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[Atomic Playboy]

I remember that hearing that Fifth Element had such a poor BR release, that they had to rerelease it a year later.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was another one that got remastered and sent to anyone who bought the first version. They apparently had it misaligned so the first 45 minutes of the film or so weren't framed properly and you ended up with scenes like this:

Granted, after they fixed that issue, it was a pretty sensational transfer.

 

[Lys Skygge]

Just looked at some pictures. It looks really yellow now.



They say that's how it's supposed to look, but honestly who really knows with these old movies. All I know is I've never seen it look like that.

There's no way it looked like that. I don't even think digital color correction existed before the 90's, with O Brother Where Art Thou being one of the notable firsts. There's a reason why older films look more natural and less stylized trash.

 

[afternoon delight]

The Killer and Hard Boiled come to mind.

John Woo has always been given lackluster treatment.


That Wall Street grain gif is godly though- godly!

 

[MMarston]

There's no way it looked like that. I don't even think digital color correction existed before the 90's, with O Brother Where Art Thou being one of the notable firsts. There's a reason why older films look more natural and less stylized trash.

The whole yellow thing seems to be a recurring issue with other older films when transferred.


I watched the anniversary edition of Sound of Music the other week and while it looked great, half of the movie was glowing gold for some reason.

 

[BBQMan]

I'm pretty sure I saw Dragonball Z with some horrendous DNR.

Yep Cropped and DNR yuck

 

[Lys Skygge]

The whole yellow thing seems to be a recurring issue with other older films when transferred.


I watched the anniversary edition of Sound of Music the other week and while it looked great, half of the movie was glowing gold for some reason.

That's really odd :/ There's a lot of great looking transfers of older films that don't have that problem.

 

[MMarston]

That's really odd :/ There's a lot of great looking transfers of older films that don't have that problem.

Did some googling and turns out I wasnt crazy

Granted, it's still a great looking 1

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I don't even think digital color correction existed before the 90's,

Color timing existed before digital grading. Lots of films could (and would) tint scenes/settings. It was (and still is) a photochemical process.

 

[Dpp1978]

There's no way it looked like that. I don't even think digital color correction existed before the 90's, with O Brother Where Art Thou being one of the notable firsts. There's a reason why older films look more natural and less stylized trash.

They had pretty comprehensive analogue colour manipulation tools back then. Digital tools allow more precise control within the frame but you could quite easily adjust the overall colour, and how dark or bright a shot is, during the developing and printing process. The fact there were good Technicolor prints, which are largely immune to colour fading, as reference means this is probably the original colour balance or close to it.

 

[Lord_Balkan]

The Hills Have Eyes has a pretty bad blu-ray in terms of image quality. It basically is just upconverted from the DVD.

Apparently, they can only find a 35mm version of the film, but the film was originally recorded on 16mm. The 16mm version was just copied onto 35mm and apparently some of the detail was lost because of that. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like they can find any of the originals. Which is a shame, since behind Nightmare On Elm Street, it is my favorite Wes Craven movie.

 

[spuckthew]

When I was looking for American Psycho a few years ago a bunch of videophile forums mentioned that the US/Euro versions weren't great and that the Australian version was the best.

Can't remember how legitimate those claims were, though, and I can't be bothered to look into it now, but it [Aus version] looked good when I watched it.

 

[The Beard]

Do any of you have the Criterion 'Thief' Blu? I just bought it and it looks great for the most part, but when the screen is dark there's a bluish glow on the right edge of the picture. It's really annoying.

I have a Panasonic VT60 Plasma so it's not an LCD "flash-lighting" or "light bleed" issue. I tried two different BluRay players, same issue. I've watched tons of movies, and this is the only one with that problem. Maybe I got a bad disc?

 

[#1 defender]

I collect a lot of HK movies and the Jackie blus from HK are rather terrible upscales from the Fortune Star dvd transfers. I had to stop buying the blurays after being burned time after time. The contrasts are all wrong, picture smudged then super clear than noisy. Just issues all over. If you can, shill out a few extra pennies for the DVDs.

R.I.P. HKL.

The Terminator. I can't tell the difference between the DVD and Bluray versions.

