Gladiator (2000)

[Russell_L]

The reality is that most people who will be looking at the Blu-ray disc of 'Gladiator' will be happy over the PQ, marveling at how 'clean' it looks. They obviously won't know any better. One need go no further than this very site and look at the user reviews of 'Patton' to see the number of satisfied--no, ecstatic--reviews of the PQ. (Heck, even the usually reliable Martin Liebman gave it a 5/5 for PQ and praised it extensively.) I imagine the same might happen with 'Gladiator'.

As for me, my initial enthusiasm has admittedly been tempered somewhat after trudging through this thread, but I still want to see the Blu for myself, on my own display, and make up my own mind.

[bt12483]

Originally Posted by Grubert

Yes they are.

..

Look at the flame at the bottom left. It has the exact same shape.

They match perfectly - except for the fireball and arrows, that is.

Interestingly, the three arrows nearer the catapult weren't erased.

Once again, if someone can offer an alternate explanation as to where in the F those arrows and fireball went, I'd love to hear it.

This changes the movie. Not cool.

Look, no one here is an evil-doing HD DVD bitter format war loser guys. I get why there are suspicions about AVS.

But we are all bluray fans here. So where in the hell did the arrows and fireball go?

[Matt_Stevens]

Lots of funny comments here. Look, having actually viewed both GLADIATOR and BRAVEHEART on a massive screen via 3 chip 1080p, all I can say is this: BRAVEHART is everything GLADIATOR is not.

This isn't a case of Paramount bashing, because BRAVEHEART is glorious. It truly is. It's just that GLADIATOR is clearly from the nearly ten year old transfer, but with even more DVNR and filtering baked into it! We know it's more because the HD broadcasts, which are the same transfer, look better and have more detail. Not to mention they and the DVD don't have flaming arrows and rose petals erased from the picture.

Some of you are so in love with the studio that you are actually denying DVNR has erased parts of the picture! "Those shots are not the same frame." etc. etc.

Uh, YES THEY ARE! That's the point! Some of the image has been erased by the DVNR! VFX that were paid for by Ridley Scott are now GONE because some jackoff decided to clean up the picture.

This website is notorious for being pro-anything, even going so far as to ban people who dare speak out when it comes to screwed up releases. I'm sure I might be banned for stating the obvious. Whatever.

Paramount and Universal have royally screwed us consumers over. There is no excuse for such shoddy work. Had they just left the old transfer alone it would have at least been decent.

DVNR needs to be banned. It simply should not be used at all. Think about how many releases have been marred or ruined because of its use and then imagin what could have been had DVNR not been employed.

[OARmaster]

Originally Posted by Matt_Stevens

Lots of funny comments here. Look, having actually viewed both GLADIATOR and BRAVEHEART on a massive screen via 3 chip 1080p, all I can say is this: BRAVEHART is everything GLADIATOR is not.

This isn't a case of Paramount bashing, because BRAVEHEART is glorious. It truly is. It's just that GLADIATOR is clearly from the nearly ten year old transfer, but with even more DVNR and filtering baked into it! We know it's more because the HD broadcasts, which are the same transfer, look better and have more detail. Not to mention they and the DVD don't have flaming arrows and rose petals erased from the picture.

This website is notorious for being pro-anything, even going so far as to ban people who dare speak out when it comes to screwed up releases. I'm sure I might be banned for stating the obvious. Whatever.

Paramount and Universal have royally screwed us consumers over. There is no excuse for such shoddy work. Had they just left the old transfer alone it would have at least been decent.

DVNR needs to be banned. It simply should not be used at all. Think about how many releases have been marred or ruined because of its use and then imagin what could have been had DVNR not been employed.

Another screenshot scientist. Gladiator has flaws, but you folks also thought Baraka was crap. You jump at every possible opportunity to bash every possible release. Banned from here? Pro HD-DVD people like Xylon were banned for manipulating BD screenshots in the process of bashing the format. AVS worships him as if he were a god...how sad.

Also, I see that you are spreading lies over there now. You might not want to make it so obvious...

[Mokus76]

Hey Everyone,

I preordered Gladiator and Braveheart from Amazon but I read horrible things about Paramounts Gladiator so I canceled it right away.
People are saying that Paramount used an old Master of the movie and that it is DNR'd so much that it is NOT enjoyible at all.
I really hope bluray.com will receive the review copies very soon.
I am very affraid that it will be not much better then the DVD version from what I have read so far.
If this is true then why is Paramount calling it the Sapphire Series, it might be just for the hype and money making aspect afterall.

I am speechless and I am going to have to wait to see what I will do about Gladiator

[rghuxley]

Originally Posted by bt12483

Once again, if someone can offer an alternate explanation as to where in the F those arrows and fireball went, I'd love to hear it.

