Hard Target 4K UHD (1993)

[morris_schaffer]

Originally Posted by Rollo Tomassi

What scene is it? The one I mentioned? Thanx in advance!

Yep. But last 35 min I kept DV on just to see how irritating it was. Wasn't too bad in fact. Was gone for long stretches then popped up once. Happened à few times inside the cabin when douvee shows chance the old shotgun. There it really rocked back and forth a few times. And after that it was fine again.

[Rollo Tomassi]

Originally Posted by morris_schaffer

Yep. But last 35 min I kept DV on just to see how irritating it was. Wasn't too bad in fact. Was gone for long stretches then popped up once. Happened à few times inside the cabin when douvee shows chance the old shotgun. There it really rocked back and forth a few times. And after that it was fine again.

Thanx for the reply! Will re-watch with DV in the next couple of days! I think somewhere in this thread someone mentioned the issue only appeared up to about 1 hour into the movie...
Will check!

[oh-tomo]

Originally Posted by Matt89

Watched my copy over the weekend, and was a first-time viewing as well. Absolutely loved it. Van Damme isn't exactly the greatest actor but he kicked ass (literally) during the action scenes. And he's nice to look at, so he's got that going for him lol. Was hoping for a scene where he takes off his shirt but no dice. The movie is pretty ridiculous, but it's a hell of a fun watch. I also loved the score, the twangy guitar theme sort of reminded me Hans Zimmer's score for Thelma & Louise, and that's not a bad thing. I thought it suited the movie perfectly. Very '90s.

Overall I gotta echo what others have been saying about the transfer. This thing is effing gorgeous. However, once again I've been having the same brightness fluctuations that plagued Kino's UHD of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It happens even more this time around. There were at least 8-10 instances where the brightness fluctuates between shots. The shot will cut, then immediately after the brightness levels shift. Then the scene cuts again, and that shot too will have a brief jump in brightness. It happens in a few scenes where the shots are cutting back and forth between people having a conversation. Each time the brightness levels spike, it takes you out of the movie for a second. It's hella annoying and it only seems to be happening with Kino UHDs. Is it the way they've mastered their discs? There's something happening with the way my UB820 reads these discs because I pop them into my X700 and these issues are nowhere to be found. Is this gonna happen with every Kino UHD? It doesn't happen with my Arrow UHDs or other 4Ks from the majors. It seems to only be Kino UHDs where this is a problem.

~Matt

So is it that the Kino's have higher Dolby Vision bitrates than other labels and the fluctuations happen when playing from Panasonic player to Sony TV and then this issue goes away when using Sony player to Sony TV? Where did you see the fluctuations in Silence of the Lambs?

[Rollo Tomassi]

I rewatched the disc with DV activated.
It looks like I've overreacted initially: Matt89 reported brightness shifts occuring directly in new (or in between?) shots. I've only seen very slight brightness changes a couple of seconds into a shot and if I hadn't specifically sought it out, I wouldn't have noticed!
So I guess, I am lucky and my setup ism't prone to this particular error...

[Rizor]

Had same brightness issues playing the DV on my Panasonic 820. Plays fine when I switched to my Sony player though.

[Rizor]

Been watching a bunch of John Woo HK movies lately so figured I'd give this a spin. I'd only seen this movie once on cable maybe 20 years ago. 4K looks good and it's pretty fun. Good action.

Started listening to the commentary recorded for this release and the two guys keep referencing the work print version as though it's something everyone has seen. Disappointed to see it's not included nor does the disc include any of the material they keep talking about.

[Rollo Tomassi]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Been watching a bunch of John Woo HK movies lately

Can you recommend any particular release for Hard boiled, Bullet in the Head and The Killer?
I've been wanting to get those on bluray, but so far only found sub par releases (e. g. interlaced)? Been wondering about the HK or JP release of Hard boiled...

[GRSN]

Maybe Rizor can recommend you a faster option,
but i used this website : https://www.hongkongrescue.com/ last year January for Hard Boiled,
paid €25,89 and got it in July,
can't remember if i paid import duties tho (because my memory was foggy caused by COVID)

[Rizor]

Originally Posted by Rollo Tomassi

Can you recommend any particular release for Hard boiled, Bullet in the Head and The Killer?
I've been wanting to get those on bluray, but so far only found sub par releases (e. g. interlaced)? Been wondering about the HK or JP release of Hard boiled...

Not really. I have the HKR versions of The Killer and Hard Boiled and the Nova Media version of Bullet in the Head. Hard Boiled looks okay. As I understand it, the HKR guy took the transfer from the Japanese disc. The Killer looks like he did some AI upscaling on another transfer. Nova's Bullet in the Head looks like a middling DVD.

[waxHead]

Originally Posted by GRSN

Maybe Rizor can recommend you a faster option,
but i used this website : https://www.hongkongrescue.com/ last year January for Hard Boiled,
paid €25,89 and got it in July,
can't remember if i paid import duties tho (because my memory was foggy caused by COVID)

Originally Posted by Rizor

Not really. I have the HKR versions of The Killer and Hard Boiled and the Nova Media version of Bullet in the Head. Hard Boiled looks okay. As I understand it, the HKR guy took the transfer from the Japanese disc. The Killer looks like he did some AI upscaling on another transfer. Nova's Bullet in the Head looks like a middling DVD.

If you’re considering sending money to HKR, might I suggest lighting it on fire and using it for warmth instead? See the discussion about that jack*** in The Killer thread, I’m among many users he screwed over:

Originally Posted by Abacab

Sorry to hear it. I filed a dispute and got a refund from Paypal because he couldn't even be bothered to respond. No idea how he still has an account. His disputes must be legion.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Started listening to the commentary recorded for this release and the two guys keep referencing the work print version as though it's something everyone has seen. Disappointed to see it's not included nor does the disc include any of the material they keep talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvKlRAuyPq4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnvdRkUel0s

[Rizor]

Originally Posted by waxHead

If you’re considering sending money to HKR, might I suggest lighting it on fire and using it for warmth instead? See the discussion about that jack*** in The Killer thread, I’m among many users he screwed over:

I wouldn't recommend them either at this point. Still waiting for another disc I ordered over a year ago. If anyone does consider ordering from them, if you don't received the item within 5 months, file a Paypal dispute and he'll either ship it or you'll get a refund.

[Rollo Tomassi]

Originally Posted by Rizor

I wouldn't recommend them either at this point. Still waiting for another disc I ordered over a year ago. If anyone does consider ordering from them, if you don't received the item within 5 months, file a Paypal dispute and he'll either ship it or you'll get a refund.

Thanx for your replies, everyone!
No, I wouldn't use any dubious sellers, that keep me waiting for months. I believe the HKR Hard Boiled disc is available on blowitoutahere. Might go with them. My question was mainly aimed at the transfer quality, which at least in the case of HB seems a reasonable upgrade over my ancient DVD. As for Bullet or Killer, I'm still on the fence...

[GRSN]

Originally Posted by waxHead

If you’re considering sending money to HKR, might I suggest lighting it on fire and using it for warmth instead? See the discussion about that jack*** in The Killer thread, I’m among many users he screwed over:

Yeah, was also on the fence before ordering,
but it was recommended by someone here, so i thought it was OK.

happy with the transfer for Hard Boiled,
wanted to order some more from them, but better not anymore

as for Hard Target, hopefully Universal release it themselves with all the extras + more (like diff. cuts)