Gladiator (2000)

[bluskiff]

but today I was at my local video store and there on the shelf was brave heart and gladiator. I bought them both. Now I know people say the pq on gladiator is bad but it looks fine to me mind you I am watching on a 52 xbr4 so It all looks good. If I was watching on a 70 inch screen maybe I would see more dnr but it looks fine to me.

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris

....

It seems as though poor technical work may have repeated itself after six and a half decades.

RAH

I am pleading for the industry to establish industry-wide de facto guidelines on blu-ray transfers which would include detailed technical parameters (DNR, EE, filters, bit rate budgets etc.) together with a solid QC framework that involves human factors perspective to ensure that the transfer process is optimised in such a way to protect customer interests and effectively manage customer perceptions.

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by bluskiff

but today I was at my local video store and there on the shelf was brave heart and gladiator. I bought them both. Now I know people say the pq on gladiator is bad but it looks fine to me mind you I am watching on a 52 xbr4 so I all looks good. If I was watching on a 70 inch screen maybe I would see more dnr but it looks fine to me.

To get the full benefit of 1080p, one should be about 6' away from a 52" screen. If moved further away from the screen, HD benefit would gradually diminish. The screen-size/seating-distance ratio matters rather than the absolute screen size.

[Philnerd]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

but whatever happened to buying movies because you actually enjoyed the stories, the performances etc? I don't know, to me that comes before everything else

DVD gave us that. What is the Blu-Ray upgrade for?

[42041]

Originally Posted by Big Z

Everyone who has posted on here is waiting on "I told you so"

Sad really, that so much weight has been given to so little evidence.

20 screencaps, all of which look pretty bad, is hardly "little evidence"...
i trust my eyes much more than the so-called "reviewers" out there, not sure why others have so little faith in their optical organs.

[bluskiff]

quick pic of the casesPhoto 4.jpg

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by Philnerd

DVD gave us that. What is the Blu-Ray upgrade for?

IMO, You can't make a "bad" movie great with an incredible transfer. I realize the point of blu-ray is superior PQ/AQ, but when you get right down to it, you're still buying a movie, and to me movies are art...I choose my art based on what it means to me, which includes taking into account it's appearance but not as the weighing reason for purchasing it because meaning is more to me than just appearances. That being said, do I wish every release (especially the major ones) could look the best it can be? Definitely, but if it doesn't, there's no point crying over spilled milk. It is what it is....to me, whining is pointless and silly. Buy it and deal with it (and some may have nothing to deal with at all), or move on and deal with it

[thebluemax]

Originally Posted by spa

Here's a solution. If you can't wait and for some reason are compelled to buy Gladiator, then buy it.

But everyone else should wait for the reviews. Don't preorder. Control your impulsivity and wait a few weeks for the verdict from reliable reviewers. Why is that so hard to do? Then when the facts are in, if true, we should let Paramount know of our displeasure with their treatment of this movie.

I could care less about reviews and other peoples opinions. If I love a movie such as "Gladiator" I will buy it on BD even if it is not perfect.

[Big Z]

Originally Posted by 42041

20 screencaps, all of which look pretty bad, is hardly "little evidence"...
i trust my eyes much more than the so-called "reviewers" out there, not sure why others have so little faith in their optical organs.

There were 20 caps?

Please post them, cause i've seen....a guys forehead/cheek. The contriversial missing arrow cap. There may be 1 or 5 (that show reason to be up in arms) more that I am missing. If you had 20 caps, these would represent what % of the film? My math is a little hazy, but even if they were 1 second caps, which they aren't. Your evidence that isn't "so little" would make up...

I don't know, can someone else tell me what 20 seconds of an almost 2 hour film is?

Cripes, my ode was supposed to be a satirical post anyways.

CHILL.....PILL

[Philnerd]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

IMO, You can't make a "bad" movie great with an incredible transfer. I realize the point of blu-ray is superior PQ/AQ, but when you get right down to it, you're still buying a movie, and to me movies are art...I choose my art based on what it means to me, which includes taking into account it's appearance but not as the weighing reason for purchasing it because meaning is more to me than just appearances. That being said, do I wish every release (especially the major ones) could look the best it can be? Definitely, but if it doesn't, there's no point crying over spilled milk. It is what it is....to me, whining is pointless and silly. Buy it and deal with it (and some may have nothing to deal with at all), or move on and deal with it

Great post. I'm not quite in the same boat as you as I have a difficult time watching some releases (I can hardly sit through Star Trek III or IV on my 56" set), but I totally respect your view point.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by Philnerd

I'm not quite in the same boat as you.................but I totally respect your view point.

Likewise sir

[singhcr]

If we don't complain about poor releases, especially big-name releases like Gladiator a good 3 years into the format, nothing will change. Maybe they won't re-issue the film, in fact they probably won't... but doing nothing will not help us in our fight to preserve these films to be shown as intended, grain and all.

I might rent Gladiator, although I'll probably be annoyed at the DNR as I am quite sensitive to it. I bought Zulu from Amazon UK and the DNR was very evident- all of the faces had no detail to them and they looked like plastic faces. It was quite annoying because I knew something wasn't right- people don't look like that! I sold it the next day. It was a good print as the colors were quite vibrant, but the fine detail was washed away. Being a 70mm print, there really isn't any grain to speak of, so why they bothered to blur it over is beyond me.

On the other hand, I plan on purchasing Braveheart as it is an excellent film with an excellent transfer and I've never seen it on a format other than DVD. Seeing the change in PQ from the DVD to the BD in the shots where Gibson is covered in blue paint is quite impressive, and I'm sure that in motion it will look even better.

