"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[WickyWoo]

I hope when Star Wars is released on BD that I - III get forgotten and IV - VI get released as original.

Don't hold your breath on that

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Don't hold your breath on that

Well, hold your breath for this as I see the Patton review is now up.
Go to the home page and click on the top right side……………

https://www.blu-ray.com/

Who woulda thunk such an old film could come out looking so fine?

[GreenScar]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, hold your breath for this as I see the Patton review is now up.
Go to the home page and click on the top right side……………

https://www.blu-ray.com/

Who woulda thunk such an old film could come out looking so fine?

Wow! Looks like a must own!

Fox has done a marvelous job giving this four-star General the five-star treatment, and this package deserves a spot in every Blu-ray collection.

[saprano]

Hey penton why is paramount and universal releasing some of there movies weeks after the dvd version? my guess is there still getting up to speed with blu-ray? but its not all movies, Doomsday is day and date.

[darkblueme]

I just want to chime in about the DNR issue. IT SUCKS!! My girlfriend rented "P.S. I Love You" on Blu-Ray and I watched it with her last night. While it's not the greatest movie in the world, it is by far THE WORST Blu-Ray picture I have ever seen. Even my girlfriend asked, "Is this Blu-Ray?" Ireland should look beautiful and bright, not dull and crappy. DNR sucks ass. PLEASE STOP USING IT, WARNER!! Please. Seriously. Please stop.

We also watched TWISTER on Blu-Ray tonight. The sound was awesome, but I just wish the picture were a little better. DNR is a BIG ISSUE. Why bother putting a movie out in 1080p if you're going to dull it down? Lame, lame, LAME! Please stop, Warner. Please. I'm begging you.

I hope that DARK CITY isn't touched with this crap. I hope Alex Proyas has enough power over his masterpiece to stop New Line from ruining a magnificent picture. If DNR is used, I will be so sad. Just please stop.

Please.

[aygie]

Does any of our insiders know what codec Universal will be using? VC1?

[mhafner]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

You do realize that …………..that is yet another WB title.
Do you see a pattern here ?

Many people do. But how come WB allegedly calls the shots on how a film looks on BD and not the film makers?
Fox on the other hand seems to avoid DNR, but again, why is this a studio decision? Are film makers so powerless/uninterested/unaware?

[lgans316]

When people are bashing me 360 degrees for ranting about Warner transfers it feels better to see some souls ranting about their lackluster offerings with similar feeling.

IMO they have been a disaster to High Definition from day 1. They started the format war, prolonged it and ended it. The only title they wholeheartedly delivered was Blade Runner. Even after the HD DVD era they seem to continue their lowest common denominator trend and criminal space wastage which truly sucks. With their current trend they can offer 1080p movies on SD DVDs.

I hope that they come out of this trend soon.

[Knight-Errant]

Originally Posted by CAB

I'm sure Penton is passed commenting on this thread within a thread so I'll get my .00002 cents in. Jar Jar shouldn't have existed; the movies didn't need to be targeted to kids. I was a kid when Star Wars, a.k.a. A New Hope released. It was breakthrough without the fluff. I don't have any issue with digital. If anything, someone should have learned that you can't correct shiitty directing, story, character dynamics, or acting during post production. Something got lost in the desire to legacy.

Edit: If Episode VI could be in digital and we could find a way to replace the ewoks with something other than carebears with spears, I'd be for that.


I hope when Star Wars is released on BD that I - III get forgotten and IV - VI get released as original. If I'm forced to, I'll buy all six on BD. Please don't make me.

And those of us who love all six films really hope that all six get the best treatment they can get

[horseflesh]

Originally Posted by lgans316

When people are bashing me 360 degrees for ranting about Warner transfers it feels better to see some souls ranting about their lackluster offerings with similar feeling.

IMO they have been a disaster to High Definition from day 1. They started the format war, prolonged it and ended it. The only title they wholeheartedly delivered was Blade Runner. Even after the HD DVD era they seem to continue their lowest common denominator trend and criminal space wastage which truly sucks. With their current trend they can offer 1080p movies on SD DVDs.

I hope that they come out of this trend soon.

They're starting to piss me off too. As I directed to Wicky on another thread; 6 months after they decide to go Blu-ray exclusive they're still giving us HD DVD spec'ed releases.
Wicky reckons it will be at least July/August before that stops, to me that's crazy. Movies using <30gb on a BD, lossy sound, DNR (ok, not specifically a HD DVD related issue, just laziness/cheapness).

How is it that Universal seem like they're getting it right from the start, and Paramount look like they'll deliver too? In 4 months Warners have gone from being the Blu-ray heroes to being the villain of the piece.

[Arecsa]

Originally Posted by lgans316

When people are bashing me 360 degrees for ranting about Warner transfers it feels better to see some souls ranting about their lackluster offerings with similar feeling.

Warner have been consistently the worst studio for PQ and AQ - maybe someday they'll wake up.....they do have their pricing in line though, which is more than what can be said for Fox and Paramount . Thanks for coming back, again, and sticking it to us on prices, again, Paramount! The only studio that always gets it right on PQ, AQ and price is Disney, if every studio had the attitude that Disney do towards Blu-ray there'd be very little to complain about.

