Gladiator (2000)

[Wdm81]

"Speed Racer meets Gladiator"

I believe that was Micheal Bay's pitch for Transformers 2

[benricci]

Originally Posted by Wdm81

"Speed Racer meets Gladiator"

I believe that was Micheal Bay's pitch for Transformers 2

I believe his pitch to Paramount was simpler than that, and I quote: "Dolla dolla bills, y'all."

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by Bullseye

Could not agree more. The second part of the battle scene was chaos. And the dissappearing arrows and fireballs where hardly noticeable. I like to watch my movies at 24FPS and not 1FPS LOL.

If I hadn't have known about them, I probably wouldn't have noticed. That being said, more than half of the moving objects for a minute long section all show signs of DVNR.

The most obvious being an arrow which passes the screen in the forground in front of a spear, banner, and Romans. The effect is such that there is a shadow(presumable from the edge enhancement prior to the DVNR) in an arrow shape that mimicks the objects behind it. It's very similar to the Predator effect. Ironically, IMO, it seems to add some more intesity to the screen because now for every arrow that is fired that appears to be four or five.

The rest of the movie didn't seem nearly as bad as this opening sequence although DNR and EE were evident. If I were to grade the transfer ignoring the opening sequence of the film, I would be inclined to give it a 3.5/5. However that opening sequence(being about a fifth of the film) would drop my video rating to 2.5.

[HDPlasma]

Originally Posted by CJWilkie

Where people buy from is important too, and it would be hard to ignore reviews at the following online stores:

amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
Best Buy

etc
I'm not from the US so don't know where else you might buy Blu-Rays from (online), but bad reviews in the above will sway customers for sure.

But a majority of these "bad" reviews are from people who did NOT see the movie.
They posted reviews based on some screenshots and internet postings.

[john_1958]

Originally Posted by HDPlasma

But a majority of these "bad" reviews are from people who did NOT see the movie.
They posted reviews based on some screenshots and internet postings.

they haven't seen it and they are quick to judge

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

If I hadn't have known about them, I probably wouldn't have noticed. That being said, more than half of the moving objects for a minute long section all show signs of DVNR.

The most obvious being an arrow which passes the screen in the forground in front of a spear, banner, and Romans. The effect is such that there is a shadow(presumable from the edge enhancement prior to the DVNR) in an arrow shape that mimicks the objects behind it. It's very similar to the Predator effect. Ironically, IMO, it seems to add some more intesity to the screen because now for every arrow that is fired that appears to be four or five.

The rest of the movie didn't seem nearly as bad as this opening sequence although DNR and EE were evident. If I were to grade the transfer ignoring the opening sequence of the film, I would be inclined to give it a 3.5/5. However that opening sequence(being about a fifth of the film) would drop my video rating to 2.5.

Don't know I'd drop the video rating to 2.5 overall. That I say is the scoring I'd give the worst part of the film being about a fifth as you wrote. 3.5 is a good score for everything else, maybe higher in some scenes, not necessarily just the extended ones though. So I think the review here is a bit low for overall scoring of the PQ.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by robertc88

Don't know I'd drop the video rating to 2.5 overall. That I say is the scoring I'd give the worst part of the film being about a fifth as you wrote. 3.5 is a good score for everything else, maybe higher in some scenes, not necessarily just the extended ones though. So I think the review here is a bit low for overall scoring of the PQ.

That opening sequence is a zero, imo. It's the first time that I've had a blu-ray disc where a scene was markedly worse than the DVD.

Trust me, that statement is as shocking to me as it is to all of you.

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

That opening sequence is a zero, imo. It's the first time that I've had a blu-ray disc where a scene was markedly worse than the DVD.

Trust me, that statement is as shocking to me as it is to all of you.

Worse than the DVD? I wouldn't go that far. I put the DVD in and it looked like crap. Has the same DNR and EE problems but 2.5 hour movie crammed onto a dual layer DVD with low bitrate MPEG2.

[Bullseye]

0/5 is hyperbole IMO. It is simply not that bad. I have the movie on
numerous DVDs and it does not look better than the BD in any way.

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by TTUBatfan2008

Worse than the DVD? I wouldn't go that far. I put the DVD in and it looked like crap. Has the same DNR and EE problems but 2.5 hour movie crammed onto a dual layer DVD with low bitrate MPEG2.

