Starship Troopers 4K UHD (1997) (20th Anniversary Edition)

[Fat Phil]

Have no idea whether he was involved in this release of Starship Troopers (somehow doubt it), but since we're on this subject, i'll add - Paul Verhoeven did supervise a 4K 'Showgirls' for last year's theatrical re-release and subsequent French blu-ray which radically changed the colours/look of the whole movie ..... and not for the better IMO.

[Synchg]

Originally Posted by Fat Phil

Have no idea whether he was involved in this release of Starship Troopers (somehow doubt it), but since we're on this subject, i'll add - Paul Verhoeven did supervise a 4K 'Showgirls' for last year's theatrical re-release and subsequent French blu-ray which radically changed the colours/look of the whole movie ..... and not for the better IMO.

it's not that excessive with this new release, but it is warmer.

[Shimshuta]

I am watching the movie right now. I need to watch more of the movie, and spot check the Blu-ray, but it seems to be pretty much like it was when I saw it in the theater in 1997. I reserve final judgement for after checking out both discs.

There is one thing of note so far though. There is a white line right along the bottom of the video frame. It is not obstructing the video, it is in the area outside of the picture, as the movie does not fill up the entire screen. See the below image.



It is between the power light and the video frame. And it is NOT the physical edge of the screen. Those of you who have read the Blade Runner 4K thread know that I just got this new setup, and have been testing many movies over the past week, and this is the first time I have seen anything like this.

[Synchg]

Originally Posted by Shimshuta

but it seems to be pretty much like it was when I saw it in the theater in 1997.

[Shimshuta]

Originally Posted by Synchg

What? It looks like I remember it. Roll your eyes all you want, but the image is very clear with excellent detail, has great grain structure, and the colors appear to be fine.

Edit: Just watched a original theatrical trailer on Youtube. The quality of the trailer sucks of course, and is no where near 4K, but the colors and saturation appear to be pretty close to what they should be.


After reloading the disc, that line at the bottom of the screen is gone now.

Second Edit:

[Show spoiler]The destruction of the Rodger Young looked incredible.

[AllOuttaBubbleGum]

Originally Posted by Shimshuta

...the image is very clear with excellent detail, has great grain structure, and the colors appear to be fine.

Got the UK blu? How's the UHD stack up against the, heretofore, superior release?

[Shimshuta]

Originally Posted by AllOuttaBubbleGum

Got the UK blu? How's the UHD stack up against the, heretofore, superior release?

I do not have it, I used to have the older USA release. As I said it has been several years since I had watched the movie, but to me it appeared to be much clearer.

The thing I really noticed was the inky black of space, and when the battle cruisers are going down in flames the contrast is ridiculous. Orange and blue fire spraying everywhere, and the scene where you can see all the decks of the ship on fire looked so clear. You can see each deck, and in some places you can see where the flames are actually coming from. It's not just a mass of orange/blue/grey anymore. I took a crappy cell phone picture in a vague attempt to illustrate what I am talking about.

[AllOuttaBubbleGum]

Originally Posted by Shimshuta

I do not have it, I used to have the older USA release. As I said it has been several years since I had watched the movie, but to me it appeared to be much clearer.

The thing I really noticed was the inky black of space, and when the battle cruisers are going down in flames the contrast is ridiculous. Orange and blue fire spraying everywhere, and the scene where you can see all the decks of the ship on fire looked so clear. You can see each deck, and in some places you can see where the flames are actually coming from. It's not just a mass of orange/blue/grey anymore. I took a crappy cell phone picture in a vague attempt to illustrate what I am talking about.

Great example! They've really goosed those highlights. For comparison (US/UK):


https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&...=27305&i=9&l=0



..

[brainofj72]

Hmm. I'm less enthusiastic about this disc than I am about most Sony catalog titles. I think people have a point about the boosted contrast and hot colors; I've seen this movie many times on DVD and BD, and while I understand there's no guarantee those transfers were ever "accurate," based on the countless other movies I've seen from the '90s, something looks unnatural about this image. It doesn't look bad...just...a little "off." Bright whites and colors look a bit blown out, and skin tones lean on the orange side.

On the plus side, this is still Sony, which means loads of grain and fine detail. Grain haters are going to loathe this disc with a blinding passion.