Paramount is an odd company. Recently, they've been knocking their titles out of the park, such as Iron Man, Defiance, Zodiac, etc. I suppose I could blame Universal, who does some things right (improved transfers of the Bourne films, Serenity, etc) and does some things wrong (DNR on the BD transfer of U-571 that wasn't there in the HD DVD).... and they are responsible for the Gladiator master, so I guess it's Universal's fault.

It is so frustrating to deal with this kind of garbage. All I want to do is watch my movies with full detail 1080p video and lossless audio. I really shouldn't have to read reviews to see if my favorite movies like the Star Trek TNG set will be presented in all of its glory, or waxed over with DNR to supposedly appease the masses who don't know what film is supposed to look like and don't really complain about the titles that have no DNR, but the studios seem to think that they will complain if they don't release waxy DNR-ridden titles....I'd rather put up with a bit more print damage or scratches than have DNR.

People seem to like Patton, even though they look like plastic faces. Was there a big outcry over the grain in The Sand Pebbles? I guess not. It was a beautiful transfer. So why ruin Patton, Gladiator, etc when nobody is complaining about it? I haven't had a single one of my J6P friends complain about grain in BD's, they are either indifferent to the PQ improvement or say that it looks great, like the BD of Firefly which was actually quite grainy.

Rant off... I am sick of dealing with this. First it was DNR and lossy audio with Warner, and now it seems every studio besides Sony is using DNR from time to time. Hopefully I can get Das Boot and Lawrence of Arabia in a non-DNR fashion. Sony has been very consistent in treating new and classic titles with respect, from A Passage to India to Casino Royale to Dr. Strangelove to Glory. Oh yes, every Criterion release has been stellar from an A/V standpoint.

[hazzad]

Originally Posted by 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

Maybe you should learn to just make your own mind up and not listen to other people's opinions. I have seen comparisons and the BD looks worlds ahead of the DVD version. I dont care for what these AVS guys say. Just sit down and enjoy the HD goodness.

[Big Z]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

IMO, You can't make a "bad" movie great with an incredible transfer. I realize the point of blu-ray is superior PQ/AQ, but when you get right down to it, you're still buying a movie, and to me movies are art...I choose my art based on what it means to me, which includes taking into account it's appearance but not as the weighing reason for purchasing it because meaning is more to me than just appearances. That being said, do I wish every release (especially the major ones) could look the best it can be? Definitely, but if it doesn't, there's no point crying over spilled milk. It is what it is....to me, whining is pointless and silly. Buy it and deal with it (and some may have nothing to deal with at all), or move on and deal with it

right on.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

IMO, You can't make a "bad" movie great with an incredible transfer. I realize the point of blu-ray is superior PQ/AQ, but when you get right down to it, you're still buying a movie, and to me movies are art...I choose my art based on what it means to me, which includes taking into account it's appearance but not as the weighing reason for purchasing it because meaning is more to me than just appearances. That being said, do I wish every release (especially the major ones) could look the best it can be? Definitely, but if it doesn't, there's no point crying over spilled milk. It is what it is....to me, whining is pointless and silly. Buy it and deal with it (and some may have nothing to deal with at all), or move on and deal with it

I think this is a good post as well. The PQ is a factor in whether I upgrade over the small collection of DVD's I have. In the end though, I'm buying movies on BD because I love the movies (or is confident I will enjoy it when it's a blind buy). While I respect a person's decision to buy a movie just because it's pretty and/or sounds awesome, neither is going to keep me from buying a movie I love. Do I wish they didn't use as much DNR as they did on Wedding Crashers? Sure, but it is one of my favorite comedies, so I bought it and loved it all over again even with the DNR. The only one I've ever sold due to bad PQ is The Italian Job, but that's only because it is a very rare disc where it barely looks any better than the DVD. Before I repeat too much, I'll close by saying that even though a movie could look better, you shouldn't skip buying it if you really love the movie. The movie matters more than the PQ no matter what anyone wants to say, and nine times out of ten a bad transfer still looks better than DVD.

[Philnerd]

Originally Posted by singhcr

Paramount is an odd company. Recently, they've been knocking their titles out of the park, such as Iron Man, Defiance, Zodiac, etc.

Paramount has some consistency issues with catalog titles, but their new releases are first rate every time. I've got no problem getting Star Trek on release day at a local B&M, I know it'll look and sound awesome.

[Jeff Kleist]

Paramount is an odd company. Recently, they've been knocking their titles out of the park, such as Iron Man, Defiance, Zodiac, etc.

As was said before <B>Paramount did not do the mastering on this title. Universal did</B>

And I also want to say

One-starring the disc on Amazon, calling the studio, sending obnoxious emails and the rest will definately not get you what you want

All you're doing is making getting what you want that much harder

[bypass]

Originally Posted by hazzad

Maybe you should learn to just make your own mind up and not listen to other people's opinions. I have seen comparisons and the BD looks worlds ahead of the DVD version. I dont care for what these AVS guys say. Just sit down and enjoy the HD goodness.

Although, some "HD goodness" has the propensity to be atrocious looking, e.g. "Gladiator". The point of the dispute is that the release of "Gladiator" on BD is egregious, considering the impact the title has had on audiences since its premier. It may look better than DVD, but that's not saying much when one considers that DVD is 640x480 and BD is 1920x1080. "Gladiator" should be recalled immediately with a subsequent release that is up to level of quality audiences have come to expect from titles like "Gladiator" that are released on the format.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by 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

I know a lot of people are posting that ^^^, but 99% of them have not seen the release. Go figure.

[Big Z]

YAY!!! A new Gladiator thread where people can be angry about things they haven't seen yet!!!

We had almost 900 posts on the other one....