Playing By Heart (1998) - March 26, 2013

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Veronica Mars

I guess this release has never been out with the proper AR. I assume this info I grabbed from dvdcompare is mostly correct. I guess they never decided to fix the problem on dvd and it's not a surprise Echo Bridge wasn't going to make any effort.

That's correct. The R1 DVD is cropped to 1.85:1, even though it states 2.20:1 on the back. I complained at the time to Buena Vista Home Video, they swore it would be corrected, but it never was.

If the new BD is cropped as well, it'll be a shame, but it'll still be an upgrade from the fuzzy 4:3 DVD which has a master best suited to laserdisc or even VHS.

[Veronica Mars]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

That's correct. The R1 DVD is cropped to 1.85:1, even though it states 2.20:1 on the back. I complained at the time to Buena Vista Home Video, they swore it would be corrected, but it never was.

If the new BD is cropped as well, it'll be a shame, but it'll still be an upgrade from the fuzzy 4:3 DVD which has a master best suited to laserdisc or even VHS.

If the master from the dvd is that bad, there is little hope the bd will look remotely good.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Veronica Mars

If the master from the dvd is that bad, there is little hope the bd will look remotely good.

True, but for $5.99 at least it'll be 16:9, so I can watch it without ginormous black bars on all 4 sides of a teeny little picture. Haven't seen it since I got my DVD ten years ago (for which I think I paid $15 or $20), and looking forward to rewatching as I now live in LA and know the locations shown in the film very well. I'm not hoping for much from this BD, my expectations are suitably low

[James Luckard]

Also (and I know this is sacrilege to say), although the film was shot by the great Vilmos Zsigmond, it consists mostly of people sitting in rooms talking, so I can live with a cropped transfer of this much more than I could with The Last Emperor.

[Brosef78]

Originally Posted by Veronica Mars

I guess this release has never been out with the proper AR. I assume this info I grabbed from dvdcompare is mostly correct. I guess they never decided to fix the problem on dvd and it's not a surprise Echo Bridge wasn't going to make any effort.

It may be the choice of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. In 2001 he shot another Panavision film, "Life as a House", that had an aspect ratio of roughly 2:1 on DVD (the Univisium aspect ratio), which reportedly he approved. It could be that he shot both those films with an eye for cropping them to such (with widescreen DVDs on the rise but widescreen televisions not prominent as of yet), maybe that's why his past films that are shot in Panavision are presented in proper 2:35:1 (with the exception of "Sliver", if memory serves). Knowing this I asked Kevin Smith on his message board as to whether or not he'd allow Zsigmond to crop "Jersey Girl" for video since it was being shot in Panavision, pointing out that "Playing By Heart" and "Life as a House" were cropped. Smith responded that he wasn't aware that that was Zsigmond's M.O., and said he'd talk with him about it. I don't know what conspired but "Jersey Girl" appeared on DVD in its full widescreen glory, and hopefully on Blu-ray as well.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Brosef78

It may be the choice of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. In 2001 he shot another Panavision film, "Life as a House", that had an aspect ratio of roughly 2:1 on DVD (the Univisium aspect ratio), which reportedly he approved. It could be that he shot both those films with an eye for cropping them to such (with widescreen DVDs on the rise but widescreen televisions not prominent as of yet), maybe that's why his past films that are shot in Panavision are presented in proper 2:35:1 (with the exception of "Sliver", if memory serves). Knowing this I asked Kevin Smith on his message board as to whether or not he'd allow Zsigmond to crop "Jersey Girl" for video since it was being shot in Panavision, pointing out that "Playing By Heart" and "Life as a House" were cropped. Smith responded that he wasn't aware that that was Zsigmond's M.O., and said he'd talk with him about it. I don't know what conspired but "Jersey Girl" appeared on DVD in its full widescreen glory, and hopefully on Blu-ray as well.

Would be great if we got an answer. I know Austin Powers was 2:1 on DVD, at the director's insistence, for the same reason (not that it was shot by Zsigmond, just saying). However nothing was cropped - they just opened the top and bottom mattes for DVD, and restored them for the 2.35 BD.

[Veronica Mars]

Originally Posted by Brosef78

It may be the choice of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. In 2001 he shot another Panavision film, "Life as a House", that had an aspect ratio of roughly 2:1 on DVD (the Univisium aspect ratio), which reportedly he approved. It could be that he shot both those films with an eye for cropping them to such (with widescreen DVDs on the rise but widescreen televisions not prominent as of yet), maybe that's why his past films that are shot in Panavision are presented in proper 2:35:1 (with the exception of "Sliver", if memory serves). Knowing this I asked Kevin Smith on his message board as to whether or not he'd allow Zsigmond to crop "Jersey Girl" for video since it was being shot in Panavision, pointing out that "Playing By Heart" and "Life as a House" were cropped. Smith responded that he wasn't aware that that was Zsigmond's M.O., and said he'd talk with him about it. I don't know what conspired but "Jersey Girl" appeared on DVD in its full widescreen glory, and hopefully on Blu-ray as well.

