Swades (2004) Blu-ray (Eagle) - Snapshots

[Anurag1700]

Originally Posted by prepress

Now question is, Imported UTV BD and Eagle extras are same? Quality is same? If imported has superior quality extras then I should buy that instead of Eagle. Because movie is almost same on MB and Eagle. I have MB BD, then for extras I can go for imported one.

UTV BD extras are great quality- same as what is found on bonus disc of the 2 Disc DVD version. yes that definitely makes sense. get the UTV BD if its only extras u seek.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Anurag1700

On Topic, I had bought the Swades eagle BD a few weeks back and i can confirm it is very much identical to the moser baer BD.

Now note that unlike the most common misconception, moser baer BD is not identical to the UTV BD found abroad. The biggest difference is because UTV filled all extras on the same disc, the bit rate severly got affected resulting in more pixellation. MB being a barebones movie disc has considerably and most importantly 'easily noticeable' less pixellation.

Eagle on the other hand, despite including all extras on the same movie disc has got the movie in identical to MB quality. However having said that, for anyone who cares for the extras quality, the bit rates of Bonus features have been literally zeroed. All deleted scenes and other videos/Extras on Eagle now look more horrible than a VCD.

In order to view extras in best possible way, get the 2 Disc UTV dvd (i.e. if at all once could hunt it down today). In that Bonus disc, Swades extras are in best quality. Not just that, but for the enthusiasts, this DVD version is also devoid of contrast/brightness boost which is present in the BDs and the over blown image, though tolerable, has killed the details in many shots.

So in conclusion, as far as Only the movie is concerned which is what at the end of the day we should all crave for, Moser Baer or Eagle are the best BD versions of Swades. Only thing that may incline one towards Eagle is the chapters are correctly marked. MB had apparantly got that task done by some 5 year old.

And BTW for those who r still wondering, the Hair strand is still there in Eagle in the opening title sequence when Mohan is in flight to India. However if its any relief, Eagle has repaired the censor certificate and it does not look 'censored' now.

Thanks very much for the in-depth post. Had the urge to rewatch this after several years when I listened to the CD over the weekend, but haven't upgraded the DVD yet. Planning to do so soon.

[imsounoriginal]

Ended up getting the UTV BD because it was the cheapest (only $13). Aside from some really bad image instability during a handful of establishing shots and some inherent softness to the image (plus that hair on the opening credits), the disc looks pretty good. Clearly sourced from a DVD-era master, but I was surprised at how much detail there is (especially on faces) and that grain is clearly visible throughout. Anyway, just thought I'd share in case anyone was holding off on the UTV BD due to bad reviews; it's really not all that bad, especially with extras on the disc.

[SimonM7]

Old thread bump!

I got this version of Swades recently and I'm just wondering if it's a common issue that there's like a hair or some sort of thread-like scratch over the title sequence and most of the plane ride at the beginning? I watched it on halloween and it was on theme to have like spider legs slowly crawl across the bottom of the screen, but it's not very attractive otherwise!

It's just during those bits, maybe 3-5 minutes in total.

[ravenus]

^If you see, the previous post describes exactly what you're saying (hair on the opening credits). Guess it was some hair/dirt on the film element, that nobody could be arsed to remove before scanning or digitally while remastering.

[SimonM7]

Originally Posted by ravenus

^If you see, the previous post describes exactly what you're saying (hair on the opening credits). Guess it was some hair/dirt on the film element, that nobody could be arsed to remove before scanning or digitally while remastering.

Thanks for the heads up! I have no idea how I missed that in reading through the thread and feel a little silly now. :*)