5 Kubricks coming to Blu-ray/HD-DVD 10/23 (2 Viewers)

[Brandon Conway]

Full Metal Jacket is an ugly film. It has never looked great, and it never will (meaning "great" in regards to reference demo material). The way it was shot simply does not allow for it.

This new release is likely the best it will ever look on home video.

 

[JonZ]

Youc an still slighty see those helicopter blades

 

[ColinRobertson]

I watched it last night and thought it looked great! I did not, however, compare it to the older HD-DVD.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I remember FMJ not looking so hot when I saw it in its original theatrical run. I don't remember whether it was early or late in the run, though.

 

[Douglas Monce]

I believe that Warner used the same method the used for Grand Prix, in the 2001 transfer.

For that film they used a 35mm reduction master for the HD transfer. Given that apparently there is only one modern 70mm telecine machine that can do high quality transfers at Fotokem, and it seems to be prohibitively expensive to use, this was Warners next best option. Grand Prix BTW looks stunning on HD.

I'm not sure that 1080 has enough resolution to be able to tell the difference between a 35mm master and a 70mm master anyway.

Doug

 

[Josh Steinberg]

You could be completely right, but I was under the impression that the 2000 edition had been created from a 70mm print. If that was the case, wouldn't it be likely that they either used the same transfer or a new transfer once again in 70mm?

(This is one of many reasons I love Criterion...they tell you the source of the video master.)

 

[Bryan^H]

I have all but 2001 pre ordered through Amazon. Eyes Wide Shut, and Clockwork Orange shipped, but Full Metal Jacket, and The Shining are delayed until 11/05!!!! Forget that. I'm cancelling my remaining order, and picking them up at Best Buy when I get paid Friday.

Is there a reason why reviews for these new transfers are harder to find than the Ark of the Covenant?

 

[TravisR]

Over at The Digital Bits, they were saying that they got their review copy yesterday so I'd imagine that's what happened to alot of reviewers and they still haven't had time to go through the disc and write a review yet.

 

[Douglas Monce]

My understanding was that this was an all new transfer, but don't quote me on that.

As for a 70mm transfer, Ben-hur is a good example of one that looks beautiful but just a little soft. Obviously this would be unacceptable in HD. Now some others have said that the 70mm telecine at fotokem was used for the transfer of South Pacific and that it looks wonderful. I haven't seen that transfer myself so I don't know.

Doug

 

[Stephen_J_H]

RAH has stated in his new thread on 2001 that he believes the transfer is sourced from a well maintained 35mm IP. He still gives it a very high recommendation though.

 

[Richard Kim]

I finally got a chance to watch the deluxe Full Metal Jacket in HD DVD. I've never seen the previous HD version, but I must say that the film has never looked better. And it looks alot better than A Clockwork Orange.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Alright, let me just make sure I have this correct....

The HD-DVD version of Eyes Wide Shut is the uncut
version despite the fact it has an R rating on the box?

...and only the uncut version is included here?

 

[Paul Arnette]

Yes. That is correct.

I really don't understand why they couldn't employ seamless branching on this release. Perhaps there is a bigger difference between the R and unrated cuts, but I was under the impression there wasn't.

 

[Bryan^H]

I got A clockwork Orange, and Eyes Wide Shut.

They look amazing. Good stuff!!

 

[Chris S]

Based on the recommendations here I'll have to pick up 2001 again. It's not one of those films I'll watch a lot but it sounds like the PQ is worth the upgrade. I also plan to pick up Eyes Wide Shut since I also said that I wouldn't buy an edited version of the film.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

My understanding is that they'd just have to branch the party sequence---it shouldn't have been a big deal. Considering how smoothly the branching works on Return to House on Haunted Hill, Warner obviously can make it work. Maybe there was just a massive miscommunication somewhere along the line.

I finally received my review copy; we'll see whether they've also restored the original music or whether that's still censored as well. I'm betting it's still censored since every DVD release of the "uncensored" version still had the censored music.

 

[Michael Boyd]

Doesn't bother me in the slightest that the US Theatrical R version is not included.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I'm sad to say that I'm pretty disappointed with the EWS disc. Having seen the film theatrically several times in 1999, I vividly remember the tremendous amount of grain present. I had wondered if this would be filtered out for the HD release, and it appears to my eyes that it has been. A tiny bit remains but there's no doubt that some sort of filtering was done here. It's a shame because the resulting image is pretty soft most of the time. To be honest, it doesn't appear all that different from the DVD.

On the other hand, 2001 has far exceeded my expectations. Both the video and audio quality are nothing short of perfection. I can't thank Warner enough for the wonderful job they've done with this masterpiece.

 

[Rolando]

si is it confirmed that FMJ did indeed get a new 1080p transfer?

 

[TonyD]

it doesnt help that the back of it says both versions are on the disc