Gladiator (2000)

[robertc88]

Without a new transfer, what would one hope to be the best possible score????

I didn't like Patton at all. I don't think I'm going to hate this movie on BD as much.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

They were new masters made in the last 2 years. They were just struck before Paramount's new mastering policies went into effect. Keep in mind that MOST studios, as late as 2007-8 were doing what they've always done with their masters for over a decade

Thanks for the correction, Jeff. It appears I was the victim of some misinformation.

[Rblu-Dblu]

I love Gladiator but never owned it on standard dvd. Im on the fence about picking this one up because of the negative reviews. What should I do?

[ScarredLungs]

Originally Posted by Rblu-Dblu

I love Gladiator but never owned it on standard dvd. Im on the fence about picking this one up because of the negative reviews. What should I do?

Wait until it gets released and then you'll be able to see more reviews.

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by Rblu-Dblu

I love Gladiator but never owned it on standard dvd. Im on the fence about picking this one up because of the negative reviews. What should I do?

Easy. Rent it!

[Jimbo976]

Originally Posted by robertc88

Easy. Rent it!

Exactly - rent it and see what you personally think of it. Don't rely on the comments of others. Things get so blown out of proportion is many cases and then in other cases something may show up that really bothers you that other people have not pointed out.

Everyone should rent first if they are not sure that they want to buy.

[Petri Teittinen]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Because such things are subjective, and the bar is raised over time. This stuff is never that exact when anyone does it

So there will never be a 20 for any title, and the scale changes arbitrarily, rendering it almost meaningless to anyone but the reviewer. PQ given 16 a year ago is no longer worth 16. Did I parse that correctly?

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by thecardman23

so i actually just watched gladiator last night and just like the star treks everybody blew this WAY outa proportion. i thought the transfer actually looked quite good. the colors were bold, the picture looked quite clear. i hardly noticed any grain in the movie and other than a few scenes here and there... i found most of the pq to be quite good. i'll admit its not one that jumps off the screen at you like transformers or king kong but it definitely compares with other blu-ray releases i've seen latly. i did notice at times the excessive dnr that ppl talk about (but for the most part i thought it was done in a proportion that didnt bother me much at all) oh and the arrow/ fireball scene that people is making such a big deal out of.. i watched it VERY CLOSELY and looked and i couldnt notice ANYTHING at the reg speed of watching it. i watched the darn thing so close and didnt notice a thing (and i even knew what i was looking for) i'm not a kook so i wont go back and re-wind and play it in slow-mo 10x times to find the spot that bothers me. if i cant even notice it, then its not a big issue. for me id rate the transfer thus:


Movie 5 / 5
Video 4 / 5
Audio 4.5 / 5
Extras 4 / 5

so in conclusion.... would i buy this disc.. yeah sure (if i got it at a good price i would) do i think they should re-master it? offcourse, why not if it can be improved upon. do i think it's a rip-off for those who buy it? absolutely not! its a decent quality transfer and fans of the film shouldn't be scared away by all these nuts already condemning a movie they havnt even watched. go out rent it (its well worth those 4-5 bucks forsure) and then if you like it.. buy it. if you havnt watched it yet, dont judge it by the screen-caps cuz thats ridiculous.

You must work over at Paramount. No wait....you a poster on these boards so you will support anything the studio throws out!

[Jeff Kleist]

So there will never be a 20 for any title, and the scale changes arbitrarily, rendering it almost meaningless to anyone but the reviewer. PQ given 16 a year ago is no longer worth 16. Did I parse that correctly?
__________________

No.

while a 16 given today might be a 15 in 2011, there's nothing arbitrary about it. We've been doing this a long time and at least like to think we have a pretty good eye and are fairly consistant between people (when bill and I compared on the Trek discs, we were identical or half a point apart). A review of anything in any medium is a snapshot of the moment it's done in, of its contemporary peers and those who are doing it. And that'll never change

[tilapiah6]

Originally Posted by SellmeyourDVD

I'll wait till this is 12.99 around black friday time.

A shame though, this is one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time.

But with the Best Buy deal, you can get both this and Braveheart for 38 bucks. That is, unless you don't want Braveheart. 16 for each is a good enough deal for it, in my book.

[Moefiz]

After reading thru the thread here and other sites..I decided to give this one a chance still.

[Ispoke]

Originally Posted by Jimbo976

....Things get so blown out of proportion is many cases and then in other cases something may show up that really bothers you that other people have not pointed out......

Agree totaly.

You know I find these screencap/PQ threads troublesome, not so much the general intent, but the fact that people will jump on declaring the film ‘rubbish’ from such sceencaps. Now if PQ is your only requirement for a film then you are not a true film enthusiast, but a PQ ***** and will have only a very limited collection of films in your library, as there are not many ( if at all) that are perfect.

A film shoul be about an immersive experience and all elements of the film should be evaluated to decide if the film deserves to be part of one’s library, NOT just PQ. We all want the best transfer possible and studios should be held to account, but telling people not to purchase a film based on screencaps is idiotic at best.

