Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (40th Anniversary Edition)

[HD Goofnut]

I got the director's cut ripped yesterday off the BD into a .mkv after buying the 4K steelbook. I wasn't able to do this with the original BD as the audio was always out of sync no matter what I did.

[Martoto]

My experience of the score to CE3K is that has always thrown up anomalies in just about every form its taken. That includes the theatrical version of the movie and the original soundtrack album. It's possible that there are just

[JMDiaz718]

Originally Posted by kevin87

That seems wrong, considering Walmart still deals heavily in DVD, but they have UHD and not BD? Weird.

I have two huge Walmarts near me. Both have those big discount bins, where they dump a ton of movies in. Unfortunately, one of the stores, recently started just dumping DVDs in. Most of the fanatic Walmart shoppers, still only believe in DVD. I noticed that this store, never stocks enough Blu-ray copies, of new releases.

I don't religiously frequent Walmart. I do most of my movie shopping on Amazon. When I want something right away or an exclusive, I'll hit Target, Best Buy, FYE or Walmart.

I still miss Circuit City and The Wiz!!!

[Don Corleone]

I want this on my vudu , when will it port over from my UV library !

[Joe Bond]

Bought this from Best Buy but did not recieve my extra 250 bonus points. They told me on there help forums I had to wait 15 to 20 days even though only 7 points are pending from the purchase. Tried calling but couldn't get passed the automated system. Anyone else have any luck getting the bonus points after not initially getting them?

[Joe Bond]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

I will assume the Bonus points apply after the normal 15 day return period when regular points apply and aren't reflected in the rewards list.

In the past if I remember correctly I don't think I got those points until after Day 15.

Thanks. Was confusing when some other posters said they had already got their points.

[stvn1974]

Anyone else having problems redeeming the digital copy on VUDU?

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

Anyone else having problems redeeming the digital copy on VUDU?

Yep. I redeemed this and Starship Troopers at the same time on Sony's UV site yesterday. Starship Troopers popped up on my VUDU account immediately and I am still waiting on Close Encounters.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by Martoto

My experience of the score to CE3K is that has always thrown up anomalies in just about every form its taken. That includes the theatrical version of the movie and the original soundtrack album. It's possible that there are just

what anomalies are you talking about ? I'm curious to hear my SuperAudioCD edition of the soundtrack now.

[Martoto]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

what anomalies are you talking about ? I'm curious to hear my SuperAudioCD edition of the soundtrack now.

There has always seemed to be some abrupt edits in the soundtrack of the film.

And the original LP, IIRC, had some cues sequenced together differently from the movie and with conspicuously hard edits.

[HD Goofnut]

Still nothing on my VUDU account for this one.

[Geoff D]

Uh....guys? Has anyone else noticed the digital tweaking to some of the VFX shots? The first big wide shot of the mothership over Devils Tower looks like a brand new digital composite as the thick black matte lines around the peak are gone, the element of the scientists' base at the foot of the tower is rock solid and - most tellingly - they've added red interactive lighting on the ground when the ship's main lights break over the peak! (I think that's why that shot now looks so shitty for banding as opposed to the original comp.)

And for the next close-up shot that looks up at the ship as it passes over the peak they've added interactive lighting to that as well, the light from the ship now plays off the mountain, while the lighting on the tower in the original Blu is completely passive. For all the professed superfans up in here I'm surprised none of y'all have clocked this.

They appear to have realigned most of the other shots which composite the base against a background too, like at the start of this chapter when Melinda Dillon turns around and sees the ship coming down, the base in the background behind her is perfectly still and they've smoothed over the matte lines there too, they're very obvious on the old Blu but are gone on the new transfer. I don't think they've done anything to the next shot of her standing over to the right as the ship rises up, as the optical transparency is still there and the edges of the rock don't look too rad, but the next few shots....oh yeah.

