Just WHY do people buy films on HD? (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

the aeon flux thread has intersting thoughts on why one would own a movie that is considered not good.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d.php?t=240360

 

[Bob Black]

Again, whether a movie is "good" or not is completely subjective. I haven't seen or purchased Aeon Flux, but I'm sure the movie has its share of fans. It's all opinion.

Personally, I can't stand any movies with Adam Sandler, Van Damme, or Steven Segal, to name a few, because I find them all completely talentless. But plenty of other people love these films.

 

[BrettGallman]

I guess I'm lucky in the fact that Serenity is already one of my favorite movies ever and it's available on HD-DVD. So it's a win-win situation in that it's a fantastic movie and it looks and sounds awesome. For all that's been said about the improved PQ, the improvement on the audio side of things is nearly as impressive.

That said, I'd be lying if I said that I haven't at least considered getting a couple of titles that I probably would have never bought in SD. I've resisted so far though.

 

[Paul_Stachniak]

I buy what I really like.

So far I own Apollo 13, Bourne Supremacy, Goodfellas and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

As far as I'm concerened, thats a really solid group of titles for someone who has had HD-DVD for only a month.

Could there be better, sure. Am I running out to buy Sahara cause it looks brilliant, no. There will be better. I can wait for it. I did in 1997.

 

[JediFonger]

imho, people are divided into 2 camps:
1. people who view some films as entertaining. not every film is destined to be citizen kane, casablanca, etc. people still enjoy 50 1st dates, sahara as "entertainment". some of them like adam sandler cause he cracks them up. some of them like matthew m.

2. people who view that EVERY film should strive to be citizen kane. otherwise, why bother owning a copy of it to propitiate crappy movies.

3. a/v demo purposes. who can live without films like star wars or LOTR? yet even some HT enthusiasts don't think highly of those films. do they have it? hell yeah. it's a nice tech demo.

i fall somewhere in between all 3 and take a more pragmatic approach. i do watch those said films for entertainment purposes. i own some for a/v purposes. like war of the worlds. i just watched the rise of the tripod scene yesterday. despite the rest of the movie, just being able to see that again with the sub cranked up a bit is awesome. is it a classic? no. entertaining? yes. a/v demo? totally.

i mean many of you own 5th element and stargate as well. i think those of you that own would agree that it isn't citizen kane or even star wars. is it entertaining? for some, the camp is funny. so for some people yes. is it a/v demo worthy? definitely.

 

[Jerome Grate]

IMHO, the mentality began when DVD began. When DVD was fresh and new, it gave us a better quality picture and sound over VHS and back then I thought it was the great sound of DVD that most enthusiast tried to achieve. It was sound that convinced me to go into HT. Back then most of us purchased really cheesy and campy films because of the fact that it sounded so good. Wing Commander, Godzilla, that movie with Geena Davis as a pirate (it escapes me ) were purchased because of the sound and how much it worked that system you paid so much money for.
Nowadays it's all about the video and sound but HD first has the best looking picture that far exceeds SD-DVD and now the players are available why not watch HD and push that monitor to the limits. HD is far and few between and once you watch it you really don't want to go back. Therefore you get what you can get even if the film has minimal entertainment value, the picture looks great.

 

[DeeF]

I'm not interested in most of the movies currently out on HD-DVD, and I won't buy them. I have bought Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and The Searchers, retail.

These others I have gotten used:

Lethal Weapon
The Fugitive
Syriana

for $5 each.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Geez I'd like to know where you are getting used HD-DVD's for Five Bucks

 

[Dave Moritz]

I am taking the HD plunge becasue I enjoy movies and want the best HT exsperience I can get. If freinds come over and like what they see and here thats cool too. But I do not buy componenets to impress people and I never have. I really enjoy what a good HT can do so it is allways my goal to try to acheive that goal. I have two roomates and nether one care about my HT system and I don't buy anything to try and impress ether one. I did however hook one roomate on DTS surround sound, so thats what he looks for in dvd's. They have there own small HT set up and I have my larger HDHT and Im ok with that .

If I upgrade the HD-A1 in a year or so I might let my roomate borrow it to put in his HT if he buys an HDTV if not. Heck I will just have to keep it for a back up for my main HT. While for the most part there are alot of lame HD releases out there. There are also some good films in HD I really enjoy. Thats not to say that they couldn't have better video quality its just there movies I would love to own in HD, like (Lethal Weapon, Manchurian Candidate, Unforgiven, The Fugitive, Lord Of War, Saw, Terminator 2, Full Metal Jacket, Apollo 13, Firewall, U-571, Lethal Weapon 2, Red Dragon, Spartacus, Seabiscuit, The Interpreter and the future releases like Batman Begins, Battlestar Glactica, Braveheart, The Deer Hunter, The Green Mile, King Kong, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Shawshank Redemption, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Lord Of The Rings.

