Gladiator (2000)

[DaPenguinPimP]

I was just about to cancel my Gladiator pre order and switch to Braveheart but Bestbuy shipped it out an hour ago.

I guess I'll wait for more reviews to decide on returning it or just keeping it.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Kirsty_Mc

Both from the same master apparently .

Yeah, they're all pretty much screwed.

[#Darren]

I spend a lot on Blu ray, but I have to exercise SOME reasonable control, and based on Bill Hunt's report and the general reports of others I will just be keeping my DVD set until a better Blu gets released.

[MCT]

Originally Posted by T DUB

Agreed. I have been reading Bill Hunt's stuff for quite some time and he is always right on the money. I for one will be walking into Futureshop on Tuesday and picking up my copy of Braveheart and skipping Gladiator altogether. Too bad considering that Gladiator was right at the top of by BD wants next to LOTR and Jurassic Park.

this is really disappointing news. I'm not going to spend $22+change for a disc that, while not TERRIBLE looking, just isnt up to par by Blu Ray standards. People will say, "well, just buy it and judge it for yourself"....but when you have MULTIPLE sources confirming that its relatively shoddy work and you're purchasing at your own risk, I think I can recognize a giant red flag when I see one. Really sucks, because Gladiator is the main title I wanted. Now I have to wait until Paramount confirms they will, if not recall the title altogether, at least put out a new "anniversary edition" or something to that effect with a sparkling new transfer free of EE and DNR. Oh well.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by thecardman23

unfortunately not everyone is in the same boat as you. i'm sure there are more than a few ppl out there who wished braveheart was the crap transfer outa the two and gladiator was the top notch one. i couldnt care less for braveheart and am quite bitter it turned out so well only to have gladiator be the one that universal botched. oh well.... thats the way the cookie crumbles i suppose

And then there's those of us who want both to keep our Best Picture collections up-to-date. But while I held off on The French Connection BD till recently (and still haven't sold the DVD) because of its PQ controversy, after reading Bill's review I think I'll go ahead and buy both together at Best Buy on day one as planned. (The $10-off-both special helps; since I have both DVDs, the rebates will be icing on the cake.) But I still hope Bill convinces Paramount to do an exchange program on Gladiator.

[aramis109]

Ok... doesn't look like I'll be purchasing this one now.

At least Braveheart is stellar. I'm not holding my breath for a recall from Paramount though.

[STARSCREAM]

Originally Posted by DaPenguinPimP

I was just about to cancel my Gladiator pre order and switch to Braveheart but Bestbuy shipped it out an hour ago.

I guess I'll wait for more reviews to decide on returning it or just keeping it.

Return it. Do not reward the studios with releases like this. This is ridiculous, objects are missing and disappearing for crying out loud. You know they are gonna re-release this.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Originally Posted by Bullseye

If this is infact a poor transfer it begs the question do they actually watch the transfer before pressing the discs and releasing it?

I've wondered that myself. How hard is it really to just have someone with a good eye watch the transfer? Heck, I'd do it for free.

[HRC]

I was going to purchase both films but now I will stick to the only one that mattered in the first place..... Braveheart. Gladiator is on hold until they fix it. Glad I found out that it is a bad transfer before I bought it.

[urbeenjammin]

