Braveheart looks glorious!

I just watched it, and it looks superb.  It really does look as much like a HIGH quality film print as anything I've ever seen on Hidef.  The detail, the lack of DNR/EE, the colors, the black level...everything, is all one could ask for.  It would be absurd in the extreme for ANYONE to say "I don't like the look of it, it should have been changed to look more like HD video".  Extreme praise to Paramount for getting this SO right, balanced by extreme criticism for FAILING to match the effort with Gladiator.

Watched this movie last week and the PQ is excellent.

I have heard nothing but praise. One thing...the "jaggies" present on the opening titles and some of the subtitles....was it like this on the film print?

I feel the need to mention, after complaining about the quality of GLADIATOR, how wonderful BRAVEHEART looks and sounds on BD. This is the way to do a catalog release!

I've noticed that on a lot of titles / subtitles, especially on trailers. Braveheart's trailers are no exception. They're usually brighter, whiter, almost as though the contrast on them is turned up.  No idea if it's my TV or if it's the discs but I've learned to ignore it over time.

I'm shocked at the raves for this, there is a ton of print damage and especially white 'sparklie's throughout....  This didnt bother anyone?

I wouldn't know.  Was all set to watch this today and it locked
up in my Pana BD55 player.   Kept freezing right after the
Paramount BD logo.

I guess I have a defective disc -- my first one at that -- and 
I have to return it to Amazon for exchange. 

I thought those things were quite minor, and I'll take a few FILM based artifacts over EE and DNR up the wazoo ANY day.  They simply remind me what the SOURCE was, instead of a digital makeover that destroys the look.

But arent the white dots the OPPOSITE of what you would see in theater, where they would be black dots instead of white?  Thats what screams so 'digital' about them every time I see em....

Dust shows up as black or white spots/sparklies dependent on whether it's a positive or negative film element that was used for the transfer (and whether that element or the one it came from had the dust on it!), it definately indicates an analogue film source either way.

M

I picked this up with Gladiator and popped the disc in to see how it looked. Overall, it looks very good. The appearance of specks and film artifacts doesn't bother me. Certainly better this way than what was done to Gladiator. Good job, Paramount.

More surprising is the extras. We get several new ones including interactive maps, timelines, and history lessons, but the set also drops some big ones. The original DVD included a 25-minute "making of" that isn't included here. The 2-disc Special Collector's Edition also included archival interviews with the cast and a three-part 50-minute documentary, which also aren't included here. The three-part 50-minute documentary was more or less new interviews with Gibson and the crew edited with the behind-the-scenes footage from the old 25-minute "making of", which made up the majority of the program.

Replacing these, the new Blu-ray release includes a new three-part hour-long documentary that adds even newer interviews with the cast and crew to the mix and appears to be a more traditional retrospective piece.

 SPARTACUS is one of my all-time favorite films, epic in every way. One of those films that sadly "they don't make anymore", at least for me until BRAVEHEART, which is epic filmaking. BRAVEHEART trods on that very rare territory where grand aspirations and acheivement fall in line. I believe everything the filmakers set out to do, they accomplished. 

Though the role of William Wallace might have been more accurately cast by another actor, I have no qualms with Mel as the title character. What makes this film so great is that the supporting characters in the film are just as important in telling the story as the lead character. Great performances all around by McGoohan, Sophie Marceau, Brendan Gleason, David O'hara and even Catherine McCormack as the ill-fated Murron. 

Is the video to BRAVEHEART perfect? No, in being honest, there are moments of the film where the elements have lines, specks, excessive grain or look worn, image is not consistent throughout the entire presentation. What I will say is that BRAVEHEART has never ever looked so good on home video. Despite in some scenes looks like a bit of digital noise and what I described above, the image quality is sharp, natural looking and very colorful, in fact I never knew this film to be as colorful as it looks, that's during rain and sunglight and night scenes. In truth, I was stunned to see how great the majority of the film looks, that's why I can forgive those fleeting moments of anomolies, this is a stellar transfer. This gives great hope of what a classic title from Paramount can look like. Can't wait to see FORREST GUMP. 

