HTF BD REVIEW: Predator - Page 3

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

Well, technically, PREDATOR wasn't made within the last 20 years...

Does that depress the hell out of you as much as me?

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

I just find it sad at how Fox is treating some of there Blu-ray releases, it's not that I'm bother paying the £22+ price tag (here in the UK), or even that they're not porting over all the extras - it's the fact that there's NO extras apart from a couple of trailers and the way they keep skipping the unrated/extended cuts when we all know they could release them via seamless branching.

I really, really want Predator and Commando in my Blu-ray collection but when Fox are treating there releases so badly, why should I buy them and support there efforts?

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

Good grief - you're right. I'm only 28, I shouldn't feel this old!

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

Viewed "Predator" Blu-ray last night.
Great movie!

Thanks Michael for the review.

Purchased this movie with HD DVD rebate money form Amazon.
IMO, the movie has never looked or sounded better viewed on 110" screen with DTS-HD MA lossless sound.

Sure, the movie, in its entirety, would look better if the demand was high enough for a complete restoration expenditure, but it hasn't happened.
A couple of night scenes have abundant grain, but I've seen reruns of older movies in the cinema having as much in similar segments - and I love the resolution regardless.

Exciting at cinema volume, even when you know what comes next!

Paul

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

Dammit Paul! I keep reading comments such as yours across the web and it is tempting me to pick it up, I know I would be happy with how the movie looks - I know the production problems that Predator had, so it's not like I would be expecting miracles from the transfer.

Hmmmm.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

I don't think a restoration would be necessary, just a new digital transfer would do wonders. I have to assume from watching the BD that they are going off the same master used for the original non-anamorphic DVD. Take a look at the shot at 47:50-47:51 from behind Bill Duke. I would highly recommend a rental before anyone spends 27.99-29.99 on this.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

Being stripped of the bonus material alone makes this not worth the $27 - $30.

The PQ was the best I've ever seen this film (and I've seen this more times than I can remember counting). Not perfect but way better than upconverting the DVD. The vibrancy of the colors in HD especially sets this apart.

If this goes on sale it's worth the $15 - $20 range to me. Keeping the SE DVD for the bonus material is a must though a shame.

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I picked up ID4, Predator and Unbreakable at Target this morning. The $19 ea. price tag was enough for me to ignore Fox's mediocrity for now.

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so you're saying unbreakale is $20 at target this week too?

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It appears so.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

Incidentally, the image quality on Predator is amazingly decent. I wasn't expecting too much from it. There was still a bit of dirt and increased grain in the opening shot but it smoothed out nicely and is a notable improvement over the DVD. The sound is improved as well. I've only sampled the core DTS track but it is so much better than the thin sounding DTS track on the DVD.

Do get it at a reduced price, though. It is still not worth the average retail cost.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

Yes, it is along with Commando and a few others. I did buy Predator this morning, but passed on Commando.

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Picked up Predator, Ice Age, and Independence Day this morning. Probably be a while before I watch any of these though as I want to get an HDMI receiver before watching any more Fox DTS titles. I have to admit I was a bit conflicted about purchasing Predator based on the reviews I've read but decided at a $20.00 price point that I could not pass up even a marginal version that improves on the SD DVD.

(Like Robert, had to take a pass on Commando. Perhaps in a moment of weakness in the future I'll add this to the collection, but not today.)

- Walter.

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I was conflicted too, but decided to go ahead since I like the movie a lot. By the way, I thought they were sold out of Predator, but found a copy hidden behind a couple of Commando BRDs.

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I went to Target around 8:20 A.M. (pretty early for me on a Sunday ) and everything was pretty well stocked except for Burton's Planet of the Apes. Kind of surprised at that, but perhaps it hadn't been stocked yet.

- Walter.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Predator

I happened to be at Target and decided to get I Robot and ID4 on impulse. I passed on Commando and Predator for now since they appear to be old transfers, single layer and featureless. Also passed on Unbreakable since $20 is the regular price at Amazon, so I'll wait and see if I can get a better deal down the road.

