Streets of Fire (1984) November 8

[kidglov3s]

Finally sitting down to watch the film proper... omg this is so cool. In the past 4 years or so this went from a movie I had never heard of before to one of my most favorites (first getting it on VHS at a flea market, then the DVD, then the JP LD). I really appreciate being able to watch it in 1080p, what a privilege.

[needles7]

Originally Posted by kidglov3s

Finally sitting down to watch the film proper... omg this is so cool. In the past 4 years or so this went from a movie I had never heard of before to one of my most favorites (first getting it on VHS at a flea market, then the DVD, then the JP LD). I really appreciate being able to watch it in 1080p, what a privilege.

Yeah its a cracking movie!

[kidglov3s]

The screenshots at Caps-A-Holic suggest that this transfer leaves a lot of room for improvement. I think its flaws would be especially evident if its DVD transfer wasn't one of the worst that format has to offer. ****, look at this cropping (to be fair the cropping for the other 7 shots is nowhere near this bad):



So it seems we're still without an acceptable, let alone definitive, release of this? Come on, Japan, you love it as much as I do, make a good Blu-ray so I can spend $50 and be happy. I wonder if the Second Sight or HD-DVD look any better? I hate feeling like I'm making due with yet another substandard presentation of this film.

[Robert George]

Originally Posted by kidglov3s

The screenshots at Caps-A-Holic suggest that this transfer leaves a lot of room for improvement. I think its flaws would be especially evident if its DVD transfer wasn't one of the worst that format has to offer....
...So it seems we're still without an acceptable, let alone definitive, release of this? Come on, Japan, you love it as much as I do, make a good Blu-ray so I can spend $50 and be happy. I wonder if the Second Sight or HD-DVD look any better? I hate feeling like I'm making due with yet another substandard presentation of this film.

I have the HDDVD and received my copy of the German release a few days ago. I was waiting for my copy of the UK release to show up before posting anything, but I can say at this point that there does not appear to be a new transfer of this film. And it appears no effort was put forth on the German disc to tweak the old transfer that almost certainly came from Universal. I always thought the HDDVD looked pretty good, but after spending some time comparing these two discs, the weaknesses of the transfer really begin to show.

I agree the DVD was atrocious, and both the HDDVD and the German Blu are considerably better, but a long way from what a new scan and modern transfer could be.

I am not expecting anything different from the UK disc, but it would be nice to be surprised.

BTW, just for fun, I ripped the movie file from the German disc and re-encoded with some small tweaks to saturation, contrast and black level. This did improve the overall look of the film (subjectively) to the point that when I want to watch this movie, I will watch my copy.

[needles7]

Originally Posted by Robert George

I have the HDDVD and received my copy of the German release a few days ago. I was waiting for my copy of the UK release to show up before posting anything, but I can say at this point that there does not appear to be a new transfer of this film. And it appears no effort was put forth on the German disc to tweak the old transfer that almost certainly came from Universal. I always thought the HDDVD looked pretty good, but after spending some time comparing these two discs, the weaknesses of the transfer really begin to show.

I agree the DVD was atrocious, and both the HDDVD and the German Blu are considerably better, but a long way from what a new scan and modern transfer could be.

I am not expecting anything different from the UK disc, but it would be nice to be surprised.

BTW, just for fun, I ripped the movie file from the German disc and re-encoded with some small tweaks to saturation, contrast and black level. This did improve the overall look of the film (subjectively) to the point that when I want to watch this movie, I will watch my copy.

I think both these 'STREETS OF FIRE' discs are great though. The fab German edition and the UK one. Glad I have both!
Better than the HD-DVD and horrid DVD for sure (for me anyway). The extras are superb... although I would have liked to see more input from the films bigger stars Diane Lane, Willem Dafoe, Bill Paxton etc

[kidglov3s]

Originally Posted by needles7

I think both these 'STREETS OF FIRE' discs are great though. The fab German edition and the UK one. Glad I have both!
Better than the HD-DVD and horrid DVD for sure (for me anyway). The extras are superb... although I would have liked to see more input from the films bigger stars Diane Lane, Willem Dafoe, Bill Paxton etc

On Caps-A-Holic at least the Blu-ray looks like the HD-DVD but with some added EE/brightness. Both have the same cropping, relative to the DVD, and noise issues. I cannot argue that they aren't an improvement over the DVD but I think that this film is still waiting for a good release. It's a shame the money to make that documentary didn't go toward a modern transfer.

At least it wasn't DNR'ed to death. I wonder what the story is behind the cropping. And with the brightness compensated for, this really doesn't look like that bad a presentation. I guess at any right it seems this is all we're getting.

[Sky_Captain]

I need to pop the HD DVD in and check this, but on the BD, the right-hand side of the picture is clearly brighter than the rest. Especially noticeable, since it predominantly takes place at night. It's the same with the footage used in the new doc.