The newer blu-ray of Terminator looks great.

http://www.caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=611&y=313&d1=1563&d2=1564&s1=14768&s2=14784&l=0&i=8&go=1

 

[The Victorian]

The Warner Bros. 2006 edition of Enter the Dragon has a very sloppy transfer. Specifically, the video is noticeably pixellated, looking as though it was transferred at a resolution lower than 10800p and simply resized:

http://i.picpar.com/o6Fb.png

http://i.picpar.com/p6Fb.png

http://i.picpar.com/q6Fb.png

And I heartily second the contempt for overuse of DNR. In those screenshots posted, Arnold and Qui-Gon look like bloody CG characters!

 

[GalacticMouse]

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (the Jim Carrey version) had a horrendous original release on Blu-Ray. The whole movie has a greyish hue to it.

They re-released the Blu-Ray this year and seem to have fixed the problem, at least.

 

[KenzinFive]

God, this is a depressing thread for someone who still collects BluRays. Other than the Criterion Collection (which I'm just assuming are great transfers even though I may be totally wrong), are there any stand-out BluRay transfers that people should try to get?

 

[samn]

God, this is a depressing thread for someone who still collects BluRays. Other than the Criterion Collection (which I'm just assuming are great transfers even though I may be totally wrong), are there any stand-out BluRay transfers that people should try to get?

smurfs

 

[televator]

Ironically the NA release of American Psycho was pretty bad as well. I've heard the Australian version was better. Did NA ever get an improved print latter though? I've been wondering for a while.

 

[NealMcCauley]

God, this is a depressing thread for someone who still collects BluRays. Other than the Criterion Collection (which I'm just assuming are great transfers even though I may be totally wrong), are there any stand-out BluRay transfers that people should try to get?

Off the top of my head:
Lawrence of Arabia
Baraka/Samsara
Godfather I/II
Braveheart
Pretty much all Spielberg movies

 

[Lord_Balkan]

God, this is a depressing thread for someone who still collects BluRays. Other than the Criterion Collection (which I'm just assuming are great transfers even though I may be totally wrong), are there any stand-out BluRay transfers that people should try to get?

Blue Underground, Grindhouse Releasing, Scream Factory, Arrow (UK) and Mondo Macabro generally does a good to great job if you like horror movies.

 

[Son Of D]

Any of you guys have seen Advent Children complete? The old scenes look so bad. It's even worse when they add the new ones, which look so sharp and good in contrast.

Was going to mention this. The original scenes aren't even in HD if I recall so you go from SD scenes to HD scenes.

 

[Livingskeletons]

God, this is a depressing thread for someone who still collects BluRays. Other than the Criterion Collection (which I'm just assuming are great transfers even though I may be totally wrong), are there any stand-out BluRay transfers that people should try to get?

Alien

Casino Royale

Watchmen

 

[-shadow-]

God, this is a depressing thread for someone who still collects BluRays. Other than the Criterion Collection (which I'm just assuming are great transfers even though I may be totally wrong), are there any stand-out BluRay transfers that people should try to get?

Personal favorite films on blu-ray include:

• Lawrance of Arabia
• Gone With The Wind
• The Wizard of Oz (75th anniversary is the same master as used for 70th anniversary)
• The Godfather I & II
• Casino Royale
• Skyfall

All look stunning, especially Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz which were both remastered at 8k. The Technicolor three strips really make these films shine as few other movies do. Absolutely amazing how well these look.

 

[ROUGE_BLOCK]

Traffic looks absolutely awful. Looks grainy as hell

 

[Dash Kappei]

in my 1600+ DVD and 380+ BR collection (all original of course) which I started back in late August of 1997 for my 20th birthday with Twister, Gangster Story, Goodfellas, The Fugitive, Blade Runner, Batman and Batman Returns all imported from Amazon US), as far as high profile releases go, I've NEVER seen *anything* as bad as The Sword in the Stone bluray release (the first italian edition of Heat on dvd doesn't count and Predator Hunter Edition doesn't come close to that even if it's awful). it's a crime against humanity, I want to meet the producer and beat him up with the most rough-jaggied non-edge-enhanced club ever existed, see if that gives him a clue and fixes that fucking thick skull of his.

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

Alien

Casino Royale

Watchmen

Interstellar

Sound of Music

Drive

 

[Atomic Playboy]

God, this is a depressing thread for someone who still collects BluRays. Other than the Criterion Collection (which I'm just assuming are great transfers even though I may be totally wrong), are there any stand-out BluRay transfers that people should try to get?

There's a pretty exhaustive list at AVSForum. Not surprisingly, CG animated films dominate the top of the list. As for live action, I've recently been impressed by Hello Dolly, Mad Max: Fury Road and Jurassic World.

