Special Edition Comparison: LOTR vs AOTC (1 Viewer)

[Tim Glover]

Good work Joseph and yes this was really a hard working effort on your part. A very intelligent and thoughtful read...and as some have said, I may disagree with some of your points, but who agrees with everyone all the time???
There have been many memorable dvd release dates in the past, but for me personally, Nov. 12th is my most anticipated ever....only to be bested by the release date of the original trilogy dvd's!!!!!

 

[Eujin]

I'm not a professional reviewer (should be obvious from my lack of writing style)

Joseph, methinks you're being a little too modest.
I thought your analysis was very clear, balanced and well-presented--with examples drawn from both films to illustrate your points (both technical and critical). If anything, I'd say your writing style is possessed of a more academic or analytical nature than many "professional" reviewers I've read--both online and in print. In my mind, too many DVD/film reviews today are written from the sole POV of writers who make subjective statements on artistic presentation (not technical--most professional reviews are skewed heavily in this direction) without feeling the need to back them up with any kind of substantive analysis. Great effort and I hope you continue providing thoughtful pieces like this with upcoming releases!
By the way, as a CD, do you come from an art/design or copy background? I suspect the former, but I'm often wrong.

 

[JosephMoore]

Tim,
Thanks for taking this thread in the intended spirit. I've enjoyed the lively discourse.

I think that Nov. 12th may well be the zenith of standard definition DVD. I know that's a bold statement, but there is only so much that can be done with 720x480 MPEG2. Sure, there may be a few tweaks and minor improvements to encoding and compression techniques, but for the most part, AOTC is the gold standard.

 

[JosephMoore]

Eujin,
I'm mostly a visual guy. The formal training that I have is in fine art and illustration. But over the years I've written my share of copy, as well. (Quick plug: Check out http://www.12south.com to see what my company does.)
Thanks for the encouraging comments. I've always enjoyed the art of critique and I would love to get my reviews published as a semi-professional hobby.
Even though they've both been out for awhile, I think that next I'll do "Monsters Inc. -vs- Shrek." What do you think ?

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Joseph - very well done article. By and large your remarks about the strengths and weaknesses of both franchises are well thought out.

Thanks for taking the time to share your efforts with us.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Joseph, I'd love to see that, especially from someone with a professional background in CG. Even though I write reviews myself, I'm always interested in the reviews of others, especially when (like you) they can bring a particular technical viewpoint to the table. Nice work on the above.

 

[JosephMoore]

If anyone is interested, I've posted another comparitive review, this time of Shrek and Monsters Inc.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=101729

 

[Tim Glover]

Ok Friends, since AOTC appears to be the best looking dvd yet and the Extended version of FOTR appears to be on par or at least close I need a new TV. Preferably a new 65 inch HDTV. So if any of you have an extra one laying around...send me an email!

 

[Christopher Cheadle]

Joseph:

I would like to commend you on the article posted here (like many others have). I am a professional writer by training and trade. Although I do not write film/DVD reviews, I have been frustrated for a long time by the purely subjective nature most of these reviews take. You do a great job executing what I think many film/dvd critics lack, namely, creating a good (mostly) objective take on the two films where you present both the strengths and weaknesses. It's too often that we get a critic that will, for whatever reason, decide they do not like the piece of art in question and then move on to explain how bad it is. Film, like any other piece of art, will mean different things to different people and I think, with that said, reviews of this nature serve the general public better than a purely subjective take hailing a film definitively good or bad without any kind of material to substantiate their claim (as was mentioned above).

This lengthy response serves as both a venting point for me and also as a welcome thank you for the fine work you put forth. Although I do not agree with some of your points in terms of each film (haven't seen either DVD yet), I respect your position and hope you pursue more of these reviews.

 

[Kami]

Nice article.

 

[JosephMoore]

Christopher,
Thanks for the possitive feedback.

I too have found it curious how much time professional DVD reviewers spend editorializing. By the time a film makes it to DVD there are 10's if not 100's of subjective film-critic reviews. That's not even counting all of the fan comments. If I want that type of info I can go to Yahoo! and read 20 professional critics' opinions in one fell swoop.

Now, it's impossible for opinion not to creep in, and who'd want a review totally devoid of personality, but why oh why don't they focus on the presentation ?

 

[Brent Hutto]

I think the reason they like doing reviews is to talk about their own take on the movie. So that's where they unfortunately tend to spend most of the review. Everyone wants to be a critic. But there's only so many ways to say "Looks great except for a slight trace of edge enhancement. The DTS track blows away the Dolby Digital although both will destroy your subwoofer if played at reference level".