Gladiator (2000)

[SBrooks1]

Originally Posted by metallic

They exhibit none of the horrible edge enhancement and DNR that are all over the theatrical scenes.

Exactly

[Big Z]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

What does the Democratic National Commitee have to do with Gladiator?

Seriously though, while some people are eager to make a tempest in a teapot, DNR (Digital Noise Reduction) can impact the image if it's applied too much. Edge enhancement can introduce some nasty artifacts and is a lot more noticeable on large displays.

That said, lately people have made a big deal about certain titles (the Star Trek collection and Terminator 2: Skynet) where there is some, but it's not the horror some make it out to be.

The issue here is people crying "wolf" when there is no problem at all (Baraka).

Just out of curiosity, how large is the large display that you speak of? I have a 52" sammy (which I think is large)...is that the size display you mean or are you talking projectors and such?

I'm gonna buy this movie either way, no doubt about it, but am I going to notice these things to the extent that people are complaining about?

P.S. I'm just your average joe movie lover who thinks bluray looks a ton better than any dvd. If it does that, I'm usually happy.

[eChopper]

just comparing the gladiator vs braveheart tonight on a pioneer KRP 500m

The extended scenes on Gladiator look incredible - the theatrical scenes are clearly ported from an old master and look like a good upscaled DVD which isnt what we're after . The opening forest scenes brought back memories of Zulu

This title needs to be recalled

this isnt about "having to judge it in motion"

[space-monkey]

Good Lord, I retract my earlier statement about it not being a big deal.

Gladiator clearly is a screwed up transfer. I'm not a huge fan of the movie in the first place, and won't be upgrading until they fix it, if ever.

[panamablu]

Happen to be in Hong Kong and bought both yesterday. I'm waiting to return home Wensday to see them.
Also got Casablanca in a regular case. It only includea the first disc of the 2 disc box set.

[Big Z]

Question #2

Why would Paramount put both gladiator and braveheart in the sapphire series, release them at the same time, and do a (as some claim) half way job on gladiator, and then make braveheart phenomenal? If they did in fact do poorly on gladiator...would they not (well before release) received some backlash.

Answer...they wouldn't?

The logic of the situation is getting the best of me maybe. I guess we'll just have to wait and make our own personal evaluation of this movie from our own living room couch.

Question #3

I mean this with all the respect in the world to those who fully understand this stuff. My personal process for evaluating a movie is done so by watching it on my flat, 8-10 ft. away, start to finish.

Isn't that how it is intended to be viewed?

I read on all this site's threads about how things are "filmed to look that way" or grain is there because it was done this way, or aspect ratio's...the whole story. We've all heard it. But then you also take "caps" and ultra critically analyzing the film frame by frame, finding DNR and such. Doesn't quite make sense to me. And as a result, some are acting as if Paramount slapped their mom and shot their dog by even offering them such an atrocity.

Again, I'm not aiming to insult anyone on how they evaluate films, but if the film was intended to be viewed in stop motion by a bunch of caps...don't you think the director would have made it that way?

[Jack Burton]

Cannot belive that people are happy with the Gladiator transfer.The dnr as taken way picture detail ie Flying arrows and the extended version scenes have shown a major difference in the the DNR used.Also EE arround Crows head in many scenes are awful.
The film looks so false and many people are happy with this transfer,just shocking.This is a sad day when you realise the studio won't give a crap about the many complaints because so many people are ok by this transfer.Still cannot belive that people are happy about this blu ray who have got the film already.

[Jonasprivate]

Watch for the soldiers spear on the left.

http://www.minhembio.com/forum/uploa...1251019667.png

[space-monkey]

This is pretty atrocious. I'll Netflix it, and see if it looks good in motion, but there's just no reason to DNR such a recent film.

[tilapiah6]

I have avoided this thread because I wanted to believe that both of these movies would receive an outstanding transfer. It's a shame that Gladiator is aparently going to suffer the same fate as Gangs of New York in the DNR department. This really sucks.

[robertc88]

Unless you flat out cannot rent Gladiator, why would you buy it before getting a look at it? If you like it, buy it and you may want to wait till it is cheaper besides.

Folks are saying people are going by screen caps and have not seen the film and now have made a determination. Well if you haven't seen it and folks who HAVE are reiterating PQ issues on the screen caps, why buy it ahead of viewing it??

On the plus side, one will get the extras and great AQ. But if one's main motivation is better PQ, well perhaps better than the SD DVD but not as good as it should be to begin with!

I'm also at a loss as to why Gladiator got this treatment while Braveheart is one of the better catalog titles ever regarding the PQ.

[Jimbo976]

Originally Posted by robertc88

I'm also at a loss as to why Gladiator got this treatment while Braveheart is one of the better catalog titles ever regarding the PQ.

