Superman the movie

[KenThompson]

Guess Peter Bracke liked this Blu ray movie and this is what he had to say The Video: Sizing Up the Picture


As photographed by Oscar-winner Geoffrey Unsworth, 'Superman: The Movie' is big, bold and bright, and the perfect realization of comic book movie style. But for years, Unsworth's work suffered from washed-out, murky video transfers, with nearly half of the expansive 2.40:1 frame cropped and the film's many effects shots riddled with dirt and grime. Not anymore. The restored 'Superman: The Movie' truly soars. Meticulously rehabbed, it's like watching a brand-new movie, with the Man of Steel's tights now the proper, glorious shade of red and blue. This is one of my favorite remasters of recent years, if only because it is such a quantum leap over what had come before.

Recently, 'Superman: The Movie' made its high-def debut on HDNet, and I've read various complaints around the web about those broadcasts -- that they were laced with artifacts and lacking detail. Such problems are typical of terrestrial HD with its limited bandwidth, so I'm not surprised. Thankfully, I found no such distractions with either this Blu-ray release or the HD DVD version. Motion artifacts and macroblocking are absent, and though the film does have an intentional soft-focus look, thanks to lots of diffusion filters and other optical trickery, it is still quite sharp and noticeably more detailed than the standard-def DVD remaster.

As for the restoration, it still looks terrific. The source print is near-pristine, blacks rich and consistent, and contrast strong without being overblown. Compared to the DVD, and especially if you are coming in blind having not seen 'Superman' for many years, detail is a revelation. Scenes that before appeared poorly shot and obscured by haze are now clear and three-dimensional. Colors are so bold it is hard to believe it is the same movie -- reds, blues and especially those Kryptonite greens now radiate with intensity, but don't bleed or smear. Sure, there is still some heavy grain during the optical shots, but that's 1978 technology -- and I, for one, am glad the restoration team did not overdo the clean-up and make the film look too artificial and digital. Really stunning stuff.

As for comparing the Blu-ray with the HD DVD, 'Superman: The Movie' is one of the first Blu-ray titles I've reviewed using the PlayStation 3 as my main Blu-ray player, and the results are typical of Warner's recent dual-format releases. Using the same master and codec, 'Superman' is presented here in 1080p/VC-1 video, identical to the HD DVD edition, and you'd be hard-pressed to spot a single difference. Though I used to find Blu-ray titles had a harsher, more artificial look when reviewing with the Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray player, I find the PS3 outputs a smoother, more pleasing image. Even VC-1 encoded titles (which I still think look a bit less hard than those encoded in MPEG-2) suffered from this a bit on past Warner Blu-ray releases. In any event, I fired four scenes of 'Superman: The Movie' on both formats via an A/B compare -- the opening credits, the end of the Smallville sequence, Superman and Lois' night flight and the big earthquake climax. No differences to report -- colors appeared identical, and the film equally sharp. Blacks were also nice and solid and contrast consistent.

[JTK]

I want to get both this and part II on BD, but part 2 is only the Richard Donner cut and I'm not clear if I have the choice to watch both versions of that film or not.

Anyone know?

[Blackraven]

Actually, looks to be a good HD film for the hi-def formats.

Although both have a few flaws:

Blu-ray:
Usage of 50 GB but leaves out 20 GB extra. They could've at least put LPCM or some other hi-def audio codec.

HD-DVD:
Had some kind of VC-1 error (is it called posterization???)

I checked this out at AVS.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Blackraven

Actually, looks to be a good HD film for the hi-def formats.

Although both have a few flaws:

Blu-ray:
Usage of 50 GB but leaves out 20 GB extra. They could've at least put LPCM or some other hi-def audio codec.

HD-DVD:
Had some kind of VC-1 error (is it called posterization???)

I checked this out at AVS.

*gasp*

I thought VC-1 and HD-DVD were flawless!

Say it ain't so!

[Maximus]

It is really starting to get irritating that Warner can't pull their head out of their own arse and start putting LPCM on the dual layer releases, there is very little or no extra cost involved in adding it as it is royalty free. I do wish TW step in and force WB's hand and make them optimise for each format, HD extras on BD-50 with LPCM.

[phloyd]

I am leaning towards holding off on WB purchases until things get a little better with them.

Higher bitrate encodes would be nice, especially if there are artifacts to be seen.

Though I am glad that people are seeing and pointing out the VC-1 artifacts. I was one of the few doing that in the early days but now that people are getting used to seeing them they will be pointed out more often.

And not just vague statements like 'full of encoding artifacts'.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by JTK

I want to get both this and part II on BD, but part 2 is only the Richard Donner cut and I'm not clear if I have the choice to watch both versions of that film or not.

Anyone know?

???

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by JTK

???

You don't have a choice. You have to get the "original" cut seperately from the Donner cut. However, I don't think there's any BD release of the original cut of Superman 2.


fuad

[Dr.Mirakle32]

This is probably my all time favorite comic book film. I own the Ultimate Collection DVD set, and I'm thinking about picking up the BD. I understand not all of the extras are ported over, but is the picture quality a substantial improvement over an upconverted standard DVD?