As for the actual new Blu-ray Sony have screwed the pooch but good. I take back what I previously said about the density of the blacks from looking at the screencaps, they're FAR too dark and crush out a load of shadow detail. See that same scene I mentioned with Melinda Dillon when she sees the ship? As she gets cast into shadow her face simply becomes a blank dark mass on the new Blu but on the old Blu you can clearly see her face. Yech. And there is also a bit too much light being pushed through it, I can still see the lines on the opening titles but only just, I've taken some photos to illustrate what I'm seeing on mah teevee.

[Show spoiler]
2007 Blu-ray:



2017 Blu-ray:



2017 4K UHD Blu-ray:

BTW the 4K Blu-ray is ****ing AWESOME.

[steel_breeze]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

For all the professed superfans up in here I'm surprised none of y'all have clocked this.

I must admit, I'm such a "superfan" of the original release, I didn't make it past the "Barry wandering off into the woods" scene of the new 2017 blu-ray before I started doing A-B comparisons with the older 2007 release. Never even saw any of the Devil's Tower stuff in the new blu-ray. That's REALLY GOOD to know, though. Those changes to the classic optical effects would've driven me NUTS. Very happy in my decision to keep the 2007 release.

As for your screengrabs of the opening title, I'm very confused. On my projector AND on my living-room TV, the new 2017 blu-ray looks "smeared" and blown out like your top shot. The 2007 blu-ray looks like the one you've labeled "2017 blu-ray". Very odd, unless you accidentally swapped the photos. EDIT: AH, EXCELLENT... I SEE YOU CHANGED IT. THAT JIBES WITH MY EXPERIENCE.

[Geoff D]

Ah, my apologies, those shots have indeed been mixed. And yeah, I've been a bit harsh on the old Blu-ray all this time. It's still got certain shortcomings but it holds up really well, and what they've done to the blacks on the new is inexcusable. I know peoples be talking about the effect of HDR and whatnot but HDR doesn't do THAT to an SDR downconversion, there's literally no reason for the blacks to have been crushed as much as that on the new Blu-ray.

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Uh....guys? Has anyone else noticed the digital tweaking to some of the VFX shots? The first big wide shot of the mothership over Devils Tower looks like a brand new digital composite as the thick black matte lines around the peak are gone, the element of the scientists' base at the foot of the tower is rock solid and - most tellingly - they've added red interactive lighting on the ground when the ship's main lights break over the peak! (I think that's why that shot now looks so shitty for banding as opposed to the original comp.)

And for the next close-up shot that looks up at the ship as it passes over the peak they've added interactive lighting to that as well, the light from the ship now plays off the mountain, while the lighting on the tower in the original Blu is completely passive. For all the professed superfans up in here I'm surprised none of y'all have clocked this.

They appear to have realigned most of the other shots which composite the base against a background too, like at the start of this chapter when Melinda Dillon turns around and sees the ship coming down, the base in the background behind her is perfectly still and they've smoothed over the matte lines there too, they're very obvious on the old Blu but are gone on the new transfer. I don't think they've done anything to the next shot of her on the left as the ship rises up as the optical transparency is still there and the edges of the rock don't look too rad, but the next few shots....oh yeah.

As for the actual new Blu-ray Sony have screwed the pooch but good. I take back what I previously said about the density of the blacks from looking at the screencaps, they're FAR too dark and crush out a load of shadow detail. See that same scene I mentioned with Melinda Dillon when she sees the ship? As she gets cast into shadow her face simply becomes a blank dark mass on the new Blu but on the old Blu you can clearly see her face. Yech. And there is also a bit too much light being pushed through it, I can still see the lines on the opening titles but only just, I've taken some photos to illustrate what I'm seeing on mah teevee.

[Show spoiler]
2007 Blu-ray:



2017 Blu-ray:



2017 4K UHD Blu-ray:

Heh, that doesn't hugely surprise me. Jaws had some minor tweaking going on too, as did Jurassic Park 3D. Raiders retained most of the DVD's "fixes" as well, while I know it undid the most obvious one (the jeep going over the cliff). There was that interview a few years ago where Spielberg said he's done with revisionism and will release his films unaltered, warts and all, but we have plenty evidence to the contrary, and it keeps happening. I think it was a half-truth*, more for his image than anything.

