The Most Dangerous Game/Gow, The Headhunter - Blu-ray Forum

DarknessBDJM · 06-28-2012, 09:40 PM

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Mo...Blu-ray/44358/

From the good folks at Flicker Alley.

This was expected to hit July 03 2012, but I received it from Flicker Alley yesterday.
The Most Dangerous Game looks really nice, some scratches and debris, but otherwise it's nice.
Gow, The Headhunter's quality wildly varies from nice to rough shape though (due to the shape of the film itself, not any problem on Flicker Alley's part). I'm not even sure a careful frame by frame restoration would have done the worst parts all that much good.

Both films come on a single disk. Both files are just under 10GB (both films are 63 and 61 minutes respectively though). The Most Dangerous Game is just under 22 mbps for video with two 192 kbps audio tracks. Gow has a slightly higher video bit rate and also has two 192 kbps audio tracks. Both secondary audio tracks are audio essay commentaries. The other special feature is an eight minute long audio interview with Merian C. Cooper with a still picture slide show playing in the video portion. Gow has a squarer aspect ratio with the top and bottom right sides of the inside of the frame being rounded off instead of traditional corners.

Here are some screencaps.

The Most Dangerous Game.

[Show spoiler]

Gow, The Headhunter.

[Show spoiler]

Gow's rougher moments.

[Show spoiler]

PuppyJonathan · 06-28-2012, 10:38 PM

Nice to see Most Dangerous Game come to Blu, it was a nice, little historic movie. I'm surprised no bonuses or that criterion didn't release it themselves

DarknessBDJM · 06-28-2012, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PuppyJonathan

Nice to see Most Dangerous Game come to Blu, it was a nice, little historic movie. I'm surprised no bonuses or that criterion didn't release it themselves

Well I did mention it does have a commentary track for each film and a Merian C. Cooper interview that is a radio interview plus slides for The Most Dangerous game playing as the interview rolls along (it's 8 minutes), so it does have some extras. There's also a nice little booklet that comes with it with info on Gow on one side and flipped over to the other side there's info on The Most Dangerous game.

PuppyJonathan · 06-28-2012, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarknessBDJM

Well I did mention it does have a commentary track for each film and a Merian C. Cooper interview that is a radio interview plus slides for The Most Dangerous game playing as the interview rolls along (it's 8 minutes), so it does have some extras. There's also a nice little booklet that comes with it with info on Gow on one side and flipped over to the other side there's info on The Most Dangerous game.

Oh, I just skimmed through

Torrente · 06-28-2012, 11:41 PM

I guess there are no subs?

iap738 · 06-29-2012, 12:30 AM

Has anyone gotten a chance to preview the PQ and AQ yet? I'm really interested in this set.

NoirFan · 06-29-2012, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarknessBDJM

Both files are just under 10GB (both films are 63 and 61 minutes respectively though)

Even for such short films, 10 GB seems pretty small - Island of Lost Souls is 71 minutes, and is 21 GB.

DarknessBDJM · 06-29-2012, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torrente

I guess there are no subs?

I didn't check, I will later. Have to re-install Windows because some Microsoft update forced itself in and screwed my whole system up (re-installing the updates now).

#Darren · 06-29-2012, 07:42 AM

PQ on TMDG looks awful.

PRO-630HD · 06-29-2012, 07:46 AM

Almost like an upconvert?! I have TMDG on dvd from Legend and was really forward to this release. 22mbps is fine for good picture quality of a 70 min. title. Some screenshot compares to the dvd would be nice.

Banned User · 06-29-2012, 03:18 PM

I don't doubt Lobster Films. This film went through a lengthy restoration process by them and this print is from the original 35mm fine grain master positive. A negative probably doesn't exist anymore for the film. So I find it hard to believe it doesn't look better then any previous DVD release unless someone dropped the ball. Flicker Alley has some great production values and a great track record.

It would be nice to see a Blu DVD comparison and/or a review somewhere.

pro-bassoonist · 06-29-2012, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banned User

It would be nice to see a Blu DVD comparison and/or a review somewhere.

We will have a review Sunday/Monday.

Pro-B

DarknessBDJM · 06-29-2012, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by #Darren

PQ on TMDG looks awful.

In motion it isn't, but some areas are more damaged than others. I often pick stills/caps that show three dimensional depth while I'm watching the film that may not translate as well to still pictures, like the crevice still in The Most Dangerous Game and the first still in Gow. I'd give the video quality a respectable 3.0 or so out of 5.

gpn · 06-30-2012, 12:19 AM

I received my copy too a few days ago and have watched The Most Dangerous Game.