Well isn't it about what transfers were available? I'm sure if they did a new transfer of the theatrical version (and the parts common with the extended version) of Gladiator it would look much better but they must have determined the cost to do that was more than the sales they would lose by reusing the old one.

I wonder how much it costs to make a new 4k transfer?

[Russell_L]

Well, it seems that Gary Tooze at DVD Beaver has now tempered his initially enthusiastic review somewhat. He's still impressed with the image, though, but he now acknowledges "some minor" EE and "some" DNR. He's also removed the "up arrow" (denoting a highly recommended release) from this disc.

To quote from his revised review:

"The image appears to surpass even the 1080i HD TV (1.78.1 open matted) - which skin tones look quite a bit redder. Paramount's MPEG4 AVC transfer seems to have improved in every single facet of the visuals although it's not without it's digital manipulations with some minor edge-enhancement and some DNR. The image is certainly brighter - perhaps more than it may have been intended to be. It's tighter all around and is pretty impressive looking and I hope the captures below support this because this is one of the most anticipated Blu-rays I've seen this year - although some will snub the manipulation. Strangely the 'extended scenes' seem to have had no digital tinkering. People who project to a very large screen will find the filtering more visible. The image is frequently dimensional."

I'm still getting this disc and will judge for myself. It might not be the be-all, end-all in terms of transfer quality, but it will be better than the DVD and the audio quality and supplements alone will be worth it.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Russell_L

Well, it seems that Gary Tooze at DVD Beaver has now tempered his initially enthusiastic review somewhat. He's still impressed with the image, though, but he now acknowledges "some minor" EE and "some" DNR. He's also removed the "up arrow" (denoting a highly recommended release) from this disc.

To quote from his revised review:

"The image appears to surpass even the 1080i HD TV (1.78.1 open matted) - which skin tones look quite a bit redder. Paramount's MPEG4 AVC transfer seems to have improved in every single facet of the visuals although it's not without it's digital manipulations with some minor edge-enhancement and some DNR. The image is certainly brighter - perhaps more than it may have been intended to be. It's tighter all around and is pretty impressive looking and I hope the captures below support this because this is one of the most anticipated Blu-rays I've seen this year - although some will snub the manipulation. Strangely the 'extended scenes' seem to have had no digital tinkering. People who project to a very large screen will find the filtering more visible. The image is frequently dimensional."

I'm still getting this disc and will judge for myself. It might not be the be-all, end-all in terms of transfer quality, but it will be better than the DVD and the audio quality and supplements alone will be worth it.

[surfdude12]

i'll wait to see for myself. I've heard this DNR-hype before over Pan's Labrynth and I ended up loving that PQ, which in the end is all that matters.

when do we get our blu-ray.com review?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

i'll wait to see for myself. I've heard this DNR-hype before over Pan's Labrynth and I ended up loving that PQ, which in the end is all that matters.

when do we get our blu-ray.com review?

I am quite eager for that as well. I wouldnt want to be the reviewer of such a highly anticipated Disc.

[Jeff Kleist]

You can easily see the flaming arrows disappear on the Blu-ray because of the EE and DNR...

You're using 2 seperate shots there. With things as high speed as arrows a few frames matter. Look at the ones by the trees closer to the foreground, they're in different places

No review copies have been sent out of either film

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by Jimbo976

Well isn't it about what transfers were available? I'm sure if they did a new transfer of the theatrical version (and the parts common with the extended version) of Gladiator it would look much better but they must have determined the cost to do that was more than the sales they would lose by reusing the old one.

I wonder how much it costs to make a new 4k transfer?

Well I suppose I can relate to the cost and folks buying what is going to be released besides some people on forums perhaps changing their minds but I'm certainly disppointed from what I'm reading about a BD we've waited this long already for.

[Godbluffer]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

You're using 2 seperate shots there. With things as high speed as arrows a few frames matter. Look at the ones by the trees closer to the foreground, they're in different places

Really, it's not just that. Have a look here and here for confirmation that the issues are not that confined.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by Godbluffer

Really, it's not just that. Have a look here and here for confirmation that the issues are not that confined.

Do you have the discs already? Did you post those screenshots to imageshack?

If the answer to either of these questions is no, then your comparison isn't particularly valid as we cannot verify the authenticity of the screenshots. For all we know, the first is an upconverted DVD shot or a Blu-ray screenshot that has been manipulated with photoshop.

DVDBeaver's screenshots are usually pretty indicative of the quality of the transfer, and I've only seen very minor ringing when zooming in on the already enormous photos. It is very similar to the EE that is present on the 2.35:1 scenes in the Dark Knight, which is to say negligible at worst.

I will have the Braveheart disc shortly(damn, postal service is so slow) and will post my comments as soon as I watch it. Gladiator, for whatever reason, did not ship at the same time and has not shipped as of yet.