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HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Grumpy Old Men/Grumpier Old Men - Double Feature

post #1 of 56
2/28/10 at 1:48pm
Thread Starter 

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COMEDY DOUBLE FEATURE

GRUMPY OLD MEN
 GRUMPIER OLD MEN

Studio: Warner Bros
Film Years: 1993, 1995
Film Length: 103mins, 101mins
Genre: Comedy

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Colour/B&W: Colour

BD Specifications: 1080/24p

Gumpy Old Men Audio

English DTS 2.0 Surround
French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Espanol Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround


Grumpier Old Men Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Espanol Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround


Subtitles:

English SDH, Francais, Espanol



Release Date: February 23, 2010.

 

Who says it’s no fun getting old?  Old friends John and Max (Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau) have enough time on their hands to jab daily insults at each other. The day isn’t long enough for these widowers, an exchange of words while trying to get some good ice fishing in living in their little Minnesota community.  Their grouchy relationship gets even pettier once the attractive widow Ariel moves in across the street (Ann Margret) and the two men find themselves fighting for her time.  Grumpy Old Men is a hilarious portrayal of the life beyond retirement when time slows down along with our hearts.

 

Grumpier Old Men is the sequel that brings back most of the cast including the men’s kids played by Daryl Hannah and Kevin Pollak, John’s dad Burgess Meredith, and new to the cast is Sophia Loren as Maria Sophia Coletta Ragetti who plays Max’s new life interest in more ways than one – she’s gonna turn the bait shop into a restaurant!  With the same writer but under new direction, the movie cracks out similar jokes as the first with a slightly different overall feel.

 

This is the first time the second film has has been released on Blu-ray.  The differences is that Grumpy Old Men will now have a DTS-HD Master Audio encode rather than a Dolby TrueHD encode. I'm glad to see that these films were released together on the same disc.  Movies on blu-ray discs have become so laced with special features that a bare-bones release seems contrastingly stark.  This set is also upgrade worthy over the previous DVDs because much like Spies Like Us and Funny Farm, it’s the first time Grumpier Old Men is available in its original theatrical ratio.

 

 

PICTURE QUALITY: GRUMPY OLD MEN 3.5/5 

PICTURE QUALITY: GRUMPIER OLD MEN 4/5 

 

I don’t own the DVDs, but these must be new widescreen masters of the films. Grumpy Old Men look does look slightly older than the other, but both have excellent image quality.  Resolution is excellent; never once did I feel like I was missing out on any details.  The colour choices for this HD release look very good as it doesn’t seem to stress anything out of the ordinary.  The winter gray skies of the first film cast the overcast colour tone across the whole image and contrasts to the warmth of summer when casting a fishing line out on the water in the second film.  Black levels are good, white level doesn’t peak, and I’m a happy viewer.  The aspect ratio is 1.85:1.

 

SOUND QUALITY: GRUMPY OLD MEN 3/5 

SOUND QUALITY: GRUMPIER OLD MEN 3.5/5 

 

Like Spies Like Us and Funny Farm, Grumpy Old Men’s 2.0 surround soundtrack is available in LOSSLESS AUDIO via DTS encoding/decoding.  This was virtually unheard of in the past, but it’s great to see the soundtrack not subject to lossy audio just because it didn’t originate as 5.1.  In this instance your receiver will default to your matrix surround encoder to split the sound up.  Using Pro-Logic IIx in my Integra DTC-9.8 to split everything up, the soundtrack is heavy up front with mostly music being sent to the surrounds.  The DTS HD-MA 5.1 soundtrack on the sequel is also of the same caliber but with more distinct separation across the front soundstage and in the surrounds.  This allows dialogue to be just a bit more intelligible and the whole soundtrack deliver more air and space to the listening room.

 

 

SPECIAL FEATURES: ZERO/5

 

Not a single special feature on this disc, unless you consider the “double feature” status of this disc a special.

 

 

IN THE END…

 

While I don’t want to use this word, these movies are “sweet” as we remember Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau’s career.  They are charming and funny and remind us of the fun we can have in our life before it ends, because the end is inevitable.  Dump the pan & scan DVDs and pick up these films with new HD transfers.  The only grumpy old men will be the ones who don’t upgrade.

Michael Osadciw
10.02.28
GO CANADA!
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Edited by Michael Osadciw - 3/7/10 at 5:03pm
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Grumpy Old Men/Grumpier Old Men (Comedy Double Feature) [Blu-ray]
post #2 of 56
2/28/10 at 2:27pm
"Come back to my place! I'll show you my canneloni!"

I love Burgess Meredith in these movies.
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post #3 of 56
2/28/10 at 3:49pm
Quote:

 This is the first time these films have been released on Blu-ray

Only the second one. The first one was released on Blu-ray last summer. I have this on very good authority.
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post #4 of 56
2/28/10 at 4:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Reuben View Post



Only the second one. The first one was released on Blu-ray last summer. I have this on very good authority.

