HTF REVIEW: "Black Hawk Down" (1 Viewer)

[Sarah Temple]

you know, i really didnt like black hawk down that much. im sure im not alone on this... i just thought there wasnt enough character development and a little too much action. the actual technical aspects of the film were done very well though. the cinematography and editing both stood out the entire movie. but i thought the actual plot was a little confusing since i didnt really know who was dying....

 

[Bill J]

i thought the actual plot was a little confusing since i didnt really know who was dying....

I think that is one of the main points of the film. It is meant to be confusing, just like the actual event.

 

[Dave H]

Finally got a chance to watch it tonight. Video transfer is excellent. 5.1 track is very good, but certainly no Saving Private Ryan (DTS). I would even say Phantom Menace is better.

 

[clay f]

i doubt that will be a problem at all. just take a look at saving private ryan. that movie was also very long and had both a DD 5.1 and a DTS and both were very good. another good example is gladiator. that one was long too and had a DD 5.1 and a DTS 6.1

 

[Wes]

take a look at saving private Ryan. that movie was also very long and had both a DD 5.1 and a DTS

The DD 5.1 and dts on SPR was not on the same disc, The dts had dts and DD 2.0!

I listened to Black Hawk then put in SPR dts and was blown away buy how much better SPR was. And also compared Courage under fire DD and DTS and for the most part it was more on line with Black Hawk. alot of the gun fire on BHD just was lacking in bass and the surrounds could have been used more. The choppers in Courage Under Fire had very little bass, not too real sounding.

Wes

 

[Eugene Hsieh]

Hmmm... Had I not known of the special edition I would have bought this.

Now as it stands it's gonna be a rental, and I'll buy the Special Edition later.

Duh. That post was from me, and I totally forgot about it, and bought the standard version yesterday. I guess I'll return it and rent the movie on the weekend - haven't seen it yet.

By the way, just out of interest's sake, how big is this disc, 7.5 GB? What about the bitrate? (imdb.com claims it's a single layer disc, but I believe that's incorrect.)

I'm just wondering if they didn't already encode the DVD with some breathing room in terms of both bitrate and space on disc and when they do the new special edition if they're just going to remove a foreign language DD track and add the DTS and commentary. Then the new extras are just going to go on another disc or two.

 

[Ron-P]

I thought the gun fire was excellent. The sound effects were very accurate. You do not get deep bass from rifles.
Watched it twice this weekend. Damn fine war film, better than SPR in my book. Although, the M1 Garand action scenes in SPR are still some of my top favorites.
If a dts track is included with the SE it will be really interesting to compare the two.
Peace Out~

 

[Eugene Hsieh]

You do not get deep bass from rifles.

Good point. Deep bass is not always better or more accurate. Of course, I wouldn't know, having never seen the movie and I have never been in a war.

 

[Ron-P]

I've never been in a war either, but I do own many guns and rifles. When standing next to someone you do not hear a big boom. The rifle action in BHW is very realistic as is the M1 Garand action in SPR. I own an M1 and they nailed that to a tee in SPR, even the 'ping' when the clip is ejected after he 8th round.
Peace Out~

 

[DarrenA]

The rifle action in BHW is very realistic as is the M1 Garand action in SPR. I own an M1 and they nailed that to a tee in SPR, even the 'ping' when the clip is ejected after he 8th round.

And do you know why the sound was so accurate in SPR? Read on...

...from the Associated Press

The gunfire heard in 'Saving Private Ryan' is real - but special-effects technicians had to travel from Hollywood to a northeast Georgia farm to find it.

Gary Rydstrom, special-effects director for the realistic World War II movie, spurned the one major company in Hollywood that provides guns for productions because its firearms only shoot blanks.

He put an ad seeking the real thing on the Internet - and that led him to Kevin Brittingham, who owns Advanced Armaments Corp. in Lawrenceville.

Brittingham has an extensive collection of World War II-era guns, including a Browning automatic rifle, a Thompson machine gun and an S18-1000 20-millimeter antitank rifle.
The guns range in price from $3,000 to $15,000 each."Blanks don't sound the same," Brittingham said. "It's a much wimpier sound. Most people can't tell, but people who know about guns or were in the war could tell the difference."

