The Fugitive (1993) (20th Anniversary Edition)

[jordanwalkert]

Originally Posted by Lyle_JP

The original blu-ray really didn't have a bad transfer. It had an especially bad encoding. Even if this were made from the exact same digital telecine as the first disc, just being competently encoded this time around will make for a much better viewing experience. But don't expect to see radical differences in screen shots.

+1

I never thought the master looked awful in the first one. Just needed to be properly handled. It's an older film that was fairly low budget and not ever supposed to look stunning or flashy. I will be happy with the new release. The DTS-MA should be a significant bump up as well, I think we all want to hear that train crash in lossless audio!

[Sithlord75]

Originally Posted by rybev

Just done watching it.
I should say that I've only seen the original bluray once and that was at least 4 years ago so maybe I'm not the best to judge a comparison.

However, I'm more than happy with this disc. It's clear, there's grain present and the sound is great. I really enjoyed watching the film, not only because it's a great film but also because the image very good so I wasn't distracted by thoughts of "oh this looks bad".

Obviously there'll be experts along over the coming weeks to tell us all that its riddled with edge enhancement and there's DNR galore

On a nostalgic note, this was the first laserdisc I owned back in '93 - and I enjoyed watching it tonight in the comfort of my own home just as much as did 20 years ago.

Same here, finished watching mine a couple of hours ago.

I'm more than happy with this, it's certainly not a 5/5 for PQ but there's still some nice detail on show here in most shots.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Lyle_JP

The original blu-ray really didn't have a bad transfer. It had an especially bad encoding. Even if this were made from the exact same digital telecine as the first disc, just being competently encoded this time around will make for a much better viewing experience. But don't expect to see radical differences in screen shots.

Except Warner (silently) did re-encode it to VC-1, this time using the "Special Edition" edit where they digitally erased the crewman in the train crash site. It looked pretty much the same as the MPEG2 version, except they lowered the bitrate from 640kbps to 448kbps on the Dolby Digital track!

A new transfer is the only way this film could look better.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by jordanwalkert

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the transfer of Heat. It's already been remastered and looks fantastic for how it was shot. The Japanese blu ray has higher quality audio and a super high bitrate, so I guess Warner could release that over here.. But otherwise it looks excellent.

Louder does not equal better.

[Seymour]

Originally Posted by jordanwalkert

It's an older film that was fairly low budget and not ever supposed to look stunning or flashy.

Low budget? It had an estimated $44M budget back in 1993!

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Louder does not equal better.

He said higher quality...not higher level.

[The Fallen Deity]

Originally Posted by rybev

Just done watching it.
I should say that I've only seen the original bluray once and that was at least 4 years ago so maybe I'm not the best to judge a comparison.

However, I'm more than happy with this disc. It's clear, there's grain present and the sound is great. I really enjoyed watching the film, not only because it's a great film but also because the image very good so I wasn't distracted by thoughts of "oh this looks bad".

Obviously there'll be experts along over the coming weeks to tell us all that its riddled with edge enhancement and there's DNR galore

On a nostalgic note, this was the first laserdisc I owned back in '93 - and I enjoyed watching it tonight in the comfort of my own home just as much as did 20 years ago.

Did Warners fix the aliasing issues that were present on the old release?

[jordanwalkert]

Originally Posted by Seymour

Low budget? It had an estimated $44M budget back in 1993!

I said "Fairly" low budget. They didn't even have a fully written script at the time of shooting. They changed up the scenes as the day went along and were winging it half the time, which is probably why the budget even got that high. I didn't say it had no budget, but for a Harrison Ford film.. It wasn't the biggest either.

[MifuneFan]

The Fugitive deserves better. It's a pretty half-assed effort all around. Crappy cover art wth no mention of the 20th Anniversary on the front. A plain disc in an eco case, no booklet, barely an upgrade in the transfer, and weak new extras.

[tylergfoster]

At least it's not encoded improperly like the old disc. Like I said, it's no longer a priority, but at least it's out there.

Not like Warner ever would've included a booklet anyway, and disc art is totally unimportant to me.

[MifuneFan]

It just makes it look like bargain bin material from day 1. It'll get there sooner than later I'm sure. I would have loved to see a new 4K scan of the movie, and maybe a digibook or some other special packaging that at least shows efforts. I have to imagine it's been one of their most popular sellers on home video, at least as far as their more modern catalog titles go.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

He said higher quality...not higher level.

The soundtrack was mastered at 16-bit in 1995.

[The Rider]

Originally Posted by jordanwalkert

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the transfer of Heat. It's already been remastered and looks fantastic for how it was shot. The Japanese blu ray has higher quality audio and a super high bitrate, so I guess Warner could release that over here.. But otherwise it looks excellent.

It looks like an older transfer(maybe a cheap hdtv transfer). Sharpness, details, contrast-nothing is excellent.

And I read some negative about the shadows(blackcrushing, etc.).

[jordanwalkert]

Originally Posted by The Rider

It looks like an older transfer(maybe a cheap hdtv transfer). Sharpness, details, contrast-nothing is excellent.

And I read some negative about the shadows(blackcrushing, etc.).

You read about them? Well I've seen them and the movie looks great. Definitely better than any other previous release and a significant upgrade from DVD. This isn't about Heat though, it's about The Fugitive so I'm going to leave it here.

[ChristmasFnatic]

Cant wait. Glad I didnt get the first release.

Action/thriller aint a genre I care about but this is one of my favorite movies!

[TDSOTM]

This is an improvement?

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/38293

[rybev]

Originally Posted by The Fallen Deity

Did Warners fix the aliasing issues that were present on the old release?

I have no idea what aliasing is.

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by TDSOTM

This is an improvement?

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/38293

Absolutely it is...the horrible aliasing is gone. That's enough justification for an upgrade right there.

[TDSOTM]

Yeah I didn't notice the aliasing, but that was the fault of encoding, not mastering.

WB almost certainly didn't make a new master for this release. It's just a new transfer.

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by TDSOTM

Yeah I didn't notice the aliasing, but that was the fault of encoding, not mastering.

WB almost certainly didn't make a new master for this release. It's just a new transfer.

Agreed...but that encode was HORRIBLE. It suffered from the same flaw as the original BD editions of Enter the Dragon and Lethal Weapon 2. Which renders it very difficult to watch without becoming distracted by the constant "jaggies"...particularly on diagonal planes. It doesn't show up as badly in screenshots, but in motion, it drives me nuts. The new transfer may not be a brand-spanking-new presentation, but it's certainly an upgrade.