Blu-rays that exceeded or failed to live up to your expectations

[Nostromo]

I do a lot of research before I buy, but I have to admit, there were a few pleasant surprises. All of these looked even better than I expected:

-Halloween (Carpenter version)
-The Thing
-Identity
-Underworld
-Underworld: Evolution
-Escape From New York

The only minor disappointments:

-Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Not Skynet edition)
-Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Neither of the Terminator movies looked as good as I'd expected them to -- a little soft for my tastes. Can't speak for the sound quality or extras for any of these, as it's been a long time since I've watched them. But I definitely remember the PQ or lack thereof.

[oildude]

I guess Tremors is the most disappointing blu-ray for me. I ended up borrowing it before buying based on everything I read. The digital heavy handedness is as bad as everyone says, even to my generally accepting eye. I still have not bought it even though I was so eagerly awaiting the movie.

My most pleasant surprise that I can think of off the top of my head was the first release of Predator. Based on reviews, I was expecting something far worse than what I actually saw. Glad I got this one instead of the subsequent DNR mess release. It was based on my reaction to the first release that I was more willing to believe the reviews of Tremors were exaggerated. They weren't.

[ravenus]

I generally read reviews and check screenies before I buy a film so there aren't too many instances of surprises so far as PQ goes.

Harryhausen's Jason and The Argonauts looked better than I expected it to in several scenes, and the supplements package was a veritable cornucopia. I almost feel guilty about getting it for 8$ on Amazon.

[bam777]

Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I LOVE that movie a lot, but the PQ is lacking a bit. They shot the movie in Hawaii, and a lot of the movie is outside day shots, but for some reason the PQ is just meh compared to what it could/should be. The rest is great, though. Same thing goes for 50 First Dates.

And the Watchmen AQ to me is just awful. The dialouge scenes are so low that you can't even hear what they're saying, and the action scenes are so loud it seems like your speakers are gonna blow. I have to keep turning the audio up and down the entire movie. Very annoying.

[sumawo13]

What disappoints me are the movies that use a years-old HD transfer from the days of DVD and encode with MPEG-2/VC-1.

One of the main offenders here is Robocop, it just looks like an upscaled VHS, and that was my initial reaction upon first watching it when I purchased it several years ago.

[Agent Bond]

Exceeded:

Avatar / Alien films / Blade Runner - All versions of the films with too many hours of extras

The Godfather Trilogy - Remastered picture and more extras

Lord of The Rings Extended - The films on one disc each would've been nice, but the hours of extras make up for it.


Failed:

Crash / Hannibal / Man On Fire / Silent Hill / Spider-Man 1 & 2 - No extras

The Incredible Hulk - No extended cut

Dances With Wolves / SAW VI - No theatrical versions.


In Between:

Star Wars - Getting the crappy Super Special Editions, but 3 discs of extras is cool in my book.

[Al_The_Strange]

Judging all these by their PQs.

Been impressed by:
"AI: Artificial Intelligence"
"Alien"
"Apocalypse Now!"
"Baraka" (best PQ ever!!!)
"Blade Runner"
"Braveheart"
"Dragon Wars" (I know the movie sucks, but it looks gorgeous!)
"Event Horizon"
"Evil Dead"
"The Exorcist"
"Gladiator" (corrected disc)
"Lord of the Rings" Extended Edition
"King Kong" 2005 (and the '33 version's not bad either)
"Kingdom of Heaven"
All "Matrix" movies
"Minority Report"
"The Outlaw Josey Wales"
"The Passion"
"Saving Private Ryan"
"Soldier" (lack of extras notwithstanding)
"Swordfish" (looks good even with DNR)
"Taxi Driver"
"Troy"
"2001: A Space Odyssey"
All Disney movies
Most CGI-animated movies
Most Criterion Collection movies
Most new movies on the market ("Transformers," "Iron Man," "TDK," you name it!)