Should I go ahead and buy SUPERMAN and SUPERMAN RETURNS on BD now, or is it a good bet Warners might release an ultimate BD set in the near future? This year is the 30th anniversary of the film, and the 70th anniversary of the character, and I wouldn't want to buy the BD, only to find a better one own by Christmas.

[makaveli21]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

You don't have a choice. You have to get the "original" cut seperately from the Donner cut. However, I don't think there's any BD release of the original cut of Superman 2.


fuad

I've had difficulty even finding a SDVD version of the original cut in stores...

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by Dr.Mirakle32

This is probably my all time favorite comic book film. I own the Ultimate Collection DVD set, and I'm thinking about picking up the BD. I understand not all of the extras are ported over, but is the picture quality a substantial improvement over an upconverted standard DVD?

Superman on Blu-ray is a giant upgrade over the dvd. Highly recommended with no hesitation. There have been no rumors so far that we'd see any reissues of Superman on Blu-ray this year(and Warner has been very liberal in giving away most of their holiday release information). Warner will no doubt double dip on these titles in the future, but that most likely wouldn't be until the theatrical release of the new Superman movie which could be as late as 2010.

The only issue with Superman Returns on Blu-ray is the infamous and rare PCM version. Most versions in stores today only have a Dolby Digital soundtrack whereas the PCM version goes for $200 to $300 regularly on Ebay. Do a search here for more information.

[#Darren]

I remember reading recently that there would be a Special Edition reissue of Superman on BD, sorry can't remember where.....

[grandmaster]

Interesting thread. I was/am considering buying Superman the Movie on BD although I already have it on the standard def DVD. I was wondering how the picture quality is? Obviously the film was made in the late 70's so it's probably not going to look as good as a more recent release, but I was wondering how it compares to a standard def DVD print? Preferably from the viewpoint of having watched both, rather than a technical comparison about how it should look

I have to admit the Superman Returns print is not as good as I thought it would have been on BD. Maybe it might be something to do with the fact that I had watched it previously on a standard def DVD on an upscaler. I mean it did look better on BD, but I definitely seen some issues like grainy scenes etc.

Also I don't like the motion blur either. If you look at the very last shot with Superman flying past the camera and looking at it, you can barely make out if he's smiling or anything. It's just kind of a blur. The same thing after he rescues the plane and flies away. The takeoff is good, but then we get a wide shot of him flying past and again its blurry.

I'm not a techie when it comes to encoding etc, but I'd have thought these kinds of issues would be eliminated by now, especially with the capacity on BD discs.

[Lucy Diamond]

This was one of my Free Five and I was really surprised at the overall quality of the disc. The added scenes were a welcomed surprise and I thought they added to the film as well.

[Knight-Errant]

Originally Posted by grandmaster

Interesting thread. I was/am considering buying Superman the Movie on BD although I already have it on the standard def DVD. I was wondering how the picture quality is? Obviously the film was made in the late 70's so it's probably not going to look as good as a more recent release, but I was wondering how it compares to a standard def DVD print? Preferably from the viewpoint of having watched both, rather than a technical comparison about how it should look

I have to admit the Superman Returns print is not as good as I thought it would have been on BD. Maybe it might be something to do with the fact that I had watched it previously on a standard def DVD on an upscaler. I mean it did look better on BD, but I definitely seen some issues like grainy scenes etc.

Also I don't like the motion blur either. If you look at the very last shot with Superman flying past the camera and looking at it, you can barely make out if he's smiling or anything. It's just kind of a blur. The same thing after he rescues the plane and flies away. The takeoff is good, but then we get a wide shot of him flying past and again its blurry.

I'm not a techie when it comes to encoding etc, but I'd have thought these kinds of issues would be eliminated by now, especially with the capacity on BD discs.

For me it's a lot better trasnfer than Superman Returns. I know what you mean about that disc.

[grandmaster]

Superman the Movie made in 1978 has a better BD transfer than Superman Returns made in 2006. What's wrong with this picture? Pun intended

[alexakajeff]

I am laying off of Warner Bros until they get their head on straight.

[grandmaster]

I think someone here was looking for Superman 2 The Richard Donner Cut on Blu-ray.

Apparently this is it.

http://www.amazon.com/Superman-II-Ri...6067390&sr=8-3

[Knight-Errant]

Originally Posted by grandmaster

I think someone here was looking for Superman 2 The Richard Donner Cut on Blu-ray.

Apparently this is it.

http://www.amazon.com/Superman-II-Ri...6067390&sr=8-3

Superman II looks like a comparable transfer to Superman the Movie to me, btw.

[Mike Z]

Superman: The Movie on BD is a must-own. Any fellow BD/Superman fans on this thread who are hesitating, there's no need. You should definitely pick it up. I purchased the box set of all four films when they were released on DVD in either 2000 or 2001 and they looked great. However, the blu-ray is beautiful. Bright, vibrant colors, excellent transfer. Quite a few scenes that have the 3-D effect to them.

As noted above, Superman II is not available on blu-ray, only the Richard Donner Cut. While the Donner Cut was decent I think I still prefer the original cut from 1980. Whenever that comes on blu-ray I'll definitely be picking it up.

But anyway, 1978's Superman is really worth it. It was the first one I picked up the day I purchased my BDP-S300 and I love it

Mike