Audio-wise, after a little fiddling, I found the perfect audio volume for dialogue and score, however those were too loud for the sound effects when they kicked in. What I can say about the audio presentation is that it can be loud and powerful, however I was a bit suprised how "front-centered" the mix is. Somehow I thought there was a bit more surround presence than I found with the BD. There is some but little ambience found in the surrounds, the surrounds really kick in during the action sequences of the film and are fully engaged then. I'd have preferred more balance between the mains and surrounds but outside of again having to boost audio to a louder level than normal, it's an excellent surround experience. 

As for the extras, it's a bit sad they didn't port over all the DVD's material. I liked the LOOK BACK segment but astonished nothing new from actors like Angus McFayden and more importantly Catherine McCormack. I would have loved to have seen contribution from James Horner about his great score. 


We'll see how the rest of the SAPPHIRE SERIES goes but I can state that BRAVEHEART is a step in the right direction.

Good post, David.  I do disagree with you about the sound effects being too loud.  To me, that just means a nice, wide dynamic range (I read similar comments about the Watchmen BR).  I find it quite exciting.



No problems on my BD55.  I do have the latest firmware update.

Braveheart does look pretty darn good. I found myself marveling at the colors and dimensionality of the very film-like transfer. This is truly what Blu-ray is all about. Like seeing the film for the first time again. Not having seen it for a few years I was quickly reminded just how great Braveheart is. I'll be rewatching this set for years to come. Great movie and BD!

BTW, I had no problems playing Braveheart on my Panny BD-35 that was bought in Dec. '08 and has *not* had a firmware update yet.

 How bad is the specks in the picture?  I have been waiting for this movie to come out on Bluray as I have been waiting for something to replace the DVD I have.  I really didn't like how the DVD looked and always felt it was a bad transfer !  Should I go ahead and buy it now or wait to see if the transfer is redone in a year or two?  I am holding off on Gladiator just based on hearing how bad it looks.  

As I said in the 'reference quality' thread, I actually like to see some of those specks and grain and so on. I'm clearly in the minority on that one, but there's just something about that being there that adds to the overall illusion that I'm watching actual film on my TV.

While Horner made an appearance on the 2-disc DVD via archival recording session footage, some of that was used again on this Blu-ray, included in the "Braveheart Timelines" BD-J extra on disc 1. It was odd that he wasn't actually interviewed though, because not only was he interviewed recently (and it was a great one) for the "Star Trek II" BD, but he's always considered Braveheart to be his best work.

Quote:

The specks aren't very noticeable, and the transfer is pretty damn gorgeous.  If I subscribed to that "tier" stuff, it'd probably be very high up on the list and an easy purchase.  It blows the DVD out of the water.

The complaints about the white specks and the jaggies in the first 22 minutes are very, very minor.  This is an amazing looking disc.  I have a front projector, 1080p, and a 106" screen.

hi Dave,

the original DVD was released 8/29/2000. the remastered edition edition was released 12/18/2007. that's more than 7 years for a Best Picture movie. Braveheart BD was released 9/1/2009. based on past projections, u're looking@ fall of 2016 if Paramount wanted another take at it =P.

besides, would you rather have a catalog film look as processed and clean as brand new spanking films (like Patton was immolated) or the way it was originally released?

look at the behind the scenes for Gone w/the Wind (on the older DVD). WB had the ability to do a remaster looks so clean it'll be better than today's new releases.. but decided to let it go a bit to emulate the reference print, NOT today's cleaned look.

BTW i watched a good hour or so from the Braveheart on BD last nite and it is spectacular! and if you have any further doubts, read this review:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews34/braveheart.htm

Just started watching this last evening on my HP laptop. Very impressed with the PQ. It certainly lives up to the accolades. However, I did notice some weird artifacting. As Wallace rides into Lanark to "surrender" to the sherrif, in the upper left of the screen (just above Wallace's head) the background goes all blocky. It happens at approximately 46:43 - 46:45. I don't know if my disc is defective or what, but I checked it twice and it appeared in the same place. Confirmed with someone over on Blu-Ray.com that the artifacting is indeed there. Does anyone have an email or phone number for Paramount? They ought to know about this. Otherwise it's a gorgeous transfer.

A little OT, but I took my mom on a tour of England and Scotland last week and we visited Stirling and the sites of the battles of Bannockburn and Stirling Bridge, and the Wallace Monument; one of the statutes at the Monument looks just like Mel Gibson---I was assured that it long predated the movie.  I wonder if Mel used it as reference material?

Was it this...