What I cant stand are titles like Doom, Enter The Dragon, Dinosaur, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, Jarhead, Tomb Raider, Muriel Anderson: A Guitarscape Planet, Eight Below, Into The Blue, Serenity, Fast And The Furious 1-3, Gaxalina, Golgo, Night Of The Warewolf, The Big Hit, Ultraviolet, Species, Basic Instinct 2, RV, Out Of Sight, That's The Way Of The World, The Thing and Vengeance Of The Zombies. Are those titles supposed to make people run out and buy HD-DVD or Blu-ray?

Where are Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (granted its on the list of suposed releases on this site), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Finding Nemo, Independence Day, Harry Potter, Raider Of The Lost Ark, Mrs Doubtfire, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, Back To The Future, The Day After Tomorrow, National Treasure, The Godfather, The Patriot, Scarface, Vertigo, Schindler's List, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gone With the Wind, and Lawrence of Arabia.

So yes there is a need for better top notch titles and there are some really poor choices for HD titles that are out right now. I would love to have been in the meeting at the studio when they decided Vengeance Of The Zombies and Gaxalina would somehow attract people into buying HD players :frowning:. Its also sad that Disney is not going to release Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Deadmans Chest and Cars when they hit video. I know its obvious to most of us here at HTF but what are these studios thinking?

If they do not offer top notch titles it will not be a matter of "If you build it, they will come". I will buy good titles but I will not waste money on junk titles just to own HD titles, and I am sure most of us here will not ether!

 

[BrettGallman]

"Serenity" is the only movie I own right now, and it's my favorite movie available on the format now, so it has its fans. While I'm sure it won't drive the average joe out there to buy a player, it was a factor for me.

Also, the announcement of "The Thing" on HD-DVD was a major factor for myself. There were already a few released and announced titles that was driving me towards the edge, but "The Thing" pushed me over that edge. I think you'd be surprised by how many fans this movie has.

I do agree with your main sentiment, though. But be patient, because I'm sure studios will be rolling out the big titles, especially near the holiday season.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Sorry Brett I just personally did not see it as a film that should launch HD, and I am sure there are many people who enjoy that film very much.

I am sure there will be more titles close to Christmas but its just frustrating. There is allways a chance HD could go the way of SACD and DVD-A if there is not enough demand for HD material. Granted even if there is not enough people that would buy an HD player now. There eventually be in the next 2 - 3 years as more people purchase HDTV's and want more HD content. I can also see more HD channels on cable and satalite in the near future.

It also sucks that Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Deadmans Chest will not be seeing a HD transfer when it is released on video. I just hope that some really strong titles titles come out at the end of the year so I hope you are right Brett. Enjoy your HD player Brett

 

[BrettGallman]

No apologies needed.

Like I said, I agree with your sentiment for the most part. Especially coming from the perspective of someone who wants to see the format succeed. I think both formats need a lot of huge, big name titles to push the hardware to the general public. Stuff like Batman Begins, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and Pirates. You're right: Serenity and The Thing probably aren't likely to attract the general public (which is the point I think you're trying to make), but those titles are appealing to many of the early adopters.

 

[JediFonger]

treasure island? it's certainly no pirates of the carib =).

 

[Jerome Grate]

Treasure Island is the name of the movie, thanks JediFonger. That movie worked the heck out of the subs and some really good surrounds. Any hoot when I get into HD on DVD (HD-DVD most likely or BD) and they presented a movie like that with an immaculate picture like Ray, I'd get it again just for the video.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Are you sure you guys aren't talking about CUTTHROAT ISLAND? It was one of the first films released on DVD, and I bought it, too.

 

[JediFonger]

oops. sorry, it was cutthroad island.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0112760/

^yes it was cutthroat island. i knew it was somn island =).

 

[Jerome Grate]

BINGO THAT'S IT. The killer is I didn't even look at my collection to confirm what the name was.

 

[Tim Glover]

Yeah, I have just purchased a few titles I might have passed on. Sahara is not a great film. It's decent but from EVERYONE's accounts it looks breathtaking. So I ordered it. Good Lord I have issues.

I hope I can pass on Cutthroat Island again Larry. It's not that bad...but it's got some great audio

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Yep!!!

Phil

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I'd probably buy it again if it was released on HD DVD.