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The HD Movie thread

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3D Blu-Ray is a timed exclusive for people buying Panasonic 3D TVs starting in December. They are doing this with pretty much every 3D movie, making them exclusives.
 
That's fine, just don't bring out 3 fucking versions in the span of a year. Not to mention, 2 theatrical releases.


What they should do is simply skip this release, and make the 3D version the deluxe one. But no ... can't miss Christmas :\
 
Raistlin said:
That's fine, just don't bring out 3 fucking versions in the span of a year. Not to mention, 2 theatrical releases.


What they should do is simply skip this release, and make the 3D version the deluxe one. But no ... can't miss Christmas :\
Click to expand...

Hey, its better than the LotR release schedule, which has you wait goddamn years between releases.
 
Raistlin said:
That's fine, just don't bring out 3 fucking versions in the span of a year. Not to mention, 2 theatrical releases.


What they should do is simply skip this release, and make the 3D version the deluxe one. But no ... can't miss Christmas :\
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Avatar is to Blu-ray what Lord of the Rings was to DVD.
 
distantmantra said:
Does anyone know what the region coding is for the Exit Through the Gift Shop Blu-ray from the UK? Is it locked to B? I can't find any solid information online. There appears to be no plans for a release in North America yet, and I'd love to import it if possible.
Click to expand...
Just saw someone post at the blu-ray.com forum that its region 2 :-(
 
On the Video Quality:
Link to full review.

Paramount's "Sapphire Series" presents Oscar-winning and nominated films on specialty Blu-ray releases, and it's off to a shaky start. The first pressing of Gladiator was marred by an unsightly transfer riddled with edge enhancement and digital noise reduction, while Saving Private Ryan's initial release left listeners in search of a soundtrack not hindered by an audio sync problem in the film's critical third act. The studio made good with both discs; the remastered Gladiator is a thing of high definition beauty, while a recall and second pressing of Saving Private Ryan elevated the release to the point where it's a contender for the year's top Blu-ray disc. Unfortunately, the fan-favorite and Oscar-winning American Beauty features another flawed transfer; it's not as egregiously bad as Gladiator's first release, but it's not up to par with the wonderfully filmic and nearly perfect Braveheart, either. It's a transfer of pluses and minuses that will leave some viewers satisfied and others once again demanding a superior release. As to the good first, American Beauty's vibrant color palette mostly sparkles in high definition. Though reds -- the most important color throughout the film -- can appear somewhat smeary and slightly over-pumped, the remainder of the palette delivers a stable, honest appearance that lends an eye-catching tint to brighter shades while maintaining a strong neutral look to the less-vibrant hues. Nevertheless, several scenes clearly appear washed out compared to the remainder of the film. Detailing is adequate for a high definition transfer, too; American Beauty certainly doesn't capture the absolute finest textures and nuances of anything within its frame like the finest film-like transfers achieve, but viewers will be pleased with the solid upgrade in clarity and definition that's apparent over the film's standard-definition DVD release.

Unfortunately, there are some other minor-to-moderate issues that drag the transfer down from where it needs to be. Occasional spots and speckles cover what is a rather harsh-looking image with excessively sharp edges and readily-visible edge enhancement through much of the film. Whites occasionally bloom and overpower the frame in several scenes, and black levels fluctuate between appearing a bit too pale in some places and overwhelming foreground details in others. Fortunately, however, both whites and blacks are more often than not steady and honest, with the problem areas appearing only intermittently throughout the film. Noise dots the image on occasion as well, though American Beauty does retain a bit of grain and doesn't appear to have suffered from overzealous noise reduction. Nevertheless, there are several instances where parts of the image -- and faces in particular -- appear overly smooth and pasty, though flesh tones tend to capture a pleasantly neutral shade through most of the runtime. Of the observed issues, only the overly sharp, digital-looking sheen and edge enhancement are major causes for concern; the other problems add up but don't dominate and drastically lessen the transfer in quite the same way.

