A Few Words About A few words about...™ Top Gun -- in HD (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

I spend some time with two new high definition releases this evening. One in HD, the other BD, and together they will do more to help continue the chasm between the two formats than to move toward any resolution, as they are both superb.

Paramount is releasing one of the most popular action films of the '80s in HD, and it's one of the films that will sell Toshiba units to those who can't live without it, unless they pick it up and hold it until the dual HD / BD Samsung hardware arrives in October or November.

Like Halloween, Top Gun has been cleaned and grain "reduced." The final product is a gorgeous transfer, which when combined with Dolby TrueHD, will knock the dust of even the most well-used speaker system.

Top Gun is superb entertainment, brought to HD DVD in absolutely top quality. Paramount has pulled out all the stops to make this HD product one of the "must have" releases of the fall.

There are no complaints from this viewer.

Great film. Great transfer.

Highly Recommended.

RAH

 

[Michel_Hafner]

When you say it's grain reduced, do you say so because you think or know there should be more grain even from the camera negative, or do you see explicit artifacts typical of grain reduction? Did you see any smearing, flickering, ghosting or other anomaly typical of grain reduction?

 

[Tim Glover]

Fantastic. Needless to say many here will be all over this one. How many of us remember back in the late '80s owning this vhs and using it as a demo! Then the laserdisc, the THX-AC-3 laserdisc, then the overcooked bass version of the non-anamorphic original dvd, then the Spec. Collector's Edition in 2005.....and now-finally, a high definition version!

I feel the need.....The Need For This HD DVD.

 

[Jordan_E]

Still don't know about picking this one up, as the last DVD edition with the DTS sound still blows the doors off my HT. And, after getting this one on VHS, LD, and DVD, I'm a little burned out on Maverick and Goose.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Thanks Robert.

Is this OAR?

And to paraphase you ( ;-) ):
Paramount has pulled out all the special features.

 

[EnricoE]

does it have the trailer?

 

[Ed St. Clair]

As far as I know...
NADA!!!

 

[Robert Harris]

With all of the fast action and quick cuts in Top Gun, there may have been problems balancing content with compression.

If that is the case, I'm pleased that quality won out over additional content.

RAH

 

[Jim_K]

Oh you've got to be kidding. There's NO extra features? Zero?!! It's barebones? Bare-bones?! They didn't port over anything from the SD SE?!

Why didn't they go the Transformers route and drop the TrueHD for DD+ if there's not enough room on the disc to port over extras? If Spinmaster over on AVS says there's no difference between the audio it must be fact, right?

Seriously though, when oh when are these 51G discs coming so we won't have to deal with this nonsense anymore?! BTW If there is space and they're intentionally not giving us existing extra's then what the hell is up with that?

 

[Dave>h]

Given that HD DVD just released an extended version of Troy that runs 190+ minutes and supports a Dolby True HD soundtrack, I seriously doubt space was an issue on this release.

I don't know what the studio was thinking giving us a barebones release of this film but they probably figure everyone already owns 5 version of this film so they don't need all the extras at this time. They can give us all the extras in HD in a year or two on the inevitable double dip Goosed Edition...

Thankfully, I have never bought a copy of this so I don't feel too guilty picking it up. Although it is not one of my favorite TC films so I may still give it a miss.

Dave

 

[Paul.S]

Thx, RAH.

Will look forward to a full review to confirm the absence of supps but, if accurate--as much as I've been looking forward to having this one on the shelf (after skipping the 2-disc SD SE in anticipation of a high def release)--Par have just given me an excuse to spend my money elsewhere and simply Queue this one up at Nf. A re-release would be inevitable and there's a ton of other things to buy.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Watched it last night (ok, twice), there are no extras, not including English sountracks: DD+, DTS 6.1 Dolby TrueHD 5.1. I agree with Robert, I've never seen it look this good, and the sound was incredible.

