BD movies that looks like DVD

[smartslick]

I'm wondering if we can compile some list with BD movies that look similar (e.g., PQ not improved much) to their DVD versions.
This will be a good guide for people not to waste money on these BDs (not worth to upgrade).

[Note, this does not include those old movies though looks not so good according to today's stand, still much better than their DVD versions]

I would mention some, and please add yours:
28 Days Later
Gangs of new york (original release)
Donnie Darko
The Fugitive
The Fifth Element (Original release)
Crash
Saw I/II
XXX
The Punisher
The Italian job
Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels
The French Connection
Superman returns
The Man from Earth

And if possible, please comment whether it is because
(1) bad source (filmed in SD, really low budget filming, etc, e.g., 28 days later)
(2) terrible transfer (e.g., the original release of Gangs of NY...)
(3) The DVD transfer is already darn good, not much room for BD to improve (??)

[skads_187]

Legend of Drunken Master
* maybe Total Recall and Stargate ? not sure about those.

[blu_sharpy]

I really think you need to be more specific. BD's DONT look like DVD's. There are some that do not look very good but the increased resolution makes up for the poor transfer. Maybe this should be BD's that arent worth the upgrade for some.

[lDlisturb3d]

gladiator was the worse blu ray release for me, it was horrible, so that one gets my vote.

[Alexias_dad]

the ninth gate didnt look that great.

[wormraper]

wow, I'd have to disagree with you on about 1/2 of those.

28 days later was filmed that way so eh, pq isn't that great but the lossless audio is a HUGE leap from the anemic DD track on the dvd

Gangs of New York wasn't a pretty looking PQ but even the original release smacked around the dvd in terms of pq and the AQ upgrade wasn't exactly shabby either

Donnie Darko I don't have first hand knowledge about so I'll give you that.

Saw I and II weren't pretty or very well done in terms of blu ray pq but they still were a pretty solid leap visually and soniclly above their dvd counterparts

Lock Stock..... looks pretty meh, but take a look at the DVD. It's MUCH worse than the blu ray.

Superman returns is a soft blu ray, but the audio is a MASSIVE upgrade the the pq is still leaps and bounds above the dvd, I have both to compare.

Originally Posted by smartslick

I'm wondering if we can compile some list with BD movies that look similar (e.g., PQ not improved much) to their DVD versions.
This will be a good guide for people not to waste money on these BDs (not worth to upgrade).

[Note, this does not include those old movies though looks not so good according to today's stand, still much better than their DVD versions]

I would mention some, and please add yours:
28 Days Later
Gangs of new york (original release)
Donnie Darko
The Fugitive
The Fifth Element (Original release)
Crash
Saw I/II
XXX
The Punisher
The Italian job
Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels
The French Connection
Superman returns
The Man from Earth

And if possible, please comment whether it is because
(1) bad source (filmed in SD, really low budget filming, etc, e.g., 28 days later)
(2) terrible transfer (e.g., the original release of Gangs of NY...)
(3) The DVD transfer is already darn good, not much room for BD to improve (??)

[nolfoc]

i agree with sharpy... and i have yet to see the punisher on blu, but Highdefdigest.com gave it very good reviews in the area of PQ

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/22/punisher.html

[Good Intentions]

Interview with the Vampire is one that I can really remember thinking it looked like crap on blu. Even at the cheap price it can be had now, I don't think it's worth a buy.

[mredman]

Interview with the vampire doesn't look like crap at all and its a good step over the DVD Superman returns is a big step up from the DVD. The Fugitive also looks better then the DVD

[Stu123]

Im glad you included Superman returns as all the website reviews were saying amazing pq as it was shot in HD and i thought it looked flat ,not to mention the awful colour palette of greeny blues that make it look like yout tv has broke.I'd also have to mention die hard 2 and ive heard people say they thought it was good but i felt i'd wasted my money.I disagree with including Stargate you can notice the difference straight away especially when they're in the desert with the sun shining.Ironman is still my blu showpiece for pq and audio it's even 24bit

[Suntory_Times]

Originally Posted by wormraper

Superman returns is a soft blu ray, but the audio is a MASSIVE upgrade the the pq is still leaps and bounds above the dvd, I have both to compare.

Superman Returns was intentionally shot to look soft. Hence the blu ray replicates that.

[FendersRule]

Escape from New York (UK) = Worse than DVD.

American Psycho (US) = The worst DNR I have seen....I would gladly take the DVD over it if it's DNR-free.

Most everything else, even if the title has a bad transfer, at least equals the DVD (The Fugitive, US Total Recall) in general.

[Mahatma]

Originally Posted by Alexias_dad

the ninth gate didnt look that great.

Think ninth gate look pretty good.Have it,so have to dissagree with you on that one.

Also:Think The fugitive looks better than the DVD,but not spectacular.An ok transfer.

Will lend my vote to Escape from new york.That looks dreadful When you look at The thing which sports a very good transfer,it makes one wonder how they screwed up EFNY

[butler]

Screwballs

I should probably have saved that one for the "BD movies that look like VHS" thread. Couldn't believe how terrible that one was. No blu-ray I've seen has been in the same universe as that one.

[Jimmy Smith]

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation for sure. I can name DVDs that look and sound better even without upconversion.

[mredman]

Originally Posted by FendersRule

Escape from New York (UK) = Worse than DVD.

agree EFNY is just bad. That is the worst blu ray to date i guess. But the others in the list is all better then the DVD

[FendersRule]

I'll go ahead and list one more that's worse than the DVD:

Evil Dead 2.

Now the Audio is fantastic. But just looking at the video quality alone, I can bet that there's a pretty nice video transfer of it on DVD that looks more proper.

However, being that the audio is lossless, it kinda makes it a "push" title for me.

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by Suntory_Times

Superman Returns was intentionally shot to look soft. Hence the blu ray replicates that.

Yep. The Blu-Ray looks great and MUCH better than the DVD. And the PCM track is one of the best.

The worst transfer I've seen is Near Dark. I prefer the DVD to the Blu-Ray, which has the worst implementation of DNR that I've ever seen.

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by FendersRule

I'll go ahead and list one more that's worse than the DVD:

Evil Dead 2.

Now the Audio is fantastic. But just looking at the video quality alone, I can bet that there's a pretty nice video transfer of it on DVD that looks more proper.

However, being that the audio is lossless, it kinda makes it a "push" title for me.

I don't get the hate for this transfer. It looks accurate and it's Raimi-approved. The THX transfer looked kind of overly sharpened compared to the more naturally soft looking Blu-Ray and Book of the Dead DVD.

[FendersRule]

There's plentiful reasons to hate the VQ for Evil Dead 2. Look here for comparisons:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=910169&page=2

Evil Dead 2 on BD is a waxy DNR-fest. They used the wrong source (book of the dead) instead of using the THX source. It looks horrible, and the THX DVD DOES look better.

Alternatively, you can see more comparisons here:

http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...ch=evil_dead_2