The Semi Official Blu-Ray Thread - Page 64

Looks like it's the release announcement for the complete saga to be on Blu.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa188.html#010511

Sweet. They're going to offer three sets: the whole 9 disc series, and then each trilogy broken up into box sets. You know... for those of us who have no fucking interest in owning the prequels.

If only I could get HD "original" original trilogy.

I'm usually not that guy, but releasing it on the 10th anniversary of Sept 11 seems like a bad idea. I mean, it opens the release up to all kinds of geek hyperbole.

The bad news: Yeah, the A.I. delay's real. April 12th.

The good news: The Incredibles is slated for the same day.

HELL YES on 'the Incredibles'!  Thanks for the good news, Justin.

Also, severe late pass on this but I finally got around to picking up Pushing Daisies on Blu. My jaw put a crack in the floor within 30 seconds after the disc got inserted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabe Powers 

I'm usually not that guy, but releasing it on the 10th anniversary of Sept 11 seems like a bad idea. I mean, it opens the release up to all kinds of geek hyperbole.

I can't imagine LFL would tempt fate like that considering their big EPISODE I DVD junket was held at the Ranch on Sept. 10, 2001, and they got virtually none of the exposure they were counting on due to the horrific events that occurred just hours later.  Fox, on the other hand, would be that stupid.

Yeah, call me when Star Wars and Empire are available separately on Blu; you can keep the rest. Be nice if we finally got the original versions in anamorphic. That'd be worth double-dipping for. Otherwise I'm just waiting for the original Indy trilogy to hit Blu. That I'll buy on whatever Tuesday morning it drops.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Blank 

Yeah, call me when Star Wars and Empire are available separately on Blu; you can keep the rest. Be nice if we finally got the original versions in anamorphic. That'd be worth double-dipping for. Otherwise I'm just waiting for the original Indy trilogy to hit Blu. That I'll buy on whatever Tuesday morning it drops.

Yeah, that's going to be a quadrilogy, sadly, Martin.

I don't care. Remember, I liked Crystal Skull, so having 'em all together doesn't bother me.

Ah. Didn't know that, Martin. I, myself, hate that piece of dogshit and will have a hard time swallowing it. Though for that franchise, I will because the good:dogshit ratio is acceptable.

I was just looking at the "top selling Blus" and maybe someone can help me out with something:

The complete 6 film set is the top selling Blu ray as of..I don't know, today, I guess. Not surprising.

The original trilogy is in 6th place. Makes sense.

The prequel trilogy is in 50-something place. My first thought was, "Wow, look at the disparity in people buying the respectable film set vs. the blights on cinema set."  But then I realized something else...Who is only buying eps 1-3? Who only wants the shitty ones? I mean...it has to be confused grandmas or something, right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raspberry Leper 

But then I realized something else...Who is only buying eps 1-3? Who only wants the shitty ones? I mean...it has to be confused grandmas or something, right?

People who were young children when Phantom came out love the prequels, at least most of the younger people I know do.  They can't understand why people make such a big deal about the original trilogy.

Still great compared with SITH.

Is THE ABYSS coming to blu-ray?  I sure hope so.  Cameron's best film.

www.digitalbits.com

Okay... the following should be considered VERY tentative. However, we've now heard it from multiple independent sources, including reliable industry insiders, so.... Sources are telling us that director James Cameron has been (or it about to begin) working on a new high-def transfer and master of The Abyss, presumably for eventual Blu-ray Disc release. As many of you know, The Abyss is a title that doesn't even have an anamorphic widescreen DVD release (neither does True Lies for that matter) so it's LONG overdue. We've been hearing this might soon happen from industry insiders for a couple of months now, but the most recent report on this comes from a longtime Bits reader (thank you, Jon H!) who actually had the chance to meet Cameron a few weeks ago. He asked specifically about the possibility of The Abyss coming to Blu-ray, and Cameron said that he was about to start work on a new transfer using the same process he did with the Aliens Blu-ray. Cameron then proceeded to say that he was really excited about how good Aliens looks on the format. So... fingers crossed... maybe we'll finally see those remaining Cameron titles on Blu-ray in the next 12 months or so...

Unlike Aliens, The Abyss actually looked halfway decent even in non-anamorphic form back in the day (superior film stock no doubt helped), so a brand new HD transfer? Yes, please.

Though Cameron's supposedly been sitting on an updated transfer for several years now, according to Van Ling -- but I certainly won't bitch about an even better one. About freaking time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluelouboyle 

Yeah, I never really understood all the gripes about the lack of anamorphic transfer. It looked great on my TV.

Well, having gotten rid of my 4:3 TV in favor of a 16:9 one, non-anamorphic DVDs looks pretty lousy.

