Back to School (1986) (Rodney Dangerfield)

[kemcha]

Back to School Blu-ray

Back to School Blu-ray Review


Has anyone purchased the "Back to School" Blu-ray yet, with Rodney Dangerfield? I'm curious how the quality looks on a 32" HDTV. There are no reviews posted about it anywhere.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Should look fine on 32". I watched it on my 42" bedroom TV a few nights ago and thought it was average, nothing great. There's more talk about it in the Best Buy exclusives thread.

[kemcha]

Thanks. I was just wondering about the grain because someone posted a very brief review that there was some problem with the grain and I was curious about how much grain there was and if it detracted from actually watching it.

I have purchased a few older movies that had some thick grain in it, such as Every Which Way But Loose and maybe one or two others and was curious about whether it's distracting or not.

[notops]

Originally Posted by kemcha

Thanks. I was just wondering about the grain because someone posted a very brief review that there was some problem with the grain and I was curious about how much grain there was and if it detracted from actually watching it.

I have purchased a few older movies that had some thick grain in it, such as Every Which Way But Loose and maybe one or two others and was curious about whether it's distracting or not.

I don't think you will find the grain distracting, unless you have an aversion to grain in the first place.

Back To School looks like FILM, warts and all. The grain structure looks perfectly healthy and makes me feel like I am watching a 35MM print, not some scrubbed-out digital thing.

[Oblivion138]

I'm a big fan of preserving the look of film, so grain isn't a problem for me, and I'd rather it be retained than scrubbed away. But I have to say that the 1080 screenshots in the new Blu-ray.com review of this title seem...well, odd. They look very digital and pixelated. Is this (presumably) a problem with the screenshots, rather than the transfer?

If someone who owns the disc could compare the screens to the actual image on their display, and let me know, it would be much appreciated.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Back to School Blu-ray Review

[kemcha]

While grain doesn't really bother me, I'm so sick of these studios not doing touch-up work on these older films when they're remastered for Blu-ray.

I'm sitting here watching Back to School and while the picture quality isn't too bad, the first 20 minutes seems to have gotten a downgrade to VHS quality, not an upgrade to Blu-ray quality. It's basically DVD quality. While I'm not complaining, I just wish that studios like MGM need to start investing money into upconverting their movie titles to Blu-ray instead of simply using the DVD version and transferring that to Blu-ray with no up-conversion.

I'm sure that there might have been some improvement, but, studios don't seem to be investing money into upconverting these films to Blu-ray. While I paid $10 for it, I wouldn't mind spending $15-20 for a better quality disk.

[Atreyu]

Originally Posted by kemcha

While grain doesn't really bother me, I'm so sick of these studios not doing touch-up work on these older films when they're remastered for Blu-ray.

I'm sitting here watching Back to School and while the picture quality isn't too bad, the first 20 minutes seems to have gotten a downgrade to VHS quality, not an upgrade to Blu-ray quality. It's basically DVD quality. While I'm not complaining, I just wish that studios like MGM need to start investing money into upconverting their movie titles to Blu-ray instead of simply using the DVD version and transferring that to Blu-ray with no up-conversion.

I'm sure that there might have been some improvement, but, studios don't seem to be investing money into upconverting these films to Blu-ray. While I paid $10 for it, I wouldn't mind spending $15-20 for a better quality disk.

I couldn't agree with you more. And also take a look at how bad Chaplin, Uncle Buck and Child's Play (also an MGM release) look.
If you read this site's review, they mention how grain can be taken out by expert hands, but the studios wil not do that with all their catalogue titles as it is cost prohibative. I was even surprised that it wasn't done for Midnight Cowboy. Let's hope we see a change in the not to distant future.

[kemcha]

I had purchased Caddyshack earlier this year and while that film had some faults regarding the PQ, I just think that studios need to understand that movie fans will be willing to pay an extra $5 or $10 for a better quality version of their films.

But, MGM seems to have a horrible problem with not wanting to remaster these movies and consumers are starting to be affected by that. If your product is getting more negative reviews on the merchandise you produce then you would think that this would be a wake up call because consumers are brutal when you release a bad product.

[John The Grudge]

Cany anybody confirm whether or not this is region free?

[Waboman]

Originally Posted by John The Grudge

Cany anybody confirm whether or not this is region free?

Nope. It's region A.

[HeavyHitter]

I picked this up for $10 from Best Buy on the Sunday it was released. I think it looks pretty good for an 80s film stock comedy. It really was not DNR'd or EE'd. There are some film specs and dirt noticable especially in the first half of the movie, but all in all, it looks like film and I was pleased. Solid upgrade from the DVD.

[Filmmaker]

Originally Posted by kemcha

I'm sitting here watching Back to School and while the picture quality isn't too bad, the first 20 minutes seems to have gotten a downgrade to VHS quality, not an upgrade to Blu-ray quality. It's basically DVD quality.

Pardon my French but what a load of hyperbolic bullshit. I own both the Extracurricular Edition DVD and this Blu-ray and there's a marked increase in clarity with the BD. Rodney's drive up to the university shows punchy color and nice detailing in the roadside foliage. It sure as hell ain't AVATAR but it's a measurable jump over DVD and certainly VHS. A no-brainer for $10.

[sancho]

I have not watched my copy yet, but the $10 price that I paid at Best Buy makes the upgrade from DVD worth it.

[Gruntled Employee]

I was wondering if it's worth upgrading to BR version if I already have the ECE DVD version, for $10, doesn't seem like you can go wrong, and this is one of my favorite Rodney Dangerfield 80s movies.

"Girls this is Lou. Lou, these are girls."

[Clark Kent]

MGM is always on the verge of bankruptcy, with little available cash flow. They do not invest one dime in their home video properties, outside of the James Bond catalog, so this is the best you will ever get as long as they still control the home video rights. The Blu-ray is likely taken from a HD master made years ago.

[koover]

For $10, you can't go wrong. One of the better 80's comedies and classic Rodney. I watched it and it's a marked improvement over the DVD.
Downgraded to VHS quality.....whatever

[YodasFootPowder]

Originally Posted by Filmmaker

Pardon my French but what a load of hyperbolic bullshit. I own both the Extracurricular Edition DVD and this Blu-ray and there's a marked increase in clarity with the BD. Rodney's drive up to the university shows punchy color and nice detailing in the roadside foliage. It sure as hell ain't AVATAR but it's a measurable jump over DVD and certainly VHS. A no-brainer for $10.

I agree, comments like this are so ridiculous. VHS, really?! LOL! Some Blu-rays might look bad, I've never seen one I could compare with VHS.

[kemcha]

The fact is that studios need to stop releasing Blu-ray movies if the quality is this bad. It's better just sticking with the DVD version. If MGM wants consumers to appreciate their catalog titles, then, at least spend some money to clean up the PQ.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by kemcha

Thanks. I was just wondering about the grain because someone posted a very brief review that there was some problem with the grain and I was curious about how much grain there was and if it detracted from actually watching it.

I have purchased a few older movies that had some thick grain in it, such as Every Which Way But Loose and maybe one or two others and was curious about whether it's distracting or not.

If the grain is that distracting to you, simply use the DNR feature on your Blu-ray player and/or display. I'm not sure why grain haters never think of this.