Okay, go with me on this for a moment...is it possible...I mean just simply possible, that maybe...just maybe...this is a photo shopped picture from some HD DVD lover who wanted to see BR fail?

The reason I ask is I jumped over to the AVS forum to see what they were saying and a great many of those people seem, at least to me, to be HUGE HD DVD lovers and wanted to see Blu fail. One of the people was even able to photo shop out some halo effect that was on Russel Crowe when he was on the back of his horse when he escaped.

Now if this person could photo shop out the halo effect, couldnt someone have done the same thing here?

When you look at these two pics side by side, they are at the exact same frame. Not a moment sooner or later.

I dont want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I am just wondering. Thoughts?

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by bt12483

Once again, if someone can offer an alternate explanation as to where in the F those arrows and fireball went, I'd love to hear it.

Perhaps some of the arrows and fireballs were added in post-production for the theatrical release, but the same digital work may not have been done for the extended edition.

IDK this to be the case, but it's a possibility.

[OARmaster]

Originally Posted by rghuxley

Okay, go with me on this for a moment...is it possible...I mean just simply possible, that maybe...just maybe...this is a photo shopped picture from some HD DVD lover who wanted to see BR fail?

The reason I ask is I jumped over to the AVS forum to see what they were saying and a great many of those people seem, at least to me, to be HUGE HD DVD lovers and wanted to see Blu fail. One of the people was even able to photo shop out some halo effect that was on Russel Crowe when he was on the back of his horse when he escaped.

Now if this person could photo shop out the halo effect, couldnt someone have done the same thing here?

When you look at these two pics side by side, they are at the exact same frame. Not a moment sooner or later.

I dont want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I am just wondering. Thoughts?

You hit the nail right on the head about one thing. Not only are most of the bashers over there former HD-DVD fans, but the very mods of the blu-ray software section over there....former HD-DVD fanboys. That is an absolute fact and explains a lot.

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by OARmaster

Another screenshot scientist.

Nonsense. He's said he's seen the two movies, projected on a large screen at a friend's house. He's not judging by screenshots.

[azereus]

I really really really hope this is not true. I'm more exicted for Gladiator on Blu that I have been for any other movie.

Now excitement has been replaced with nervousness........

[Matt_Stevens]

Originally Posted by OARmaster

Another screenshot scientist. Gladiator has flaws, but you folks also thought Baraka was crap. You jump at every possible opportunity to bash every possible release. Banned from here? Pro HD-DVD people like Xylon were banned for manipulating BD screenshots in the process of bashing the format. AVS worships him as if he were a god...how sad.

Do you draw a paycheck from Paramount? Xylon does not manipulate anything. He posts screen grabs.

And obviously you must be in the tank because I stated (very clearly) that I viewed GLADIATOR myself on a massive projection screen. In fact, I compard it to the older HBO transfer, which looked better, despite it being MPEG2 with a much lower bitrate.

No one is bashing the format. I, Xylon and others are praising the BRAVEHEART release. Why? Because it's incredible. I have spoken in numerous forums about the UK HIGHLANDER release an how anyone who loves that movie needs to import it. Don't you dare tell me I am a BD basher because that is complete BS and you now it.

GLADIATOR has been mangled by DVNR and it has erased countless vfx from the picture. I saw it with mine own eyes. Here is more of what I saw. Explain that, genius!
http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...ator#vergleich

Oh, wait, you won't because you have so far just ignored the proof.

Some of you guys are just unreal. The Extended version is seenlessly branched into the theatrical version. The vfx are not incomplete. They were erase by some idiot via DVNR. The extended version scenes are inifinitely more detailed with no DVNR manipulation. I saw it with my own eyes at nearly 120 inches.

Are OARmaster has gone off the deep end with the HD-DVD crap. That is just flame material, flat out. I've been with BD since the PS3 hit and love the format. But you know that. You're just here to bash anyone who dares speak the truth.

[benricci]

This does not need its own thread.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=104438

[Russell_L]

Originally Posted by rghuxley

Okay, go with me on this for a moment...is it possible...I mean just simply possible, that maybe...just maybe...this is a photo shopped picture from some HD DVD lover who wanted to see BR fail?

The reason I ask is I jumped over to the AVS forum to see what they were saying and a great many of those people seem, at least to me, to be HUGE HD DVD lovers and wanted to see Blu fail. One of the people was even able to photo shop out some halo effect that was on Russel Crowe when he was on the back of his horse when he escaped.

Now if this person could photo shop out the halo effect, couldnt someone have done the same thing here?

When you look at these two pics side by side, they are at the exact same frame. Not a moment sooner or later.