not sure if this is posted already,but the Universal version has been reviewed in Areadvd.de
here is a translated version:
Gladiator" today one of the qualitatively best films until, which were ever published on DVD, is. With a good Scaler even a quality can be taken out of the DVD, which reaches already nearly HDTV level. While Ridley Scott for Blu ray the Disc publication of " Blade Runner" the film later somewhat verfremdet and in the colors corrected, appears " Gladiator" on Blu ray Disc in the magnificent color splendour, which one already knows. The colors are clearly, strongly satisfied and work despite an easy filtering very naturally. Also the contrast is very good, although the picture works in parts with interior photographs already somewhat too darkly. With the field recordings the contrasts are however perfect, without the picture in bright scenes over-radiates. Thus works " Gladiator" straight in the combat sequences in the arena very vividly. The master is perfect however non it looks at least not in such a way, as if it would have given a new transfer specially for Blu ray the Disc. When exact looking one recognizes an easily jerky Bildstand and also the image definition is subjected partly very changeful small fluctuations. Blu ray the Disc convinced usually more by the tilting than the detail sharpness and individual scenes is noticeable also somewhat softly. On the other hand some into the Extended the Deleted Scenes still another clearly higher detail level than the majority of the film, integrated, offers version. Altogether Blu ray the Disc shows usually a high Kantenschärfe, leaves thereby however double outlines also in parts times more times becomes less clearly visible. The detail rendition is well, in many close-ups even very good, does not work however always completely as finely and in detail as one it from HDTV actually used is. Blu ray the Disc shows an already almost three-dimensional working picture due to the plastic contrast and the deep colors in particular in the scenes in the arena nevertheless. Nevertheless it does not work as optimally as one it for a Top title as " Gladiator" actually would have expected. Despite the excess length (in particular with the Extended version) the compression works at Blu ray the Disc very carefully and shows no disturbances.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

What it looks like to me, is that someone at Universal (keep in mind, it's Universal that controls the Gladiator assets for DreamWorks - not Paramount), decided to re-use the original digital master of the HD transfer done back in 2000 for the very first DVD release.

That's what happened with the Star Trek original cast films on Blu-ray, five of the six used decade old masters created for DVD instead of new ones.

[MCT]

Originally Posted by urbeenjammin

While Ridley Scott for Blu ray the Disc publication of " Blade Runner" the film later somewhat verfremdet and in the colors corrected, appears " Gladiator" on Blu ray Disc in the magnificent color splendour, which one already knows.

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by STARSCREAM

Return it. Do not reward the studios with releases like this.

Are you joking? Most of the posters on this board will settle and buy anything just to have it sooner. That much we know for sure......sigh.

[Stinky-Dinkins]

Originally Posted by MCT

Maybe you're just not reading it carefully enough, I agreed with pretty much everything there, especially the part about one recognizing an easily jerky Bildstand.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by Elvis

Are you joking? Most of the posters on this board will settle and buy anything just to have it sooner. That much we know for sure......sigh.

IMO, for a title this big, if enough people are disappointed, I can only hope something will happen to make wrongs right. Like it's been stated several times before though, many blu-rayers will see Gladiator is being released on blu-ray, buy it, love it, and not think twice about or potentially even take note of any of the technical/visual problems we and other internet forums have been discussing.

[MCT]

no, I understood the gist of it....I just thought that particular snippet was hilarious.

[Buddy Christ]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

IMO, for a title this big, if enough people are disappointed, I can only hope something will happen to make wrongs right. Like it's been stated several times before though, many blu-rayers will see Gladiator is being released on blu-ray, buy it, love it, and not think twice about or potentially even take note of any of the technical/visual problems we and other internet forums have been discussing.

So right. I do not mean to profile, but when I am in BB and I see Joe Dad with like a stack of blu's in his hand and I see that they are poor choices in the PQ/AQ department, and I see it a lot. Gladiator will sell for sure.

New PS3 (299), Walmart $98 players...get what I am saying?

[#Darren]

Does anyone know... is the DNR on this lesser or worse than the DNR on Zulu?

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by Elvis

Are you joking? Most of the posters on this board will settle and buy anything just to have it sooner. That much we know for sure......sigh.

Not me. It's a worthless transfer and the studio doesn't deserve my money for it.

I dodn't think the master used for the BD is the same from the 2000 DVD. The screenshots with the intercut arrows are from the BD and and the DVD shot clearly doesn't have that problem. I certainly don't remember that issue in my old DVD. May as well give it a spin just to check but this seems to be a rush job transfer done to meet the deadline with no time to consider the quality (or lack thereof).

[DigitalfreakNYC]

Originally Posted by STARSCREAM

Return it. Do not reward the studios with releases like this. This is ridiculous, objects are missing and disappearing for crying out loud. You know they are gonna re-release this.

People miss things. They're human. Hell, I wonder how many people here would have missed this if it weren't blatantly plastered all over the forums.

Shit happens.