DreamWorks to Jump Into Next-Gen Fray with 'Dreamgirls?' (1 Viewer)

[Paul.S]

Hell yes, Jeff. But, although there are exceptions (Reds is 1.5 on BD) hasn't Par done disparate bit rate, lossless on most of their releases? 640kbps on BD and 1.5mbps on HD DVD?

Here's hoping they turn over a new leaf on DW titles.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

It just doesn't make any sense why they can't put 5.1 PCM on there. There's plenty of space and bandwidth on BD to hold it. It sounds much better than any version of DD. There's not even royalties to pay with PCM.

 

[Paul.S]

I absolutely feel ya'.

It's ironic that we're having this conversation. There are those on this Forum who argued, to state it briefly, 'if it's built, they will come': the merits of higher storage capacity were extolled because it supposedly ipso facto meant the studios would use it for greater fidelity. I noted/posted/argued that just because the possibility of that greater fidelity exists doesn't mean it will be used. Digital cable and FM radio both set precedents for media offering greater fidelity than past forms. But then broadcasters slowly but surely squandered that fidelity potential with more compression, multiplexing and using the bigger pipe for more, squashed content instead of less content of better fidelity.

I really think it's going to take a "fussy," individual director to raise the possibility of us getting uncompressed on a particular picture. The argument could be made that Sony is doing uncompressed nearly across the board on BD because they have something to prove.

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

Glad to know I'm not the only heterosexual male who likes this movie.

 

[Paul.S]

". . . 'cuz she's got a . . . GREAT ASS! And [we've] got [our] head . . . ALL THE WAY UP IT!" --Vincent

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Buena Vista is also doing every title with PCM as well. Fox is also using lossless on every title, and although none of us can hear it yet, I have no problem in investing in their BDs as they are what I consider "future-proof". Sure they can double-dip with extra features, but the film itself on their releases will serve me well for many years. One of the key selling points of moving to an HD format was sound. Obviously, bandwidth on DVD was limited as such that it didn't really make sense to use PCM. But no DVD release of Robocop ever matched the 2.0 PCM track found on the original laserdisc. The Criterion DVD was encoded at 192 and sounds tinny. The MGM DVD is much better but still lacks in comparison to the PCM laserdisc. This is where HD has the opportunity to shine. In addition to the 1080p image, there is plenty of room for lossless. I'm sure the BD of Lawrence Of Arabia that is coming later this year with PCM will really shine in the sound department.

There must be some reason why Parmamount is using these bitrates, but I sure haven't seen an explanation. I'm just glad I passed on the 640kbps of Superman Returns now that a PCM version is coming out in the UK.

This reminds me of a time on DVD when certain studios (Sony/Columbia) did nearly every DVD anamorphic while others took several years to catch on.

 

[David Wilkins]

I really want to look forward to this disc based on the remarks I've heard.

But, ah, tell me... is the film staged in the manner of a Broadway musical? You know...like...there's this group of sweaty, soot covered firemen reeling in a hose, when suddenly, they break into a choreographed dance number, only to be joined by a grateful family of four, and a couple of leaping paramedics?

Ordinarily, I'm broad-minded and somewhat cultured...but that just irks me to the core. It makes me want to spew.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Only very occasionally - Bill Condon for the most parts stages the musical numbers so that they occur in a recording studio, or on a stage. Even if the characters are breaking reality, singing when singing would not really occur, it's generally in a location where the audience is used to singing going on.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Bill's original quote isn't contradicted by DW doing a dual-release. All his comment said was that the studio didn't have interest in either format until one of them started to show signs of selling in greater volume. Their stance may have been dual-support all along, but just waiting to "get into the game" until at least one of the formats made it worth their while.

 

[Paul.S]

David Wilkins:



You're not alone. It's one of the reasons one of the few musicals I love is A Chrous Line: singing and dancing are endemic to the milieu in which the story takes place.

One of the most remarkable, sublime things about Condon's direction--and, IMO, one of the top 10 reasons the absence of a Best Director nomination for him was so egregious--is how he makes the pic palatable and logical for those who feel the way you've expressed here.

David Rooney addresses this issue explicitly in his Daily Variety review of the pic:

As he showed in his "Chicago" screenplay, Condon's love of the movie musical is backed by an awareness of how tricky it is to make the genre work for film audiences no longer accustomed to characters spontaneously bursting into song.

