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The Dark Knight Specs (2 Viewers)

Brent M

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If this cover is real then those specs that were originally posted are indeed correct. The special features are VERY disappointing(no need to see those History Channel docs again), but the movie was so damn good that I can forgive the lack of good bonus material. Shame there isn't a tribute to Ledger or anything that focuses on his brilliant work in the film.

 

Nick Martin

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Special features "May be in High Definition"

"Audio standards may vary"

Never has a cover showed such uncertainty in its specs, because whoever made it DOESN'T KNOW and had to guess!

No mention of the shifting IMAX/anamorphic AR, no mention of BD-Live...

Batman Begins, along with all WB titles go into detail and name every extra, whereas this doesn't do that at all.

And you think this cover is real?

You must be JOKING.

:D

At least this mentions IMAX and BD-Live:

 

TonyD

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YES!

also the specs on the blu -ray of speed racer say "may be in hd" for special features.
i'll see if i can find the exact wording.

here it is.....

in the grid listing for special features we see that for
video: "May be in standard definition"
audio: "Audio standards may vary"
 

Brent M

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Um, that's why I said "if this cover is real". Just posting what I found on another forum.
 

TonyD

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hmm thats weird Mats' post wasnt there when i posted my link.
and i just got the email notification a minute ago. for mats' post
 

oscar_merkx

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I am really looking forward to this.

Looks like they are including the Gotham Tonight videos. Interesting
 

John Swarce

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So, I read on TheDigitalBits.com that the BD of The Dark Knight will be the IMAX version... "For the Blu-ray Disc however, while most of the film will also be presented in the 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio, the scenes that were specifically shot in IMAX format will be presented at 1.78:1, which will fill the frame and will thus recreate the IMAX experience at home. This is not via seamless branching (you can't turn it off)."
Why does this bother me? Because I zoom the 2.40:1 image from my projector to fill my 2.35:1 screen. The 1.78:1 image will be outside of my screen dimensions. This sucks for me and anybody else with this screen setup. I will probably have to settle for the SD version of this movie!

This should have been done by seamless branching....
--John
 

ATimson

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Except you're not losing anything if you cut off that material above/below the 2.35:1 line--it was already cut off in theaters, and will be cut off on the SD-DVD.
 

Nick Martin

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That's not entirely true, because if you did a straight crop of the IMAX scenes certain things (Batman's head in the Sears Tower shot among them) would be gone.
 

Inspector Hammer!

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Anyone who knows me even a little bit here knows that i'm all about maintaining the OAR of any film.

Having said that i'm wrestling with this one for mainly one reason, i'm afraid the jumping from 2.40:1 to 1.78:1 will remove my attention from the film. It seems that it would be pretty jarring with the film switching back and forth like that.

Again, they're maintaining the OAR of the IMAX dimensions and I appreciate that but I don't want to sacrifice the immersive experience of watching the film, either.

Also, I don't know what the bits means when it says "will thus recreate the IMAX experience at home"? I don't know about anyone else but I don't have a 3-story screen in my living room lol. It will recreate the IMAX ratio yes but it will not recreate the experience i'm sure.

Maybe it won't be as bad as that and it will be fine but i'm just thinking ahead, that's all. In the end I applaud them for doing this, they took the time to think about the integrity of both theatrical and IMAX ratios and you'll never hear me slamming a studio for that. :emoji_thumbsup:
 

Roger_R

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Have to hold something back for the inevitable special edition.
htf_images_smilies_smile.gif
 

Nick Martin

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I'm sure we all have our preference in terms of which aspect ratio we enjoy over another, and I prefer the HD 1.78:1 /theatrical 1.85:1 AR.

I find that with those two being so close, it's easier (for me) to process everything happening on screen without having to look around to specific areas, something I find myself doing (and missing something as a result if something is happening elsewhere on screen) watching a 2.35:1 or 2.40:1 film. That opinion is based purely on theatrical viewings.

At home, of course that doesn't become an issue though I'm sure that one thing that will annoy me about the shifting AR will be the ghost images of the black borders on the plasma when viewing the IMAX stuff.
 

Josh Steinberg

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I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw the film in IMAX (I had already caught the regular 35mm version a couple times) but I was worried about the aspect ratio changes being jarring or taking me out of the film as you described. Oddly enough, for me, the result was the exact opposite.

The way that it's shot, there are a few sequences that are entirely in IMAX, like the opening bank heist, that were absolutely spectacular in the IMAX-sized frame. I've seen the Blu-Ray release of that sequence on the Begins disc and I think the look and feel of it carried over particularly well.

There are also a bunch of single shots in the film that were in IMAX, establishing shots, exteriors, aerial shots. These are the ones where I was more worried about being pulled out of the film; I figured with a full sequence, after a second or two I'd be over it. Again, my experience was opposite what I expected: the larger IMAX-sized exterior and aerial shots made the world within the film seem absolutely giant, and cutting to the 35mm footage actually made me feel like I was now being drawn into this world.

(A perfect example of this was the Hong Kong sequence; we first see Hong Kong in IMAX, we see Fox landing in IMAX and walking into the LSI building in IMAX, but when it cuts to Fox meeting with Lau in a restaurant area, it's regular 35mm. And it actually makes sense, because this is a little scene with two people talking, and the transition just works right; then, when we see Batman standing on the top of the Hong Kong skyline preparing to jump, it switches back to IMAX and we're again reminded of how much larger than life Batman is.)

I know it might not be for everyone, and I completely agree that seamless branching should have been used to give the viewer the choice. That said, I don't own an HDTV or a Blu-Ray player. (I do have a projector that I'm very pleased with, and that handles my cable's HD broadcasts spectacularly.) The IMAX version of the film was such an experience and such a joy to watch that this will probably be the release that makes me buy a Blu-Ray player. Whether it's in full 1080p or downconverted to 480p on my machine, having seen the film with the IMAX sequences in it, I don't ever want to see it without them again.

Just my two cents.
 

Nick Martin

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The biggest surprise to me was the sheer amount of sequences in IMAX. I never expected the entire SWAT/Joker/Tumbler/Batpod chase sequence to be completely IMAX, or the entire skyscraper/sonar fight.

Absolutely incredible.

It may be only 42" on my TV (believe me if I could afford a projector I would) but that's plenty for me to enjoy.

I hope that when people actually see it, everyone will be pleasantly surprised.
 

Zack Gibbs

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I read that they became so comfortable with the IMAX cameras they ended up using them far more then they had planned on. Many of the Non-IMAX scenes were still shot using the IMAX cameras, they just didn't choose to emphasis them with the open frame.
 

Douglas Monce

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The aspect ratio of Imax is NOT 1.78:1, but rather 1.44:1. If they are presenting the Imax segments at 1.78:1 then they are clearly not using the OAR.

Doug
 

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