I haven't seen the Criterion DVD, but I did watch TMDG on TCM not that long ago, and the PQ of the Blu-ray is definitely much better than that. Overall though, it's a mixed bag. The opening RKO logo and opening credits look great, definitely HD with a nice, appropriate level of grain present. Some scenes, like the opening scene that starts with the close-up of a clock and moves out to show the Captain and First-Mate, looks really good, but for the most part the movie is soft (although not as soft as what I saw on TCM), although the softness is sometimes only present in portions the image; often the center is clear and reasonably sharp but the edges are soft and blurry. The picture here is also brighter, on the TCM broadcast, when Joel McCrea first sees Zarloff's castle, the castle was barely visible, but quite easy to see on the BD. Also, some scenes on the BD suffer from something that I can only describe as a slight double-vision; it seems soft, but there are also hard edges, hard to describe.

One thing I found puzzling was that after the credits, the film grain disappears for the rest of the movie, and I wonder if the grain removal resulted in some of the unusual visual anomalies (the double-vision effect I mentioned above). Looking at the two other films I have on BD of this vintage and condition (negative lost, so restored from a 35mm finegrain print), King Kong and Island of Lost Souls, both show a pretty consistent amount of grain through-out, and both have an overall stronger picture quality IMO.

Despite the problems, this is likely still the best The Most Dangerous Game has ever looked and is still worth purchasing.

#Darren · 06-30-2012, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpn

Also, some scenes on the BD suffer from something that I can only describe as a slight double-vision; it seems soft, but there are also hard edges, hard to describe.

That's what I'm seeing in the screencap.

walkabout · 07-01-2012, 09:41 PM

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0080BFW4A/ref=nosim?tag=dvdbeaver-20&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=B0080BFW4A&creative= 373489&camp=211189
I have to admit that from Shepard's statement is legitimate to expect a little more than what the caps showed. Nevertheless, you always have to consider the film's age and state it was before undergoing the blu-ray restoration and subsequent transfer. I look forward to read reviews, I'd really love to own this classic on BRD.

TXTyler · 07-02-2012, 04:17 PM

I'm surprised that there aren't any reviews out for this Blu considering its release tomorrow. Also, anyone have any clue why this is shipping later from Amazon?
Thanks!

NoirFan · 07-02-2012, 04:40 PM

Hopefully it's being re-pressed on a BD-50 with bigger file sizes, but I doubt it.

AlecEiffel · 07-03-2012, 05:16 PM

What the heck happened to this?

HuggyBear73 · 07-03-2012, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlecEiffel

What the heck happened to this?

Same here. What happened? Is it available through Flicker Alley?

06-28-2012, 09:40 PM	#1
DarknessBDJM Special Member Member since:Sep 2010	The Most Dangerous Game/Gow, The Headhunter http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Mo...Blu-ray/44358/ From the good folks at Flicker Alley. This was expected to hit July 03 2012, but I received it from Flicker Alley yesterday. The Most Dangerous Game looks really nice, some scratches and debris, but otherwise it's nice. Gow, The Headhunter's quality wildly varies from nice to rough shape though (due to the shape of the film itself, not any problem on Flicker Alley's part). I'm not even sure a careful frame by frame restoration would have done the worst parts all that much good. Both films come on a single disk. Both files are just under 10GB (both films are 63 and 61 minutes respectively though). The Most Dangerous Game is just under 22 mbps for video with two 192 kbps audio tracks. Gow has a slightly higher video bit rate and also has two 192 kbps audio tracks. Both secondary audio tracks are audio essay commentaries. The other special feature is an eight minute long audio interview with Merian C. Cooper with a still picture slide show playing in the video portion. Gow has a squarer aspect ratio with the top and bottom right sides of the inside of the frame being rounded off instead of traditional corners. Here are some screencaps. The Most Dangerous Game. [Show spoiler] Gow, The Headhunter. [Show spoiler] Gow's rougher moments. [Show spoiler]

06-28-2012, 10:38 PM	#2
PuppyJonathan Blu-ray Guru Member since:Apr 2012 Home Theater Gallery:6 Blu-ray collection:63 DVD collection:75	Nice to see Most Dangerous Game come to Blu, it was a nice, little historic movie. I'm surprised no bonuses or that criterion didn't release it themselves Disney Shorts on Blu-ray