Paramount has shown time and again that they know how to do Blu-ray right and as well as any other studio around. They don't get much better than the 1080p transfers found on discs like Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, War of the Worlds, and Road to Perdition, so viewers have every right to wonder why the "Sapphire Series" Blu-ray releases can't consistently capture that same level of excellence the first time through. American Beauty isn't a terrible high definition release by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not up to the same exacting standards of Paramount's other releases, either. The "Sapphire Series" monicker seems to suggest a release of higher standards and greater prestige; here's hoping that future titles in the series receive the same top-notch treatment found on the studio's plain old vanilla Blu-ray discs.
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Here we go again.
 
Dead said:
3D Blu-Ray is a timed exclusive for people buying Panasonic 3D TVs starting in December. They are doing this with pretty much every 3D movie, making them exclusives.
Click to expand...
How does it even work? If I want to buy 1 title in december and then another one in january I need to buy another tv?
 
Polk said:
How does it even work? If I want to buy 1 title in december and then another one in january I need to buy another tv?
Click to expand...
No. Every other 3D player can use the same Avatar 3D BD. It's just that you can't get it outside of buying a Panasonic screen for a good while (unless Panasonic owners EBay it).
 
Man said:
No. Every other 3D player can use the same Avatar 3D BD. It's just that you can't get it outside of buying a Panasonic screen for a good while (unless Panasonic owners EBay it).
Click to expand...
What I meant was, if I buy Avatar 3D with panasonic tv in december, ant there's another exclusive title to panasonic in january will I'll be able to buy it without buying another panasonic tv and not counting second hand copies? If not, movie studios are even more stupid that I thought and they want 3D to die as soon as possible (wait, that would make them clever).
 
Solo said:
Delicatessen and The Third Man coming to BD in September. The Third Man was released on Blu by Criterion two years ago, but they have since lost the rights to the film and the Blu is out of print, so this is a good chance to pick it up for those that missed it.
Click to expand...

Review of the new edition of the Third Man:

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
stars_2.gif


'The Third Man' is presented with a 1.33:1 1080p AVC MPEG-4 transfer that varies significantly from the Criterion Collection release that bowed almost two years ago. That isn't necessarily a good thing.

There's quite a smattering of dirt, debris, and lines all over this release, significantly more than the previous version, with some amazingly large or heinous onslaughts leaving one to wonder how much it would have cost to license the Criterion supervised restoration. Brightness levels can still shift, as they did before, but shadow details take a humongous drop. Where black on black in the darkest shadows used to be quite easy to discern, now it's just one big mess. The picture retains some nice depth, but detail levels take a hit. Edges appear pretty clean, free from halos of any kind. Aliasing pops up from time to time in the jackets of the actors, in varying degrees (the tighter the pattern, the more problematic it can be).

Let me just say I wouldn't have minded a brown tint, caused by a layer of barbeque sauce smeared across the picture, compared to the sometimes blurry, borderline sterile and inhuman veneer found here. Early reports and screenshots showed this release having a significant amount of grain removed from the picture, and as much as I hate to give any credit to screenshots, they were right. Jackets and their intricate stitching appear smeared, while the stitching on Major Calloway's shoulders is illegible, even in a closeup of his arm. The sewers never looked cleaner, and that's just dirty. There is no disputing how different this release looks from the Criterion edition, but these changes, they're not for the better. Another blow to the StudioCanal Collection name. A big, big blow. If there weren't a previous release, this wouldn't have been as big a deal, but since we know the potential, it's downright unforgivable.
Click to expand...
 
Damn, HD DVD movies aren't worth the plastic used to burn them in.

I had already sold my player and most of my movies to a friend, but I was lazy about offloading some of the ones he didn't buy. I went to ebay today and :lol , I may as well use them as coasters, it's not even worth listing. .99 is the going price for the ones I bothered to check. I knew I wasn't going to get top dollar or anything but damn I didn't expect the market to collapse like that. Don't laserdiscs sell for more than that?

Anyone with an HD DVD player want to trade for a Blu Ray they don't want?
 
That's really unfortunate about The Third Man and American Beauty

For those that were still waiting for these, Spider-man and Spider-man 2 will finally be released separately November 16. Previously they've only been available as part of the trilogy set.
Link
 
Nice! Spider-Man 2 get! Ive held off the trilogy because I refuse to own S-M3, and am indifferent towards S-M1. But will definitely pick up S-M2.
 