I dont want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I am just wondering. Thoughts?

You might be on to something here. If you compare the DVD vs HD broadcast vs Blu-ray screenshots at DVD Beaver, you'll notice that in every case, the Blu images are brighter. (The review acknowledges that the Blu is a bit brighter overall.) Not so in these fireball/arrow screencaps...

[rghuxley]

Originally Posted by OARmaster

You hit the nail right on the head about one thing. Not only are most of the bashers over there former HD-DVD fans, but the very mods of the blu-ray software section over there....former HD-DVD fanboys. That is an absolute fact and explains a lot.

And that's what I was wondering b/c I find this a little too suspicious. These people I am sure are pissed that Gladiator never made it to HD DVD and now they want to see it fail on Blu. Again, just a thought.

[bt12483]

Originally Posted by rghuxley

Okay, go with me on this for a moment...is it possible...I mean just simply possible, that maybe...just maybe...this is a photo shopped picture from some HD DVD lover who wanted to see BR fail?

I love conspiracy theories usually. And for some people over there, I would agree. But a lot of the same people are praising Braveheart.

Besides nothing they say, nor a poor PQ release is going to really hurt bluray at this point. It is already cemented.

Originally Posted by rghuxley

The reason I ask is I jumped over to the AVS forum to see what they were saying and a great many of those people seem, at least to me, to be HUGE HD DVD lovers and wanted to see Blu fail. One of the people was even able to photo shop out some halo effect that was on Russel Crowe when he was on the back of his horse when he escaped.

Now if this person could photo shop out the halo effect, couldnt someone have done the same thing here?

When you look at these two pics side by side, they are at the exact same frame. Not a moment sooner or later.

I dont want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I am just wondering. Thoughts?

I hear you. There are some really bitter individuals over there. But if they were pulling such shenanigans I think it would have been outed by now.

Originally Posted by kpkelley

Perhaps some of the arrows and fireballs were added in post-production for the theatrical release, but the same digital work may not have been done for the extended edition.

IDK this to be the case, but it's a possibility.

What about this?

http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...ator#vergleich

Why do half of the spears disappear on the bluray? As if they were partially draped in an invincibility cloak?

I agree with photoshop these weird effects would be easily reproduceable. Good thing is the bluray comes out next week. If the people at AVS are lying, we will all know for sure when we get our copies. If they were lying they will look like fools next week. Why would they go through all of the trouble and time posting these comparisons just to F with people?

[OARmaster]

Originally Posted by Grubert

Nonsense. He's said he's seen the two movies, projected on a large screen at a friend's house. He's not judging by screenshots.

It's not nonsense. The title fits because he is part of the very group which pulls this stunt with each and every release even before they have seen it. It just so happens that he has seen this one in person...not his usual practice. You can defend them all you wish, but they have zero credibility.

[OARmaster]

Originally Posted by Matt_Stevens

Do you draw a paycheck from Paramount? Xylon does not manipulate anything. He posts screen grabs.

And obviously you must be in the tank because I stated (very clearly) that I viewed GLADIATOR myself on a massive projection screen. In fact, I compard it to the older HBO transfer, which looked better, despite it being MPEG2 with a much lower bitrate.

No one is bashing the format. I, Xylon and others are praising the BRAVEHEART release. Why? Because it's incredible. I have spoken in numerous forums about the UK HIGHLANDER release an how anyone who loves that movie needs to import it. Don't you dare tell me I am a BD basher because that is complete BS and you now it.

GLADIATOR has been mangled by DVNR and it has erased countless vfx from the picture. I saw it with mine own eyes. Here is more of what I saw. Explain that, genius!
http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...ator#vergleich

Oh, wait, you won't because you have so far just ignored the proof.

You aren't aware of why Xylon is no longer here are you? Haha...

Yes, you are one of the most frequent offenders at AVS and you've allied yourself with the worst of the worst.

[cakefoo]

http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...ator#vergleich

Sorry, old

[Matt_Stevens]

Originally Posted by OARmaster

You aren't aware of why Xylon is no longer here are you? Haha...

Yes, you are one of the most frequent offenders at AVS and you've allied yourself with the worst of the worst.

You are incredible. Everyone knows Xylon was banned because we all laughed at this place for that.

But as usual, you refuse to answer any questions at all. You flat out won't touch the facts.

Because you can't.

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by OARmaster

It's not nonsense. The title fits because he is part of the very group which pulls this stunt with each and every release even before they have seen it. It just so happens that he has seen this one in person...not his usual practice. You can defend them all you wish, but they have zero credibility.

Okay, so if I say I've seen Dark City and the PQ is terrible, then I'm the enemy too?