[Rob Tomlin]

..

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by lgans316

When people are bashing me 360 degrees for ranting about Warner transfers it feels better to see some souls ranting about their lackluster offerings with similar feeling.

IMO they have been a disaster to High Definition from day 1. They started the format war, prolonged it and ended it. The only title they wholeheartedly delivered was Blade Runner. Even after the HD DVD era they seem to continue their lowest common denominator trend and criminal space wastage which truly sucks. With their current trend they can offer 1080p movies on SD DVDs.

I hope that they come out of this trend soon.

I pretty much agree.

[lgans316]

If you want Patton before June/3/2008 then play-asia is your friend.

[Robert Siegel]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

*raises hand*

It was shot in 65mm, so yes, I would expect it to look great. But yes, I do realize that just because it was shot in the large format does not guarantee a great picture.

This is one of the best war movies ever made. An absolute MUST HAVE for any movie buff.

I agree. I do have a problem with the review and Penton I would love to hear your input here. The review says that the Patton soundtrack has hiss and calls that a negative. In my experience, those movies of that era did not have any noise reduction to begin with, so there will always be some level of hiss on those soundtracks. The fact that Fox left the hiss in there, in my opinion, shows that Fox did not do any digital changes to the sound masters, and I think that is a good thing, it's presented as it is on their master tapes. Case in point: Hello Dolly! dvd....Fox cut off the hiss but also cut off the high end of the frequency range of the soundtrack and ruined it...the AC3 laserdisc sounds much better with the high end, but it also has the hiss from that era. Heck, I'd much rather have the hiss there and get exactly what's on the master. Penton, I'd like to know your thoughts on this.

[WickyWoo]

Does any of our insiders know what codec Universal will be using? VC1?

VC-1 is the word, but it really doesn't matter. VC-1 when given proper room to breathe produces superb results (Deja Vu, Shoot 'Em Up)

It was shot in 65mm, so yes, I would expect it to look great. But yes, I do realize that just because it was shot in the large format does not guarantee a great picture.

Large format+proper handling+good restoration+good compression=Blugasm

I'm totally with Twister in that the hiss being there is a positive. Soundtracks from before the late 70s were badly recorded enough, taking out the high frequency information to kill the hiss isn't what I want.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by mntwister

I agree. I do have a problem with the review and Penton I would love to hear your input here. The review says that the Patton soundtrack has hiss and calls that a negative. In my experience, those movies of that era did not have any noise reduction to begin with, so there will always be some level of hiss on those soundtracks. The fact that Fox left the hiss in there, in my opinion, shows that Fox did not do any digital changes to the sound masters, and I think that is a good thing, it's presented as it is on their master tapes. Case in point: Hello Dolly! dvd....Fox cut off the hiss but also cut off the high end of the frequency range of the soundtrack and ruined it...the AC3 laserdisc sounds much better with the high end, but it also has the hiss from that era. Heck, I'd much rather have the hiss there and get exactly what's on the master. Penton, I'd like to know your thoughts on this.

Gotta run.
Much to do before this………….
http://www.oscars.org/events/2001asp...ey/index2.html (now sold out).

Check this link and use the search word “Chace”, there may be some info there.
http://www.in70mm.com/news/2002/patton/index.htm


Later

[aygie]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

VC-1 is the word, but it really doesn't matter. VC-1 when given proper room to breathe produces superb results (Deja Vu, Shoot 'Em Up)

I thought so and totally agree, VC1 done well can look stunning (i have to admit my favorite encodes are all AVC though) whats Universals track record on HD DVD? I've never seen one (a HD DVD) and am interested in there overall ratings.

Anyone have a rough figure?

[WickyWoo]

Gotta run.
Much to do before this………….
http://www.oscars.org/events/2001asp...ey/index2.html (now sold out).

Just once I want to see an academic screening of the film by the people who think it's a bad film. I volunteer. Are you sure Tommy Chong hasn't parked a green van outside next to a flame source?

I thought so and totally agree, VC1 done well can look stunning (i have to admit my favorite encodes are all AVC though) whats Universals track record on HD DVD? I've never seen one (a HD DVD) and am interested in there overall ratings.

When they're not using garbage masters, from the 6-7 discs I've seen Universal has been excellent about keeping the use of DNR down and pushing the video (Pitch Black is probably the best I've watched). I expect them to be besting Paramount in average PQ, again assuming they're not using garbage masters, and very well make get up to third place behind Fox and Disney.

[aygie]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

When they're not using garbage masters, from the 6-7 discs I've seen Universal has been excellent about keeping the use of DNR down and pushing the video (Pitch Black is probably the best I've watched). I expect them to be besting Paramount in average PQ, again assuming they're not using garbage masters, and very well make get up to third place behind Fox and Disney.

Really?! Sounds quite good then, i'll be looking forward to their release more now. Thanks Wicky.