A quick run-down on the discs:
MICROCOSMOS (Region-free)
Features: 2 documentaries, one of them a making-of. Picture:1080/24. Healthy natural grain, sharp as a tack, gorgeous. Sound: The opening song and brief early paragraph of narration are English language. No subtitles available. DTS-HD.
THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL (Region-free).
Features: theatrical trailer. Picture: 1080/24. Those of us who view this film as a guilty pleasure (it is, after all, pretty silly and with a completely miscast Gregory Peck) have had to endure horrible 4x3 transfers, even including the fairly recent U.S. re-packaging, where it is widescreen, but stubbornly non-anamorphic. Revelation: this is a nice 16x9 with (sometimes over-) saturated color, good grain structure, contrast and sharpness. Sound: Mono, but quite clear.
THE ELEPHANT MAN (Region-free).
Features: Documentary about the real-life John Merrick; interviews with David Lynch & others. Loose 18-page booklet, with about the same amount of material as is contained in most DigiBooks. Picture: 1080/24. Terrific contrast in this 2.35:1 black and white transfer. Sharp, nice grain structure. Hill-and-dale better than any video presentation before it. Sound: Seems to be 2.0 stereo, but the sound design is awesome, so lack of 5.1 is quite acceptable.
THE COMPANY OF WOLVES (Region-free).
Features: Audio commentary by Neil Jordan. Picture: 1080/24. This came from a problematic film source, since much of the original theatrical image was composed using diffusion filters and often looks soft. That is not the fault of this transfer, though, which is very acceptable, eons better than the recent Hen's Tooth DVD. Color is subdued but seems accurate. Sound: Sounds like 2.0 stereo. Nice George Fenton score.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1946) (Region-free).
Features: None. Picture: 1080/24. 1.33:1 black and white image is pretty gorgeous, with fine grain lookling exactly as you might expect to have seen during a decent 35mm presentation. Contrast and sharpness are exemplary. This is my favorite film adaptation of Dickens, and nearly my favorite David Lean film, so I was ecstatic to find such a carefully-rendered Blu-ray of it. Sound: What you would expect: mono. The dialog and music are all very clear.
Saving the best-looking disc for last....
ZULU (Region-free).
Features: Audio commentary, documentary, trailer. Fully-loaded special edition. Picture: 1080/24. This is a wondrous transfer, so superior to every previous edition on any video format that a true fan of the film would be negligent not to purchase it. The color here is remarkble, the image crisp, the contrast superb -- in short, this 1964 film looks like something from 2009! (Well, better, really, because it looks like 3-strip TechniColor and most of today's films look drab). Contains the original Paramount logo. Sound: Basic stereo, but just fine.
And, while I'm at it....
THE MAD ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB (Region 2, locked, Blu-ray from France).
I always found this to be a hilarious film, having seen it theatrically in 1974. The DVD I had of this was widescreen, but not anamorphic. This one is 16x9, pretty grainy but very watchable. The main problem with it is that there are no English subtitles. None. There are two sets of French subtitles for this French-language movie, but should you decide to purchase it, I'd also seek out the DVD that has English subs so you can watch it first that way and get the hang of the story. Then settle in and watch the French Blu-ray for its great sight gags and Louis de Funes' over-the-top comic performance.
Any non-U.S. Blu-ray titles you other members can report on?
Edited by Dick - 3/12/10 at 7:22pm
MICROCOSMOS (Region-free)
Features: 2 documentaries, one of them a making-of. Picture:1080/24. Healthy natural grain, sharp as a tack, gorgeous. Sound: The opening song and brief early paragraph of narration are English language. No subtitles available. DTS-HD.
THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL (Region-free).
Features: theatrical trailer. Picture: 1080/24. Those of us who view this film as a guilty pleasure (it is, after all, pretty silly and with a completely miscast Gregory Peck) have had to endure horrible 4x3 transfers, even including the fairly recent U.S. re-packaging, where it is widescreen, but stubbornly non-anamorphic. Revelation: this is a nice 16x9 with (sometimes over-) saturated color, good grain structure, contrast and sharpness. Sound: Mono, but quite clear.
THE ELEPHANT MAN (Region-free).
Features: Documentary about the real-life John Merrick; interviews with David Lynch & others. Loose 18-page booklet, with about the same amount of material as is contained in most DigiBooks. Picture: 1080/24. Terrific contrast in this 2.35:1 black and white transfer. Sharp, nice grain structure. Hill-and-dale better than any video presentation before it. Sound: Seems to be 2.0 stereo, but the sound design is awesome, so lack of 5.1 is quite acceptable.
THE COMPANY OF WOLVES (Region-free).
Features: Audio commentary by Neil Jordan. Picture: 1080/24. This came from a problematic film source, since much of the original theatrical image was composed using diffusion filters and often looks soft. That is not the fault of this transfer, though, which is very acceptable, eons better than the recent Hen's Tooth DVD. Color is subdued but seems accurate. Sound: Sounds like 2.0 stereo. Nice George Fenton score.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1946) (Region-free).
Features: None. Picture: 1080/24. 1.33:1 black and white image is pretty gorgeous, with fine grain lookling exactly as you might expect to have seen during a decent 35mm presentation. Contrast and sharpness are exemplary. This is my favorite film adaptation of Dickens, and nearly my favorite David Lean film, so I was ecstatic to find such a carefully-rendered Blu-ray of it. Sound: What you would expect: mono. The dialog and music are all very clear.
Saving the best-looking disc for last....
ZULU (Region-free).
Features: Audio commentary, documentary, trailer. Fully-loaded special edition. Picture: 1080/24. This is a wondrous transfer, so superior to every previous edition on any video format that a true fan of the film would be negligent not to purchase it. The color here is remarkble, the image crisp, the contrast superb -- in short, this 1964 film looks like something from 2009! (Well, better, really, because it looks like 3-strip TechniColor and most of today's films look drab). Contains the original Paramount logo. Sound: Basic stereo, but just fine.
And, while I'm at it....
THE MAD ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB (Region 2, locked, Blu-ray from France).
I always found this to be a hilarious film, having seen it theatrically in 1974. The DVD I had of this was widescreen, but not anamorphic. This one is 16x9, pretty grainy but very watchable. The main problem with it is that there are no English subtitles. None. There are two sets of French subtitles for this French-language movie, but should you decide to purchase it, I'd also seek out the DVD that has English subs so you can watch it first that way and get the hang of the story. Then settle in and watch the French Blu-ray for its great sight gags and Louis de Funes' over-the-top comic performance.
Any non-U.S. Blu-ray titles you other members can report on?
Edited by Dick - 3/12/10 at 7:22pm