Yeah....and now I have to double-dip on that one just to get Grumpier Old Men.

Fortunately, I got the original one cheap so replacing it will not be costly.
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post #5 of 56
2/28/10 at 5:35pm
Best Buy has this for $15 and I'm hoping Amazon will match.
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post #6 of 56
2/28/10 at 6:00pm
Yeah, I picked up today at Walmart who matched a best buy ad for $15.  Great stuff, I enjoyed both of these films.
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post #7 of 56
3/7/10 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 
Michael - corrected!  I somehow missed that when writing the review, but noticed only after posting!
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post #8 of 56
3/7/10 at 6:30pm
For the past two weeks Best Buy has listed this as being available in their stores and, so far, I have yet to find this in any local retailers. These are a pair of films I've been waiting to own in widescreen and I've so far lucked out. ;) 

I've been trying to figure out if both movies are widescreen because I'm hearing reports that only the first movie is widescreen.
Edited by kemcha - 3/7/10 at 6:40pm
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post #9 of 56
3/7/10 at 9:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kemcha View Post

I've been trying to figure out if both movies are widescreen because I'm hearing reports that only the first movie is widescreen.

From the review at the top of this very thread:

Quote:
This set is also upgrade worthy over the previous DVDs because much like Spies Like Us and Funny Farm, it’s the first time Grumpier Old Men is available in its original theatrical ratio.

 

I don’t own the DVDs, but these must be new widescreen masters of the films.

The aspect ratio is 1.85:1.

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post #10 of 56
3/7/10 at 11:38pm
Actually, that only refers to one of the movies. Other retailer websites identify the Blu-ray release as being fullscreen and the technical aspects list only one movie as being widescreen. 
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post #11 of 56
3/8/10 at 6:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kemcha View Post

Actually, that only refers to one of the movies.

 

It is clear that the 1.85:1 description applies to both films. This figure is listed both in the initial specs at the top of the review and in the "Picture Quality" section, which applies to both films.

Even if that weren't unambiguous, there's the following statement, which Mike Frezon already quoted:

Quote:
 it’s the first time Grumpier Old Men is available in its original theatrical ratio.

 

Edited by Michael Reuben - 3/8/10 at 8:03am
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post #12 of 56
3/8/10 at 7:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kemcha View Post

Actually, that only refers to one of the movies.

Yes, it refers to the second movie--the one you asked about.
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post #13 of 56
3/8/10 at 4:30pm
Grumpier Old Men was released in WS on LD as I have it. Looking forward to this BR.
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post #14 of 56
3/9/10 at 6:13pm
I just want to know if anyone can confirm, by way of seeing the actual BR, if both movies are widescreen and if this release is single sided or double sided. 
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post #15 of 56
3/9/10 at 6:16pm
Michael's review addresses both of those questions.  I presume he has seen the actual disc.
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post #16 of 56
3/9/10 at 6:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kemcha View Post

I just want to know if anyone can confirm, by way of seeing the actual BR, if both movies are widescreen and if this release is single sided or double sided. 

Jaref:  I can't--because I haven't seen this release.  But, why don't you believe the reviewer.  Michael has been reviewing discs on the HTF for quite awhile and I've never known there to be any inaccuracies in his reviews? 

As I noted up in Post #9, both films are in their original widescreen AR.  And, Michael indicates both films are one disc.  I don't think these are flippers...but both films are on the same side of the BD:

Quote:
 I'm glad to see that these films were released together on the same disc.  Movies on blu-ray discs have become so laced with special features that a bare-bones release seems contrastingly stark.  

Maybe you should tell us where you are getting your "reports."
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post #17 of 56
3/9/10 at 7:12pm
The reason why is because here we have reviews that aren't very specific where other sites are reporting that the release is in full frame. Not only that, but the packaging for the release doesn't really give any information. It lists both movies but doesnt say whether the disk is single sided or double sided or whether one movie or both movies are widescreen.

The DVD version states that the first movie is widescreen and the second is full frame. Yet, the Blu-ray lists technical specs for each movie separately but doesn't list the aspect ratio, separately for each film.
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post #18 of 56
3/9/10 at 7:53pm
Well, I guess then you'll have to wait for Michael to return to this thread and confirm what he has already written...or else someone else who has seen the disc could confirm.
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post #19 of 56
3/9/10 at 8:16pm
Mike, that was why I asked ... ;) 
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post #20 of 56
3/9/10 at 8:35pm
I understand that.  Except that it seems to me to have already been spelled out in the OP.  His review seems quite specific on these points.

