Diving into the deep BLU - opinions needed (1 Viewer)

[Jim_K]

I'm getting ready to place my first Blu-ray order but I need some opinions on whether some of these are worth the upgrade from SD to Blu-ray.

Titles I'm pretty much sold on:
Unforgiven
Goodfellas
Searchers
Corpse Bride
Black Hawk Down

Here are the titles I'm up in the air about for various reasons (lack of extras compared to SD counterparts, potential double dips, high MSRP, mediocre/lukewarm reviews or I've seen no BD reviews).
Full Metal Jacket
Terminator
T2
Total Recall
First Blood
Reservoir Dogs
X-Men The Last Stand
Sleepy Hollow
MI 3
Mission Impossible (only available in box set?)
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2
Memento
Kingdom of Heaven
House of Flying Daggers
Fifth Element
Last Samurai
Fugitive
Rocky
Speed
Superman
Superman 2
Superman Returns

Any/all opinions are welcome as far as A/V differences, extras comparisons etc.

Even a simple worth the upgrade or stick to the SD comment would be extremely helpful.

 

[Dave_P.]

Your "sold-on" titles are all definite winners. The only questionable titles PQ-wise from your other list IMO would be Full Metal Jacket, House of Flying Daggers, The Fugitive and The Fifth Element which were early releases and won't match up to the quality of your sold-on titles.

 

[Shane Martin]

Correct. You must buy the MI boxset to get MI. Mi3 is made available seperately.

 

[BrettB]

MI:3 is one of my favorites. 2-disc set with lots of extras, many of which (if not most) are in high def.

 

[dkny75]

If you're worried about lack of extras from the SD version than I would say stick to the Warner and Paramount releases. Out of the titles you've listed, most of the Sony, Disney and Fox titles are missing extras. I know a lot of people don't care too much for SD extras and are willing to lose them based on how good the disc looks or sounds.

Enjoy.

 

[BrettB]

Disney is stepping it up re: extras. Chicken Little, King Arthur, GI Jane & Finding Neverland

 

[Neil Joseph]

T2 BR is about the same jump in pq that T2 EE was to T2 UE. The sound is the same. I would purchase it (and I did because I have it in my collection). X-Men LS is a definite buy for me, I was able to find it at a decent price. MI3, Kingdom of heaven, Last Samurai, Speed I would recommend. Even The Fifth Element with its "poor PQ" is still better than the superbit version and the audio is a beefed up pcm5.1. I cannot recommend House of Flying Daggers because the picture is very soft. The dvd was even softer mind you, the audio on the BR is outstanding particularly the drum song.

 

[Jim_K]

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

Based on the comments here's the tally so far.

I think I'll be adding these to my order:
MI 3
T2
X-Men The Last Stand
Kingdom of Heaven
Last Samurai
Speed

I'll think about this one:
Fifth Element

I'll pass on these:
Full Metal Jacket
Fugitive
House of Flying Daggers

No comments so far on the following titles so I'm still up in the air on these:
Terminator
Total Recall
First Blood
Reservoir Dogs
Sleepy Hollow
Mission Impossible (only available in box set)
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2
Memento
Rocky
Superman
Superman 2
Superman Returns

 

[Matt Hough]

I was very unimpressed with TERMINATOR 2. I think it is the title that disappointed me the most of the 15 or so Blu-rays that I have now. I found it only a minor step ahead in picture quality from the SD.

X-MEN 3 - a definite improvement over the SD

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 is a HUGE step-up from the SD disc. While the SD was plagued with aliasing and moire on bricks and steps, the Blu-ray version was rock solid on my display. Plus, the color was eye-popping and the detail and three dimensionality extraordinary (color looked very plugged up on the SD). It's my favorite Blu-ray reference disc followed by THE SEARCHERS and THE LAST SAMURAI.

I'd get the three disc MISSION IMPOSSIBLE set. The other two films are also leaps ahead of their SD counterparts (but III is the showstopper).

SLEEPY HOLLOW I never had on SD, but the Blu-ray looks very three dimensional (color on it, as you know, is very muted except for red.)

