Dolby Vision 4K BD review, OPPO 203 into Sony 65ZD9
First off, it's plainly evident that the entire movie has had a blanket grain reduction pass that takes a little off the top, it's not just the CG scenes that have been affected (but more on those in a moment) although ironically enough the opening logo looks fine in terms of grain, unlike the very 'static' looking ones that are on, say, the Jack Ryan movies. The first three minutes or so are one big optical for the title credits but even that sequence doesn't look uber-managed, there's still a smattering of grain, but when the bus goes past and it cuts to the wide shot of Forrest on the bench then you can see the 1st-gen detail spring into life but whatever grain there is has been smoothed away.
And yet....I'd be lying if I said that this was on a par with something like Batman Begins in terms of how bad the DNR actually gets. I did indeed notice dat smoothness several times but it just - and I mean just - stayed the right line of turning into another T2 or Begins, there's something about the texture of it that stops it from going Full Melting Butler. The processing isn't as bad as it is on Grease either, there are several moments in that film that aren't merely soft but also have some digital schmutz left over from the DNR whereas I never got that impression with Gump. What am I saying, then? I noticed the processing for sure but it rarely affected my viewing, and there are still a few scenes that have a mild layer of something grain-ish left over.
Detail can be incredibly sharp, I got dat "real 4K" flavour from several moments in the film although in a funny way it can actually seem softer than the Blu-ray due to the DNR, plus the sharpening on the old disc. Close-ups even seem to have more actual detail on the Blu-ray but it's the wide shots where that old 1080p disc falls down and the sense of depth to the 4K is remarkable at times, like when Forrest first comes running out of the Vietnam jungle when his squad is attacked, all the leaves and foliage look amazing. The movie was primarily shot 35mm anamorphic and it's so great to see that format being used without being in thrall to all of its foibles (softness, flaring etc) like so many latter-day exponents, and the usage of VistaVision for the VFX shots means that they still hold up superbly in terms of detail as well. Even the 16mm used for certain historical inserts still looks good and grainy, at least.
Ah yes, the CG. While it's true that that stuff does indeed look more "managed" than the 1st-gen material - perhaps being at its most obvious when Forrest's squad is under fire in 'Nam where the wide shots have CG tracer fire added but the close-ups of Hanks are fine and it keeps cutting back and forth - it's still not terribad. There's a mild haloing that appears around edges whenever a CG shot is used, you can peg it straightaway, but as mentioned they still hold a super amount of detail, far better than any old-school optical. Dynamic range can harden up a little, like when Forrest is about to address the CG-enhanced crowd at the Washington Monument and the sky looks weirdly blown out (reminds me exactly of how the CG Bronto shots looked in Jurassic Park's 4K) but other shots like him running out of the jungle with Bubba while the napalm goes off behind him look astonishing, the colour on the flames is so rich and intense.
As for colour, the HDR version eschews the more neutral look of the BD and goes for a warmer tone. Yes, you'll usually find me blathering on about how the UHD loses the yellowy tint of the BD and how I love it as it makes the colours look better blah blah but I absolutely LOVED the way that this looks. The tint isn't the sort of ugly sallow wash that I dislike but more of a buttery tone, and crucially it doesn't consume the primaries and secondaries which still come through with some urgency when needed e.g. Vietnam. And those shots of Gump at sunset on the shrimp boat, wow.
HDR has been used sparingly, and that's no bad thing. It's not that the UHD doesn't reveal more highlight detail than the BD because it does, it's just not the sort of HDR pass that reveals every last cloud in the sky for the sake of it. The SDR Blu-ray is very "hot" and clipped in the brighter areas, it looks very "videoey" as a result whereas the UHD takes a milder approach, like when Gump has been shot in the but-tocks and he's wheeled onto his bed with his ice cream in-hand. Out of the windows you can see the buildings beyond and they still seem to be a bit clipped in HDR but it's a very gentle roll-off, whereas the SDR Blu just has this glowing white mass there instead and the whole UHD has subtle improvements like that.
Given my recent complaints about DV black levels on the ZD9 I decided to watch Gump in DV anyway and only caught a few fleeting instances of the grey bar syndrome, other than that the black levels of this UHD looked fine, darker than the BD but not crushy-crushy, the shot of Jenny and Gump looking across the lake with the fireworks going off is beautiful as a result. Something that did catch my eye was how the shadow detail sometimes got a bit lost, not looking like artificial black crush but more like how a release print looks when it's scanned because the super high gamma knocks out the shadows. It's there in several spots in the film but the Black Panther (no, not that one) scene showed it the most, the detail on their black clothing just kinda falls away whereas it's more visible on the old BD. I'm not moaning about this BTW, just pointing it out, and in the strangest way it made me feel like I was actually watching a print and not some ersatz digital recreation spinning on a 5" disc. More overt grain in that sequence too.
That's pretty much my overall take on Forrest Gump in 4K, there were moments where I thought "that looks a bit smooth" but other moments where I kinda zoned out and completely forgot where I was, my brain thinking I was in the cinema for a split second. The restrained (but still useful) HDR and the warmer tone to the colour grading helps with that impression as well, I've seen images of scanned prints of several movies (I know a guy) and they all have a very warm look to the skin tones. A little bit of a mixed bag then what with the "grain management" but the print-esque look is beautiful in its own way, and if Batman Begins' own attempt at print emulation looked like this I'd have a lot less to complain about.
I finally caught up with this last night, will post some (well, a lot of) thoughts on the UHD in a sec but it's been many years since I've seen the movie and didn't quite know what to expect of it. While it's still a bit twee at times it's also got a harder edge to it than what I'd remembered, like seeing Jenny snorting coke (I had to remind myself this is a PG-13) and that bit at the end when Gump is addressing Jenny's grave kicked me square in the feels, I shed a few tears and don't mind saying so. And HOW CUTE is ickle Haley Joel Osment as Forrest Jr?
