The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Page 6 - Blu-ray Forum

Sir Platypus · 07-23-2010, 06:02 AM

The biggest benefit a lot of people aren't considering is that it is one more DVD you can toss out. Even with minimal visual quality upgrades the die hard fans will at least be able to shorten their DVD collection.

All this talk is making me want to go pick up a VHS copy and hook up an old VCR to a CRT TV and watch it the most suitable way :P

Lyle_JP · 07-23-2010, 11:28 AM

If they don't take the video segments direct-from-video, then it's a no-sale for me. Video-to-film-to-video looks like ass, there's no way around that, and yet another transfer in the same vein will simply not be worth it.

Hatter · 07-23-2010, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vriess

Um this will benefit from Blu-ray, 16mm can look pretty decent and holds alot more detail than dvd.

Indeed. Pride and Prejudice tv seriees was shot on 16mm film as was the hurt locker. They turned out pretty good.

KrugStillo · 07-23-2010, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beaner666

Just to re-cap:

1) Half the film (the black & white portions) was shot on 16mm film.

That portion may benefit from an HD upgrade.

2) The other half (the color portions) was shot on Super 8 Home Video.

That portion will not benefit from an HD upgrade.

3) Some of the audio was recorded using a DAT machine.

That portion may benefit from a lossless upgrade.

4) Some (most?) of the audio was recorded using the camcorder’s internal mic.

That portion most likely will not benefit from a lossless upgrade.

Given that half (probably more) of the audio was recorded “guerilla style” by the actor’s themselves using the camcorder’s internal microphone will they even be able to give us lossless audio? If they can even provide lossless audio will they be able to provide a 5.1 or 7.1 soundtrack?

I know Lions Gate is famous for giving us 7.1 soundtracks whenever possible, but keep in mind that when this was originally released on DVD all we got was a 2.0 soundtrack and that was well into the 5.1 era so I wonder if a 5.1 or 7.1 soundtrack is even possible for this particular title given the source material.

Most likely we will get the same 2.0 lossy track, at most a 2.0 lossless track.

Very good post. Just one addition. They did do some foley (sound effects) work to the film in post. There will definitely be a lossless track whether it adds much to the sound...your guess is as good as mine. We will probably get lossless 2.0, 5.1 or 7.1 would just hurt the film cause then the additional foley work will stand out like a sore thumb. It would be nice if they went to the master before the negative was made, this would remove the windowboxing and give us a more accurate look for the video material. But then again the Director's actually like the look the video had when transfered to film so we will probably get a new HD transfer from the negative which will look the same as we've always seen, maybe a little crisper on the film portions.

mintchris · 07-23-2010, 03:09 PM

I dont even care if the picture quality stays the same. Find a way to get a killer 5.1 track on there and I will be a happy guy!

goshikisen · 07-23-2010, 03:39 PM

The Blair Witch Project is one of the scariest films I've ever seen. Maybe it's because I've done a fair amount of camping and have been awoken in the middle of the night by some noise outside my tent... sometimes you're left wondering "WHAT the hell was THAT?". The film played on that fear and demanded that you use your imagination. It stuck to the rule of effective horror... show as little as possible but suggest the worst.

I agree though that there isn't much replay value in the film... it kinda loses its edge on subsequent viewings. I'll probably buy the BD at some point just because it was so effective the first time I saw it.

- on a side note - I remember driving through Maryland on a road trip some years ago and seeing an exit sign for Burkittsville. I got one of those tingles down the spine just seeing the word.

Beaner666 · 07-23-2010, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mintchris

I dont even care if the picture quality stays the same. Find a way to get a killer 5.1 track on there and I will be a happy guy!

But will a 5.1 mix even be possible given the source audio?

As Krug pointed out some sound effects were created in post and those will be able to be expanded to 5.1, but given that the majority was recorded "on the fly" those few effects will stick out.

Also, I realize the 16mm portion will benefit from an upgrade, but less than half of the film was shot on 16mm. The color video portion far outnumbered the black and white 16mm portion.

Cory Lendon · 07-23-2010, 11:56 PM

I'll hold out for the far superior, and original, "The Last Broadcast".

Lyle_JP · 07-24-2010, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cory Lendon

I'll hold out for the far superior, and original, "The Last Broadcast".

Original my butt. The "found footage" genre started way back with Cannibal Holocaust (which I would pay serious money for on blu-ray!).

Hatter · 07-24-2010, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lyle_JP

Original my butt. The "found footage" genre started way back with Cannibal Holocaust (which I would pay serious money for on blu-ray!).

Not for the faint of heart. They slaughter real living animals during that movie. The director was also put on trial because they thought he actually had the actors killed during the making of the film.

Moviefan1203 · 07-24-2010, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatter

I don't know how someone can say it's underrated. It was a huge sucess financially, critically acclaimed, had a sequel and a trilogy of pc games which explored other aspects of the mythology. If anything, it may be a bit overrated now.

Anyhow, I hope they don't mail in the blu-ray treatment.

It's underrated in the sense that today so many people have a less than favorable opinion of it. It boggles my mind, I think it's fantastic.

Octavio · 07-24-2010, 01:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lyle_JP

Original my butt. The "found footage" genre started way back with Cannibal Holocaust (which I would pay serious money for on blu-ray!).

Cannibal Holocaust on Blu? Fat chance, but if ever happens. Count me in!
BTW talking about sicker than sick movies. What about Nekromantik being released on Blu? Am I asking too much?

