Gladiator (2000)

[tlimof]

Just bought it yesterday, and yes I noticed the video problems, but it's not the worse thing ever put in a bluray.

I don't have the dvd version but from all I have heard and read it's an upgrade so...

[mredman]

Is the PQ really that bad. Because i have seen screencaps and they look very good. Also some sites have given the PQ review a 4 out of 5 and something like. Or is this just a witchhunt of somesort?

[Blu Titan]

Just watch it last night, and here's my take. I was very disappointed because the film could have looked so much better. When you compare Gladiator to Braveheart, the problem becomes obvious: there's way too much digital processing in Gladiator. I have never been one to cry DNR at every instance, but this movie is special and it is sad that they could not deliver on the PQ side. I personally found the edge enhancement to be very distracting. On the other hand, the DTS HD MA track is great. You can clearly hear the arrows flying from the background speakers, the booms of the fireballs, and the roar of tigers. Steel crashing against steel makes you feel as if you were right there. If anyone wants to see the worst case of DNR check out "The Arrival".

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by mredman

Is the PQ really that bad. Because i have seen screencaps and they look very good. Also some sites have given the PQ review a 4 out of 5 and something like. Or is this just a witchhunt of somesort?

Gladiator is one of the best movies ever made, and it deserved the best possible effort for its Blu-ray debut. That's is one of the reason you will read the valid complaints.

[tvine2000]

Originally Posted by Jimbo976

Does any studio ever say their release will not be stellar?

Announcing our new "Piece of Crap 2009 release of Gladiator on Blu-ray with fewer arrows and fireballs than ever seen before!"

it should have never hit the streets,they should have pushed it back to a later date.they ether new about this or they didn't.my guess is they did and they knew people would buy it anyways.greed my friend just plain greed.and a slap in the face to all that love blu-ray.

[ScarredLungs]

When it comes down to it:

1- The transfer is better then the DVD
2- The video is good, but not great. It suffers to many problems to fall into the category of Reference Quality.

3- IS it worth a buy? This is personal preference. Some people will not be bothered by the DNR and EE as much as everyone else.

[HDPlasma]

Originally Posted by tvine2000

yeh id like to know whats wrong with grain and when are the studios gonna stop catering these morons before they ruin the format altogether.
until then i guess we have to eat s%%T!

I will say it again. When 300 came out, there was an uproar of complains that this movie was very grainy on this very forum and others.
People/members could not believe that a blu-ray high definition release had such low PQ to leave grain/ants running all over the screen.

DNR/smoothing may ruin the format for enthusiasts but unfortunately J6P welcomes no grain and loves to turn on 120hz on full blast.

And please don't say J6P can turn on DNR if grain is not desired because J6P selects a picture mode, sets it and does not adjust their set for every movie they watch.

[HDPlasma]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

So I'm better off just upconverting my Gladiator SD and should hold off on the BD until they re-release??

I'd say at least rent it and make your own decision.
Think/decide for yourself.

[tvine2000]

Originally Posted by HDPlasma

I will say it again. When 300 came out, there was an uproar of complains that this movie was very grainy on this very forum and others.
People/members could not believe that a blu-ray high definition release had such low PQ to leave grain/ants running all over the screen.

DNR/smoothing may ruin the format for enthusiasts but unfortunately J6P welcomes no grain and loves to turn on 120hz on full blast.

And please don't say J6P can turn on DNR if grain is not desired because J6P selects a picture mode, sets it and does not adjust their set for every movie they watch.

well maybe if you know people like that,friends etc. you could help them out.i have done that and find jp6 is not as stupid as people think.not all but some.

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by cvm

When it comes down to it:

1- The transfer is better then the DVD
2- The video is good, but not great. It suffers to many problems to fall into the category of Reference Quality.

3- IS it worth a buy? This is personal preference. Some people will not be bothered by the DNR and EE as much as everyone else.

Well you didn't write anything about the audio or supplements which are two plus marks easily.

Item 2. Cannot we say that about lots of BDs though?

There is nothing else really to say and folks need after watching it to decide what they want to do regarding a purchase.

[Q?]

Originally Posted by tvine2000

well maybe if you know people like that,friends etc. you could help them out.i have done that and find jp6 is not as stupid as people think.not all but some.

Hitherepleasespaceyourposts.it'sannoyingtoreadthem withoutspacing
Just exaggerating there...

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by Old Bones

3 out of 5 is 60% , Hmmmmm sounds like my high school report card

LOL.