 

[Paul.S]

Not even the Jerry, Tony and Naval reps commentary.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Mr. Harris would you happen to know if this film was shot before the introduction of T-grain films? I know they became available sometime around 86 or 87 but not sure exactly when. Being that Top Gun was shot in super 35 I'm wondering just how prominent the grain is if it used a non t grain stock.

Doug

 

[Scott Jentsch]

At the risk of angering some people with the idea, is it so wrong to look at the 2004 release as the SD extras for the 2007 HD DVD release?

Take a look at the extras that are available:

• 4 Music Videos
• TV Spots
• 6-part documentary "Danger Zone: The Making of Top Gun"
• Multi-angle storyboards with optional commentary by Director Tony Scott
• Behind-the-scenes Featurette
• Survival Training Featurette
• Tom Cruise Interviews
• Production Photography

This "extras" disc is available now at Amazon for $9.99.

While it would be wonderful if all the extras that were provided on all HD releases were in HD, many times, they are not. (Is it possible that the extra content wasn't shot on film, but on SD video?) Given that, having SD extras on an HD DVD is the same as having the SD DVD with the extras on it.

Considering that Top Gun on HD DVD is available at Amazon for $19.95, we're talking a very low priced title when compared to the more feature-laden titles.

To get Top Gun on HD DVD and get the "extras" disc (albeit in SD, but you also get a combo-like full version of the movie, complete with DTS 6.1 sound), you would be spending $29.94, which isn't all that different from many new releases, especially the combos.

So yeah, label me a heretic and don't invite me to playgroup for the next week or so, but I'm not as concerned with all the cool extras if the core delivery of the movie's picture and sound are top-notch. Bringing out movies without special features was common with DVD's introduction, too, only to see feature-laden Special Editions come out once if not twice or three times afterwards.

Top Gun on HD DVD is not being sold as a "Special Edition" or "Limited Collector's Edition" so there should be no expectation of lots of extras or new content for this release.

 

[Ron-P]

I am one who doesn't care about extras at all, I don't watch them. I'll be picking this one up for certain, a very fun popcorn movie.

 

[Paul.S]

I hear ya' Scott but, as anyone who's read the thread anticipating the Titanic SE SD DVD knows, I've long been a critic of Par's repeat offender status in these regards.

There are those who'd prefer to not have multiple copies of a movie (I'm not necessarily one of them). There are those who feel that these types of release games--in which the studio misses an excellent opportunity to create the 'definitive' home vid release of a movie--have become more blatant throughout the SD DVD era (I'm one of them).

And yeah the SD DVD is only $9.99 (even cheaper used). But it does smart a bit to have waited years for Par to finally release an anamorphic TG in I think 2004, then to not have purchased the SE for over two years because it was a safe bet that the pic would be amongst Par's early HD DVDs, to now be looking at purchasing anyway just to get supps that it's a safe surmise Par strategically, purposefully left off so they can re-release the title with them in, say, 2 years when there are more HD households.

This from the same studio that's finally giving us a Braveheart SE this fall. :rolleyes

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Yes...
butt should there be an expectation of ANY extras?
Or, new content from this new release?
We get neither.
We get nada.

LD brought in the era of extras on Home Video releases.
SD DVD, carried on that tradition.
Now the "next generation" gives us nothing.
Not an old commentary.
Not even one trailer.

Hey, if your cool with that, your cool with that.
However, where did you get the idea, after LD & SD DVD, that we shouldn't expect anything at all on a title that has previously been loaded w/extras?

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Finally got a clue to the answer to this.
With a lot of help, of coarse.

"TG" was release in 70mm & 35mm.
So there are a couple of ratios to choose from; as well as a multitude of framing possibilities.
Funny thing is, this one isn't the best choice.
My personal fave ratio (and the most "natural" of all) is & was found on the WS LD & original SD DVD release. Go figure!

 

[Clinton McClure]

I thought the framing seemed a little different in some scenes than I remembered it being.

Has anyone else noticed haloing akin to edge enhancement during the opening flight deck sequence? The rest of the movie is great but the haloing in the opening scene is a little distracting.