Most Disappointing Transfer ? (1 Viewer)

[Anthony Neilson]

Ha! I hadn't even heard there was anything wrong with RIO BRAVO! Please don't tell me - ignorance is bliss. I suppose it all varies, too, according to your love for the film in question; and what access you've had beforehand. I watch the LOTR debate with some ambivalence as, truth be told, I've always found them widly over-rated anyway; comfort food, certainly, but not fine-dining. I don't think Peter Jackson is God and so I'm not at all surprised at the heavy-handed use of digital wash. Most of his films have their excesses. However, I'm ecstatic to have my bare-bones copy of the original TAKING OF PELHAM 123 - a film which I've only seen on TV or in non-anamorphic form. I don't care if it's a bit dark, or a bit basic - I'm just really pleased to have it; all the more so because I thought it'd never happen. With LOTR, I wonder if some good old-fashioned "spoiling" hasn't gone on. Jackson went so overboard in giving its many rabid fans every last scrap of detail on its making (both before and after production) that now they feel an entitlement to their very own customised version of the film. (Perhaps this is the future - just give them the rushes and a bunch of post-production tools; let them make their own and argue that out, ad ad ad nauseam.) But I'm the same when it comes to the films I really love. So I sympathise over DON'T LOOK NOW, John - I'm quaking in my metaphorical boots. It's in my top ten movies of all time and I sooooo want this edition to be good. But I've seen what pro-B has said, and I respect the good Dr as not being one of the loonies; I've also seen some screengrabs which make it look almost posterised, and I'm worried. The fact that you like it is a comfort, though, John. I know you don't make mountains out of molehills, nor vice-versa. I shall share my opinions with you, once I have vetted them for joy-diminishment. And my apologies to the OP - I didn't mean to hijack the thread. Well....maybe a little.

 

[John Hodson]

I shall share my opinions with you, once I have vetted them for joy-diminishment.

Please do; and don't spare me...

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Yeah, all the negativity can get a little bit depressing.


For myself, if it's a "must have" title (like Dark City, Amadeus and Almost Famous) and is still clearly better than the old DVD, I'll just get it and be satisfied enough that it's a sizeable margin better than it has ever looked on disc, especially if I can find a good deal for it.


At some point, one just have to figure out where to draw the line on compromises and enjoy what one has or can actually acquire. And let someone else indulge in all the negativity instead...


_Man_

 

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by JohnMor

Absolutely spot on!


I actually find it easier these days to tune out the "static" and just enjoy everything from my own perspective. The extremes and the hyperbole actually made that easier. I got so tired and bored with everything having to be A or Z, black or white, complete success or unmitigated disaster. There's a whole universe of in-betweens, and I've learned to basically trust my eyes and opinions and leave it at that. It's MY money I'm spending, not anyone else's. It can be interesting to see what others experience, but it no longer affects my enjoyment (or lack thereof) of a disc.


Also, seeing the extreme entitlement issues that have gotten so out of hand helped me put thing in perspective as well. I'm far more grateful for what I've got and no longer worry about what's not out, or what's not out "perfectly." Life is too short. And getting shorter EVERY day.

Great post, John! I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments and perspective.


People have become so afraid of the greys in life, but really that's where most of it is, so why not explore it, exploit it and embrace it as much as you can.


In the words of author and educator Claude T. Bissell: "I prefer complexity to certainty, cheerful mysteries to sullen facts."

 

[Anthony Neilson]

Please do; and don't spare me...

