Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about…™ The HD to Blu-ray upgrade saga: Part 6 - Babel – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Babel, a 2006 production, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose current film, Bardo, was one of those early HD discs.

I've now replaced it with a Blu-ray c. 2017, and generally it appears fine. Going in, one should recognize that the film was shot in both 35 as well as 16mm, so grain structure will vary, even whem viewed through the optics of a 2k DI.

Color and overall resolution is fine, as are black levels.

I'll not get into the specifics of the film, but it's worth investigating, if you've missed it.

Decent cast, led by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Beautifully shot by Rodrigo Prieto.

Image – 4

Audio – 5

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from HD or DVD - Yes

Highly Recommended

RAH

 

[usrunnr]

This is one of my favorite films. We saw it in a theater when issued, and I have the Blu-ray, the soundtrack, and two books, one a coffee table size book, and another promotional book for Academy Consideration.

It's Mr. Pitt's finest performance, as good as "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood". However, there are numerous fine performances throughout this episodic film, which follows the journey of a gun, from Japan, the middle east, Mexico, and around the world. It's cinematography, direction and editing is unmatched.

That said, in talking to many friends, I've never found one who agreed with the above, if they have heard of or seen the film at all. One friend did wish that one particular segment was more developed (the Japanese segment). This is not a spoiler. Giving nothing away.

Thank you Mr. Harris. Now I'm going to have to get that disc out and watch it again. And listen to the soundtrack.

Inarritu rules.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

...directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose current film, Nightmare Alley adds to his wonderful CV...

The new "Nightmare Alley" is directed by Guillermo del Toro.

I had the pleasure of seeing "Babel" at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater a number of years ago. It was a terrific presentation.

 

[Robert Harris]

The new "Nightmare Alley" is directed by Guillermo del Toro.

I had the pleasure of seeing "Babel" at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater a number of years ago. It was a terrific presentation.

Correct. Fingers typing vs mind. He was thanked on NA.

 

[JoshZ]

RAH, this series of posts from you is a little confusing. What "HD" source are you upgrading from?

 

[Worth]

RAH, this series of posts from you is a little confusing. What "HD" source are you upgrading from?

I think HD-DVD was mentioned in one of the earlier posts.

 

[Robert Harris]

I think HD-DVD was mentioned in one of the earlier posts.

The Red HD, as opposed to Blu

 

[B-ROLL]

RAH, this series of posts from you is a little confusing. What "HD" source are you upgrading from?

... give or take !

 

[JoshZ]

OK, so more of a lateral transition rather than "upgrade," as the discs were released from the same master and at the same time.

 

[B-ROLL]

OK, so more of a lateral transition rather than "upgrade," as the discs were released from the same master and at the same time.

...not always at the same time. Some of the Universal HD-DVDs have been released as Blu-Rays by KINO

 

[Robert Harris]

Very difficult to tell the history of every master, as many were prepared at 1080 level, and then softened or degrained when used for DVDs.

 

[JoshZ]

...not always at the same time. Some of the Universal HD-DVDs have been released as Blu-Rays by KINO

OK, fair. But that's not the case with Babel or some of the other titles RAH has recently started threads in this series for (The Untouchables, Sahara). Those had simultaneous - or near simultaneous - releases on HD DVD and Blu-ray from the originating studios.

 

[Worth]

Some of those HD-DVDs were better than their blu-ray counterparts. It's been a long time since I had a working HD-DVD player, but I remember The Thing looking superior to the first blu-ray release.

 

[Robert Harris]

Some of those HD-DVDs were better than their blu-ray counterparts. It's been a long time since I had a working HD-DVD player, but I remember The Thing looking superior to the first blu-ray release.

Quite correct. Some were superior.

 

[Bartman]

All Region A Blu-ray versions of Babel appear to be from the same 2006 MPEG2 master. Would a remaster with a more recent codec (MPEG4 AVC?) and higher bit rate provide better picture quality?
Is a remaster available in other regions?

 

[Lord Dalek]

You might be able to get a smidge more information from a new encode but you also have to remember that Babel's a 15 year old 2K DI and is already pretty brickwalled.

As for the film itself, it is by far the weakest of the films produced by the Three Amigos that year and I am perpetual disgusted that it completely overshadowed Children of Men come awards time.

 

[Bartman]

You might be able to get a smidge more information from a new encode but you also have to remember that Babel's a 15 year old 2K DI and is already pretty brickwalled.

As for the film itself, it is by far the weakest of the films produced by the Three Amigos that year and I am perpetual disgusted that it completely overshadowed Children of Men come awards time.

Japan (A) and German/Norwegian (B) Blu-rays used MPEG4 AVC but with non-English subtitles, so they are not a purchase option for me. I'm unsure whether anyone anywhere has done a comparison of regions?
I like both Children Of Men and Babel, both have picture quality problems and I have not upgraded from DVD yet.