*I say half-truth because he has gone back on the most obvious stuff, like the aforementioned jeep, but evidently doesn't have a big problem with more subtle cosmetic changes.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

Heh, that doesn't hugely surprise me. Jaws had some minor tweaking going on too, as did Jurassic Park 3D. Raiders retained most of the DVD's "fixes" as well, while I know it undid the most obvious one (the jeep going over the cliff). There was that interview a few years ago where Spielberg said he's done with revisionism and will release his films unaltered, warts and all, but we have plenty evidence to the contrary, and it keeps happening. I think it was a half-truth*, more for his image than anything.

*I say half-truth because he has gone back on the most obvious stuff, like the aforementioned jeep, but evidently doesn't have a big problem with more subtle cosmetic changes.

Yep, this is Steven "keep the wires in (apart from my own movies)" Spielberg. It's the same with James Cameron, he gave Lucas shit about changing Star Wars but he loves a good digital tweak too. Basically as long as the editorial flow isn't changed and the narrative itself remains unmolested then most directors will indulge in a bit of modern tweakery without feeling the least bit hypocritical or guilty about it.

But let's be honest, if THIS is what was done for the Star Wars Special Editions would there have been anything like the outcry that's lasted for a full 20 years already? I don't think so.

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Yep, this is Steven "keep the wires in (apart from my own movies)" Spielberg. It's the same with James Cameron, he gave Lucas shit about changing Star Wars but he loves a good digital tweak too. Basically as long as the editorial flow isn't changed and the narrative itself remains unmolested then most directors will indulge in a bit of modern tweakery without feeling the least bit hypocritical or guilty about it.

But let's be honest, if THIS is what was done for the Star Wars Special Editions would there have been anything like the outcry that's lasted for a full 20 years already? I don't think so.

Yeah, I guess they think of these kinds of mostly subtle touch-ups as not being a big deal. And hey, I can agree with that. I personally don't have a big problem with it, and like you say, if this is what Lucas had done with Star Wars no one would have said a thing, aside from a handful of people who feel very passionately about revisionism, but there wouldn't have been any kind of major movement and most would have rolled their eyes at those who protested.

What bothers me just a little bit is the politician-like thing of saying one thing and doing another, I guess. It's like, "oh yeah, yeah, I'm on your side, geeks, I won't change anything!" and then does it anyway, figuring most won't notice or care. But hey, that's how it is. Not worth getting worked up over.

[Geoff D]

A quick comparison, these are JUST photos so the images blow out the highlights badly but they give you an idea. On the first comparison you can see how the light affects the ground but also the lens flares from the ship's light now overlap the tower as they would do in real life (that 4K shot is WAY darker than it actually is because I couldn't expose it properly on the camera).

[Show spoiler]2007 Blu-ray:



2017 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray:



2007 Blu-ray:



2017 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray:

[steel_breeze]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

A quick comparison, these are JUST photos so the images blow out the highlights badly but they give you an idea. On the first comparison you can see how the light affects the ground but also the lens flares from the ship's light now overlap the tower as they would do in real life (that 4K shot is WAY darker than it actually is because I couldn't expose it properly on the camera).

Great find, Geoff. I really am surprised no one else is talking about this.

[AllOuttaBubbleGum]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

A quick comparison, these are JUST photos so the images blow out the highlights badly but they give you an idea. On the first comparison you can see how the light affects the ground but also the lens flares from the ship's light now overlap the tower as they would do in real life (that 4K shot is WAY darker than it actually is because I couldn't expose it properly on the camera).

Weird how my sense of awe is diminished in the '17...maybe because in turning the color up to eleven, making it bloom and interact with Devils Tower, it feels overstated. Contemporary, but somehow more dated than the original. The cosmetic tweaks obscure how they did more, more elegantly and with less in '77.



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