Not to be a noob, but what is the difference between anamorphic and non-anamorphic widescreen?  I have wiki'd the term and I still can't really understand it.

i'm not a real technical dude, but I can explain things well enough, so if I'm wrong feel free to correct....

In its most general use, anamorphic means taking an image and either stretching or squashing it so that it changes the dimensions. Film accomplishes this through a variety of lenses while shooting and projecting. DVDs do this by actually taking square pixels and stretching/squashing them so they are rectangular. As a result of this double use, the definition of what anamorphic means has been muddled somewhat.

What that means is that a film shot with anamorphic lenses usually has a native aspect ratio of 2.4:1. You can tell its an anamorphic image because things like lens flares are stretched out to an oval shape, whereas a non-anamorphic image would have circular lens flares. I'm not technical enough to know what kind of impact use of anamorphic lenses has on image quality, besides the aforementioned lens flares, but on some level it must affect film grain. A traditional non-anamorphic film image is 16:9.

For DVDs, which are generally formatted in either NTSC or PAL, anamorphic was devised as a stop-gap measure for HDTVs so that the video image could use all the pixels at its disposal in order to create as detailed a widescreen image as possible. An anamorphic DVD image is 16:9 whereas a non-anamorphic DVD image is 4:3.

Basically with nonanamorphic you get black bars on the top, bottom and both sides of the screen. So the movie playing in a little retangle in the middle of the screen and it looks like shit. However if you have the right tv you can fuck with it a little to make the image kind of serviceable. I have one of those Sharp Quattron tvs with that extra yellow pixel thing and with that im able to zoom them in to the point where it fills the scrren with very little loss on the sides. Doesn't look at good as a normal upconverted DVD but it's watchable. Of course with blu-rays you never have to worry about it.

Picked up the Social Network Blu from Amazon for 16$, got it shipped for like, 4$. 20 Dollars for a 35$ DVD? I can dig it.

Also, it's my favorite film of the year, so, you know, that's a plus...

Best Buy has Social Network for $16.99 as well.

I haven't even seen it so I'm picking this up ASAP.

Alright so I have a bizarre problem. I own the Puppet Master Blu-ray(don't judge me). Had the thing for months and I have watched it twice with no problems. Now when I put it in i starts skipping ever5 seconds jumping ahead about 10 minutes each times. Does it with the menu screen and the special features too. Tracked down another copy and it still does it so I know it isn't the disc just that specific title. Tried other blu-rays and they play fine. So what the hell is going on? 

Maybe there is some kind of conflict with your Blu Ray player's firmware.  I've heard some updates have unintended consequences for certain titles.

So could the next firmware update fix it or is it done forever? Believe it or not that disc wasn't cheap.

Jurassic Park possible for 2011. I'm happy for this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waaaaaaaalt 

So could the next firmware update fix it or is it done forever? Believe it or not that disc wasn't cheap.

 

 

I'm not sure as I am pretty new to the Blu Ray thing.  I have been keeping all of my updates on CDs in case there is ever any conflict with one of my discs. Perhaps your manufacturer's website has an older update from a time when the disc actually worked.

ROAD TO PERDITION looks and sounds amazing on Blu-Ray. Shame it's kind of dull as molasses. 

For shame Spike for shame. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waaaaaaaalt 

For shame Spike for shame. 

It's got some great moments, but it's SO dull at times. Thematically it’s a very slight film which would sing if it was a little shorter, as it is the pace kills the thing and nearly undoes a lot of good work. 

So the Desperado and Once Upon a time in Mexico came out on the 4th and I just got around to watching Desperado. For anyone holding off pick it up now. Desperado has never looked better. Don't be thrown by it being a double feature disc with  El Mariachi. The birate stays up around 30 most of the time and the sound mix is insane.

Here's a question for you Criterion boys and girls out there.

Every so often the collector bug nestled at the base of my brain tells me I should go ahead and collect all the Criterions. The thought of having to own Armageddon usually dissuades me.

But now that they're really ramping up on putting their catalog titles on Blu-ray, I'm wondering: with the Criterions that I am interested in, should I just hold out and wait for the Blu-ray? This is, of course, assuming that (A) there's going to be a Blu-ray eventually for whatever titles I want but haven't gotten and (B) the titles I want but haven't gotten won't have their Criterion rights lapse.

Anyone else muse on this?

Some of their more oddball stuff, I wouldn't imagine a Blu-ray would even be called for. A perfect example would be Fishing with John — a great DVD, I actually own it. But let's say that was one of the discs I hadn't gotten yet. Would you say "Nah, pull the trigger on the DVD, that's never gonna hit Blu," or "Nah, wait for the Blu"?

I'm also wondering if any of those Eclipse sets will eventually turn up on Blu-ray.