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I totally agree!! $30 for a movie that came out when I was in High School. When the entire Matrix collection is $44. None of this makes any sense to me. We pay $1000.00 for a Sony BD Player that comes with a remote with no back light, we pay a premium for the movies because they are supposed to have all these great features and this is the crap that we get. All we heard when HD vs BR first started was about how they now have all this room on these discs so they can provide better quality, better sound, all the extras etc, etc. But now that we have bought all their equipment we get the garbage discs. I am sick to death of constantly seeing the sd DVD versions coming out with all the extras or the extended cuts but the HD versions get squat. Isn't this the reason why we bought into this format!? Isn't this why we pay a premium for the movies and the equipment to play them!? I am tired of feeling like I am being used by the studios....buy this now and then in a few years we will re release it the way it should have been so you can buy it again. These studios better get their crap together or I will just go back to the SD versions and save my money. These greedy studios are so arrogant they act as if we are too stupid to see what they are doing. All they need to do is stop counting their money for a minute and take a look around at what people are saying. I personally think the people that bought into this format are some of the most educated hobbyists around!!!!!

What are the odds that Fox will re-release Predator using the same transfer? You'd have to have really big cojones to expect people to essentially re-buy the same stuff. Unless the people at the studio think that consumers don't really care about picture quality (just like they thought we didn't care about OAR in the early days). And please, no arguments about how they didn't use the best film stock or that the director intended for the film to "look gritty" - even the lowest budget production can shine if you properly master it (and care to).

Double dip Predator coming 6/29.

Some details can be found http://forums.highdefdigest.com/blu-ray-software-general-discussion/103637-predator-ultimate-hunter-edition-6-29-10-a.html although there are no details yet if a different codec will be used or if it has been remastered. 

Glad I waited. Looking forward to seeing that freshly scrubbed grain-free jungle.

     Quote:

Since Fox and other studios do this all the time, they must have gargantuan cojones.

 

Not true, the original film stock and camera lenses play a huge part in how the film looks, they cannot change the basic look of this film unless of course you want your HD content "Processed" and all the "benefits" that brings.

 

Predator looks good on blu ray, personally i give it 4/5 as it represents the original look of the film and i like film grain and believe it brings something to movies like this, oh and Luisito i'll say it again, this film didn't use the absolute best film stock of the time and they didn't shoot enough coverage shots meaning a couple of very early scenes were re-used and zoomed in which of course results in additional grain.

 

As for your last comment, well it's all a question of what you mean by shine, i feel this movie does shine on blu ray.

The use of the word "shine" conjures of visions of applying a heavy coat of wax.  In other words, DNRing the hell out of the thing to get rid of film grain.  As Malcolm said, the film is what it is--inherently grainy and NOT intended to look "shiny".

Alen: Yeah, the studios are notorious for making people buy their products two, three times. But usually, third (or fourth) time's the charm when it concerns the transfer, extras, whatever.

 

Malcolm: I absolutely DON'T want them to DNR this or otherwise try to "clean up" any grain. I just find it hard to believe that a film of this caliber, with a top-notch cast and crew, that they didn't have a big enough budget to afford the best equipment and use the best film stock. I mean, wasn't Arnold Schwarzenegger, you know, a big star in those days? He wasn't making low budget independent films - he knew he was making a BIG movie. I've seen DVDs of no-budget slasher flicks from the 70's look as if they were made last week.

He was making his way in the film world but this was not a big budget film, it was not low budget either since they spent $15m dollars on it, a year later they paid Arnie over half of that ( $8m dollars ) for Red Heat.

 

To put that into perspective i believe The Running Man from the same year had a production budget of $30m dollars.

 

When you take into account the conditions they were filming under and the fact this was a movie which required action and effects sequences to work then they did a really good job with the money they had at their disposal.  It's a better movie than The Running Man which came out the same year and cost double the budget.

 

http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37514/update-new-predator-blu-ray-way-from-fox

 

No idea who their source is but this website is saying a new transfer is being made. Holding out hope....

Yeah, they better remaster a film that features two state governers!

I can't see this looking significantly better than it does now - even with a new transfer - unless it undergoes a multi-million dollar Lowry-style digital restoration.