Days of Heaven (1978) - OUT OF PRINT

[haines3]

Has anyone noticed a possible manufacturing defect in the Days of Heaven Blu-ray disc that occurs at 47:49? The reason I was asking is this had happened on 2 discs now (the original and the replacement) and I am fairly certain its not an anomaly with my Sony BDP-350. I have 220 other titles that include multiple disc sets and they all play okay. I did have 2 defective discs in the past (Chronicles of Riddick and Basic Instinct) and when replaced they played okay. Chronicles of Riddick had a known defect. The replacement of Basic Instinct that played correctly had slightly different packaging (changes in the color scheme) than the defective one. This usually happens when the studio issues a slipstream disc and keeps the same UPC number.

[retablo]

I haven't, but what's the defect? You didn't mention the problem.

[Alkaline]

Could you elaborate? I'm about to order this and would like to know what to look out for.

[tbizzle]

Just got this from Netflix and watched it last night, played fine on my PS3.

Great movie btw, I'm becoming a big fan of Malick

[Kevtronn]

I watched my copy twice last week with No problems, great film!

[BasicGreatGuy]

This message is showing on Amazon: Item Under Review

While this item is available from other marketplace sellers on this page, it is not currently offered by Amazon.com because customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are shipping it, or the way it's described here. (Thanks for the tip!)

We're working to fix the problem as quickly as possible.

[haines3]

Originally Posted by retablo

I haven't, but what's the defect? You didn't mention the problem.

The problem is it freezes and the player acts like it is having trouble reading the disc and then it finally moves on to another chapter. Sometimes I can get it to play chapter 14 but it usually ends up going from chapter 13 to 15.

[Paul.R.S]

Thanks to all who mentioned the Amazon sales suspension. I was cruising through my Wish List and noticed that DOH was unavailable and wondered, "Already?!" Crit's The Third Man is OOP and used prices currently start at about $50 . . .

[haines3]

Well Amazon is a large volume seller and maybe they were experiencing a high rate of returns. That is where I bought mine from and then did the return and the 2nd disc sent out had the freeze at 47:49. So I e-mailed Critereon and after a week, there was no reply so I thought I would post here. Was disapointed not to hear back from Critereon one way or the other. Will be my last purchase from them. Its just amazing the arrogance and just downright contempt companies show customers these days, just look at Warner, Toyota as examples.

[Paul.R.S]

Whoa.

What e-mail address did you use? Did you send at least a cc: to Jon Mulvaney?

http://www.criterion.com/contact_us

Precipitously harsh on Criterion IMO. Kinda cutting off your nose to spite your face if you're any kind of cineaste given the typically terrific caliber of their releases. Amazon customer service is outstanding. I'm sure you'll get your money back or an exchange--twice--especially since they've taken the action they have perhaps due to a manufacturing problem.

That's unfortunate that you're experiencing a problem. I'd contact Amazon about a return if you haven't and withhold judgment on Criterion for now. Or at least refrain from overcooked comparisons to Toyota. This thread alone evinces that some folks are not experiencing the freeze at all.

Btw, is anyone with an Oppo BDP-83 experiencing the freeze?

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by haines3

Has anyone noticed a possible manufacturing defect in the Days of Heaven Blu-ray disc that occurs at 47:49? The reason I was asking is this had happened on 2 discs now (the original and the replacement) and I am fairly certain its not an anomaly with my Sony BDP-350. I have 220 other titles that include multiple disc sets and they all play okay. I did have 2 defective discs in the past (Chronicles of Riddick and Basic Instinct) and when replaced they played okay. Chronicles of Riddick had a known defect. The replacement of Basic Instinct that played correctly had slightly different packaging (changes in the color scheme) than the defective one. This usually happens when the studio issues a slipstream disc and keeps the same UPC number.

I just tested the section from 47min to past 51min on my PS3 with no problem. I suppose it depends on which player you use. In any case, it is cause for concern and Amazon has indeed suspended sales of the title. Hopefully, Criterion finds the source of the problem and offers a free replacement program.

[Bruce Morrison]

I just watched the new Criterion BD of 'Days Of Heaven' and was quite surprised to see noticeable edge enhancement, with white haloes surrounding characters and buildings framed against the sky in many shots. Examples include shots at 17' 05", 18' 20" and 54' 22" among several others.

There is also some strange source damage on the shot starting at 78' 05", where a dark band is visible down the right side of the screen. Were there no alternative sources that could have been used for this shot?

These issues are also present on their earlier DVD edition, as the same HD transfer was used for both releases.

Most reviews have praised Criterion's transfer almost unreservedly, but I suspect many reviewers have been seduced by the beautiful cinematography. I'm sure this new Blu-ray is the best that the film has ever looked on home video formats, but has nobody else noticed these flaws?

[alexpeden2000]

Nearly 10 years on and no sign of a 4K remaster. Does Paramount still have the international rights? We've had early Criterion titles like Paris, Texas and Solaris get better European releases so hopefully this follows suit..

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by alexpeden2000

Nearly 10 years on and no sign of a 4K remaster. Does Paramount still have the international rights? We've had early Criterion titles like Paris, Texas and Solaris get better European releases so hopefully this follows suit..

I think this is their film, not something they bought distribution rights to (someone will correct me if I’m wrong)

[Aclea]

It's a Paramount production, and they own it lock, stock and barrel.

[obscurelabel]

I don't know much about photography but I think I remember reading that a filmed image of an object against a bright sky can cause halos on the film. In other words, not the transfer to video but on the film itself. Maybe someone who really knows about this could confirm or shoot down the theory that maybe that's what's going on? Of course it's possible that it's EE in the transfer but if it's only when objects are against the sky it might be worth considering.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Originally Posted by alexpeden2000

Nearly 10 years on and no sign of a 4K remaster. Does Paramount still have the international rights? We've had early Criterion titles like Paris, Texas and Solaris get better European releases so hopefully this follows suit..

Criterion uses different transfers for their European releases?

[alexpeden2000]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Criterion uses different transfers for their European releases?

No, other companies have released better versions. The UK Criterion release of Solaris uses the same transfer as the US version but the French one (TF1 I think?) uses a 4K remaster.

[Garbear]

I too have now purchased two copies of Days of Heaven both of which have the same defect around the 47th minute in the film. I have never had a problem yet with a bluray movie. While I find the film visually beautiful and unusually told I find it a little pretensious. It's story telling technique gets a little precious at times for my taste. The photography is what interests me primarily!!!

[BestGuy]

Updated my firmware, tried 2 different copies, and it still wont load. Same problem with Walkabout