I've had a look at about twenty minutes of DON'T LOOK NOW, my attention now annoyingly focused on problems. I'm watching it on a 65" plasma and - if truth be told - I would say it has had some DNR applied and has then been artificially sharpened to compensate, though I think it has been quite tastefully done in comparison to the likes of PREDATOR. Although the picture is clean, I'd say there isn't a lot of fine detail below the surface appearance. I have seen DON'T LOOK NOW screened (in the presence of Roeg and Allan Scott, no less) and though I wouldn't put much weight on my memory, my recollection is of a bit more grain than is evident here. However - what is indisputable is that it looks better than the existing DVD, that I'm seeing none of the "posterised" effect on the screengrabs and that - correcting the most serious deficiency with the dvd release - the sound is VASTLY improved. Add to that some fascinating extras and the best (and creepiest) menu of the year and I think we have what I was talking about before - a solid and definite progression in presentation. It can be bettered, I would say - though only Criterion could be guaranteed to do so. But if this was to be its last iteration, I would be content with what's here. Let me add the caveat that I am no expert on the technology of HD mastering, so my DNR diagnosis may be entirely wrong - or that it may have been applied for all kinds of good reasons. But if we are to believe that Blu-ray is still struggling to gain traction with the wider public, we're just going to have to live with the fact that - a fair percentage of the time - companies are going to employ DNR at various levels of judiciousness. The only marketing story for catalogue material on Blu is that it can make an Old Movie look like a New Movie; like it was "made yesterday!". "Preserves the original grain!" just isn't going to cut it. So the best product is probably going to be seen at two ends of the spectrum - the most prestigious premium releases, aimed at cine-snobs like us; and, ironically, at the bottom end where they just slap stuff out, sans restoration but also sans manipulation. It'll be the middle-tier product like this that's regularly problematic. But DON'T LOOK NOW is - despite appearing in this thread - very far from a disaster. If you want to see a true disaster - and maybe to get this thread back on track - take a look at the German BD of SCANNERS!! http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleiche/index.php?vergleich=scanners Now that is a disaster - and one of the very few instances where I can see almost no upgrade over the dvd.

 

[John Hodson]

Thank you Anthony.

 

[Scott Calvert]

John,

 

But, why John?  If you're happy with the video and audio presentations, what does it matter if people, you really don't know, think differently?  IMO, this hobby is a very personal one and the enjoyment of it comes from what you experience in your own HT setup, not from what others might be experiencing with not only different equipment, but eyes, ears, expectations and any other personal baggage you want to add to it.
 

 

For real. Why would a grown man get depressed about any of this or let it bother him in any way? These are just movies, who cares what other people think? Everyone is allowed to have an opinion. If it bothers you so much it's probably time to put down the Stuart Smalley self-help books and go outside. Maybe do some manual labor or something.

 

[OliverK]

Ha! I hadn't even heard there was anything wrong with RIO BRAVO! Please don't tell me - ignorance is bliss.

That is because there is not really that much wrong with it. Grain is diminished to some degree and with it a bit of detail but there are many movies that fared worse on Blu-Ray.

 

[John Hodson]

Thank you Scott; sterling advice. Anything else? Cold showers? Maybe join a gun club? Have you ever thought of working for the Samaritans? I have seen the light...

 

[Anthony Neilson]

Don't be too harsh on yourself, John. I'm the same. If someone says to you that a BD is DNR'd to death or, heaven forfend, bathed in a blanket green-tint, then how are you going to get that out of your mind for that first viewing? Doesn't really matter if you agree or not - it still diminishes your enjoyment. Imagine if there was some guy approaching people in the cinema queue with little pearls fof wisdom, like - "the bulb they're using is too dim" or "check it out - the audio's out of sync; only by a few milliseconds but it's definitely out". No matter how independently-minded you are, someone's raised that doubt. If it's there, now you're guaranteed to notice it and it'll bug the s**t out of you; if you can't see it, you'll start to wonder if your faculties are lacking in some way. It's human nature. I think we just have to learn how to say "I see the flaws; yet I am still content". After all, how many of the films you now love did you first see on a small TV screen? In fact, isn't that a rather nice progression - oftentimes, our first viewing of a film is the optimal presentation - it's downhill from there; nowadays, there are some vintage films that are improving very time I see them! Last year, for instance, I saw THE WIZARD OF OZ for about the fifteenth time... in the best quality I have ever seen it! A linear progression that makes much more sense, right? How's that for positive thinking?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by John Hodson

Thank you Scott; sterling advice. Anything else? Cold showers? Maybe join a gun club? Have you ever thought of working for the Samaritans?

I have seen the light...

It's just noise John.






Crawdaddy

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by OliverK



That is because there is not really that much wrong with it. Grain is diminished to some degree and with it a bit of detail but there are many movies that fared worse on Blu-Ray.

It's not just that as others feel it suffers the same fate as The Searchers in regard to the color brown.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Guess I'll just need to put some blue filters on my glasses when I finally watch The Searchers and Rio Bravo (on BD) for my first time ever then...


_Man_