Isn't it amazing how many lived with the SD DVD and really liked it though? No contest in comparison to the BD and I have done more than just one comparison at this point for the opening 40 minutes of this movie.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by TTUBatfan2008

Worse than the DVD? I wouldn't go that far. I put the DVD in and it looked like crap. Has the same DNR and EE problems but 2.5 hour movie crammed onto a dual layer DVD with low bitrate MPEG2.

Just the minute long sequence from when you see Russell Crowe on his horse to the barbarians charging the romans after the volley of arrows.

The DNR and EE are similar, but the DVNR was not applied to the DVD version.

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by robertc88

Isn't it amazing how many lived with the SD DVD and really liked it though? No contest in comparison to the BD and I have done more than just one comparison at this point for the opening 40 minutes of this movie.

Honestly I hadn't even watched the DVD on my 46 inch HDTV. Last time I watched it was probably 3 years ago on the 23 inch widescreen computer monitor/TV that is now in my bedroom. But just for comparison's sake I popped it in and it definitely looks worse than the BD, but the BD is still a piece of garbage compared to what it should be. 3/5 if you ask me.

[Blu-Malibu2009]

My problem isn't just with the DNR and EE, it's also with the oversaturated colors. The whole thing just feels over-processed instead of the way it should feel, which is a more natural film appearance.

[Wdm81]

The average consumer that doesn't follow message boards should be educated on the bad picture, because if not, they'll pick it up see the less then great picture and generalize the entire format by claiming "Blu-ray isn't as good as they say it is"

I know alot of friends and relatives that did this when they first adopted DVD, their first purchases where cheap titles or barebones orginal copies form the early years of that format, they just judged every DVD on the basis of one or two crap transfers. I know that makes them sound stupid but the average consumer does this all the time

Another issue is that for example Harry knowles over at AICN, in his weekly DVD column commented on the terrible PQ but then wrote that the extended edition looks wonderful... Now we all know that he meant the extended scenes, but to an average customer who knows nothing about branching they might think there are 2 cuts on the disc and it's just the theatrical that doesn't look overly great

Paramount really needs to issue an official comment on this whole situation

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by Wdm81

The average consumer that doesn't follow message boards should be educated on the bad picture, because if not, they'll pick it up see the less then great picture and generalize the entire format by claiming "Blu-ray isn't as good as they say it is"

The average consumer doesn't like grain, which is why the studios insist on applying DNR to their home video releases.

[Bullseye]

People need to realise this is a Universal movie. That Universal is responsible for the transfer and that Paramount is only distributing the movie. This is a Universal movie in the UK/Ireland and is not as people are claiming on here and elsewhere.

You simply lose all credibility if you call this crap. If you were to say it's not as good as it should have been fair enough.

[Jimbo976]

Not sure if it was posted in this thread yet or not...

HDD put up their Gladiator review...

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/2524/gladiator.html

While I can't pretend to be the ultimate authority on this issue – no one (except maybe Ridley Scott) can – my particular set of eyes found the transfer to possess many of the faults described above, but nowhere near to the extent some of the more vociferous posters have stated. Yes, there's edge enhancement. Yes, there's DNR. I noticed both, but neither destroyed my viewing experience. On the whole, I found 'Gladiator' to be a very worthy upgrade from the previous DVD editions and a fine addition to the Blu-ray catalogue. Clarity is much improved, colors are brighter and bolder, the print is cleaner, and the picture possesses a much greater degree of depth and dimensionality. No, it is not the breathtaking, gasp-inducing effort many fans (including myself) expected, and Paramount promised with the silly Sapphire Series label. But casual viewers who just want to enjoy the drama and spectacle of this Oscar-winning epic with enhanced video and sound should be delighted. Diehard aficionados seeking perfection, however, undoubtedly will be frustrated.

3.5/5 for Video
5/5 for Audio

[bandit29]

Originally Posted by Bullseye

You simply lose all credibility if you call this crap.

What about people who call it awesome?

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by TTUBatfan2008

The average consumer doesn't like grain, which is why the studios insist on applying DNR to their home video releases.

I love grain it's everywhere in the movie I'm watching right now. I just hope this isn't a sign of future blu-rays for excellent movies in the future, I like my excellent movies to have fantastic transfers.

[benricci]

Originally Posted by Jimbo976

HDD put up their Gladiator review...

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/2524/gladiator.html

Probably the best written review so far.