Gladiator (2000)

[Jimbo976]

It's like $20 - such obsession over a small sum.

If someone doesn't like it then don't buy it or sell it after you see it.

[banned user105]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

It is still an HD, higher-than-dvd quality transfer....

Yes, but only barely. That's the problem.

[benricci]

Originally Posted by dvdvision

It would be like buying the latest Mac Pro to find out the OS on it is OS9, or buying a recent PC and finding out it only have Windows 3.1 on it.

No, it's actually nothing at all like that

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by doctorthodt

Yes, but only barely. That's the problem.

I didn't say there was/wasn't a problem...only that some of the comparisons people are making are just getting ludicrous...

[Clapton101]

Ok I watched about an 1.5 hours of it last night before i crashed to bed. I have a 50 inch Kuro and i will say this as my personal opinion. It was no were close to SDVD quality definite upgrade but not up to the standards of blu-ray either. to me i really notice how much it does need to be redone on a lot of the crowd scenes like when Commodus comes into rome this first time as Cesar. The crowd just blended together and nothing (in my opion) is a sharp or clear as it should be as a blu-ray. Also i could tell in the archer seen but had to look really hard, if i did not already know about it I probably would not have noticed it. The audio was top notch though! So over all i think it looks better than the SDVD but nothing like a blu-ray should by the standards we have seen. Tonight i will finish Gladiator and then watch Braveheart.

[Buddy Christ]

Originally Posted by jd213

Just curious, but what Blu-rays don't look good on your setup?

I was gonna ask the same thing. At 120 inches it all looks the same I'm sure

[banned user105]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

I didn't say there was/wasn't a problem...only that some of the comparisons people are making are just getting ludicrous...

Agreed. On both sides of the debate.

[NutsAboutPS3]

Okay, I haven't read all 1827 posts in this thread, so apologies if this has been said before, but:

Originally Posted by RedIsNotBlue

you can check out this thread which offers more screenshot comparisons.

http://forums.highdefdigest.com/blu-...x-reviews.html

From those screenshots, if the same master was used for the HDTV broadcast and the Blu-ray, then the Blu-ray must have had some processing applied to it because the picture is completely messed up compared to the HDTV broadcast. So I'm not so sure we can just blame the use of an old master because the HDTV broadcast looks quite reasonable, with just a small amount of artificial sharpening. The Blu-ray, by comparison, has had a load of detail removed and a ton of extra sharpening applied.

[Jimbo976]

Originally Posted by NutsAboutPS3

Okay, I haven't read all 1827 posts in this thread, so apologies if this has been said before, but:


From those screenshots, if the same master was used for the HDTV broadcast and the Blu-ray, then the Blu-ray must have had some processing applied to it because the picture is completely messed up compared to the HDTV broadcast. So I'm not so sure we can just blame the use of an old master because the HDTV broadcast looks quite reasonable, with just a small amount of artificial sharpening. The Blu-ray, by comparison, has had a load of detail removed and a ton of extra sharpening applied.

The important part underlined. Does anyone here really know the answer?

[SBrooks1]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

Some of these judgments are getting kind of ridiculous imo....

Can you blame people though? The defensive mentality some people have over the quality of this movie on Blu-ray is unreal. This time the screenshots didn't lie and people are still defending it with their heads in the sand.

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by SBrooks1

Can you blame people though? The defensive mentality some people have over the quality of this movie on Blu-ray is unreal. This time the screenshots didn't lie and people are still defending it with their heads in the sand.

I really couldn't care less about screenshots. I just know what I watched did not feel like a film and I was sitting 12 feet away from a 46 inch HDTV. I was not pausing it and sitting 2 feet away so that I could nitpick the look of the Blu-ray. I just know that film doesn't look like that and my experience with the Blu-ray felt a lot different from my experience in the theater 9 years ago when Gladiator first came out.

[Kapoostakid]

Its one of my favorite pieces on film. Anyway you slice it; Gladiator is not a reference transfer. And won't be for awhile. The studios 'screwed the pooch' on this blu.