 

[red731]

Some of these examples are like the ads for my smoothed/glowing to hell and back russian wifes.

Spoiler

Or porn images that should grasp my attention.

 

[Concrete Charlie]

The Fugitive doesn't look so hot. I got it for that big train crash scene which sounds awesome but the whole film looks kinda meh.

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

There's a pretty exhaustive list at AVSForum. Not surprisingly, CG animated films dominate the top of the list. As for live action, I've recently been impressed by Hello Dolly, Mad Max: Fury Road and Jurassic World.

My problem with Jurassic World isn't the quality of the Blu-ray because it's fantastic. But the aesthetic of that film is so plain and digital that it's really not memorable.

Compare that to Mad Max and you'll notice the quality barrier.

 

[Lightning Count]

God, this is a depressing thread for someone who still collects BluRays. Other than the Criterion Collection (which I'm just assuming are great transfers even though I may be totally wrong), are there any stand-out BluRay transfers that people should try to get?

Misery
Blade Runner
Alien
Total Recall Mind Bending Edition

 

[Beer Monkey]

God, this is a depressing thread for someone who still collects BluRays. Other than the Criterion Collection (which I'm just assuming are great transfers even though I may be totally wrong), are there any stand-out BluRay transfers that people should try to get?

Off the top of my head, some bad Criterion transfers include Mulholland Drive and lots of the Kurosawa stuff.

Be careful when buying.

 

[Earth]

Both BD releases of Kite were horrid.

 

[Estocolmo]

one of the early 5th element releases were bad if i remember correctly

Generally speaking, are early releases worse than new releases? I recently started collecting Blu-rays, shifting my movie collection from DVD to blu-ray and most of my movies are new releases.

I always thought blu-ray version was the better but this thread is giving me doubts.

 

[pswii60]

Predator

Wtf! Image on the left looks like TVs set up incorrectly with all the noise reduction bullshit enabled and sharpness on max.

 

[Extra Sauce]

I can't believe that a company like Criterion would release subpar transfers. At 40 dollars a pop you would think that they would not let this happen.

 

[rec0ded1]

We need a best blu ray transfers thread to bring back balance to the force.

 

[EatinOlives]

Yeah the Sword in the Stone blu ray is pretty bad lol.

Holy shit, those pics. I whispered "what the fuck" to myself. How is this trash sold for money?

 

[Tugatrix]

We need a best blu ray transfers thread to bring back balance to the force.

Lawrence of Arabia the Thread

 

[Lord_Balkan]

We need a best blu ray transfers thread to bring back balance to the force.

There was this thread not too far back.

 

[VistraNorrez]

Off the top of my head, some bad Criterion transfers include Mulholland Drive and lots of the Kurosawa stuff.

Be careful when buying.

Mulholland Drive has compression artifacts that are hard as hell to notice when watching the film unless you are really close to the screen. In motion more detail is apparent than the other, region B, Blu-Ray transfer. If you only have a Region A player, it's your only choice. Even with the compression artifacts it's far better than the DVD.

Criterion's Moonrise Kingdom also has artifacts. If you don't care about special features the other Blu-Ray is a better choice to get but once again, in motion those artifacts are hard to see.

Criterion does need to compress their blurays better, there is no excuse.

 

[dan2026]

I don't understand why DNR is even used. Film grain isn't an error. Its the natural texture of the material.

Also WTF at Disney? Are the butchering their way through their back catalog?
Are they still doing it? Are there no decent Disney Blu-rays?

 

[EatinOlives]

I don't understand why DNR is even used. Film grain isn't an error. Its the natural texture of the material.

Also WTF at Disney? Are the butchering their way through their back catalog?
Are they still doing it? Are there no decent Disney Blu-rays?

With the advent of HD came an obsession alongside for "sharp", "clean" images. I presume most focus groups do perceive film grain as an imperfection to be done away with, and the perception of clarity is more important than film accuracy. Who cares that the outlines in Sword in the Stone are smudged beyond recognition? Look at how VIBRANT the colors are!