Brittingham - who still doesn't know who gave his name to the moviemakers - called two friends to spend one Saturday morning late last year shooting for Rydstrom's technicians.

The technicians wired Brittingham's family farm near Bethlehem with $150,000 worth of recording equipment. They had Brittingham and his friends fire from about 150 yards out, beginning with short bursts and moving to longer ones. Microphones were placed on the ground at 25- and 50-foot intervals and behind targets.

The group fired into mud, dirt, water and steel to achieve a myriad of sound effects for the movie, which is being hailed by critics and veterans for its realism. They shot over water and near trees. "A bullet makes a very distinctive sound when it passes trees," Brittingham said.

After the shooting session, the technicians sent Brittingham a compact disc of the gunfire. He recognized his work when he saw the movie the day it opened. "In the first scene in the movie, I recognized it right away," he said. "It was phenomenal."

 

[Ron-P]

Excellent little read Darren, thanks.
Peace Out~

 

[Kami]

I liked the film but I don't like it enough to buy the SE...and since I found this version for a mere $19.99 Canadian, I couldn't help but pick it up. Not my favorite war movie, but it's up there.

 

[Wes]

I do not have extensive experience with rifles but I do know if I'm standing behind or to the side of a deer rifle or my brothers AK it will hurt your ears. What I hear on BHD sounds more like 22 cal. on alot of the gun fire. I'm not saying there should be deep bass but more impact from the shock wave!

" Brittingham said. "It's a much wimpier sound.

Wes

 

[Ron-P]

Turn up the volume Wes, then you'll feel the impact from the shock wave . I have a deer rifle and an AK. If your standing within 5' sure, you'll feel it, but any farther, espically with an AK or M-16 your just going to hear it. Now the scenes with the .50 caliber, those had some solid mid-bass impact.
Peace Out~

 

[YANG]

Just got my copy of B.H.D last night...an edited version that is.
Had posted my view on the release quality,if you guys are interested,read it at the REGIONAL forum.

 

[StevenB]

You have got to get the DTS version. It is simply awesome. The sound envelopes you. It will make you feel like part of the movie/war. Get it now!!!
Steve
P.S. For info on the DTS version, drop me an email babe,

 

[John P Grosskopf]

I too agree that the DD track was weak. I was definately expecting more dynamics in the Audio dept. The choppers, gun blasts, and firing just didn't have that punch and authority that I was expecting. Hopefully the DTS track will make up for this and sound close to what SPR sounded like to us.

Can't say I agree here, as I find the DD track on BHD to be excellent with tons of dynamics and a realistic surround mix full of directional cues. I'm very happy with the disc except that is has unneeded extras that could be removed to improve an already excellent video transfer, especially since a special edition with tons of extras has already been announced.

 

[YANG]

You guys are talking about a DTS version which is not available in the STATES?!!
Is it a legit copy?

 

[Bryant Trew]

While I thought the video was very good and the audio for the most part was alright, I don't think the audio track is anywhere near reference quality! The bass was not very prominent and the volume level was definately set to low. For me it drives me nuts in a modern film to have gun shots with very little ummmph behind them (as is the case in reality) as well as helicopters that lack ground shaking bass (as witnessed on the DTS DVD of Courage Under Fire). Other forums like AVS have posts with similar findings as I have so it's certainly not just me and has me puzzled why those here don't seem to have a problem with the audio.

I agree, the sound was good, more on the lines of subtle. It definitely isn't reference class.

 

[Steve K.H.]

Well, being that this has been revived from June, I figured I would add my two cents...

Transfer... The black levels are amazing on this transfer, perhaps too much. This could be a product of having to push the black on other transfers in my settings, so when you finally get a film that transferred properly, it's overly dark.

Audio... As far as LFE goes, the chopper scenes hurt the ears, had to dial down the SVS... a real thump factor.

Disturbing... definitely, but geez, how about "We Were Soldiers"?

Rewatchability... Our family continues to watch this film and see "new" items. I find the initial character development of the supporting cast is so large, that you have difficulty in identifying who was who during all of the mayhem. On subsequent screenings, there's a lot of "oh, that's the guy that..."

The Politics... I won't go there other than to say, "the message was delivered" (similar to We Were Soldiers)

Too bad it wasn't initially released with a DTS version... when they do, it will be on our shelf.