On a related topic, I'm sort of glad I didn't go for the Universal Fear & Loathing Blu-ray even though the screenshots looked a lot sharper than the Criterion DVD, but I'm also waiting to see what Criterion does with the announced Blu-ray. I'm hoping the PQ and sound are comparable or superior and that the cool extras are ported over or added to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Clark 

So, I finally get all settled in and ready to watch Sunshine for the first time on Blu, and the PiP track won't and can't turn off. The option's greyed out.

It's apparently an issue in Sony players (in this case, the PS3) with the last big firmware update (the one for 3D) wreaking havoc with the Picture-In-Picture function on some titles.

Specfuckingtacular.

Thank you, Fox.

Is the Dangerous Days disc of the Blade Runner Blu Ray supposed to be a DVD?  I know that there were some manufacturing issues with some of the sets but I don't know if this was the norm for the release.

Tried quoting you, Martin , but the quote button doesn't do anything. I'm drunk and talking out my ass, but I believe Fishing with John was shot on standard def video. Don't hold your breath for blu-ray. Ditto the FUCKING AWESOME "Golden Age of Television" collection I have and love.

As for "collecting all the Criterions", some just don't make sense to go get at this point. Silence of the Lambs isn't even anamorphic and they lost the rights. What about all the other out of print titles whose mastering is now substandard?  Where do you draw the line? The Halloween laserdisc? The first three Bond films? You're never going to get every "number" from their catalog unless you do some logic somersaults and compromises in quality.

More to the point, I guess, I've got Criterion's Lola Montes Blu-ray and I hope like hell they get around to the other Max Ophuls flicks they've got before they lose the rights.

But, yeah, being a Criterion completist at this point serves little purpose besides being a Criterion completist. And good point about the outdated masters. Sony's Life of Brian Blu-ray transfer smokes the Criterion DVD, for instance. Also, where is my Rushmore Blu-ray this is unacceptable and the delay is the worst thing that has ever happened in world history. Ahem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben W 

Is the Dangerous Days disc of the Blade Runner Blu Ray supposed to be a DVD?  I know that there were some manufacturing issues with some of the sets but I don't know if this was the norm for the release.

Yeah, it's a DVD across the board. Supposedly, Warners ran out of time getting the set out there so they rushed the end. All formats got Dangerous Days on DVD, and a behind the scenes photo gallery got shut out as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Blank 

More to the point, I guess, I've got Criterion's Lola Montes Blu-ray and I hope like hell they get around to the other Max Ophuls flicks they've got before they lose the rights.

 

But, yeah, being a Criterion completist at this point serves little purpose besides being a Criterion completist. And good point about the outdated masters. Sony's Life of Brian Blu-ray transfer smokes the Criterion DVD, for instance. Also, where is my Rushmore Blu-ray this is unacceptable and the delay is the worst thing that has ever happened in world history. Ahem.

Lola Montes is a fucking amazing disc. If I can have a moment where I'm not getting my ass stomped, I was going to update the Blu-Ray screenshot thread with some Criterion BR shots including Montes, the BBS Story set and others.

Speaking of Warners: Superman Ultimate Collection is coming, apparently. No idea who the audience is for Superman III and IV in HD, but if it's got everything the DVD set did, including that fantastic Look Up In The Sky documentary in HD, might be worth the upgrade.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Clark 

Speaking of Warners: Superman Ultimate Collection is coming, apparently. No idea who the audience is for Superman III and IV in HD, but if it's got everything the DVD set did, including that fantastic Look Up In The Sky documentary in HD, might be worth the upgrade.

Am I totally crazy, or has the theatrical of Superman II never been released on Blu either? The article I read made it sound like it was only a first for III and IV, but I can't and never could find II (NOT the Donner version) to save my life.

I wish Criterion would re-issue Carnival of Souls on BR.

That would be insane. And since it's in the public domain, there's no chance Criterion would lose the rights to it, since there aren't any.

Blue Underground announced Dario Argento's Inferno a while ago, but now they've also announced Deep Red (http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/deep-red2.html). The good news is the Arrow UK release is/will be a slightly cut version (no dead lizards for the UK). The bad news is that they're separating the US and Italian cuts. Personally I prefer the longer Italian cut for the comedy and character development, and vastly prefer the English dub for David Hemmings real voice. I had no problem with the old DVD that cut to Italian for the few scenes that they never dubbed in English, and I'm a big enough nerd that this actually makes me sad.

I just bought Cannibal Girls on BR last week and despite being light on extras (only interviews with Director Ivan Reitman/Producer Daniel Goldberg and star Eugene Levy, an early Reitman short movie starring Goldberg, a trailer, NO commentary) I'm glad I got it because for a movie shot in the early 70s for about 12 to 25K, depending on who you talk to, it looks amazing. I really would have fucking KILLED for a commentary with Reitman, Goldberg, Levy and Andrea Martin who is suspiciously absent from the disc.