Despite blu-rays being an increasingly niche market, at the end of the day I imagine most distributors consider it a mass-market product, and mass-market products have a long history of catering to the "this LOOKS good" / "this SOUNDS good" gut-feelings of the masses over everything else. That's why we have the loudness war in music (where, much like bad blu-ray transfers, "remasters" of old songs are put through the paces of "loudness" by clipping the lows and the highs to make one continuous block of sound because people think loud = better), why we have shit like black crush on remasters as well. Things need to convey a "this looks/sounds good" on the superficial gut feeling. It needs to sound thumpy on the radio, colors need to "pop" on the Best Buy show floor, that kind of thing.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Mulholland Drive has compression artifacts that are hard as hell to notice when watching the film unless you are really close to the screen. In motion more detail is apparent than the other, region B, Blu-Ray transfer. If you only have a Region A player, it's your only choice. Even with the compression artifacts it's far better than the DVD.

Criterion's Moonrise Kingdom also has artifacts. If you don't care about special features the other Blu-Ray is a better choice to get but once again, in motion those artifacts are hard to see.

Well, that depends on your display device. On 100" front projector, you can tell. Trust me.

I can't believe that a company like Criterion would release subpar transfers. At 40 dollars a pop you would think that they would not let this happen.

They don't advertise their releases as videophile. They promote themselves for having curated content and top-shelf extras.

What we need is an audiophile publisher. Think 'Superbit' for DVD, but able to license content form any studio like Criterion.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

They don't advertise their releases as videophile.

They might not now, but they're definitely coasting off the days from when they did, and were known for that just as much (if not moreso) than the extras.

I think the fact people still just naturally assume that's what they're supposed to be getting when they pick up a Criterion release speaks to that.

I wish they'd go back to that.

 

[Ridley327]

They might not now, but they're definitely coasting off the days from when they did, and were known for that just as much (if not moreso) than the extras.

I think the fact people still just naturally assume that's what they're supposed to be getting when they pick up a Criterion release speaks to that.

I wish they'd go back to that.

The transfers have been good, but there's been a number of titles that really skimped out on the compression. YMMV on whether or not that's a dealbreaker, but it is something that really ought to be addressed, especially with the likes of Arrow starting to impress with their releases no longer being Europe exclusive.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

My problem with Jurassic World isn't the quality of the Blu-ray because it's fantastic. But the aesthetic of that film is so plain and digital that it's really not memorable.

Compare that to Mad Max and you'll notice the quality barrier.

Agreed. Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the most visually striking movies I have ever seen. I still think Jurassic World is impressive in a more traditional sense (and the blu-ray is flawless), but stylistically it doesn't hold a candle to Mad Max.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

The transfers have been good, but there's been a number of titles that really skimped out on the compression. YMMV on whether or not that's a dealbreaker, but it is something that really ought to be addressed, especially with the likes of Arrow starting to impress with their releases no longer being Europe exclusive.

No doubt. It's kinda funny, that as time went on they became known way more for their extras than their restorations/transfers, to the point where the entire home video industry basically took that model and ran with it as soon as they had the opportunity with DVD (eventually licensing those extras from Criterion to put on their own discs), and now extras are so fucking played out and expected (they're not even extras anymore, really) that the best way for Criterion to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack is to ensure nobody else can touch them when it comes to A/V quality.

 

[Ridley327]

No doubt. It's kinda funny, that as time went on they became known way more for their extras than their restorations/transfers, to the point where the entire home video industry basically took that model and ran with it as soon as they had the opportunity with DVD (eventually licensing those extras from Criterion to put on their own discs), and now extras are so fucking played out and expected (they're not even extras anymore, really) that the best way for Criterion to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack is to ensure nobody else can touch them when it comes to A/V quality.

I guess boutique labels should be fortunate that most of the big studios have largely thrown their arms up in the air on catalog releases, since that seems to be the new thing. Even WB is licensing out these days, when their policy used to be to do everything in-house, even if it meant burned DVD-Rs.

 

[jett]

It looks much more natural now with the warm color temp. I have the newer and better transfer, it looks great IMO.

I think it looks the opposite of natural, but other than the color timing change it does indeed look better than before.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Man-with-No-Name-Trilogy-Blu-ray/95396/#Review

I recall back in the '90's, Vertigo also had a problem regarding its restoration where there was a limited number of references to allow an accurate restoration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertigo_%28film%29#Restoration

Yeah I read that blu-ray.com page. I just find it somewhat suspect since it's the only one of Leone's westerns that allegedly looks like that. Once Upon a Time in The West was shot by the same cinematographer and yet doesn't feature such an intense color timing. Maybe it's also missing the yellow tint? Maybe they're all missing a yellow tint?

edit: There's also an Italian release with yet different color timing, and I think it may look the best.

Original release

Remastered

Italian

The yellow tint in the American re-release just overpowers the entire picture.