In one shot, Ed Begley Jr's jacket, is two completely different shades of black/grey, as his shoulders fill the width of the frame.

**edit** Yes, the HD DVD is the same. It's just harder to spot, due to the brightness not have been altered any further.

[Braktastic]

Sorry, I probably missed this, but it's hard to tell. Does the DE and UK BDs have the same framing as the HD DVD?

[needles7]

Originally Posted by Braktastic

Sorry, I probably missed this, but it's hard to tell. Does the DE and UK BDs have the same framing as the HD DVD?

Yes, I believe so, but it is different from the original DVD (which was very poor in terms of picture quality).

Whilst not perfect - I think the new BD's (UK and German) have MUCH better video.

[movielib]

I haven't seen anyone else say this but I found the dialogue on the German disc sounds a little trebly and boxy. It's not my system or my settings because other films don't have this problem.

I, as some others, bought both the German and the British BDs because of the different extras. I haven't yet received the British disc but I hope it sounds better.

On the other hand, I love this movie. There's no other film quite like it. It's an absolute gem and I'm glad to have it on BD even if it's technically far from perfect.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by kidglov3s

The screenshots at Caps-A-Holic suggest that this transfer leaves a lot of room for improvement. I think its flaws would be especially evident if its DVD transfer wasn't one of the worst that format has to offer. ****, look at this cropping (to be fair the cropping for the other 7 shots is nowhere near this bad):



So it seems we're still without an acceptable, let alone definitive, release of this? Come on, Japan, you love it as much as I do, make a good Blu-ray so I can spend $50 and be happy. I wonder if the Second Sight or HD-DVD look any better? I hate feeling like I'm making due with yet another substandard presentation of this film.

Yet again, people are assuming the DVD was somehow 100% correct. The blu-ray "cropping" looks better composition-wise in every shot I've seen. Just because an entire negative is exposed doesn't mean it's supposed to be transferred that way.

[kidglov3s]

Originally Posted by retablo

Yet again, people are assuming the DVD was somehow 100% correct. The blu-ray "cropping" looks better composition-wise in every shot I've seen. Just because an entire negative is exposed doesn't mean it's supposed to be transferred that way.

Neither transfer exposes the entire negative as in the old open matte 4:3 transfer, both of these are matted and I would never argue for image for the sake of image, in violation of intended aspect ratio, etc. I don't think we can judge either as being 100% correct in the absence of word on this issue. I do think it's curious that there's such a difference in framing on that shot, and you lose Robert Townsend's eyes which seem, to me, to be significant. He gave us The Parent Hood.

[needles7]

Originally Posted by kidglov3s

Neither transfer exposes the entire negative as in the old open matte 4:3 transfer, both of these are matted and I would never argue for image for the sake of image, in violation of intended aspect ratio, etc. I don't think we can judge either as being 100% correct in the absence of word on this issue. I do think it's curious that there's such a difference in framing on that shot, and you lose Robert Townsend's eyes which seem, to me, to be significant. He gave us The Parent Hood.

I have to be honest... if I hadn't seen the DVD caps I would never have noticed anything 'different' about the HD-DVD, UK bluray or German bluray. They look great to me but there is definitely a different framing going on.

[kidglov3s]

Giving this another spin after a few months, I'm definitely happy to have this disc. It might not necessarily be the best this film could look on the format but it's perfectly serviceable and I'm happy to be able to get my regular fix of Nowhere Fast/Storming The Battery/Tonight is What it Means to Be Young in 1080p with lossless audio (which I suppose I could have had for years but yknow, no HD-DVD).

[needles7]

Originally Posted by kidglov3s

Giving this another spin after a few months, I'm definitely happy to have this disc. It might not necessarily be the best this film could look on the format but it's perfectly serviceable and I'm happy to be able to get my regular fix of Nowhere Fast/Storming The Battery/Tonight is What it Means to Be Young in 1080p with lossless audio (which I suppose I could have had for years but yknow, no HD-DVD).

Rumour has it that 'Streets of Fire' has just received a remastering and overhaul... I wonder if a stateside bluray is forthcoming????

[needles7]

Just watched the UK version this afternoon and I think that and this German disc are fine. Great extras too!

[ScarfaceJoker]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, folks, but can someone confirm that this definitely has English subs?

Thanks!

[Funktion]

Originally Posted by ScarfaceJoker

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, folks, but can someone confirm that this definitely has English subs?

Thanks!

Yes, it does.
I have the German BD, and can confirm it, since I watched the movie with the English subtitles on.

Funnily enough, it seems the UK release doesn't have English subtitles.

[ScarfaceJoker]

Originally Posted by Funktion

Yes, it does.
Funnily enough, it seems the UK release doesn't have English subtitles.

That's exactly why I was asking! Cheers mate.

[navydavey]

Looks like theres a mediabook edition with the CD soundtrack coming out, I assume it includes the Shout remaster too