I just thought I would post a nifty way to get three Disney BD's for around $20 at TRU. It's not like their 3 for $7-$9 deal last year but it seems pretty good and it looks like you could extend this to your Fantasia purchase to save even more. For people saying "well this method is only good if TS3 gets a $10 coupon" a coupon site HAS been registered for this movie and will most likely be $10. Enjoy the savings. Personally I can't wait to get BatB on BD for $0.:D

Trip #1 (now thru 9/20):
$10.00 TB3 preorder deposit (not taxed when made)
-------
$10.00 total
=====

Trip #2 (9/21-27):
$24.99 TB3
-10.00 BatB preorder discount
-------
$14.99 taxable
+ 1.12 tax
+ 5.00 BatB preorder deposit
-10.00 TB3 preorder deposit
-10.00 TB3 coupon
-------
$ 1.11 total
=====
($10 TB3 gift card issued separately, can't be used for 6 hours)

Trip #3 (10/5-11):
$24.99 BatB
-10.00 TS3 preorder discount
-------
$14.99 taxable
+ 1.12 tax
+ 5.00 TS3 preorder deposit
- 5.00 BatB preorder deposit
-10.00 BatB coupon
-------
$ 6.11 subtotal
- 6.11 from TB3 gift card
-------
-0- total
=====
($3.89 balance on TB3 gift card)

Trip #4 (11/2-8):
$24.99 TS3
-------
$24.99 taxable
+ 1.87 tax
- 5.00 TS3 preorder deposit
-10.00 TS3 coupon
-------
$11.86 subtotal
- 3.89 from TB3 gift card (exhausted)
-------
$ 7.97 total
=====

Grand Total: $10.00 + $1.11 + -0- + $7.97 = $19.08 for 3 BDs--two of which are must-haves for any animation fan. (You might even exchange TB3 later for something else, like I did with TB2 last year.)
 
Special features for the A-Team:

Extended Cut (~128-131 minutes, can't tell what is pal or not)

The devil is in the details: Action-movie mode with director Joe Carnahan (commentary)
Deleted Scenes
Fun on the set
A-Team montage
Making Of The A-Team
The cast of The A-Team
Liam Neeson: when a plan works
Bradley Cooper: Full Auto
On set with Rampage Jackson
On set with Sharlto Copley
The B-Team
The visual effects (with commentary by the VFX supervisor James E. Price)
 
netguy503 said:
I just thought I would post a nifty way to get three Disney BD's for around $20 at TRU. It's not like their 3 for $7-$9 deal last year but it seems pretty good and it looks like you could extend this to your Fantasia purchase to save even more. For people saying "well this method is only good if TS3 gets a $10 coupon" a coupon site HAS been registered for this movie and will most likely be $10. Enjoy the savings. Personally I can't wait to get BatB on BD for $0.:D

Trip #1 (now thru 9/20):
$10.00 TB3 preorder deposit (not taxed when made)
-------
$10.00 total
=====

Trip #2 (9/21-27):
$24.99 TB3
-10.00 BatB preorder discount
-------
$14.99 taxable
+ 1.12 tax
+ 5.00 BatB preorder deposit
-10.00 TB3 preorder deposit
-10.00 TB3 coupon
-------
$ 1.11 total
=====
($10 TB3 gift card issued separately, can't be used for 6 hours)

Trip #3 (10/5-11):
$24.99 BatB
-10.00 TS3 preorder discount
-------
$14.99 taxable
+ 1.12 tax
+ 5.00 TS3 preorder deposit
- 5.00 BatB preorder deposit
-10.00 BatB coupon
-------
$ 6.11 subtotal
- 6.11 from TB3 gift card
-------
-0- total
=====
($3.89 balance on TB3 gift card)

Trip #4 (11/2-8):
$24.99 TS3
-------
$24.99 taxable
+ 1.87 tax
- 5.00 TS3 preorder deposit
-10.00 TS3 coupon
-------
$11.86 subtotal
- 3.89 from TB3 gift card (exhausted)
-------
$ 7.97 total
=====

Grand Total: $10.00 + $1.11 + -0- + $7.97 = $19.08 for 3 BDs--two of which are must-haves for any animation fan. (You might even exchange TB3 later for something else, like I did with TB2 last year.)
Click to expand...