[bypass]

Originally Posted by Ispoke

Agree totaly.

You know I find these screencap/PQ threads troublesome, not so much the general intent, but the fact that people will jump on declaring the film ‘rubbish’ from such sceencaps. Now if PQ is your only requirement for a film then you are not a true film enthusiast, but a PQ ***** and will have only a very limited collection of films in your library, as there are not many ( if at all) that are perfect.

A film shoul be about an immersive experience and all elements of the film should be evaluated to decide if the film deserves to be part of one’s library, NOT just PQ. We all want the best transfer possible and studios should be held to account, but telling people not to purchase a film based on screencaps is idiotic at best.

Although, it's more difficult to suspend one's disbelief when the picture quality of a film as esteemed as "Gladiator" is shoddy on a format that is marketed as having superior picture quality. Consequently, the shoddy picture quality most certainly detracts from the film; so much so that people would be doing the right thing by boycotting the release of such twaddle.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by Ispoke

Agree totaly.

You know I find these screencap/PQ threads troublesome, not so much the general intent, but the fact that people will jump on declaring the film ‘rubbish’ from such sceencaps. Now if PQ is your only requirement for a film then you are not a true film enthusiast, but a PQ ***** and will have only a very limited collection of films in your library, as there are not many ( if at all) that are perfect.

A film shoul be about an immersive experience and all elements of the film should be evaluated to decide if the film deserves to be part of one’s library, NOT just PQ. We all want the best transfer possible and studios should be held to account, but telling people not to purchase a film based on screencaps is idiotic at best.

The thing is--while I completely agree with you that some people on here seem to forget that movies don't always exist just to look pretty and that there is more to buying them than just their PQ/AQ (although it isn't my place to tell anyone why they should/shouldn't buy a movie)--I do understand where many in this thread are coming from. This is a HUGE release, and people are not basing their disappointments on just screencaps. A few have actually seen the movie and can vouch for the problems everyone has been discussing. I'm still excited to get both cuts in one package, not to mention all the special features, and I do want my own eyes to be the judge of the PQ as I trust others but I'm not buying the movie for them, I'm buying it for me

[sfmarine]

I cancelled my steelbook order on amazon.uk. I figured...it will most likely get another release sometime down the road(10 anniv. is coming up next year). I also doubt that Gladiator steelbook will have the $10 rebate form inside(if you own the dvd version). Best Buy has a good deal going on with the two so that's what I'm sticking to. I guess I'll have to change my avatar now lol.

[Ispoke]

Originally Posted by bypass

Although, it's more difficult to suspend one's disbelief when the picture quality of a film as esteemed as "Gladiator" is shoddy on a format that is marketed as having superior picture quality. Consequently, the shoddy picture quality most certainly detracts from the film; so much so that people would be doing the right thing by boycotting the release of such twaddle.

Originally Posted by Sussudio

The thing is--while I completely agree with you that some people on here seem to forget that movies don't always exist just to look pretty and that there is more to buying them than just their PQ/AQ (although it isn't my place to tell anyone why they should/shouldn't buy a movie)--I do understand where many in this thread are coming from. This is a HUGE release, and people are not basing their disappointments on just screencaps. A few have actually seen the movie and can vouch for the problems everyone has been discussing. I'm still excited to get both cuts in one package, not to mention all the special features, and I do want my own eyes to be the judge of the PQ as I trust others but I'm not buying the movie for them, I'm buying it for me

I understand both your points and certainly one can only feel frustration that such a release should be somewhat under par. Certainly poor PQ can and does drop you out of the experience sometimes if bad enough. However my point is that screencaps never do a film justice and faults can be found with most, but the viewing environment will probably have a much larger impact on PQ than the transfer itself when viewed in motion, as well as poor sound for instance.

On the bolded part - Some are saying the problems are hardly noticable, again suggesting that the viewing envioroment is just as critical.

[Dotpattern]

Originally Posted by Shanester

Thanks for the honest review.

So your saying it's not demo material by any means but is it substantially improved over the dvd??

That's what Bill Hunt said too.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by tilapiah6

But with the Best Buy deal, you can get both this and Braveheart for 38 bucks. That is, unless you don't want Braveheart. 16 for each is a good enough deal for it, in my book.

Your math REALLY fails.

[jw]

Originally Posted by aramis109

Your math REALLY fails.

he meant to say 19, it was a typo

[Russell_L]

As I've said before here, the reality is that most people will be happy over the PQ of 'Gladiator', 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 ecstatic reviews of the PQ, which was just excoriated over its excessive DNR by the "experts". I suspect the same might happen with 'Gladiator', but since it's is a much more high-profile release than 'Patton', hopefully not.

Now that Bill Hunt has weighed in on the matter (I trust him implicitly!), my initial enthusiasm over this release has been tempered a lot, and now I'm waffling over whether to get it or not on Tuesday. (And no, I don't like to rent discs.)