The NeverEnding Story BD - Comparison to German- & U.S.-DVD

[Atreyu]

Originally Posted by Liquid_Swords

Dutch=winner

Agreed.

[kdo]

Originally Posted by Atreyu

Agreed.

As do I for the most part . However, at the same time, and as we've discussed in detail on this thread (and others), the Warner disc cannot be entirely discounted, as there are certain aspects of that transfer (namely the improved clarity, fine detail & grain structure) that are superior to the Dutch release...And not that anyone will care, but one thing I did recently, in hopes of somewhat putting this matter to rest (at least in my own mind ), was splurge a good chunk of change on a copy of the 126-page "The World of The NeverEnding Story" film-companion book that was published back when the movie came out in 1984. It was a blast to read, and is beautifully animated, including pre-production artwork (paintings, storyboards, etc.) and photographs of the sets during filming. Interestingly, and while a book cannot technically be used as a source of reference for a film, I was surprised to find that, while the majority of the pre-production artwork and photographs seem to fall more in line with what we see on the Dutch Blu, there were still some aspects that actually lean a little more towards the look of the Warner transfer.

Needless to say, because Wolfgang Petersen was not involved in the transfer process of either Blu-ray, and because he hasn't publicly stated his opinion on the matter, one release cannot legitimately be claimed "more correct" than the other. And in all honesty, at this point, as I'm sure others will agree, I've basically come to the conclusion that a reference-grade transfer for this film likely falls somewhere in-between the look of the Dutch and Warner Blu's.

It has been over three years now since I tossed my Warner Blu into the trash after its maiden-viewing, but in light of some of the things I've seen and read in "The World of The NeverEnding Story" book, I'm actually going to...can't believe I'm saying this...pick up a cheap copy of the Warner disc again and give it a watch, if anything, just to see how it stacks up, considering when I watched that release, it was on an earlier model HDTV, which while properly calibrated, didn't quite offer the quality of image that my newer Plasma does...Granted, this isn't going to rectify the several issues I feel the Warner disc has (like the LFE/audio problems, black crush and blown-out contrast in many scenes), but perhaps I'll be able to get a better idea as to which scenes look corrected for the better and which ones don't. All in all, it will be an enjoyable little project for me...and using the book, I'm going to go through all of the photographs and artwork and then compare them to both the Warner and Dutch Blu-rays, and then do a tally of which transfer looks more accurate to my eyes...Obviously, this isn't going to solve any problems one way or another, but at least I'll have a little more peace of mind regarding this matter. Will gladly post my thoughts when I have finished...

As has also already been stated several times, at the very least, people have the option to watch whichever release they prefer and/or enjoy. And since no official verification has come to light by way of Petersen, we can all, at least at the moment, enjoy "The NeverEnding Story" in whatever form we desire...which, considering the thematic elements of the film and story itself, almost seems to be an interesting coincidence of sorts ...

[SGB]

Originally Posted by Liquid_Swords

Dutch=winner

Agreed.

The horrible colour timing on the Warner blu renders that release of the film unwatchable IMO.

[Youre My Boy Blu!]

I assume the new version from the UK that released just last month is equally inferior to the US version since it too is from Warner Bros.?

[kdo]

Originally Posted by SGB

Agreed.

The horrible colour timing on the Warner blu renders that release of the film unwatchable IMO.

Yeah, after reading "The World of the NeverEnding Story" book, and seeing the artwork & photos in it, I'm leaning towards the notion that a legitimate attempt was made to correct certain aspects of the film for the better, but that it somehow went astray in certain sequences. I'm still awaiting the arrival of my Warner Blu, but when it arrives I'm going to sit down and spend several hours comparing the photos & artwork in the book to the Dutch and Warner Blu's and see what I come up with...

Originally Posted by Youre My Boy Blu!

I assume the new version from the UK that released just last month is equally inferior to the US version since it too is from Warner Bros.?

As far as I know, there are only two Blu-ray releases in the world that do not use the Warner transfer (and they are the Region-free Dutch Blu, and the Region-B locked Italian release)...and from screenshots I've seen, they look to be very similar:

Dutch: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Ne...Blu-ray/16389/

Italian: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Ne...Blu-ray/36134/

[kdo]

Well, it had been 3 years since I watched the Warner Blu, and having received the copy I re-ordered (to compare it directly to the Dutch Blu and "World of the NeverEnding Story" book), I sat down the other day and spent several hours doing comparisons.

Here are the conclusions I drew up:

1. My gut instinct based on my initial reaction to the Warner Blu over 3 years ago was...correct.

2. Contrast is handled much better on the Dutch Blu, and it also offers far better color balance & saturation, despite some sequences appearing slightly washed out, and some in which fleshtones get a little "pink" at times.

3. The Warner transfer has mildly better fine detail and grain structure, but it's completely negated by the horribly blown-out contrast and black crush evident throughout. While many scenes show signs that a legitimate attempt at color-correction was made (and attained to a certain degree), it unfortunately cannot be properly appreciated, due to the other problems I mentioned.

4. The lossy DTS 5.1 track of the Dutch release blows the DTS-HD 5.1 lossless track of the Warner Blu out of the water (even the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track of the Dutch Blu sounds better!). There were some serious screw-ups on the mastering of the Warner lossless track, period.

5. While neither Blu-ray is 100% accurate, in comparing both the Dutch and Warner releases to the photographs and conceptual artwork of the 126-page "The World of the NeverEnding Story" book, the Dutch Blu-ray is much closer overall, I'd say in about 80-85% of the photographs, storyboards and concept artwork, while the Warner Blu, looks a little more accurate in the other 15-20%.

6. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever at this point, that the Dutch Blu-ray, and likely the Italian Eagle Pictures Blu (which looks very similar), though not perfect, are the best releases of the film to currently own on home-video. The Warner disc is a mess, plain and simple. And while everyone is entitled to their own choice of which Blu they want to watch, I can't understand for the life of me, why anyone would opt for the Warner Blu.