some additional thoughts on the other versions.

Simply put, 'The Final Cut' looks stunning. Although again I didn't despise the earlier DVD editions, this restoration is nothing short of a revelation. I've seen the film at least 50 times over the years (seriously), and was absolutely floored by how many visual elements I'd simply never seen before. The detail, texture and depth of the image are spectacular. The original elements have clearly been rehabbed from the ground up, with a flawless print that has had all dirt and blemishes removed, (which is doubly impressive considering how many optical effects there are in the film). But lest purists fear that Warner has overdone it, I was thrilled to see that there is still some legitimate grain to the image, which retains a film-like and natural look entirely appropriate to the vintage of the film.

Colors are also fantastic. This new restoration corrects the overly reddish tint from the previous DVDs, and the subtle and striking blue-green casts are now far more apparent. Fleshtones are also far more consistent, despite all the stylized lighting. Blacks are perfect, and contrast expertly modulated. Jordan Cronenweth's trend-setting cinematography can now be fully appreciated -- particularly his stunning use of light and shadow. Delineation in even the darkest areas of the picture is dead-on, so fine subtleties previously lost in the murk are now readily visible.

Lastly, Warner has delivered a terrific encode. The image retains its sharpness without being overly edge enhanced. Noise is not a problem (even on the darkest areas of the picture, as well as the numerous effects shots). There is also no apparent banding, macroblocking or other nagging artifacts -- simply put, this is beautiful compression work. Warner has absolutely hit it out of the park with this one, and it's easily a five-star presentation up there with the best.

As for the other versions of the film, they almost match 'The Final Cut.' Warner provides three versions of the film on disc three -- the 1982 domestic and International cuts, and the 1992 Director's Cut. As these versions are accessible via seamless branching they share much of the same material, and appear to utilize a master identical to 'The Final Cut.' As such, the video quality boasts the same wonderful colors, jaw-dropping depth and excellent black levels. However, since 'The Final Cut' has been spiffed up in terms of its visual effects and other slight digital tweaks, there are segments of these three other versions that suffer slightly by comparison. Grain can be slightly exacerbated, and contrast sometimes wavers in consistency during effects shots. It's pretty minor, and of course, 'The Final Cut' is where Ridley Scott and Warner appropriately focused most of their attention. Even fans who come to this release most interested in the older versions of the movie are unlikely be disappointed.
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5/5

The Audio: Rating the Sound

'Blade Runner' received Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on its previous DVD incarnations, but they left a great deal to be desired. Even with allowances for the vintage of the original elements, it was clear that little real work went into cleaning up the source and truly remixing them for the home theater environment.

Warner certainly rights past wrongs for 'The Final Cut' here, delivering a truly splendid new Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround track (48kHz/16-bit, and identical on both the Blu-ray and HD DVD versions). 'Blade Runner' finally sounds spatially alive and vibrant, with surrounds that now live and breathe -- just as it should be. (Note that 'The Final Cut' is presented on all high-def versions with optional English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround tracks at 640kpbs, plus subtitle options in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.)

The old Dolby mixes of 'Blade Runner' were gimmicky, often bleeding select frequencies to the rear speakers in the most obvious ways possible (whenever a spinner would fly overhead -- whoosh!). This TrueHD remaster is far, far better integrated. The rear soundstage now enjoys much better imaging and seamless pans between channels. Vangelis' legendary score is at last fully immersive, with select instruments often directed to specific channels instead of the whole thing sounding like sonic mush emanating only from the fronts. The expansive street scenes also benefit greatly from fine attention to atmosphere, with rain, crowds and other effects nicely spread all around the listener.

Dynamics are also clearly superior to any previous video release. Low end finally has real heft, and the irritating brightness that plagued the old DVD has been greatly reduced. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the score, which has a much warmer tone while still retaining the cool allure of its '80s electronic elements. Dialogue is much more even-handed in the mix as well; previously, quieter dialogue was lost, but here even some of the more hard-to-decipher words spoken by Rutger Hauser finally make sense. Any source defects have also been eliminated, with the TrueHD track always perfectly clean and smooth across the entire sonic spectrum.

As for the three seamlessly-branched cuts on disc three, each sport Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (640kbps) tracks in English and French, plus a Dolby 2.0 Stereo (192kbps) option. (Subtitles include English, Frency and Spanish.) These Dolby tracks are quite good, but only if you don't compare them to the TrueHD. The source is still the same restored elements used for 'The Final Cut,' but the mixes are clearly different, with many sounds directed to the rears on 'The Final Cut' now far less pronounced. Dynamics are also good but not great, and Vangelis' score is not nearly as powerful. Still, make no mistake -- these mixes are certainly more than listenable.
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5/5
 
captive said:
I disagree, it gains clarity, not looking like a blurry mess when watching it on DVD is a good thing. Clarity and detail is a good thing even if its for something as just a lowly comedy.
It seems theres a stigma that only action movies and sci fi movies benefit from hi def.
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Agreed. I put on A Christmas Story just for kicks during a party the other day and people were all commenting on how good it looked compared to TV or DVD. I mean, that disc doesn't look a whole lot better than the DVD counterpart, but the increase is enough to make it worth it if it's a movie you really like. For those that make big leaps, it's really nice no matter what the genre.
 
So I was able to pick up my copy of Bourne: Ult and Shrek 3 @ my local Best Buy for a total of $19.99 plus tax! I never knew of the 1-minute pick up policy. The lady took $10.00 off because the SD versions are what she found attached with my paperwork, so she had to go get the HDDVD's from the shelf, all of which apparently took over a minute. That made my day.
 
Jeff-DSA said:
Agreed. I put on A Christmas Story just for kicks during a party the other day and people were all commenting on how good it looked compared to TV or DVD. I mean, that disc doesn't look a whole lot better than the DVD counterpart, but the increase is enough to make it worth it if it's a movie you really like. For those that make big leaps, it's really nice no matter what the genre.
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I passed on Christmas Vacation and Christmas Story for EXACTLY this reason. I am not some HD zealot. If it's a movie I don't own, of course I'm going to pick it up on HDM now, even at a premium. However, my copies of Christmas Vacation and Christmas Story still work perfectly fine to not have to go and pay a PREMIUM for a mildly better looking copy of the movies.

Now if they were to remaster and clean up the film for a sparkling new HD transfer that would be a different story.. but as I said in the format war thread, I have no intention of replacing my DVD collection with HD versions that are only of barely noticeable improved quality over the DVDs.

Anyway, I just commented on Superbad specifically because the family had just watched Harry Potter 5 the night before and Pirates 3 the weekend before this.When you go from those two HD showpieces to Superbad, you are going to lose a lot of that wow.. that's more or less what I Was saying. I would NEVER pickup a movie on DVD simply because it doesn't have the intesity of an action movie. But Superbad definitely ain't no Potter 5 or Pirates 3. :)
 
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