[LoSouL]

Originally Posted by brainofj72

Hmm. I'm less enthusiastic about this disc than I am about most Sony catalog titles. I think people have a point about the boosted contrast and hot colors; I've seen this movie many times on DVD and BD, and while I understand there's no guarantee those transfers were ever "accurate," based on the countless other movies I've seen from the '90s, something looks unnatural about this image. It doesn't look bad...just...a little "off." Bright whites and colors look a bit blown out, and skin tones lean on the orange side.

I'm gonna be pretty annoyed if I spent $21+ tax on another sunburnt UHD this week, after Cabin In the Woods last week. The Accountant was like that too. I saw a video review say the same thing about Close Encounters skin tones too.

This movie is an especially cool flick and that'd be a tragic waste. I'm hoping for the best, but if this is going to be a recurring problem someone needs to get their act together stat. I hope they're not trying too hard to force more readily apparent "pop" for a certain type of consumer.

[mzupeman]

Originally Posted by LoSouL

I'm gonna be pretty annoyed if I spent $21+ tax on another sunburnt UHD this week, after Cabin In the Woods last week. The Accountant was like that too. I saw a video review say the same thing about Close Encounters skin tones too.

This movie is an especially cool flick and that'd be a tragic waste. I'm hoping for the best, but if this is going to be a recurring problem someone needs to get their act together stat. I hope they're not trying too hard to force more readily apparent "pop" for a certain type of consumer.

That red push seems to be something about how Lionsgate are handling their titles, but this is Sony and likely not a concern.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by ncraft

The second half of the movie is slightly better than the first, but still extremely bad. The worst thing about the transfer is the colors. Everything just seems off, for lack of a better term. I love film grain, with Blade Runner Final Cut and Ghostbusters(1984) among my favorite transfers. But in some scenes it just becomes unwatchable, making me think it's noise rather than grain.

I know what you mean. I don't mind grain at all. In fact, I dig it. It just makes the picture seem more authentic. Like I'm watching an old film print. But the UHD transfer for this is so grainy at times that it does almost look like noise. I'm giving Sony the benefit of the doubt on this and assuming this just has a crapload of grain. It's not like there isn't precedent with this on their catalog titles(Ghostbusters).

As for the colors, they do look different from the Blu-ray. I A-B'd a few scenes and a few shots in particular really stood out. The football game early in the film. The colors of the uniforms are totally different. The UHD has a harsher, more muted look to it. It's been 20 years since I saw this flick in the theater, but as best as I can recall, the DVD/Blu-ray transfer is the more accurate.

On the bright side, there is a nice uptick in detail compared to the Blu-ray. In the end, I probably would still pop in the UHD when I wanna watch this movie. It's not without its flaws, but honestly, I adjusted to the different colors within a few minutes and I don't really mind grain(although it really is excessive at times).

[AllOuttaBubbleGum]

Is it possible to disengage the HDR to see what role it's playing in how the grain and colors are registering on a given title? If so, anyone find they sometimes prefer to watch HDR discs in SDR mode?

[Mierzwiak]

Yeah, you can turn off HDR in player's settings, at least on my Panasonic UB300. I tried it on Fury Road and it looked extremely dark to the point it looked good only after setting backlight at maximum, just like in HDR mode.

[JohnnyF]

I'm really disappointed that the blu-ray is an older disc and not based on the 4K restoration. I'll be returning this as soon as it's shows up.

[Pgcmoore]

i think it looks great!
not the best catalog title yet released but very happy with it


8.5!


*viewed at 60hz

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by JohnnyF

I'm really disappointed that the blu-ray is an older disc and not based on the 4K restoration. I'll be returning this as soon as it's shows up.

Oh FFS


Do you return BD+DVD combo packs if the DVD isn't remastered?

[Synchg]

I eventually just lowered the backlight abit when HDR is engaged, and the movie becomes more tolerable, never thought i'd have to do that with a 4K disc. But i'm gonna go with my original suspicion that paul/dop wasn't involved. It seems like they took whatever source they had available and scanned it, applied a very automatic pass at it with HDR and that was it. Kinda crude, because I was looking for something more. Something like the original colors on bluray but expanded/wider, not washed out because of the HDR. Just my guess though. As others have pointed out, detail is nice, i'm noticing soldiers in the backround being slaughtered that i never noticed before, but meh.

[StingingVelvet]

There are definitely some really bright HDR moments I can't imagine tolerating in a pitch dark room (I use a bias light). Some stuff in the end battle of Mummy 3 comes to mind, off the top of my head.

[mzupeman]

Anyone find this at Walmart or Target today Id love to know!