Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[Braktastic]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Torsten, despite the fact that I have no knowledge of this production and have not seen these titles in any shape or form, I really have to side with Jeff on this one. In other words, I find it hard to believe that CBS Home Entertainment didn’t invest in new transfers for this high-profile series.

I guess anything is possible though, perhaps a few phone calls by Jeff and/or Bill are in order for confirmation.

I don't believe CBS Home Entertainment has anything to do with the movies, only the television series which looks great.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Paul Arnette

I don't believe CBS Home Entertainment has anything to do with the movies, only the television series which looks great.

lol, well, that goes to show my ignorance with anything that has “Star” in the title whatsoever, be it Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar and why I will always defer judgment to guys like Bill, Jeff and Peter THX on these matters.

But, regardless of the true Blu-ray distribution rights holder whether it be Paramount or whomever, the point is, I just can’t fathom the notion that they didn’t put the investment into new transfers for this. It’s just really hard to believe.

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Hey Esox........what's with the SPHE "tenuous hold on 3rd" in your sig?

DaVinci looks superb on Blu-ray.
See my post concerning the upcoming Ghostbusters Blu-ray on my thread, a page or so back.
Air Force One, honestly I can't remember much what the master looked like because that was approved awhile ago.

Penton-Man,

Well, it's nothing specific to SPHE and them doing anything "wrong". So let me get that out of the way.

Rather it has to do with the fact that I believe, with the excpetion of the borderline complete incompetence over at WB, the bar is constantly being raised on Blu-Ray releases. Essentially the studios are competing with each other. And when I rank I take into account the entire package: A/V quality (50%), value-added material (25%), and price/performance (25%. Hey, on this last one, I am a Finance guy!!).

So, as I had posted in your thread and here, I was very impressed with Fox's X-Men Trilogy. It's the release of the year thus far IMHO. I also believe they had a hand in The Princess Bride (since 20th Century Fox distributes MGM/UA, I assume, they go through the same process/production as Fox titles) which surpassed expectations. In addition, I believe Paramount's quality to be on the upswing as well, and I hadn't updated since last Fall.

As it relates to Sony, since I haven't sampled anything recently from them I posted that their hold on my #3 spot may be in jeopardy with Paramount and Fox "charging". Again, it doesn't mean SPHE is doing anything "wrong". However, they too have to get "better" with the times. The Davinci Code, Ghostbusters, and AFO are the next 3 Sony discs I have or will be adding. So, will those overall packages be enough to hold on to #3?

I did actually watch The Davinci Code Sunday night, and agree with your assessment of the A/V. I was totally immersed, and thoroughly enjoyed the movie for what it is as well. I have not yet had a chance to go through or sample the other content on this release. The price was just "ok" (though they did include movie cash for Angels & Demons), especially considering it's now a catalog title.

I hear ya on Ghostbusters. AFO has always looked a little soft to me (even the Superbit DVD), so I have realistic expectations for that one as well. You know I'm a reasonable guy, except when it comes to Braveheart , who's been at this for a while going back to the Laserdisc days in the early 1990's. I'm not one of these people who expects every release to "pop". I hate that word. At the end of the day, I want my Blu-Rays to be the best they can be with minimal processing & given the limitations of the film elements and/or photography style. They should also have lossless sound.

-Esox

PS: I have been most impressed with Universal over the last year. If they do some of their "special" catalog stuff right and well, they could very well wind up being the best studio releasing on Blu-Ray. Quite ironic if you ask me.

[Mr. Cinema]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Hey Esox........what's with the SPHE "tenuous hold on 3rd" in your sig?

DaVinci looks superb on Blu-ray.

Why didn't Sony also give us the theatrical version? With 50gb of space, the ability to do seamless branching, and a $38+ list price, it should have been included.

[Braktastic]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

lol, well, that goes to show my ignorance with anything that has “Star” in the title whatsoever, be it Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar and why I will always defer judgment to guys like Bill, Jeff and Peter THX on these matters.

But, regardless of the true Blu-ray distribution rights holder whether it be Paramount or whomever, the point is, I just can’t fathom the notion that they didn’t put the investment into new transfers for this. It’s just really hard to believe.

I agree it seems extremely short-sighted of them not to invest in new transfers for their cash cow, but then again this is the same studio that stopped printing disc art presumably to save money.

[Jeff Kleist]

Penton, I highly suggest you lay your hands on a copy of Wrath of Khan, you don't need to know anything not contained in the film to enjoy it. It's a shakespearian battle of titans, shot like a naval film, between shatner and his toupee, and Ricardo Montaubahn and his (real) pecs, moby dick in space, and the best submarine movie since Das Boot for the climax.

