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3D Blu-ray Review Dial M for Murder 3D Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

moovtune

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I watched this over the weekend as well. On my Sharp 70" 735 I saw severe ghosting. I was tempted to switch to the 2D version but I did enjoy the 3D effect. For my setup it was the worst ghosting I've experienced in my 80 3D title collection. Watched Prometheus last night with not a ghost in sight. I'm not sure what to make of the issue. I had been anticipating more from the 50's 3D era, but am hesitant now on what to expect.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Quote:
I had been anticipating more from the 50's 3D era, but am hesitant now on what to expect.


[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]I can tell you Creature From The Black Lagoon looked flawless.[/COLOR]
 

Jon Lidolt

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moovtune said:
I watched this over the weekend as well. On my Sharp 70" 735 I saw severe ghosting. I was tempted to switch to the 2D version but I did enjoy the 3D effect. For my setup it was the worst ghosting I've experienced in my 80 3D title collection. Watched Prometheus last night with not a ghost in sight. I'm not sure what to make of the issue. I had been anticipating more from the 50's 3D era, but am hesitant now on what to expect.
The ghosting in Dial M for Murder has not been caused by a poor transfer and not because this is a 50's era production. You'll notice that most of the ghosting occurs when a male character is wearing a black suit jacket along with a stark white shirt. It's the liquid crystal glasses that are at fault, nothing else. When you are viewing the right eye image the crystals will pass the light through to the right eye & darken to block the light to the left eye. Unfortunately, the liquid crystals can't totally block out the brightest parts of the image. If the glasses were improved, ghosting would no longer be a problem.
Anyone with a system that utilizes polaroid glasses, will notice very little ghosting. They, will however, have to put up with seeing scan lines since each eye sees only 1/2 of the lines that make up the picture. So there you are, there is a choice: noticeable scan lines or a bit of ghosting now and then.
 

Craig Beam

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Jon Lidolt said:
The ghosting in Dial M for Murder has not been caused by a poor transfer and not because this is a 50's era production. You'll notice that most of the ghosting occurs when a male character is wearing a black suit jacket along with a stark white shirt. It's the liquid crystal glasses that are at fault, nothing else. When you are viewing the right eye image the crystals will pass the light through to the right eye & darken to block the light to the left eye. Unfortunately, the liquid crystals can't totally block out the brightest parts of the image. If the glasses were improved, ghosting would no longer be a problem.
Anyone with a system that utilizes polaroid glasses, will notice very little ghosting. They, will however, have to put up with seeing scan lines since each eye sees only 1/2 of the lines that make up the picture. So there you are, there is a choice: noticeable scan lines or a bit of ghosting now and then.
I wouldn't mind "a bit" of ghosting. What I saw was a WHOLE DAMN LOT of ghosting.
 

Jon Lidolt

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Craig Beam said:
I wouldn't mind "a bit" of ghosting. What I saw was a WHOLE DAMN LOT of ghosting.
To be quite honest about it... so did I. Hugo has ghosting in a few spots too, but not nearly as much as Dial M for Murder. Maybe if bright white areas of the image were toned down somewhat during the digitizing of these movies it would reduce the ghosting to a more tolerable level for those of us viewing through liquid crystal glasses since ghosting only occurs when there are extreme contrasts... such as black dinner jacket worn over a very bright white shirt. Check this out in the Hitchcock 3-D film.
 

MarkA

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This says it also includes the 2D version, but it is only one disc and I don't see that option in the menu. How do you access this?
 

Gary16

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MarkA said:
This says it also includes the 2D version, but it is only one disc and I don't see that option in the menu.  How do you access this?
 
The 2D version is on the same disc. In my case when I put it in my non-3D blu-ray player I got a message that said it could not play the movie in 3D and did I want to watch it in 2D. I clicked yes and there it was. I must say that overall the 2D looked great and has depth despite being flat. I did see some of the ghosting that others talked about but only in scenes that were still part of an optical (dissolve, etc.). In the non-effect scenes (thankfully most of the movie) the color and detail were terrific. I enjoyed the grain too.
 

MarkA

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Well, I hadn't pressed the "play" button and the option is given there. I'll first watch it in 3D.
Thanks
 

Brandon Conway

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On a 2D only player (or a 3D player not connected to a 3D TV) it will have the brief card mentioned by Gary upon loading the disc; click Enter and the disc will advance to the Main Menu, where selecting Play will start the 2D movie.

On a 3D player the disc will automatically advance to the Main Menu, where selecting Play will provide an option to watch 3D or 2D.
 

JohnMor

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So, I pulled this out of my collection to watch tonight (in 2D). I'd read all the comments about the menu music, so I thought I was prepared. OMG, WTF???!!!! I was SO not prepared. That was the worst menu I have ever seen/heard. How the hell did that ever get signed off on?

The good news (for me) is, after all these home video incarnations I've bought and watched, I doubt I will ever spin this film again unless I upgrade to a 3D tv. One of my absolute least favorite Hitchcock's. Not from a filmmaking perspective, but just the source material. Beyond creaky and ridiculous, with perhaps the dimmest, slowest heroine to ever grace a stage or a movie screen.
 