I can't be sure, but it's pretty safe to say if the dvd was 2.35:1, the bd will be too. It seems like Echo just takes what they get and if it delivers a good product, it's probably because the dvd had a good master to begin with. I've only seen Playing By Heart on dvd a few times, so I only know it in 1.85:1 and I won't freak if that's the case here, especially since they probably would have given us the proper AR if the DVD had been done right.

What I worry the most about with the Echo Bridge titles is not getting a HORRIBLE transfer. My expectations are pretty low too, so if it's just not a mess, if it looks suitably HD, even by cable tv HD standards, I'll be fine with the results.

It's better than dvd and better than nothing. Now if it looks like The Truth About Cats And Dogs, easily the worst bd I own, I will be very upset with the results. Even more so with Beautiful Girls, but I plan on buying this too.

If they look "good", I might add The Grifters, Committed and Jersey Girl in February.

[James Luckard]

This was released as a Best Buy exclusive today, along with the other Echo bridge titles.

I picked it up and can confirm that it's letterboxed at 2:1, except for the end credits, which are 2.35:1.

The DVD was 1.78:1, with the end credits going to 2;1.

I should add some more info here. I complained back when the DVD came out to Buena Vista Home Video that the film was in 1.78:1, and not the 2.20:1 advertised on the back of the box. They said it was actually supposed to be 2:1, and that 2.20:1 was a misprint. Regardless, the DVD was 1.78:1 and they didn't care.

That means this 2:1 transfer is probably the original intended DVD transfer.

It certainly looks like a DVD transfer from 1999, it's fuzzy and lacks any detail.

Still, it's letterboxed and 16:9, so I'm not complaining for $5.99.

[Veronica Mars]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

This was released as a Best Buy exclusive today, along with the other Echo bridge titles.

I picked it up and can confirm that it's letterboxed at 2:1, except for the end credits, which are 2.35:1.

The DVD was 1.78:1, with the end credits going to 2;1.

I should add some more info here. I complained back when the DVD came out to Buena Vista Home Video that the film was in 1.78:1, and not the 2.20:1 advertised on the back of the box. They said it was actually supposed to be 2:1, and that 2.20:1 was a misprint. Regardless, the DVD was 1.78:1 and they didn't care.

That means this 2:1 transfer is probably the original intended DVD transfer.

It certainly looks like a DVD transfer from 1999, it's fuzzy and lacks any detail.

Still, it's letterboxed and 16:9, so I'm not complaining for $5.99.

Thanks for the info. Would you still call it a "serviceable" transfer? I mean, it's not a huge upgrade, but a lot of people say a transfer looks like an upconverted dvd and I just rarely agree.

It either looks HD or it doesn't. Even a pretty dull bd transfer is way better than the dvd to me. It doesn't sound like you think this is utter crap, so I'm assuming you'd say it was at least clearly HD, even if it's not been done well. Like a 2.5-3 pq score?

Or are you only happy because you finally have the movie in its OAR?

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Veronica Mars

Thanks for the info. Would you still call it a "serviceable" transfer? I mean, it's not a huge upgrade, but a lot of people say a transfer looks like an upconverted dvd and I just rarely agree.

It either looks HD or it doesn't. Even a pretty dull bd transfer is way better than the dvd to me. It doesn't sound like you think this is utter crap, so I'm assuming you'd say it was at least clearly HD, even if it's not been done well. Like a 2.5-3 pq score?

Or are you only happy because you finally have the movie in its OAR?

It certainly doesn't look like an upconverted DVD, it's better than that. However it does look very much like an HD transfer probably created about 10+ years ago, for DVD. It's fuzzy and the colors are a bit washed out.

It's also only 2:1, not 2.35:1, which would be the the OAR.

Still, I recommend it for any fans of the film, it's an enormous improvement over the ancient DVD.

[Veronica Mars]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

It certainly doesn't look like an upconverted DVD, it's better than that. However it does look very much like an HD transfer probably created about 10+ years ago, for DVD. It's fuzzy and the colors are a bit washed out.

It's also only 2:1, not 2.35:1, which would be the the OAR.

Still, I recommend it for any fans of the film, it's an enormous improvement over the ancient DVD.

Thank you. It's not a glowing review, but it sure is a LOT better than it could have been and it's not a mess and it's not dvd. I'm pretty happy with the news.

