Holy cow, wasn't aware of this new resto! Looks grand. Glad I didn't get the Kino, which has always looked wrong and dated to my eyes.
Too bad I can't stand the spelling on the Blu cover (Opfer, Tarkowskij??)... but if this is the only way, who cares, I'll bite. For some reason, I'm not too confident in AE, so I'll stay tuned for comparisons and comments.
Holy cow, wasn't aware of this new resto! Looks grand. Glad I didn't get the Kino, which has always looked wrong and dated to my eyes.
Too bad I can't stand the spelling on the Blu cover (Opfer, Tarkowskij??)... but if this is the only way, who cares, I'll bite. For some reason, I'm not too confident in AE, so I'll stay tuned for comparisons and comments.
The cover for the BD is in German, because the label releasing it is German, and just like English, German has "fancy" transliterations for Russian names.
Just ordered the German BD. Saw the new restoration on Cinemateket in Stockholm back in 2013 and it was gorgeous. Hopefully the German BD will contain it (just like the Japanese one) as it at least gives you an glimpse of what the film should look like.
Haven't got mine yet but yes it it is the new SFI restoration. However it's supposedly single layer with very low bitrate (video file size is around 16GB, encoded in AVC). It may worry one at first but I personally never look at those numbers unless the encoding looks really bad. I'll publish some captures once I've got mine so you guys can judge yourself.
Can anybody confirm definitely whether this is the new SFI restoration or not?
It is the new restoration. But as mentioned the image bit rate is anything but cinephile (usually around 16 Mbit/s and dropping below 10 often, rarley above 20) and the sound is not even good DVD quality (384 Kbits instead of 640) and wasting Blu Ray's potential for lossless sound. For better results wait for a UK/US release.
Like most Swedish films Offret has relatively poorly mixed soundtrack. I doubt there's much need in a lossless audio track as the mastering makes much more of a difference.
Btw, AC3 on DVD is limited to 448kbps. It's usually at that bit rate for 5.1 tracks. Stereo tracks on DVD are usually in 192kbps. Offret was recorded and mixed in mono.
But still, I want to see what it looks and sounds like before complaining at the bit rates. DE edition of Zodiac has a bitrate at 14mbps in VC-1 (obviously same encoding as the HD-DVD) yet the US edition has 31mpbs in AVC and differences are marginal at best. I don't think most people obsessed with bit rates could tell them apart in a blind test. http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...mage=0#auswahl
Of course Zodiac was shot digital so grain level isn't anywhere near 35mm but it's still a good example of when a higher bitrate only gives a slightly better image.
In what way is Offret poorly mixed? And with grainy 35mm the difference between 16 Mbit/s and a high end 35 Mbit/s (the gold standard) ist not marginal. Improved grain definition and reduction of compression noise/blocking/snoothing is well visible in a direct comparison. The disc does not look and sound bad. The master is a fresh restoration and top. But quality is left on the table in the mastering stage here.
Most Swedish films have uninspiring sound. I'm Swede myself and have seen hundreds of productions of my country yet never seen or heard any production that would be in need of lossless sound. Offret goes under that very same category. It's mainly due to the post dub which I don't think would get any major improvement in lossless codec.
Of course bit rates can make differences, but there are tons of Criterion titles around 30mbps and up with obvious encoding issues. If you can provide some captures from the German BD of Offret then please do so. If not I will basically have a look for myself when I've got mine and go from what my eyes sees. And I usually detect encoding issues during motion.
Of course bit rates can make differences, but there are tons of Criterion titles around 30mbps and up with obvious encoding issues. If you can provide some captures from the German BD of Offret then please do so. If not I will basically have a look for myself when I've got mine and go from what my eyes sees. And I usually detect encoding issues during motion.
What I'm seeing is compression noise, I frame pumping and the typical distortions of grainy material with low bit rates. The average rate is 13.33, by the way. Dark material is often < 10 Mbit/s, daylight around 15. Peaks go above 20. The bit rate is due to a single layer disc with 2.5 hours film plus 1.5 hours supplements. Clearly too much to scram on a single layer disc.
Note: I have chosen not to view this disc at this time. Instead, I will be re-viewing the 2011 US BD from Kino Lorber, followed immediately by the 2015 Japanese BD from King Records, which I have just ordered. I usually do not make decisions solely on technical stats, but in this case, I have no desire to see the remastered version of The Sacrifice for the first time via this German BD. Therefore, this post is for informational value only.
The back cover of this release has a few important errors, especially regarding the extras:
1. The "bonus film", Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (Regie: Andrej Tarkowskij) (1988), is listed as being presented in SD PAL (576i) quality. In fact, it has been upscaled to 1080/50i, causing it to take up about 7 GB of space on this BD-25. It is, however, presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
2. The back cover states that this bonus film contains optional German and English subtitles, but at least on this Blu-ray, only optional German subtitles have been provided.
3. The main feature run time is incorrectly listed as 142 minutes.
Code:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
00002.MPLS AVC 2:28:31 16,618,573,824 23,973,871,864 14.92 13.33 DD AC3 2.0 384Kbps
Got my copy in the mail today. Although I wouldn't call it a terrible Blu-Ray (the Kino is far, far worse), I can really see what Benhoppel mean and agree entirely with his description. Encoding basically isn't good enough, although some scenes are less affected than others. I don't feel like buying the film again (got two DVDs already), but in the end it's a poor man's choice. Pros compared to the JP disc however is lack of region coding and English subtitles, non of which are needed for me in this case.
Got my copy in the mail today. Although I wouldn't call it a terrible Blu-Ray (the Kino is far, far worse), I can really see what Benhoppel mean and agree entirely with his description. Encoding basically isn't good enough, although some scenes are less affected than others. I don't feel like buying the film again (got two DVDs already), but in the end it's a poor man's choice. Pros compared to the JP disc however is lack of region coding and English subtitles, non of which are needed for me in this case.
The Japanese release is almost certainly region free, in spite of what is listed elsewhere. You will know for sure shortly.
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The Sacrifice/ Opfer/ Offret (1986) - July 31, 2015
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