Hollywood Boy

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This widescreen version will take some getting used to for me. I'm used to watching the Full Screen 3D version (from japanese VHD) and the video missing from the top & bottom of the screen in this 3D Blu-ray release is somewhat distracting to me. I keep noticing the cropped off lampshades, suitcoats, etc.
One scene that comes to mind takes place in the livingroom. Margot and Tom are seated and talking. Margot's hand is resting on an elegant endtable in the extreme foreground, showing off that beautiful ring in stunning 3D! Unfortunately, in this 3D Blu-ray release Margot's hand is cropped off at the wrist LOL! The endtable is gone too. It's a shame because this shot was obviously set up for the 3D effect. I think the missing 3D info being cropped from the top/bottom (as well as a little from the left/right) diminishes the 3D effect somewhat.
MY SETUP IS:
ViewSonic Pro8500 DLP 3D Ready projector (768x1024, 5000 lumens, 4900:1 contrast)
ViewSonic VP3D1 Processor (converts 3D Blu-rays to 120Hz 720p 3D)
Sony S770 3D Blu-ray player
The PJ has "3D DLP Link" technology which shoots 120 white flashes at the 95" screen, which then reflects the signal to the shutterglasses. The 3D video and shutterglasses are always in perfect sync. There is no ghosting whatsovever from any video processing delay since the glasses are in sync with the screen, not a seperate IR transmitter signal. "Dial M for Murder" looks great in 3D in this respect with no ghosting on my display setup.
 

Bob Furmanek

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If the director felt her ring or the end table were important, he would have included them in his widescreen composition.
 

lark144

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Bob Furmanek said:
If the director felt her ring or the end table were important, he would have included them in his widescreen composition.
As someone mentioned in a thread on another film-releated site yesterday, Hitchcock continued using the 3D widescreen compositions he initiated in DIAL M in his next film in 2D, REAR WINDOW, where once again the edges of lamps and Grace Kelly's hands are cropped. Since the widescreen compositions set in the apartment in both REAR WINDOW & DIAL M or so similar, one must assume that the cropping of lamps and hands in DIAL M was done on purpose.
For me, the widescreen compositions in DIAL M were a revelation, specifically because there was a tension between the extreme depth of field and the cropping of objects on the edges of the frame that made me want to see more. For me, this increased the tension and suspense in the beginning of the film, which is not present when DIAL M is projected Academy.
Somewhere in Hitchcock's book long interview with Francois Truffaut, he states that his method of filmmaking is akin to a mother telling her child a bedtime story and then pausing in the middle so that the child says, "Mommy, what happened next?" One might argue that Hitchcock's manner of cropping lamps and rings in DIAL M is another way to make the audience ask "What happened next?"
 

SAM33

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Finally got a chance to watch this last night. I was afraid from some reviews I might find this disappointing, but the bottom line is I ultimately found it very colorful and detailed -
I LOVED IT!
You have to know how to optimize your set-up, something I suspect many reviewers don't bother to do.
I have a JVC D-ILA projector, which can be more prone to ghosting than a DLP, but has a superior picture for 2D in my opinion. You must have your image on the brightest possible setting, especially if you're projecting large, which I do, 10 feet wide here.
At first I found the picture somewhat dull and drab, but boosting my color levels and switching the gamma settings fixed that. Next, on my projector, it has to warn up to minimize the ghosting, which was pronounced for the first 20 - 30 minutes since I didn't t give it a pre-warm up (too anxious!)
But sure enough, once it warmed up, almost zero ghosting!
I actually went back and re-watched it till the intermission again just to see the first part optimized. The large scale lets you see all the details and clever use of 3D staging Hitchcock executed so well here. Grace is lovely in that red dress, and both she and Milland give great, nuanced performances. Look at the expression change on her face after he kisses her goodbye for what he hopes will be the very last time, and the subtle malevolence of his explanation to Dawson of the whole murder plot.
I certainly don't find this "lesser Hitchcock" at all, I think the plot is right in his wheelhouse. And the 3D is NO gimmick here either, rather a brilliant device to make a mostly one-set film into a beautifully engaging warren of new angles and configurations.
If you're a classic 3D fan, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Bring on the rest - if HOUSE OF WAX looks this good, I'll be in heaven.
 

phillyrobt

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Has anyone watched the featurettes? The original WB press release says it includes 3d: A brief history but the only feature I saw listed on the 3d blu-ray copy for sale at FYE only lists the Hitchcock feature...thanks!
 

lark144

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phillyrobt said:
Has anyone watched the featurettes? The original WB press release says it includes 3d: A brief history but the only feature I saw listed on the 3d blu-ray copy for sale at FYE only lists the Hitchcock feature...thanks!
The only extra (in addition to the trailer) is the same 20 minute featurette about Hitchcock & 3D featuring Peter Bogdanovich & Robert Osborne that was on the DVD from 2004. It focuses much more on Hitchcock's making of DIAL M & how it relates to his other films than an examination of 3D in general, though it does touch on that a bit.
 

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