Deromax · 08-04-2010, 06:18 PM

The Hi8 video portion won't have any more resolution on BD but *may* look better on BD than on DVD because :

More bitrate available
Better codec efficiency (AVC VS MPEG)
The remastering house upscaler is certainly better than the one in your TV or BD player
Better video noise reduction in 2010 than in 1999
Better video enhancers/sharpeners in 2010 than in 1999
They may go straight from Hi8 to BD, instead of using a theatrical print.

Darkthrone · 08-04-2010, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Octavio

Cannibal Holocaust on Blu? Fat chance, but if ever happens. Count me in!
BTW talking about sicker than sick movies. What about Nekromantik being released on Blu? Am I asking too much?

yeah i want nekromantik as well

also schramm and der todesking

jjbsn5192 · 08-04-2010, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

It's underrated in the sense that today so many people have a less than favorable opinion of it. It boggles my mind, I think it's fantastic.

I AGREE..

you my friend earn alot of cool points

mredman · 08-05-2010, 12:41 PM

This must have a NEW commentary with the cast and a full lenght NEW documentary with the interviews with the cast and. and all the old features like the TV show that aired before the movie where they where looking for the 3.

This MUST HAVE all that stuff. Or i am not buying

opterasis · 08-05-2010, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mredman

This must have a NEW commentary with the cast and a full lenght NEW documentary with the interviews with the cast and. and all the old features like the TV show that aired before the movie where they where looking for the 3.

This MUST HAVE all that stuff. Or i am not buying

I really doubt you're buying it then. With less than a month less, if they were putting any sort of effort into the special features, it probably would have been announced. But I could be wrong, I really hope I am.

backslashio · 08-05-2010, 02:29 PM

For $14 I may pick it up but I'll still wait for the review first just to be sure

Kryptonic · 08-05-2010, 03:31 PM

I love this film and watch it every year, but this is a useless Blu-Ray release, unless there are significant extras being added.

mredman · 08-05-2010, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

I love this film and watch it every year, but this is a useless Blu-Ray release, unless there are significant extras being added.

I agree this blu ray needs EXTRAS with new documentaries and interview with the cast

07-23-2010, 06:02 AM	#101
Sir Platypus Senior Member Member since:Sep 2008 Blu-ray collection:171	The biggest benefit a lot of people aren't considering is that it is one more DVD you can toss out. Even with minimal visual quality upgrades the die hard fans will at least be able to shorten their DVD collection. All this talk is making me want to go pick up a VHS copy and hook up an old VCR to a CRT TV and watch it the most suitable way :P

07-23-2010, 11:28 AM	#102
Lyle_JP Blu-ray Guru Member since:Apr 2008 Blu-ray collection:1094 Blu-ray reviews: 6	If they don't take the video segments direct-from-video, then it's a no-sale for me. Video-to-film-to-video looks like ass, there's no way around that, and yet another transfer in the same vein will simply not be worth it.

07-23-2010, 03:09 PM	#105
mintchris Senior Member Member since:Sep 2008 Location:London, Ontario Blu-ray collection:333	I dont even care if the picture quality stays the same. Find a way to get a killer 5.1 track on there and I will be a happy guy!

07-23-2010, 03:39 PM	#106
goshikisen Active Member Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Dundas, ON Blu-ray collection:324 DVD collection:8	The Blair Witch Project is one of the scariest films I've ever seen. Maybe it's because I've done a fair amount of camping and have been awoken in the middle of the night by some noise outside my tent... sometimes you're left wondering "WHAT the hell was THAT?". The film played on that fear and demanded that you use your imagination. It stuck to the rule of effective horror... show as little as possible but suggest the worst. I agree though that there isn't much replay value in the film... it kinda loses its edge on subsequent viewings. I'll probably buy the BD at some point just because it was so effective the first time I saw it. - on a side note - I remember driving through Maryland on a road trip some years ago and seeing an exit sign for Burkittsville. I got one of those tingles down the spine just seeing the word.

07-23-2010, 11:56 PM	#108
Cory Lendon Active Member Member since:Nov 2009 Location:Charlotte, NC Blu-ray collection:29 Trading Score:75	I'll hold out for the far superior, and original, "The Last Broadcast".

08-04-2010, 06:18 PM	#113
Deromax Active Member Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jun 2009 Location:Shawinigan, Pq, Canada Home Theater Gallery:108 4K collection:6 Blu-ray collection:1800 DVD collection:76 Blu-ray reviews:1	The Hi8 video portion won't have any more resolution on BD but may look better on BD than on DVD because : More bitrate available Better codec efficiency (AVC VS MPEG) The remastering house upscaler is certainly better than the one in your TV or BD player Better video noise reduction in 2010 than in 1999 Better video enhancers/sharpeners in 2010 than in 1999 They may go straight from Hi8 to BD, instead of using a theatrical print.

08-05-2010, 12:41 PM	#116
mredman Banned Member since:Jun 2008 Blu-ray collection:13 Blu-ray reviews:7	This must have a NEW commentary with the cast and a full lenght NEW documentary with the interviews with the cast and. and all the old features like the TV show that aired before the movie where they where looking for the 3. This MUST HAVE all that stuff. Or i am not buying

08-05-2010, 02:29 PM	#118
backslashio Power Member Member since:Mar 2010 Location:Australia Blu-ray collection:56	For $14 I may pick it up but I'll still wait for the review first just to be sure

08-05-2010, 03:31 PM	#119
Kryptonic Suspended Member since:Jul 2009 Trading Score:45	I love this film and watch it every year, but this is a useless Blu-Ray release, unless there are significant extras being added.

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