I have SUPERMAN 2: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT, and it looks fine though you understand each of the SUPERMAN films have that soft/gauzy look to them, and the Blu-rays, while looking wonderful, retain that softness of the original cinematography.

Another several discs I was very impressed with (not on your list) were ENEMY OF THE STATE, CHICAGO, OPEN SEASON, and FANTASTIC FOUR.

 

[Rolando]

just out of curiosity, THIS IS NOT TO DERAIL THREAD, are you considering getting an HD-DVD player?

If you are planning on getting one in the next 6 months you might want to consider my strategy. Please note that this comes from someone who is format neutral.

I buy all the titles available on both formats in HD-DVD and the rest on Blu-Ray. The reason is that even though I think BD is the potentially superior format, currently WB and Paramount are using the same transfers and everything on both. In other words same picture quality on both. On top of that many times the HD-DVD release is less expensive than the same title on BD. But wait, there is more. Not only is PQ the same and price less expensive on HD-DVD, there is also sometimes more content on HD-DVD and never the reverse. Some releases have lossless audio that is NOT on the BD release. sometimes it's features or interactivity. Sometimes all of the above.

This has nothing to do with HD Vs BD as a format so please don't anyone turn it so.

Just my 2 cents, however if you are going straight BD, ignore this post and enjoy your swim in the beautifull, deep Blu sea

 

[Jim_K]

Matt, Thanks for the additional comments.

I'd get the three disc MISSION IMPOSSIBLE set if it wasn't so pricey, especially since I don't care much for MI2.

As for ENEMY OF THE STATE, CHICAGO, OPEN SEASON, and FANTASTIC FOUR, I enjoyed all 4 but I'm trying to curb my buying habits and limiting the discs I buy to those that'll get alot of replay with me.

Rolando,

Not really considering HD-DVD right now, though I understand the reasoning of those that support both formats. Nothing against it really but I currently just don't see any promising momentum on the HD-DVD side.

There are HD-DVD exclusive titles that I'd love to own but some (Warners) will be coming out this year in Blu and the others (Universal) I'll just have to live without or stick with the SD.

 

[Dave_P.]

OK, I'll add some more thoughts on the ones I own:
(screwed up on the bolding at the end and can't seem to edit it out for some reason)

Terminator: Definitely the best the movie has looked. Nice detail in most scenes. Like the DVD no original soundtrack available, if that matters.

Total Recall: Hit and miss, looks great in some shots, flat in others. Sounds great though.

First Blood: Well worth the upgrade, clean and detailed transfer, excellent sounds once it gets pumping, nice assortment of extras

Sleepy Hollow: Pretty grainy, but apparently it is true to Burton's intent. Nice sound, especially when the Horseman comes around

Lethal Weapon 1 & 2: A couple of my fave movies. I was blown away at how sharp these look for "older" films, particularly in facial closeups. Love'em.

Superman 2: Looked pretty good with the exception of some of the re-integrated Donner footage which for obvious reasons looked pretty bad.

Superman Returns: Great picture (the opening scene is a little grainy but it's pretty much gone after that) and intense sound. Lots of extras.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Care to give an example here? I'm not aware of any titles that are less expensive on HD-DVD than BD unless I'm missing something somewhere. I know of a few titles (example: The Departed) where the HD-DVD is more expensive than the BD because it's a combo, but I know of none that are more expensive on BD.

 

[Rolando]

Well I can't think of many offhand and maybe it's a Canadian retailer thing but there are a few. I am not talking $10 more or even $5 on most releases but sometimes they can be $1, $2 or $3 more. Actually one is $10 more expensive but that is a boxset. The Mission Impossible set on BD is consistently $10 to $20 more expensive than the HD-DVD set at stores like Futureshop and Best Buy.

Like I said it might only be $1 or $2 more but it is more. However I concede that most are the same price. The part about not being exactly the same in terms of features though is still true for some releases.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Perhaps it's just an instore thing, but I just checked Futureshop's website and looked up about 15 titles and they were identical in price, including the Mission Impossible set.

Nonetheless, this definitely isn't the case in the states. Prices are identical or the BD is cheaper (in the case of combo HD-DVD titles).