Considering that the two stars never even saw each other, yet still managed to be gripping. It's only trappings are sci-fi, but the themes are universal. Revenge, sacrifice, loss, and growing old. Not to be missed on its own merits

[Batman1980]

Jeff -
The peculiar thing about Spock is that, being half human and half Vulcan and therefore possessing about half the usual quota of human emotions, he consistently, if dispassionately, behaves as if he possessed very heroic human emotions indeed. He makes a choice in STAR TREK II that would be made only by a hero, a fool, or a Vulcan. And when he makes his decision, the movie rises to one of its best scenes, because the "Star Trek" stories have always been best when they centered around their characters. Although I liked the special effects in the first movie, they were probably not the point; fans of the TV series wanted to see their favorite characters again, and TREK II understood that desire and acted on it.
Time has passed since the last episode. Kirk has retired to an administrative post. Spock is commanding the Enterprise, with a lot of new faces in the crew. The ship is on a mission concerning the Genesis device, a new invention which, if I understand it correctly, is capable of seeding a barren planet with luxuriant life. A sister ship, the USS Reliant, is scouting for lifeless planets and finds one that seems to be dead, but its instruments pick up a small speck of life. Crew members investigate, and find the planet inhabited by an outlaw named Khan, who was exiled there years ago by Kirk, and has brooded of vengeance ever since.
Khan is played as a cauldron of resentment by Ricardo Montalban, and his performance is so strong that he helps illustrate a general principle involving not only Star Trek but STAR WARS (1977) and all the epic serials, especially the JAMES BOND movies: Each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, only a great villain can transform a good try into a triumph. In a curious way, Khan captures our sympathy, even though he is an evil man who introduces loathsome creatures into the ear canals of two Enterprise crew members. Montalban doesn't overact. He plays the character as a man of deeply wounded pride, whose bond of hatred with Admiral Kirk is stronger even than his traditional villain's desire to rule the universe.
There is a battle in outer space in this movie, a particularly inept one that owes more to "Captain Video" than to state-of-the-art special effects. I always love it when they give us spaceships capable of leaping across the universe, and then arm them with weapons so puny that a direct hit merely blows up a few control boards and knocks people off their feet. Somehow, though, I don't much care if the battles aren't that amazing, because the story doesn't depend on them. It's about a sacrifice made by Spock, and it draws on the sentiment and audience identification developed over the years by the TV series.
Perhaps because of that bond, and the sense that an episode may be over but the Enterprise will carry on, the movie doesn't feel that it needs an ending in a conventional sense. The film closes with the usual "Star Trek" end narration, all about the ship's mission and its quest, and we are obviously being set up for a sequel. You could almost argue that the last few minutes of TREK II are a trailer for TREK III, but, no, that wouldn't be in the spirit of the Enterprise, would it?
I think he nailed it pretty good.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

Why didn't Sony also give us the theatrical version? With 50gb of space, the ability to do seamless branching, and a $38+ list price, it should have been included.

I just answered your question on my thread.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Penton, I highly suggest you lay your hands on a copy of Wrath of Khan, you don't need to know anything not contained in the film to enjoy it. It's a shakespearian battle of titans, shot like a naval film, between shatner and his toupee, and Ricardo Montaubahn and his (real) pecs, moby dick in space, and the best submarine movie since Das Boot for the climax.

Considering that the two stars never even saw each other, yet still managed to be gripping. It's only trappings are sci-fi, but the themes are universal. Revenge, sacrifice, loss, and growing old. Not to be missed on its own merits

But do I need to watch any of the other Star Trek movies for Wrath of Khan to make sense for me (previous plot-lines character development, etc.)? ?

I just don't have the time to watch all this stuff.
It took me a long time to get the opportunity (recovering from knee surgery and homebound) just to watch Band of Brothers on DVD back in the day.

[Batman1980]

No, Wrath of Khan is a movie in and of itself, you can watch it and enjoy it without even seeing TOS or the first movie.

[Jeff Kleist]

If you really want to, you can watch "Space Seed", which is on the new Blu-ray set of the TV series that is the precursor to the movie

But the film is for all intents and purposes self contained. There's nothing you need to know that isn't in the film.

[Doctorossi]

Das Boot US theatrical premiere: Feb. 10, 1982

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan US theatrical premiere: Jun. 4, 1982

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

the best submarine movie since Das Boot for the climax

Is that really saying so much?

[Batman1980]

I absolutely hated Das Boot, in fact the last time I tried to watch it, I actually switched to Family Guy and watched that until it was over.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

If you really want to, you can watch "Space Seed", which is on the new Blu-ray set of the TV series that is the precursor to the movie

But the film is for all intents and purposes self contained. There's nothing you need to know that isn't in the film.

It's a shame they didn't include Space Seed as an extra on ST2's Blu-Ray.

Since there are some of us who are fans of the movies, who don't care for the series.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Beast

It's a shame they didn't include Space Seed as an extra on ST2's Blu-Ray.

Since there are some of us who are fans of the movies, who don't care for the series.

That would've been an excellent extra and a great advertisement for the series sets.

[Batman1980]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...8191&plgroup=5
That sucks for ME, since I'm in the middle of ramping up my blu-ray collection and won't really start buying TV sets on DVD again until next year.

[Jeff Kleist]

Das Boot US theatrical premiere: Feb. 10, 1982

started production in 1979, opened in Germany over a year before here

There's no Space Seed on the disc, but there might be some other television material, I don't know if it made the final cut tho.

[Mr. Cinema]

Jeff,

DVD Empire has a May 12 release date for Terminator 3. Any idea if this will be a new TrueHD version? I believe Japan is getting that version in June, so I was hoping the US would as well. However, I'm worried this may be the same disc with the DD 5.1 track.

[Jeff Kleist]

Doesn't look like it

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

But the film is for all intents and purposes self contained. There's nothing you need to know that isn't in the film.

Spoiler warning.

[Show spoiler]
I still have a hard time getting past the incompetence of the navigator and navigation computer. Or, the simple logic that an "exploded" planet would have a blindly obvious debris field.

It was a science vessel, right?

Gary