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

[Brandon Conway]

I would be shocked if Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) is anything other than the same transfer that was on the HD-DVD.

 

And while my statement is unconfirmed, it makes perfect sense when one thinks of how Warner operates as a corporate entity. We know that an announcement for both formats for Hamlet was imminent in 2007. If something gets public in rumor mills on the 'net it is more than likely well past the HD mastering phase. And when people consider Warner's transfers of that era (2006-2007), by today's standards they are not all that brilliant (though most are more than sufficient for 99.9999% of the population), and a quick trip around message boards will reveal complaints of "softness" of such releases from that era such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Searchers, The Wild Bunch, etc. (Not my opinion, personally, but it's out there).

 

Financially speaking, it seems logical that Warner did not want to go back and start from scratch when they had what they considered a perfectly reasonable master of a film that is not exactly high profile in the business sense. From that perspective I would be forced to agree with them.

 

So, yes, speculation on my part, but grounded in pretty sound reasoning.

 

[Robert Harris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway

I would be shocked if Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) is anything other than the same transfer that was on the HD-DVD.

Which is probably why it hasn't been released on Blu.

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

Something tells me Legend FIlm's Mandingo Blu-Ray release in a few weeks may have a more pure transfer than Hamlet.

 

It is always a coin toss on film wishes... I wanted Hamlet for so long and it is true careful what you wish for... I should have included a transfer clause.

 

[Andy_G]

It's not directly related to this release--which I haven't seen, but I think there's something odd going on in Warner's mastering process. For example, I found the NxNW blu to have a certain fuzzy softness that resembled what happens when you soften a picture in Photoshop to get rid of downrezzing jaggies. So too Casablanca (which is a much older master).

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Originally Posted by Powell&Pressburger

Something tells me Legend FIlm's Mandingo Blu-Ray release in a few weeks may have a more pure transfer than Hamlet.

 

It is always a coin toss on film wishes... I wanted Hamlet for so long and it is true careful what you wish for... I should have included a transfer clause.

That depends on if it's sourced from the same master used for Legend's 2008 DVD. That being said, comparing Mandingo to Hamlet is apples to oranges in more ways than one.
 

 

[Darth Lavender]

Any thoughts on what specifically went wrong here?

I'm guessing part of the problem was using a 35mm print instead of the original 65mm ?

Looks to me like the color has been artificially boosted to compensate for a faded print (which makes the backgrounds look wonderful, but makes faces too red)
DNR as well?
 

It was nice to finally see this film again (I passed on the DVD)
But it's definitely my last 'blind buy' from Warner (which used to be one of the few companies I'd always trust)

 

[Ray H]

According to Warner's press release from the 2007 DVD, they did scan the film from its 65mm elements. At what resolution, who knows?

 

[Brandon Conway]

If done in 2006/2007 my guess would be 2k.