Regarding the rating of 3.0, I give it a bit higher IMHO.

There is a decent amount of BDs I have that are rated 3.0 for PQ. Regardless, I still enjoy watching most of those I own. At times, the audio wasn't an upgrade at all to the SD DVD. It all comes down to if it provides additional enjoyment to the DVD one may have. If they don't even have that .....

[tvine2000]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

Everyone thinks it is weird that no screeners were sent for either movie, especially because they were such major releases. Hopefully we'll have an answer about it soon, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

they did the same thing with starek 6 movie set, screeners were late.

[Buddy Christ]

Originally Posted by Q!

Hitherepleasespaceyourposts.it'sannoyingtoreadthem withoutspacing
Just exaggerating there...

He's been talked to about this before.

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by tvine2000

it should have never hit the streets,they should have pushed it back to a later date.they ether new about this or they didn't.my guess is they did and they knew people would buy it anyways.greed my friend just plain greed.and a slap in the face to all that love blu-ray.

They knew anout it and thought it was FINE! Jebus like I said: 10,000 DNR Snobs can't be right!

Just give up the argument already! There are half of us on this board that think the release is fine and half of you that dont! So dont buy it ok! Its as simple as that! If you want the movie in this meduim then go buy it because I can pretty much with confidence bet my house that Parmount will not be revisiting this anytime in the next several years.

[Barvan40]

Originally Posted by Elvis

They knew anout it and thought it was FINE! Jebus like I said: 10,000 DNR Snobs can't be right!

Just give up the argument already! There are half of us on this board that think the release is fine and half of you that dont! So dont buy it ok! Its as simple as that! If you want the movie in this meduim then go buy it because I can pretty much with confidence bet my house that Parmount will not be revisiting this anytime in the next several years.

So only those who share your views are allowed the express an opinion, the other side should just shut up an not buy the Blu-ray. Yeah, that seems fair - not!

When Paramount brags about the quality of the picture of their Sapphire Series movies and don't live up to that standard they should expect to be called on it. Paramount/Universal need to remaster Gladiator and release a version that proves the Sapphire Series gives us the best possible picture quality.

This current release is better than the DVD, but is well below what it can be judging by the more up to date transfers of the extended scenes.

[Kryptron]

I have to thank all the people here for setting my expectations on the transfer low, because when i watched it today, i didn't think it looked bad.

There are definitely some minor things that should of been taken care of but the movie was definitely worth the purchase for me. The sound and picture crush the dvd imo. It's just not as good/great as it could of been but i wouldn't call the transfer bad/horrible. Just "Ok - Good at times". Not great.

When i started watching this movie today i was surprise people here are calling the transfer horrible.

[wormraper]

I just got done watching Gladiator (thank God for Pawn shops and not having to give money to the studios for this one) And it is just as bad as people are saying. I'm on a 42 inch screen and holy crap monkeys!!! it looks just aweful!! I swore I was in heaven because I had never seen that many halo's in my life. This isn't like Gangs of New York where the DVD looked like Garbage so even the Blu ray looked great IN COMPARISON. The Gladiator DVD looks great and is only slightly worse in detail than the Blu ray. However the EE and DNR is just PAINFUL in this release. It is the best the movie has looked on Home video but when you watch the hi-def trailers on the second disc you get sick to your stomach to realize what could have been. I am not one to bash discs lightly. I actually though Gangs of NY wasn't that bad being how awful the DVD was, and I HATE the AVS scrutinization of titles but this title actually deserves all the bad hype it's gotten. Not because it's such a high profile title, but because it really DOES look that bad.

[SBrooks1]

For the people who can't see the DNR and EE on this Blu-ray, you should clearly stick to upconverted DVD's because you obviously can't see the difference...

[Johnny Vinyl]

If you're going to promote a series of movies and name it something like the "Sapphire" series, you better make sure that the transfers are spot-on and deserve that self-imposed designation. Paramount, based on all of the negative responses I've read here, there and everywhere, missed the boat completely. You can bet your life that heads have already started rolling for this major faux-pas!

I would have loved to purchase this title and pay the mid-$20 price, but I cannot and will not donate my hard earned money for a movie that had some of the highest expections and fell flat on its face with this transfer. My DVD copy will do just fine in the meantime. If Paramount, as was suggested, will not be revisiting this transfer for years to come, then maybe, just maybe I'll get lucky and find it in one of those Wal-Mart $10 bins down the road. And even then I'll have to think about it.

What an utter disappointment this release has turned out to be.

John