In "Chicago," the numbers evolved out of the characters' fantasies. Here, the first few songs are performances anchored in narrative context. Condon reels the audience in before gradually embracing traditional musical presentation -- first with brief, music-vid-style inserts during a montage and then with full-blown sung dialogue exchanges as the emotional stakes are raised. The mix not only blends seamlessly, it provides footing in the twin camps of movie musical and performance-based music biopic.

 

[Matt Hough]

And Congdon's screenplay certainly edited out a tremendous amount of the sung recitative that is present in the stage version. I'm sure he saw with the cool reception for THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA that on screen, recitative just doesn't work. (RENT ditched most of its recitative, too, on the screen.)

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

You're right, Matt. He eighty-sixed some recitative, and I agree that was probably a wise choice, especially for this material.


Dreamgirls doesn't really follow this formula. First of all, since the movie is about music, the musical numbers, even those that "break reality", so to speak, don't feel jarring. However, as was mentioned above, Condon wisely phases in such numbers gradually. It's actually a fairly impressive work of direction on his part.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Here are details. It's nice that most of the extras appear to be in HD:

Showstopper Edition DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD
The DREAMGIRLS Showstopper Edition DVD and single disc DVD will be presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs (single disc also available in full screen) with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, English 2.0 Surround and French 5.1 Surround with English and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc HD DVD and Blu-ray presentations will each be 1080p High Definition with English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus and English, English SDH+, French and Spanish subtitles.
The single disc DVD includes the extended and alternate scenes listed in disc one as well as the “Listen” music video in standard definition. The Showstopper Edition
two-disc sets include the following special features:



Disc One:
« Extended and Alternate Scenes:
o Effie, Sing My Song (HD)—Never-before-seen performance by Jennifer Hudson
o I’m Looking For Something (HD)
o Goin’ Down (HD)
o Takin’ The Long Way Home (HD)
o Fake Your Way To The Top (HD)
o Steppin’ To The Bad Side (HD)
o Heavy (HD)
o I’m Somebody (HD)
o I Am Changing (HD)
o Perfect World (HD)
o One Night Only (HD)
o One Night Only – Disco Version (HD)
« Music Video “Listen” by Beyoncé Knowles
Disc Two:
« Building The Dream—Feature-length documentary in nine chapters (HD):

• • On Broadway (HD)
  • The Dream Is Alive (HD)
  • I’m Lookin’ For Something (HD)
  • Feel So Real (HD)
  • You Better Move, Move… (HD)
  • The Sound Of Tomorrow (HD)
  • Gonna Take A Mean Ride: A Side (HD)
  • Gonna Take A Mean Ride: B Side (HD)
  • One Night Only (HD)

« Dream Logic: Film Editing (HD)
« Dressing The Dreams: Costume Design (HD)
« Center Stage: Theatrical Lighting (HD)
« Auditions and Screen Tests:

• • Dreamgirls – Beyoncé Knowles screen test (HD)
  • Ain’t No Party – Anika Noni Rose audition
  • Steppin’ To The Bad Side – Fatima Robinson choreography audition

« Previsualization Sequences:

• • The Talent Show
  • Fake Your Way To The Top
  • Cadillac Car
  • Steppin’ To The Bad Side
  • I Want You Baby
  • Heavy
  • Hard To Say Goodbye

« Image Gallery with over 1,100 images (Showstopper Edition DVD only):

• • Storyboards
  • Costume Designs
  • Production Designs
  • Art Department Archive

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Grrrr.

I was really hoping for lossless audio on this one!

 

[Tim Glover]

Me too. I was hoping for the same audio treatment as Chicago got....but guess not. I'm still buying, but just can't understand how this recent blockbuster AND Academy Award winner for Sound didn't get the best audio available. :frowning:

 

[BrettB]

What a joke. Rental.

 

[Tim Glover]

Some early reviews are glowing regarding the image AND sound...

http://www.dvdtown.com/reviews/dreamgirls/4590/1

Image...

Looking forward to this....

 

[Tim Glover]

Peter Bracke's review is up at highdefdigest.com

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/dreamgirls.html

Image is given a 5/5 Rating for both!

 

[MarekM]

WTH is with PARAMOUNT/DREAMWORKS ? no DolbyTrueHD, no PCM ? :frowning:

Marek

 

[DaViD Boulet]

lossless encoding = the new "anamorphic" issue for HD media: one that the studio don't quite "get" yet and one that the HT community needs to demand until they do.

5 years from now lossless audio will be defacto, but only if we make it clear that we DEMAND it.