Now if I could only find a way to get a copy of this, The Grifters and Beautiful Girls. No BB anywhere near me has any of these and BB.com says they are backordered. Ugh.

[Mark-P]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

This was released as a Best Buy exclusive today, along with the other Echo bridge titles.

I picked it up and can confirm that it's letterboxed at 2:1, except for the end credits, which are 2.35:1.

The DVD was 1.78:1, with the end credits going to 2;1.

Thanks for the confirmation. 2:1 is actually an improvement from the DVD which I just pulled out and measured some screencaps: it was 1.80:1 with the end credits at 2.04:1 which is pretty close to what you said. The slightly wider BD is apparently at the blessing of Zsigmond, so I can live with it. I must rush right down to Best Buy and pick it up!

James, can you confirm that the BD sound is actually 5.1 and not 2.0?

[MichaelR]

Originally Posted by Mark-P

James, can you confirm that the BD sound is actually 5.1 and not 2.0?

I can. DTS-HA MA 5.1.

[MichaelR]

Here's a comparison between the relative ARs of the DVD and Blu-ray. Note that the DVD image is letterboxed and windowboxed, because the DVD wasn't anamorophic.

[Show spoiler]

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by MichaelR

Here's a comparison between the relative ARs of the DVD and Blu-ray. Note that the DVD image is letterboxed and windowboxed, because the DVD wasn't anamorophic.

[Show spoiler]

Does that mean a review is coming shortly?

[MichaelR]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

Does that mean a review is coming shortly?

It's not assigned to me. I just got lucky enough to find a copy in a local BB.

[movieman1979]

Not for nothing, but that cover art is atrocious. The original poster would be more than sufficient, and contains more than enough godforsaken floating heads to qualify for a DVD/blu ray cover

[Youre My Boy Blu!]

Originally Posted by movieman1979

Not for nothing, but that cover art is atrocious. The original poster would be more than sufficient, and contains more than enough godforsaken floating heads to qualify for a DVD/blu ray cover

Agreed.
They do the damn "wanted poster" design so potential customers can easily identify who the most wanted actors are. It's really an insult to the intelligence of the customer and the rest of the cast who are equally deserving of a place on the cover.
In fact, it was seeing the original cover below that made me want to watch the movie. I thought, wow that's a pretty damn good cast, let's give it a look.

[Youre My Boy Blu!]

Originally Posted by MichaelR

Here's a comparison between the relative ARs of the DVD and Blu-ray. Note that the DVD image is letterboxed and windowboxed, because the DVD wasn't anamorophic.

[Show spoiler]

Well, as much as I hate to admit it; it's looking pretty good.
I hate it when they don't or can't provide the OAR, but this is clearly enough of an improvement over the DVD at a fair enough price, I may go ahead and get it.
I would like to see the version that AMZ has available for streaming though.
It's possible that could have the OAR. Take for example the movie Sexy Beast (2000). An OAR version does not exist on the blu-ray version in UK or Germany, but on AMZ HD instant video, it is the OAR. So I may have to give it a try over the weekend.

[Veronica Mars]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

This was released as a Best Buy exclusive today, along with the other Echo bridge titles.

I picked it up and can confirm that it's letterboxed at 2:1, except for the end credits, which are 2.35:1.

The DVD was 1.78:1, with the end credits going to 2;1.

I should add some more info here. I complained back when the DVD came out to Buena Vista Home Video that the film was in 1.78:1, and not the 2.20:1 advertised on the back of the box. They said it was actually supposed to be 2:1, and that 2.20:1 was a misprint. Regardless, the DVD was 1.78:1 and they didn't care.

That means this 2:1 transfer is probably the original intended DVD transfer.

It certainly looks like a DVD transfer from 1999, it's fuzzy and lacks any detail.

Still, it's letterboxed and 16:9, so I'm not complaining for $5.99.

I just read my first review of this on highdefdigest and the reviewer claims it's possibly the worst video he's ever seen. Based on the description, it sounds like my only other genuine piece of crap bd release (meaning it's a abject failure in every way, not just has problems-even some serious ones) which would be The Truth About Cats and Dogs. Reindeer Games looks beautiful compared to that release.

I haven't had time to watch anything other than Beautiful Girls and I put the Grifters on to take a quick look (BG looked quite nice and I didn't see anything terrible about the Grifters), with both looking good to decent, I really expected PBH would be at least ok. Sounds like it's not even close to being ok.

The biggest issue to me now, since PBH isn't an overly important title to me like The Truth About Cats and Dogs was, but now I'm probably going to cancel my pre-orders for Committed and Jersey Girl. I thought they were worth a shot for $5, but I'm going to wait to hear about PQ now. I don't even want to waste $10 on two more titles that are blind buys.

Here's the review:

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/8516..._by_heart.html