None of your information refutes Michael's review (except your assertion that "other sites" are listing "Grumpier" as full frame).  You just choose not to believe him. 
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post #21 of 56
3/9/10 at 9:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kemcha View Post

...Other retailer websites identify the Blu-ray release as being fullscreen... 
Well, in defense of what other sites may have claimed, technically "fullscreen" is 1.78:1 for a BD.
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post #22 of 56
3/9/10 at 9:14pm
Edited: duplicate post
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post #23 of 56
3/9/10 at 9:43pm
The packaging does list the aspect ratio. It says "1080p High Definition 16x9 1.85:1."  This is exactly what Michael reported in his review.  Further, he explicitly mentioned that the second film--the one you specifically asked about--is in widescreen. I don't know how much clearer you expect this information to be.
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post #24 of 56
3/9/10 at 11:02pm
Can anyone confirm that both of these movies are presented as widescreen on this set?

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

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post #25 of 56
3/10/10 at 10:33am
The point is still being missed.

When reviewing a release that contains two movies, it's important to list technical information for each film separately, otherwise the review is misleading. Reviews basically give biased information about a release from the point of view of the reviewer. When it comes to retailer websites, 90% of the time the consumer is going to believe the information on the retailer's website. Since many of the retailer websites are reporting the release as full-frame and full-frame is described as 4:3 or 1:33:1. This is what the majority of consumers understand the format to be.
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post #26 of 56
3/10/10 at 11:21am
In his review, Michael said: 

1) "It's the first time Grumpier Old Men is available in its original theatrical ratio," indicating that the second film specifically is presented in widescreen.


2)"These must be new widescreen masters of the films," clearly indicating that both films are presented in widescreen.

What is unclear or "misleading" about those statements?

If there is a point to your repeated asking of questions that have already been answered several times, then I am still missing it.  What do you want to know about the aspect ratio of the films on this Blu-ray disc that hasn't already been addressed?
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post #27 of 56
3/10/10 at 12:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kemcha View Post

The point is still being missed.

When reviewing a release that contains two movies, it's important to list technical information for each film separately, otherwise the review is misleading. Reviews basically give biased information about a release from the point of view of the reviewer. When it comes to retailer websites, 90% of the time the consumer is going to believe the information on the retailer's website. Since many of the retailer websites are reporting the release as full-frame and full-frame is described as 4:3 or 1:33:1. This is what the majority of consumers understand the format to be.

For the information that you say that you are looking for, Michael has clearly stated the facts and Carl has even confirmed them, independently. 

Your statement that reviews are biased based on the point-of-view of the reviewer is non-sensible in this instance.  You are asking about the facts of the BD's AR...not other's opinions about what the AR is.  I fail to see how technical specifics of a release could be biased by a reviewer's "point of view."

You have yet to present which websites are causing you to doubt Michael's statements about the BD's AR.  And, if you feel the need to classify yourself as a consumer who, 90% of the time is going to believe info obtained from a retailer's website...then why are you even bothering with the HTF?  You would, undoubtedly question the opinion of anyone who posted here--let alone one of the site's official reviewers.  Anyone who has spent a fair amount of time around sites like amazon and imdb would realize the amount of bad information propogated there by consumer reviewers who really don't know better and/or are misinformed. 

If anyone is missing a point, it is you who are missing the declaration of the OP that Grumpier Old Men is being presented in its original AR of 1.85:1 on this BD release. 
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post #28 of 56
3/10/10 at 12:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kemcha View Post

The point is still being missed.

When reviewing a release that contains two movies, it's important to list technical information for each film separately, otherwise the review is misleading. Reviews basically give biased information about a release from the point of view of the reviewer. When it comes to retailer websites, 90% of the time the consumer is going to believe the information on the retailer's website. Since many of the retailer websites are reporting the release as full-frame and full-frame is described as 4:3 or 1:33:1. This is what the majority of consumers understand the format to be.
First, the review is subjective (a more accurate term) only when not discussing technical information, such as the movie is wide screen.  Second, retailers are notorious for poor technical information.  I don't get my tech info from Amazon, I get it in forums like this one.

Maybe this will help.  I just popped in the double feature disc.  I am watching on a 46" Samsung HD lcd set.  Both, I say again, both movies fill the entire screen of my wide screen HD Samsung.

I don't recall what the official aspect ratio of my Samsung is, but it is a widescreen HD television.  The movies are being presented in a wide screen format.  Of course each movie is filling the screen, so if you want to be anal about it, you could still call them full screen.

BTW, I like reviews that are subjective, it's half the reason you read a review, to get someone's opinion.

Edit: It is a single sided disc, with very plain, generic art on one side.
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post #29 of 56
3/10/10 at 12:44pm
Having physically handled the disc, both are presented 1.85:1 (well, technically 1.78:1, but Warner does that for all its 1.85:1 films).
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post #30 of 56
3/10/10 at 2:48pm
Shucks.  And I was going to report that I actually had the title in my hand this afternoon and could re-re-reconfirm Carl's pronouncement that the disc cover art is explicitly clear on the issue that both films are presented:

Quote:
1080p High Definition 16x9 1.85:1

I wonder if there are still questions...
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Grumpy Old Men/Grumpier Old Men (Comedy Double Feature) [Blu-ray]
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