Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer (1984)
(Discotek, USA)
1080p MPEG-4 AVC HD Native
1.74:1 Aspect Ratio
29.78 mbps
Japanese LPCM 2.0 Restored Dual Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
Japanese LPCM 2.0 Unrestored Dual Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English LPCM 2.0 Dual Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
Mamoru Oshii Commentary LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
As has become the norm, I have taken a ton of screencaps. 130
in total, actually. They're from the full film, so don't look at everything unless you've seen the film or don't mind spoilers. The gallery is below:
Full screenshot gallery
First, the simple stuff. It is
in both Japanese and English, has quite a few audio options, yellow subs, and has a very high bitrate encode with no compression issues. However, just saying that doesn't tell the full story.
Toho released Beautiful Dreamer on BD
in Japan back
in 2015, so you'd hope that a new scan and restoration was performed to give this masterpiece the release it deserves... but they didn't. This is an old scan, as evidenced by ghosting (as
in, you can see parts of a previous frame
in the next frame). When NLScavenger posted the stats on the disc when it came out, he hadn't seen the film, so only posted two screenshots that showed off its quality and ghosting. Having seen the disc
in motion, sadly the ghosting is more severe than I expected... when it happens. The ghosting isn't a constant issue, as it only occasionally pops ip. That said, it's not always noticeable- the example of Ataru's hair ghosting
in the car ride with Mendou is almost impossible to spot
in motion, while the master shot of Tomobiki High School has some rather ugly ghosting, as a student yelling to the crowd moves on one of the pillars of the gates and jumps down. Now, the ghosting doesn't ruin the presentation- and unlike banding or macroblocking, it CAN be noticed by many non-videophiles just watching casually- but it is annoying when it does show up.
Ignoring the ghosting, how does it look? For an old telecine done
in the early 2000s (Toho's DVD release is from 2002, and
it uses the same master) it looks pretty damn good. Not perfect by any means, but considering the use of an old scan, I can't imagine it looking any better (besides a new restoration). Grain is very much present with no egregious DNR (which is the positive of using an older scan untouched, as compared to a Q-Tec full on smear fest), but the level varies scene by scene. There is great detail, and colors seem to be natural. Some edge enhancement is present, but only
in certain shots. There is print damage, but it's fine by me, though I'm sure some people won't be a fan. And as expected of a Discotek release, compression is top notch, with a very high bitrate and no issues
in motion (ghosting aside). Hell, even going frame by frame trying to find macroblocking, I couldn't find any. The compression is basically perfect (there may be some blocking, but I didn't see any, and you can't see it
in motion) with beautifully rendered grain. Justin proves yet again why he's one of the best
in the business.
On the aspect ratio- yes, it is
in widescreen. 1.74:1 to be exact (I found out how many pixels were left black on either side of the frame and did simple math to determine the AR). As a certain forum member has pointed out countless times, the film has additional information when presented
in 1.33:1 due to being 4:3 safe. Would it have been ideal to have both 4:3 and 16:9? Absolutely. But, Beautiful Dreamer, like Oshii's other films, has some of the best cinematography
in all of anime, with striking compositions and filmmaking techniques rarely seen at all
in animation, of which are greatly enhanced
in widescreen due to the wider image. I remember that certain user only using a frame of Sakura-sensei on her bike to show off the difference. I mention that as, if one wasn't aware that it was 4:3 safe, you couldn't tell. The framing is superb, taking full advantage of the wider frame, and if it were a big deal like that user implied it to be, then there would be an obvious crop
in the image, which I personally fail to see.
(Some of the best shots
in the spoiler. I put it as a spoiler, as it really is one, and you should see the film to experience these moments)
Now, the audio is the more interesting aspect, as there are quite a few options. I'll mainly be discussing the two Japanese mono tracks, being a purist who prefers the original audio language and mix.
It's rare to see both a restored and unrestored track of the exact same audio mix on a disc, and even rarer for anime, so how do they compare? The unrestored track wins hands down. That may be a shock to those not familiar with audio restoration for movies, but quite often, a lot of filtering (like noise reduction) is applied to the audio mix
in hopes to remove flaws, which is good
in theory, but reality is that the filtering has been egregiously applied, removing detail and dynamic range
in the original audio mix. Not only that, but volume levels have been altered as well, or the filtering has lessened the intensity of certain cues. A good example is when Ataru and Mendou go on a drive into town
in Chapter 4. As Ataru realizes the oddity of the situation, the music grows louder and more violent until a truck passes them. On the unrestored Japanese mono track, the music builds slowly and the payoff is great, while on the restored mono track, the buildup seems to have been lessened and the volume of the music is lower than
in the unrestored track. The music is supposed to be overpowering, yet here it isn't. Here's a comparison
in the dynamic range between them for this scene;
Another scene early on which suffers is the conversation between Sakura-sensei and Onsen-Mark
in the cafe with a piano piece.
In the unrestored mono, the music sounds as if it is being played live before you, and is of a similar volume to the dialogue, however,
in the restored mono, it has been lessened and is very hard to hear.
In addition, the dialogue, while sounding "cleaner," lacks the crunch of the unrestored track. I'm sure most people when testing the two tracks will prefer the restored track due to the cleaner sound, which is fair, but to my untrained ears, there is less dynamic range
in addition to several mixing changes with regards to volume levels, which makes me favor the unrestored track. There is a slight hiss on the unrestored track, which is certainly noticeable when swapping tracks back and forth to compare, but within a few seconds, you get used to it, and doesn't become a distraction. The cafe scene dynamic range comparison is here;
The English dub actually has the best dynamic range of all the tracks, and it easily the best sounding
in terms of clarity. Due to being dubbed
in the 90s, the volume level changes weren't made, and there is less hissing than the unrestored JP mono. However, the dubbing is really bad, with awful acting. That said, as someone who watched Yu-Gi-Oh as a kid, it made for a good laugh as both Ataru and Mendou are voiced by the actor who played Joey Wheeler
in the 4Kids dub of the series (Yu-Gi-Oh). The dub is a fun watch, but only as a secondary option. Credit should be given to Brady and
TwistyGadget.com (his website, I assume?) for the dub audio restoration. It sounds fantastic.
I don't have a surround sound setup, but I seriously doubt the Japanese 5.1 track takes good advantage of the extra channels. It sounds nearly identical to the restored mono.
So to rate the video and audio:
Video: 7.5/10 (Near perfect presentation of an older master)
Restored JP Mono: 5/10
Unrestored JP Mono: 8/10
JP 5.1: 5/10
English dub Mono: 9/10
The translation seems to be based on the older DVD by CPM from what I can tell, with some changes. That's fine, as it is very good with no major issues. Subtitles are yellow for dialogue, with text translations being white, as per usual with Discotek (which I like, as it makes it easier for people I know with vision issues to read them).
Beautiful Dreamer is a must own Blu-ray. The picture quality I feel is excellent, the unrestored JP mono track is superb, Oshii's commentary alone is worth the purchase due to its quality, and also it's a damn good movie. Plus, buying it and the other Urusei Yatsura movies down the road shows support for the franchise, and increases the chances of Discotek licensing the TV series for BD (they may have already, but I have no clue).
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