[SBrooks1]

Originally Posted by TTUBatfan2008

I really couldn't care less about screenshots. I just know what I watched did not feel like a film and I was sitting 12 feet away from a 46 inch HDTV. I was not pausing it and sitting 2 feet away so that I could nitpick the look of the Blu-ray. I just know that film doesn't look like that and my experience with the Blu-ray felt a lot different from my experience in the theater 9 years ago when Gladiator first came out.

Oh I agree completely. I've watched it too and felt the same way. I was mainly commenting on the early screenshots that came out and the huge defense force that came out to battle them and continue to do so even after people have bought, watched and confirm what they've seen in motion matches the screen shots. It's like some people have such a deep love for this film they will take whatever is given to them regardless of quality.

[Darkhawk9587]

Sorry if this has been asked before, I don't have the time to really look for if it was before. Does anyone know offhand if a while ago when The Fifth Element had the bad transfer and the studio put out a Mastered version a little while later, the studio did an exchange of the bad copy for the good one? Or, did you have to rebuy the blu? Only reason I ask is because I bought both Gladiator and Braveheart yesterday at Best Buy and have been hearing mixed things about Gladiator. And, if a similar situation happens, I want to know that I would be able to get the better copy without having to pay for it. Thanks.

[SBrooks1]

Originally Posted by Darkhawk9587

Sorry if this has been asked before, I don't have the time to really look for if it was before. Does anyone know offhand if a while ago when The Fifth Element had the bad transfer and the studio put out a Mastered version a little while later, the studio did an exchange of the bad copy for the good one? Or, did you have to rebuy the blu?

If memory serves they let you mail back only the disc and they shipped you a new one with the new transfer

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by SBrooks1

Oh I agree completely. I've watched it too and felt the same way. I was mainly commenting on the early screenshots that came out and the huge defense force that came out to battle them and continue to do so even after people have bought, watched and confirm what they've seen in motion matches the screen shots. It's like some people have such a deep love for this film they will take whatever is given to them regardless of quality.

I have a deep love for the film but if Paramount can release a film on the same day that is 5 years older and yet give it the proper transfer, then they should have given the same treatment to Gladiator. I was too young to see Braveheart in the theater (10 at the time), but I did see Gladiator in the theater. Gladiator on Blu doesn't replicate what I remember. But Braveheart on Blu does feel like a film. By that I mean the grain field is intact, the colors are natural, and the clarity level is how it should be.

[benricci]

Originally Posted by Darkhawk9587

Does anyone know offhand if a while ago when The Fifth Element had the bad transfer and the studio put out a Mastered version a little while later, the studio did an exchange of the bad copy for the good one? Or, did you have to rebuy the blu? Only reason I ask is because I bought both Gladiator and Braveheart yesterday at Best Buy and have been hearing mixed things about Gladiator. And, if a similar situation happens, I want to know that I would be able to get the better copy without having to pay for it. Thanks.

It's really an irrelevant question, since these are two different studios with two different policies.

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by benricci

It's really an irrelevant question, since these are two different studios with two different policies.

Not to mention that the Fifth Element fiasco happened during the format war. Sony was taking a lot of criticism from the HD DVD side so they stepped up to the plate to rectify the problem. It is highly unlikely with Blu-ray as the only optical disc high def format that any studio would do this outside of a technical glitch like the Pirates of the Caribbean framing issue. When it comes to overly processed transfers, all bets are off.

[tilapiah6]

Originally Posted by Blu-rob77

on the users reviews some give a.5_2 other 5.0 dont know what to think should i open mine or return it?

If the reviews are that drastically different, then the answers to this question will be, also. I say go for it. I watched it half of it last night, and thought it looked leaps and bounds better than the DVD version. Go for it!

[solarrdadd]

it's being shipped out today to me from netflix so i should have it tomorrow or Friday the latest. i'll post a quickie after i have watched it.