Roeg's 'Eureka' - does anyone have this?

[Bruce Morrison]

Nicholas Roeg's Eureka was released on BD in Australia last month. I might be interested in getting this, but first can anyone who has bought it comment on the technical quality?

In particular, at least one Australian site is quoting the audio as "Dolby Digital", but I think they might have just used the corresponding DVD information. Can anyone confirm that the BD has lossless audio?

Many thanks for any info about this.

[Bad Sandwich]

I ordered this off ebay two days ago. I'll report back when I have it on hand. Since it's MGM (distributing through Shock), I'm guessing/hoping the transfer will be their usual high bitrate AVC catalog title treatment, though on the audio end I won't be surprised if it's standard Dolby Digital (their release of Barfly apparently is). For a title of this era, I can live with the lossy audio. I know others differ on the issue.

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by Bad Sandwich

I ordered this off ebay two days ago. I'll report back when I have it on hand. Since it's MGM (distributing through Shock), I'm guessing/hoping the transfer will be their usual high bitrate AVC catalog title treatment, though on the audio end I won't be surprised if it's standard Dolby Digital (their release of Barfly apparently is). For a title of this era, I can live with the lossy audio. I know others differ on the issue.

Thanks for your response. I'll look forward to hearing your views on it when you've received it.

[atomic10]

This one slipped past me, didn't know it was released, haven't seen it in a few years but use to love it.

[Bad Sandwich]

Quick update - just received this in the mail the other day. Haven't had a chance to take a look yet but will try in the next day or three. I'm not equipped to provide a BDInfo scan but will report the avg bitrate, overall impression and actual region coding (case says B).

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by Bad Sandwich

Quick update - just received this in the mail the other day. Haven't had a chance to take a look yet but will try in the next day or three. I'm not equipped to provide a BDInfo scan but will report the avg bitrate, overall impression and actual region coding (case says B).

Thanks for the update - I'll look forward to hearing your verdict!

[Bad Sandwich]

Well, looks like that 2-3 days turned into two weeks. Sorry about that. Better late than never, right? So how does Eureka look? In a word, superb. Grain lovers will definitely be in heaven. As with most MGM catalog titles, I detected nothing in the way of processing or manipulations. The grain is thick, organic and almost unrelenting, save for a select few scenes in which it is bizarrely inconspicuous in comparison to the rest (leading me to believe this is the nature of the source materials rather than selective DNR). I'm pretty confident there's some noise mixed in with the grain in places and it's probably due to this being a fairly dated master - but the natural grainfield outweighs it. Contrast appeared entirely natural and never overly harsh or boosted. If there was any edge enhancement, it was lost on me. The video bitrate hovers consistently in the high 20s/low 30s. You get the idea...nothing surprising as far as MGM catalogs go. I never owned any DVD version (just Netflixed it), but I think I can say with confidence this is a substantial visual improvement. On the sonic front we get bog standard Dolby Digital 2.0. I'm unable to display the bitrate but I'm guessing it's 448kbps, ala Tales From The Crypt, another recent MGM-Shock release (as verified by McCrutchy). I know that may be a dealbreaker for some but I have my doubts as to how much audible difference a lossless rendering would make for a title of this vintage. Levels seemed accurate, with dialogue never drowned out by score/ambient effects etc. We get no subtitles, and a no-frills static menu. The only extra is the trailer, in SD and in pretty rough shape. I noticed no glitches ala Barfly. Finally, although the case says B, this is in fact region free, as verified by loading the disc under each region in my modded Oppo 80. No 1080i/50 or PAL content. All in all I feel fans shouldn't hesitate to pick this one up.

Also worth mentioning, so that no one thinks their disc is defective - there are several scenes throughout the film in which the color 'pulsates', an anomaly I've noticed in a lot of '70s/early '80s films. It's most noticeable in several outdoor sequences featuring snowy terrain. The image as a whole shifts rapidly back and forth from a 'cool' shade to a warmer 'amber' one. It's definitely an issue with the source materials and not the transfer.

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by Bad Sandwich

Well, looks like that 2-3 days turned into two weeks. Sorry about that. Better late than never, right? So how does Eureka look? In a word, superb. Grain lovers will definitely be in heaven. As with most MGM catalog titles, I detected nothing in the way of processing or manipulations. The grain is thick, organic and almost unrelenting, save for a select few scenes in which it is bizarrely inconspicuous in comparison to the rest (leading me to believe this is the nature of the source materials rather than selective DNR). I'm pretty confident there's some noise mixed in with the grain in places and it's probably due to this being a fairly dated master - but the natural grainfield outweighs it. Contrast appeared entirely natural and never overly harsh or boosted. If there was any edge enhancement, it was lost on me. The video bitrate hovers consistently in the high 20s/low 30s. You get the idea...nothing surprising as far as MGM catalogs go. I never owned any DVD version (just Netflixed it), but I think I can say with confidence this is a substantial visual improvement. On the sonic front we get bog standard Dolby Digital 2.0. I'm unable to display the bitrate but I'm guessing it's 448kbps, ala Tales From The Crypt, another recent MGM-Shock release (as verified by McCrutchy). I know that may be a dealbreaker for some but I have my doubts as to how much audible difference a lossless rendering would make for a title of this vintage. Levels seemed accurate, with dialogue never drowned out by score/ambient effects etc. We get no subtitles, and a no-frills static menu. The only extra is the trailer, in SD and in pretty rough shape. I noticed no glitches ala Barfly. Finally, although the case says B, this is in fact region free, as verified by loading the disc under each region in my modded Oppo 80. No 1080i/50 or PAL content. All in all I feel fans shouldn't hesitate to pick this one up.

Also worth mentioning, so that no one thinks their disc is defective - there are several scenes throughout the film in which the color 'pulsates', an anomaly I've noticed in a lot of '70s/early '80s films. It's most noticeable in several outdoor sequences featuring snowy terrain. The image as a whole shifts rapidly back and forth from a 'cool' shade to a warmer 'amber' one. It's definitely an issue with the source materials and not the transfer.

Thanks for the review. I might well order this. I agree that lossless audio isn't really essential on a title of this vintage, especially when it's predominately a dialogue-driven film.

On your last point about the pulsating image, I can recall noticing this effect on the very first shot in Midnight Cowboy (also an MGM title), which has a close-up of a drive-in cinema screen filling most of the image. As you say, it seems to be noticeable when the image includes a large area of the same light colour. I don't know what causes it though.

[Bad Sandwich]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

On your last point about the pulsating image, I can recall noticing this effect on the very first shot in Midnight Cowboy (also an MGM title), which has a close-up of a drive-in cinema screen filling most of the image. As you say, it seems to be noticeable when the image includes a large area of the same light colour. I don't know what causes it though.

It also shows up a few times in John Carpenter's The Thing.