More misery? Dangerous Liaisons on Blu (1 Viewer)

[Anthony Neilson]

I genuinely hate to add to the growing mountain of botched HD jobs but there seems to be a small but significant problem with DANGEROUS LIAISONS. First off, the BD is an undeniably vast improvement on the nasty-looking DVD. It looks about as good as I'd expect without meticulous work. However.... and this is based on a quick chapter skip... when I hit chapter 6 (when Malkovich visits the peasants) there is some MAJOR picture instability. At first I thought it was just camera judder but it soon became apparent that something's gone wrong in the transfer process. The whole picture is vibrating up and down. As you watch it, you feel a bit nauseous; looking at the bottom of the screen you can see just how dramatic the movement is. This movement lasts through this chapter and into the next but then it seems to calm down. I'll try and find the time to watch it in full and update on any other problems. I checked against the dvd just in case I was developing a brain tumour. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on whether you value me above your Blu-ray discs) I am not. There is no such judder on the dvd. I tried the disc in two players - a PS3 and a Panasonic standalone. Unless I've got a dodgy copy, something's up. It might be wise to suspend your pre-orders because this looks replacement-worthy. Anyone else seen/ got this and would care to verify/ refute?

 

[Anthony Neilson]

Ok so - there's finally a review out that addresses the issue I raised but finds no problem. I re-checked the disc and I have to say that I'm still seeing the instability. It is shorter-lived than I first thought and only afflicts the beginning of Chapter 6 but there is most definitely an "oscillation" in the picture. I don't know what's causing the discrepancy between the reviewer's copy and mine. I did seem to get my copy very early. Even so, I'd be very surprised if this was a disc pressing issue causing movement within the frame; though if anyone can explain how this might be the case, I'd be interested to know. I'm watching on a 65" screen, so I don't know if screen size would be a factor in noticing it. But this is a small issue and I slightly regret suggesting a holdback on pre-orders. That was over-dramatic and based on my initial disappointment. The quality of the disc overall outweighs the brief picture instability. That said, if you're a stickler for pefection you might want to wait for another opinion.