A Few Words About A few words about...™ Gladiator (redux) -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Icaro]

This, among all the titles I own (over 400) and looked,
is the only delicacy and naturalness , similar to photographic film.
no sign of digitalization
a refund analog its of celluloid

I wonder if this can be done on all titles released or forthcoming



this is my mini review in Italian:

 

http://www.avmagazine.it/forum/showthread.php?t=171579

 

 

[Jay_J]

So I take it that the code ending in 3859 is the one to look for?

 

[Icaro]

@Jay _ j

 

Yes,

at least here in Europe is so

 

 

Sorry for my bad English

 

[Jay_J]

Thanks very much, will be on the look out for one.

 

[dpippel]

Does this apply to discs released in North America? Who knows. More mud in the water.

 

Again, Paramount just needs to step in here and clear the mess up. Is is too much to ask for a statement from the company letting consumers know how to identify the disc with the new transfer? No. The current situation is ridiculous.

 

[Jay_J]

Good point! I have waited this long, I can wait until I'm sure I have the remastered disc. May take a few years to clear the system of the original discs, as I doubt Paramount will do a recall of store product.

 

[David Wilkins]

I'm wondering about most recent purchase experience as of today, September 26th. There seems to be no clarification whatsoever among online retailers, as to which version a prospective buyer will receive. There are recent indications of pissed-off customers still getting the original issue from Amazon. Seems to be complete hit-or-miss, luck of the draw.
 

I was at Target yesterday, and noticed all seven of theirs were the original white UPC code, and the price was $29.99. Seems to me that Paramount has handled this reissue very poorly, in spite of their fine effort to produce the re-mastered disc. As more time passes, the goodwill they managed to garner, is turning to sour piss among those who would gladly buy the new disc.
 

So...has anybody out there received the new product via online purchase? Has anyone seen the new disc with their own eyes, at a local retailer?

 

[GMpasqua]

I have only seen the yellow UPC code at Best Buy Stores. Target and Walmart sometimes have the white label without the "Two Disc set" on the back, but no yellow label. I was wondering if it's safe to order through Amazon yet, but I guess not

 

[MikeIMH]

Gladiator is on sale at local Costco stores here in Canada. Unfortunately, their stock does not include the yellow UPC Code, though it does have the words "two disc set" on the back of the packaging. I would dearly love to buy this disc but unfortunately I have no confidence in the product.

Does this product contain the re-mastered disc, or not?

 

[PaulDA]

Originally Posted by MikeIMH

Gladiator is on sale at local Costco stores here in Canada. Unfortunately, their stock does not include the yellow UPC Code, though it does have the words "two disc set" on the back of the packaging. I would dearly love to buy this disc but unfortunately I have no confidence in the product.

Does this product contain the re-mastered disc, or not?

I would also like to know, as I too have seen it at my local Costco but hesitated to pick it up. Saving Pvt. Ryan, however, DOES have the yellow label, so there is no danger with that one, for any Costco Canada customers.

 

[DeanR]

At my local Best Buy in Danvers, MA all the copies of Gladiator had the yellow label. There were about 7-8 of them. I am waiting for the next sale.

 

[urbo73]

Originally Posted by DeanR

At my local Best Buy in Danvers, MA all the copies of Gladiator had the yellow label. There were about 7-8 of them. I am waiting for the next sale.

I thought that the yellow label means nothing. I thought the thing to look for is the 2-Disc sign. The new ones don't have that, while the old copies do. Confused...

 

[Carlo_M]

Bottom line for those on the fence about buying it online: there was no official recall of the product by Paramount.


That means that the non-recalled version will remain in stock at vendors until they are sold. The only way AFAIK to tell if you are buying the new version is the yellow UPC code. Since you can't see that code with an online purchase, I would highly recommend only buying this from a B&M store where you can confirm the UPC color.


Or, if an online reseller really is way cheaper than your local B&M then you will have to do the return/swap system which will cost you the mailing fee back to Paramount. And while my return/swap went smoothly (11 calendar days) the other Gladiator thread has some people who still haven't received their replacements from Paramount.

 

[PaulDA]

Just to confirm--there IS a yellow UPC label for the fixed version and it is on all of them? If not all of them, it is guaranteed that the yellow label means getting a fixed version--just like with Saving Pvt. Ryan?

 

[dpippel]

Paramount really needs to get it together on this. It's gone on MORE than long enough.

 

[Mike Frezon]

^ +1


I've looked at lots of copies of Gladiator in the stores lately. I've never seen a yellow UPC. I've been wondering if people are just getting this confused with SPR? I guess not. But I haven't seen any yet.


Doug (and so many others) are right. This has been handled very poorly.

 

[Carlo_M]

I can't say for 100% certainty, but I do know that most of the Gladiators in my Best Buy have the yellow UPC symbol. Also, when you call the 800# one of the questions they ask is "what color is your UPC symbol on your box"? The other question is to read the code on the inside ring of the playable side of the BD, which will require sunlight to even make out the letters. My office light made it extremely difficult to see the letters/numbers.


To be clear, it is not a yellow UPC sticker as far as I can tell. It's the actual UPC symbol, printed on the back cover, which is now yellow colored, so they went back and issued a new printed cover to get this done.


Also, to reiterate, Paramount does not view this as a recall. The scripted preamble they have when you call and ask about the exchange is that "they have heard some customers prefer a version of the blu-ray without edge enhancement and digital noise reduction". So they do not admit that they released a defective product. A recall would be equivalent to admitting a wrongdoing, and they are saying that the original release was fine, but they have a "trade in" program for those who wanted a different version without EE and DNR.


Not saying I agree with them (I don't), just saying why the mass confusion over versions exist, and why both versions are still "out in the wild".

 

[dpippel]

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina

Not saying I agree with them (I don't), just saying why the mass confusion over versions exist, and why both versions are still "out in the wild".

The mass confusion exists because Paramount has done nothing to clear it up. The studio went to the trouble and expense of releasing a new version of Gladiator with an "improved" transfer due to customer complaints. Why wouldn't they make the this product easily distinguishable from the earlier release so that those customers can identify the new disc without any ambiguity? It makes no sense whatsoever. Heck, I'd love to grab a copy but I'm not willing to risk getting the old transfer. As a result Paramount doesn't get my money. That's just bad business, and they should know better.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Originally Posted by dpippel


The mass confusion exists because Paramount has done nothing to clear it up. The studio went to the trouble and expense of releasing a new version of Gladiator with an "improved" transfer due to customer complaints. Why wouldn't they make the this product easily distinguishable from the earlier release so that those customers can identify the new disc without any ambiguity? It makes no sense whatsoever. Heck, I'd love to grab a copy but I'm not willing to risk getting the old transfer. As a result Paramount doesn't get my money. That's just bad business, and they should know better.

Exactly. Look at how the Gangs of New York remaster was handled by a different studio for an example of how this should be done. The new version was clearly labeled so it could be ordered online with confidence in receiving the corrected transfer. Paramount has botched this one. I do my BD shopping online only, so Gladiator will be a "no purchase" until there is a way to guarantee getting the correct version through an online retailer.

 

[Jay_J]

I couldn't have said it better fellas. Paramount wants to have its cake and eat it too. They listened to the complaints from folks who had bought the original disc, but don't want to pull the old product from the shelves. They also don't want to make it easy for anyone to know which version they're getting. That way they can keep selling the old discs. Until I know for sure, I won't be buying this blu ray either....or any other Paramount released product. It won't mean a damn to them, but it makes me feel better not to be increasing their bottom line.