06-29-2012, 03:18 PM	#11
Banned User Power Member Member since:Mar 2010 Blu-ray collection:722 DVD collection:28 Blu-ray reviews:5	I don't doubt Lobster Films. This film went through a lengthy restoration process by them and this print is from the original 35mm fine grain master positive. A negative probably doesn't exist anymore for the film. So I find it hard to believe it doesn't look better then any previous DVD release unless someone dropped the ball. Flicker Alley has some great production values and a great track record. It would be nice to see a Blu DVD comparison and/or a review somewhere. Last edited by Banned User; 06-29-2012 at 03:20 PM.

07-02-2012, 04:17 PM	#17
TXTyler Junior Member Member since:Aug 2011	Why no reviews? I'm surprised that there aren't any reviews out for this Blu considering its release tomorrow. Also, anyone have any clue why this is shipping later from Amazon? Thanks!

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06-28-2012, 11:41 PM	#5
Torrente Expert Member Member since:Aug 2010 Location:France Blu-ray collection:186 Blu-ray reviews:5 Trading Score:22	I guess there are no subs?

06-29-2012, 12:30 AM	#6
iap738 Senior Member Member since:Sep 2009 Blu-ray collection:460	Has anyone gotten a chance to preview the PQ and AQ yet? I'm really interested in this set.

06-29-2012, 07:42 AM	#9
#Darren Blu-ray Guru Member since:Feb 2008 Blu-ray collection:804 Blu-ray reviews: 54	PQ on TMDG looks awful.

06-29-2012, 07:46 AM	#10
PRO-630HD Senior Member Member since:Oct 2009 Blu-ray reviews:1	Almost like an upconvert?! I have TMDG on dvd from Legend and was really forward to this release. 22mbps is fine for good picture quality of a 70 min. title. Some screenshot compares to the dvd would be nice.

06-30-2012, 12:19 AM	#14
gpn Active Member Member since:Jan 2008 Blu-ray collection:418	I received my copy too a few days ago and have watched The Most Dangerous Game. I haven't seen the Criterion DVD, but I did watch TMDG on TCM not that long ago, and the PQ of the Blu-ray is definitely much better than that. Overall though, it's a mixed bag. The opening RKO logo and opening credits look great, definitely HD with a nice, appropriate level of grain present. Some scenes, like the opening scene that starts with the close-up of a clock and moves out to show the Captain and First-Mate, looks really good, but for the most part the movie is soft (although not as soft as what I saw on TCM), although the softness is sometimes only present in portions the image; often the center is clear and reasonably sharp but the edges are soft and blurry. The picture here is also brighter, on the TCM broadcast, when Joel McCrea first sees Zarloff's castle, the castle was barely visible, but quite easy to see on the BD. Also, some scenes on the BD suffer from something that I can only describe as a slight double-vision; it seems soft, but there are also hard edges, hard to describe. One thing I found puzzling was that after the credits, the film grain disappears for the rest of the movie, and I wonder if the grain removal resulted in some of the unusual visual anomalies (the double-vision effect I mentioned above). Looking at the two other films I have on BD of this vintage and condition (negative lost, so restored from a 35mm finegrain print), King Kong and Island of Lost Souls, both show a pretty consistent amount of grain through-out, and both have an overall stronger picture quality IMO. Despite the problems, this is likely still the best The Most Dangerous Game has ever looked and is still worth purchasing.

07-01-2012, 09:41 PM	#16
walkabout Member Member since:Dec 2009 Location:Italy Blu-ray collection:68	http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0080BFW4A/ref=nosim?tag=dvdbeaver-20&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=B0080BFW4A&creative= 373489&camp=211189 I have to admit that from Shepard's statement is legitimate to expect a little more than what the caps showed. Nevertheless, you always have to consider the film's age and state it was before undergoing the blu-ray restoration and subsequent transfer. I look forward to read reviews, I'd really love to own this classic on BRD.

07-02-2012, 04:40 PM	#18
NoirFan Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Aug 2009 Blu-ray collection:724 Trading Score:7	Hopefully it's being re-pressed on a BD-50 with bigger file sizes, but I doubt it.

07-03-2012, 05:16 PM	#19
AlecEiffel Member Member since:Jun 2010 Location:outside of San Francisco, CA Blu-ray collection:990 DVD collection:1	What the heck happened to this?