Been dissapointed with:
"Bloodrayne" I and II (German Imports, like they're worth it anyway)
"Carrie"
"Dreamscape"
"Escape from NY" (UK Import; the US version is decent)
"Evil Dead II" (will probably replace with new edition coming out soon)
"The French Connection"
"Gojirra" (hoping for a Criterion release)
"House of Flying Daggers"
"I Spit on Your Grave" (UK Import; censored and 1080i. The US edition is better)
"Ichi the Killer"
"Immortal"
"The Italian Job" 2003
"The Killer"
"Machine Girl"
"Mission Impossible" I and II
"Ong Bak"
"Ran"
"RoboCop"
"Total Recall" (US edition; the UK and German versions look pretty good)
"28 Days Later" (I know it's a source issue, but it still looks gaudy)

These looks iffy at first glance, but I decided they were okay:
"Alien" III and IV
"Battle Royale" (UK Import)
"Broken Arrow"
"A Clockwork Orange"
"Die Hard" I and II
"Equilibrium" (UK Import; I heard the US edition sucks)
"The Fog" (UK Import)
"Lord of the Rings" Theatrical Edition
"Mad Max"
"The Omen" I, II, III
"Predator" (original release)
"Ronin"
"Silence of the Lambs"
"Silent Hill"
"Sleepy Hollow"
All "Planet of the Apes" movies

Based on this list, I've only ever been dissapointed with approximately 2% of every Blu-Ray I've seen.

[srinivas1015]

Apollo 13 and air force one.

[Edword]

Originally Posted by bam777

And the Watchmen AQ to me is just awful. The dialouge scenes are so low that you can't even hear what they're saying, and the action scenes are so loud it seems like your speakers are gonna blow. I have to keep turning the audio up and down the entire movie. Very annoying.

This right here! I love the movie, but constantly turning the volume up and down gets annoying.

[sumawo13]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

"Baraka" (best PQ ever!!!)

I have the Baraka BD and it doesn't look as good as everyone makes it out to be. Considering the fact that it was scanned at 8k it definitely should look better.

When I watched the Restoration special feature I noticed that the film scanner was scanning what appears to be a positive print, rather than a negative. So I doubt they truly went back to the original source for this film.

[CIBartowski]

I was very impressed at the PQ of The Godfather

I was very depressed at the PQ of Star Trek: The Motion Picture

There are others, but those two stick out in my mind

[Travis]

Very impressed by:
The Graduate
Alien
The Twilight Zone (TV series)

Let down by:
Time Bandits
Secret of NIMH
Batman Begins

[luwanda]

Exceeded: (In no particular order)

· Apocalypse Now
· The Deer Hunter
· North by Northwest
· 2001: A Space Odyssey
· Blade Runner
· Gone with the Wind
· Cry-Baby
· Chungking Express
· The Big Blue
· The Princess Bride
· Any Disney Classic
· Blazing Saddles
· Dark City
· The Godfather I & II


Failed:

· Dead Man
· Hero
· The Big Lebowski
· Scarface

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by sumawo13

I have the Baraka BD and it doesn't look as good as everyone makes it out to be. Considering the fact that it was scanned at 8k it definitely should look better.

When I watched the Restoration special feature I noticed that the film scanner was scanning what appears to be a positive print, rather than a negative. So I doubt they truly went back to the original source for this film.

Dang, I didn't know that.

It's still one of the sharpest and cleanest pictures I know of. If there's anything terribly wrong with it, I'm not seeing it.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

Apollo 13 and air force one.

I know Apollo 13 has some DNR, but what's wrong with Air Force One? I have the U.K. version by the way.

[ozzsoad]

Exceeded:

Star Wars - OT

I am particularly impressed with how much detail is in A New Hope, I never thought it could look that good.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Nostromo

The only minor disappointments: Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, didn't look as good as I'd expected them to.

Are you referring to the first Terminator 2 blu-ray release, or the re-issued: Terminator 2 The Skynet Edition? The Skynet Edition is a significant improvement over the first T2 blu-ray by far, including the audio, which DTS-HD 6.1 MA. And speaking Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, that movie shouldn't have been made at all!

[Nostromo]

Originally Posted by slimdude

Are you referring to the first Terminator 2 blu-ray release, or the re-issued: Terminator 2 The Skynet Edition? The Skynet Edition is a significant improvement over the first T2 blu-ray by far, including the audio, which DTS-HD 6.1 MA. And speaking Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, that movie shouldn't have been made at all!

I have the first T2 Blu Ray. I hardly ever watch T2, but I love T3.

[DVDFreaker]

Blu-Rays that exceeded:

Back To The Future Trigoly
Wizard of Oz

Blu-Rays that failed:

No idea yet, I have to watch some more movies to see which one failed

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Nostromo

I have the first T2 Blu Ray. I hardly ever watch T2, but I love T3.

Well, I'm glad somebody liked Terminator 3! Get the Terminator 2: The Skynet Edition, and get rid of the first one. It was $10.00 on Amazon last week, but now, it''s $11.25 this week.