Spartacus (1960) (Restored Edition)

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Shalashaska

Most 4K+ transfers retain a lot of their detail when downsized to Blu-ray, meaning there's no big improvement on the 4K UHD version (see: Ghostbusters).

I'm sure it'd look better, especially with HDR regrading, but it won't be mind-blowing.

Right, kind of where I am going. Surely, improvements from being 65mm in terms of detail and wider color gamut...all sounds good on paper, but let's see in reality how it will turn out. My guess it's going to be longer wait before they release a title like this on UHD BD....but it's probably better for the format to mature before they release these classics because of the growing pains on some of the newly released discs.

[Shalashaska]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Right, kind of where I am going. Surely, improvements from being 65mm in terms of detail and wider color gamut...all sounds good on paper, but let's see in reality how it will turn out. My guess it's going to be longer wait before they release a title like this on UHD BD....but it's probably better for the format to mature before they release these classics because of the growing pains on some of the newly released discs.

Agreed. You might see a big improvement if you were watching it in the theatre, but at home with an average 50" - 60" television, there won't be that large of a difference without sitting very close to the screen.

[the sordid sentinel]

Just gave this a rewatch last night and consider my mind still blown. From the very first shot the image absolutely pops and the 7.1 mix is tastefully done. I was completely engrossed and 3+ hours went by in a blink. And oh yeah, the movie itself still retains every micro fiber of its power.

Really wish Kubrick could have gotten his Napoleon movie off the ground and done before passing. I know his indifference to Spartacus is well documented, but he did epic like nobody's business.

[reason108]

Spartacus is getting a 70mm showing at the Loft Cinema. Is there anything to watch out for? I certainly am not an expert on this film but I still want to go see it if I can. I would guess that the information in the first link is probably old news to a lot of you but interesting to me since I have never read up on it before. I have only seen one other Kubrick film in 70mm and that was 2001; but, it was an older, beat-up print. Hopefully, this one will be in better shape! If anyone has seen the 70mm version, what should I expect? Now, I just need to get this on blu-ray.



Here is a link about the 70mm version:
http://in70mm.com/news/2009/spartacus/


Here is a link to the showing:
https://loftcinema.org/film/spartacus-70mm/

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Right, kind of where I am going. Surely, improvements from being 65mm in terms of detail and wider color gamut...all sounds good on paper, but let's see in reality how it will turn out. My guess it's going to be longer wait before they release a title like this on UHD BD....but it's probably better for the format to mature before they release these classics because of the growing pains on some of the newly released discs.

Old post but I just wanted to say that upon comparing the raw 4K grabs from the master that RAH put up at HTF to the same frame from the Blu there was yet more fine detail in the 4K, along with finer grain. More picture area too, I think the BD may have been cropped rather than scaled down (though the same would likely apply to any UHD version, as 4096x2160 into 3840x2160 doesn't go).

While I agree that the Blu is so good that it's not going to look a gajillion times better on UHD, it IS going to look just that bit more refined and filmic so I'll be there for the eventual UHD of Spartacus on day 1.

[flyry]

Can someone who has both confirm if the digital version has been updated to the restored version yet?

I know the version on VUDU doesn't say "(Restored version)" like Lawrence of Arabia does, but they updated the Goodfellas a few years ago without a word

[flyry]

Originally Posted by flyry

Can someone who has both confirm if the digital version has been updated to the restored version yet?

I know the version on VUDU doesn't say "(Restored version)" like Lawrence of Arabia does, but they updated the Goodfellas a few years ago without a word

Anyone?

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by flyry

Anyone?

Patience grasshopper.
It's still the older transfer. Luckily it doesn't have the heavy DNRed like the Blu-ray.

Also, one way to tell if Vudu is using a newer master is the sound will be Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) instead of standard Dolby Digital.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Patience grasshopper.
It's still the older transfer. Luckily it doesn't have the heavy DNRed like the Blu-ray.

Also, one way to tell if Vudu is using a newer master is the sound will be Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) instead of standard Dolby Digital.

Good to know. I was comparing it to the Lawrence of Arabia version which explicitly states it's restored and only has regular dolby, but I realize that's a different circumstance

[Namuhana]

I just bought this (with slip) off eBay for $13. I'm quite looking forward to seeing this again in its restored state.

[dcfan88]

I bought a used copy of this last week on eBay. It came in today and it still contained the digital copy.
Yesterday when I was out with my mom, she wanted to go a few places for her birthday. She wanted to go to my local thrift store. I usually ignore the media section but this time I looked because they had some Blu-rays. I didn't see anything I wanted in the blu-rays BUT they had Spartacus Criterion DVD for ONE DOLLAR.

So now I have two copies of Spartacus because my blu-ray I ordered came in the mail today and I could not turn down an out of print Criterion title for one dollar

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by dcfan88

I bought a used copy of this last week on eBay. It came in today and it still contained the digital copy.
Yesterday when I was out with my mom, she wanted to go a few places for her birthday. She wanted to go to my local thrift store. I usually ignore the media section but this time I looked because they had some Blu-rays. I didn't see anything I wanted in the blu-rays BUT they had Spartacus Criterion DVD for ONE DOLLAR.

So now I have two copies of Spartacus because my blu-ray I ordered came in the mail today and I could not turn down an out of print Criterion title for one dollar

Very nice find. I'd definitely buy that too if I saw it. The Criterion DVD is actually still in print, though it's probably unlikely at this point to be upgraded to BD.

[dcfan88]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Very nice find. I'd definitely buy that too if I saw it. The Criterion DVD is actually still in print, though it's probably unlikely at this point to be upgraded to BD.

Ok. I assumed it was OOP given the prices I saw it was going for on various stores online.
I do remain hopeful Spartacus will get a BD release through Criterion

[Alfred E. Neumann]

RIP John Gavin (1931 - 2018)

[voltagex]

Does anyone know how I can tell which version is which on say, eBay?

It looks like Australia got slightly different cover art. Is the "55th" anniversary edition the same as the restored edition?

[cheez avenger]

I just checked out the CC version from the library on DVD and thought that the only edition available was that of the barebones first Universal release. Glad to see that they "Restored" it yet again - properly. It's at a great price. Just ordered it. I should also say that the CC edition is fantastic for DVD and can be found cheaply on eBay. I saw a used copy for under $7 shipped.

[Bolty]

Darn I thought this would be something about a 4K UHD.

Hopefully some day.

[stratford]

cheez avenger This is why I gave my CC edition to a local charity shop

[RockyIII]

Can someone guide me as to which one is the best version of this amazing movie?

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

Can someone guide me as to which one is the best version of this amazing movie?

The restored version that’s in the first post of the thread is the best one.