+ $20 worth of effort to get 3 blurays @ $20. Total real cost: $40. :P
 
netguy503 said:
I just thought I would post a nifty way to get three Disney BD's for around $20 at TRU. It's not like their 3 for $7-$9 deal last year but it seems pretty good and it looks like you could extend this to your Fantasia purchase to save even more. For people saying "well this method is only good if TS3 gets a $10 coupon" a coupon site HAS been registered for this movie and will most likely be $10. Enjoy the savings. Personally I can't wait to get BatB on BD for $0.:D

Trip #1 (now thru 9/20):
$10.00 TB3 preorder deposit (not taxed when made)
-------
$10.00 total
=====

Trip #2 (9/21-27):
$24.99 TB3
-10.00 BatB preorder discount
-------
$14.99 taxable
+ 1.12 tax
+ 5.00 BatB preorder deposit
-10.00 TB3 preorder deposit
-10.00 TB3 coupon
-------
$ 1.11 total
=====
($10 TB3 gift card issued separately, can't be used for 6 hours)

Trip #3 (10/5-11):
$24.99 BatB
-10.00 TS3 preorder discount
-------
$14.99 taxable
+ 1.12 tax
+ 5.00 TS3 preorder deposit
- 5.00 BatB preorder deposit
-10.00 BatB coupon
-------
$ 6.11 subtotal
- 6.11 from TB3 gift card
-------
-0- total
=====
($3.89 balance on TB3 gift card)

Trip #4 (11/2-8):
$24.99 TS3
-------
$24.99 taxable
+ 1.87 tax
- 5.00 TS3 preorder deposit
-10.00 TS3 coupon
-------
$11.86 subtotal
- 3.89 from TB3 gift card (exhausted)
-------
$ 7.97 total
=====

Grand Total: $10.00 + $1.11 + -0- + $7.97 = $19.08 for 3 BDs--two of which are must-haves for any animation fan. (You might even exchange TB3 later for something else, like I did with TB2 last year.)
Click to expand...
If Train A leaves Boston at 50mph and Train B leaves New York at 60 MPH...
 
distantmantra said:
That link takes you to a DVD special edition, there's no listing for a Blu-ray version of Exit on Amazon.ca anymore. :-(
Click to expand...
Augh, sorry about that, I guess they removed/changed the listing for some reason. It definitely said Blu-ray when I originally posted it. Hopefully something official will get announced soon.
 
lordoftherink said:
Augh, sorry about that, I guess they removed/changed the listing for some reason. It definitely said Blu-ray when I originally posted it. Hopefully something official will get announced soon.
Click to expand...

Hey, no big deal, it's not your fault. Seems like the plans for it haven't been worked out fully.
 
VanMardigan said:
Damn, HD DVD movies aren't worth the plastic used to burn them in.

I had already sold my player and most of my movies to a friend, but I was lazy about offloading some of the ones he didn't buy. I went to ebay today and :lol , I may as well use them as coasters, it's not even worth listing. .99 is the going price for the ones I bothered to check. I knew I wasn't going to get top dollar or anything but damn I didn't expect the market to collapse like that. Don't laserdiscs sell for more than that?

Anyone with an HD DVD player want to trade for a Blu Ray they don't want?
Click to expand...
laserdisc is an ENTIRELY different beast. laserdisc prices usually hold up for two reasons:

bonus materials that have seen their licensing lapse and will probably never be released again

a different day and age of film masters.... in many cases superior to what we see today (with the exception of resolution)

today the emphasis seems to be to make the picture pop.. lots of DNR, lots of grain elimination.. heavy cleaning. etc. in the day of laserdisc, the usual intent was to have as clean a master as possible while still maintaining the look and feel of film. take the Halloween BD transfer, or The Thing BD transfer. Both are movies that look more up to date and fresh on BD, at the complete expense of the original intent of the films. Hell, even Casablanca, and absolutely stunning and detailed transfer, arguably looks less like film and more like a perfect picture.

anyway, these are the two biggest reasons certain laserdiscs still hold value. some of the Criterion releases will NEVER be rereleased again (Silence of the Lambs, Halloween, etc).. with HD DVD, pretty much everything that is on the disc is either already on DVD or BD, or will be on BD when it's eventually rereleased.
 
hmm.. hopefully the WIP print is available outside of PIP. Not something that is viewed often, but it's one of the things I cherished the DVD for, eliminating the need for the rare (and valuable) laserdisc edition.