Yeah I've seen it numerous times over the years and agree that I've picked up on the darker elements much more in recent years.
I also completely agree with the scene with Forrest talking to Jenny's grave. Hanks' performance is so astonishing in that scene (along with the rest of the film) that it's impossible to not feel Forrest's pain during that scene. It's really powerful stuff and also not afraid to admit with some tear letting.
Given my recent complaints about DV black levels on the ZD9 I decided to watch Gump in DV anyway and only caught a few fleeting instances of the grey bar syndrome, other than that the black levels of this UHD looked fine, darker than the BD but not crushy-crushy, the shot of Jenny and Gump looking across the lake with the fireworks going off is beautiful as a result. Something that did catch my eye was how the shadow detail sometimes got a bit lost, not looking like artificial black crush but more like how a release print looks when it's scanned because the super high gamma knocks out the shadows.
Off the top of my head that scene where he's outside in the dark with Jenny in the car had those bar fluctuations on my set and the shadows did absolutely look perfect. Not brightened so you could see everything (like some of the old calibrators would treat them with the lowered gamma). Good to hear someone with a DNR pet peeve still manages to enjoy this one
I loved watching this movie again after so long, Looked great and seeing it as a teen then seeing it as an adult a lifetime later gives you a different perspective on things.
Any reason why this is sold out everywhere? (restock in 1-3 months on Amazon!?) Is it even worth the full $25 price tag or should I go with the cheaper blu ray?
Any reason why this is sold out everywhere? Is it even worth the full $25 price tag or should I go with the cheaper blu ray?
The source is problematic and Paramount home video tried to smooth things over a bit more than they should have like Grease to hide said imperfections. Many have to do with digital effects print outs to film that were in a primitive state in the 90's, so there was a massive decline in resolution for a majority of CG manipulated shots... and there are many in Forrest Gump.
It's better than the Blu-ray by a bit, but the soundtrack change brought about by the Atmos audio remix is pretty dramatic since the original 5.1 mix is mostly 3.1. You get a lot more sound immersion than before.
Last edited by FilmFreakosaurus; 01-03-2019 at 02:17 AM.
Any reason why this is sold out everywhere? (restock in 1-3 months on Amazon!?) Is it even worth the full $25 price tag or should I go with the cheaper blu ray?
The source is problematic and Paramount home video tried to smooth things over a bit more than they should have like Grease to hide said imperfections. Many have to do with digital effects print outs to film that were in a primitive state in the 90's, so there was a massive decline in resolution for a majority of CG manipulated shots... and there are many in Forrest Gump.
It's better than the Blu-ray by a bit, but the soundtrack change brought about by the Atmos audio remix is pretty dramatic since the original 5.1 mix is mostly 3.1. You get a lot more sound immersion than before.
I hadn’t seen this in ages and had only ever seen it on cable TV or some shittay streaming service so I have no real idea of what it’s suposed to look like. I get the sense that this one doesn’t look quite right, but it looks a hell of a lot better than what I’ve previosly seen. It’s inconsistent to the point of distraction at times, and the worst offense for me were moments where actors almost looked like 2D cutouts pasted onto the background. And while I usually prefer a bit of crush over raised blacks, the crush here was no bueno. But there are nice moments as well, especially when grain is actually present. And colors can have pleasant depth I particularly enjoyed the sequence that followed Forrest’s departure from the Black Panther gathering (a nice little blotch that briefly appears on the front wheel of the VW Bug may indicate that those shots weren’t messed with as much as others).
As with all my previous viewings, I found this movie equally annoying and endearing.
Overall i'm happy with the upgrade. Paramount's futzing means the filmic quality has taken a significant hit but it's so much better in virtually all other areas that I can't imagine going back to the 1080p. Geoff summed it all up very nicely and my PQ thoughts align closely with his so "That's all I have to say about that"
In terms of the movie itself, the harder edge that Geoff mentioned is definitely what struck me this time around too. It's pretty shocking considering a lot of it is wrapped up in the goofy 'aw shucks' vibe it's got going on. In the first minutes alone, they casually offer up things like - he's named after a member of the Klan, his Mum has to boff the sleazy principal to secure his place in school and Jenny and her sisters are being molested by their scumbag father. That's some seriously dark shit.
My other thought after revisiting this was that I don't think anyone other than Hanks could've pulled this movie off. Put anyone else in that role and it would crumple like a wet piece of cardboard. He not only holds it together but creates something special in the process. It's such a fine line you have to tread with this type of role - one tiny mis-step and it becomes a disaster and i'm not convinced the other actors being considered for the part could've walked the tightrope as well as Hanks.
I finally watched it last week when you got it too. It's definitely not a grain fest, but not a wax fest either. Just looked like clean Hollywood dreams. Complaints steered people away from this release erroneously imo. Including me. Pretty nice looking all throughout, and scenes like forrest looking up at the stars at night, or running all over the country surrounded by gorgeous vistas are when it really shines.
Hadn't seen it for a very long time. The movie almost seems quaint nowadays, but really got to me at times, in ways it never did when I was young.
I still think it looks quite bad quite often. And the fact the many other Paramount releases of much less beloved movies look much better than Gump is annoying.
Other people's poor compression really appears to be my DNR.
The grayscale, contrast, and color look so darn good though compared to before. But yes, I admit the DNR employed by most home video releases tends to not bug me near as much as equally flagrant compression issues.
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Dolby Vision 4K BD review, OPPO 203 into Sony 65ZD9
Albeit with moments, shots, scenes here and there of imperfection.
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