Azwethinkweiz said:
Hopefully Lion King gets the same treatment.
Click to expand...
pretty sure Lion King (and Aladdin?) is a moot point. I know one of those was the first animated feature from Disney to be done completely in CAPS. From there on out, the animated features are essentially straight digital copies.
 
borghe said:
hmm.. hopefully the WIP print is available outside of PIP. Not something that is viewed often, but it's one of the things I cherished the DVD for, eliminating the need for the rare (and valuable) laserdisc edition.


pretty sure Lion King (and Aladdin?) is a moot point. I know one of those was the first animated feature from Disney to be done completely in CAPS. From there on out, the animated features are essentially straight digital copies.
Click to expand...
The workprint is non PiP on the DVD included in the set
 
borghe said:
laserdisc is an ENTIRELY different beast. laserdisc prices usually hold up for two reasons:

bonus materials that have seen their licensing lapse and will probably never be released again

a different day and age of film masters.... in many cases superior to what we see today (with the exception of resolution)

today the emphasis seems to be to make the picture pop.. lots of DNR, lots of grain elimination.. heavy cleaning. etc. in the day of laserdisc, the usual intent was to have as clean a master as possible while still maintaining the look and feel of film. take the Halloween BD transfer, or The Thing BD transfer. Both are movies that look more up to date and fresh on BD, at the complete expense of the original intent of the films. Hell, even Casablanca, and absolutely stunning and detailed transfer, arguably looks less like film and more like a perfect picture.

anyway, these are the two biggest reasons certain laserdiscs still hold value. some of the Criterion releases will NEVER be rereleased again (Silence of the Lambs, Halloween, etc).. with HD DVD, pretty much everything that is on the disc is either already on DVD or BD, or will be on BD when it's eventually rereleased.
Click to expand...

that's fascinating, i had no idea about laserdisc aftermarket value!
 
Laserdisc has a fascinating history. The first true home video enthusiast format and what's amazing is Pioneer supported it even though they didn't sell well. I remember a story where a guy took his Lethal Weapon Laserdisc to get it autographed by Mel Gibson and he didn't know what Laserdisc was.
 
yeah, the special features on laserdisc really are an amazing anomaly. it's silly to say that many of the special features could not have equivalent features produced today. BUT, it's kind of like a making of book.. you could create and publish a different making of book, from a different author and with expanded source material, but you will never again be able to duplicate the tone and language of the original book. IMHO, the extras on the Star Wars Definitive Collection box have never been superseded by the DVDs. The blu-rays sound like the first collection to possibly give it a run for its money, and those are coming out almost 20 years later. The actual physical goodies that came in the Disney special edition boxes were true honest to goodness treasures. The aforementioned Halloween and Silence of the Lambs Criterion releases both had features that again, to this day were never rereleased.. and while the 3 disc Anchor Bay Halloween DVD possibly had more features, that absence was felt.. and the Silence of the Lambs DVD was great (though non-anamorphic) but that too is now out of print.

Laserdiscs IMHO were like Michael Jackson's Neverland.. no one had any idea about what the film enthusiast market was looking for, so they literally threw in everything and the kitchen sink and then a little more for safe keeping. DVD and later BD are like a $40M home.. it looks amazing, has all of the main features and bonuses, and is every bit as valuable dollarwise as Neverland... but it's not the over-the-top production of ridiculousness as Neverland. DVD and BD learned from LD what worked and what people wanted, but there's no arguing that that "anything goes" attitude of the era hasn't maintained a certain level of uniqueness and collectibility about it.
 
Net_Wrecker said:
OMG FINALLY ONCE UPON A TIME...



...In America :(

January 11th

Gotta mean that Once Upon A Time In The West is right around the corner right? I mean, I love OUATIA but I'm dying for "...In The West" on Blu.
Click to expand...

NOOOOOOO...

This breaks my heart. But I'm sure we will get a OUATIW, due to the recent restoration that was released in some theatres. Every time The Good, The Bad & The Ugly gets a release on a format, Once Upon a Time in the West should have a simultaneous release. It's just as good, if not better (albeit different).
 
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