'FINAL FANTASY' dvd, absolutely INCREDIBLE! (1 Viewer)

[Todd_Peter]

I noticed noise and/or artifacts as well. The transfer is great at times but as a whole I would say it is nowhere near as good as Toy Story 2 IMO. Noise is evident at the start of chapter 2 during the pan over the streets and city, or for example on the locker to the left of Aki at chapter 8. There are many places and this dissapointed me. From the review at DVDfile and others, I was expecting a much cleaner picture.
I read two other reviews of Final Fantasy earlier. Widescreenreview.com states, "Some noise is noticed...". Genre Online II wrote in their review "...I was slightly disappointed with the transfer" and "Somehow certain scenes look better than others...”.
I would agree with both the above statements and add IMO Toy Story 2 is much more consistent in its transfer and of better quality.
I liked Final Fantasy and think it will grow on me more and more. The extra’s are excellent also.

 

[GlenH]

I thought this was a really good movie. How some people would walk out of the theater or fall asleep watching this movie, I just don't get.
With respect to the "noise", it is clearly not due to the trasnfer, but was done INTENTIONALLY.
***SPOILER ALERT***
The first scene takes place in a deserted city. Then, you have Aki and the soldiers running, jumping and shooting up rubble. Of course there's going to be lots of dust and grain! I was impressed by how gritty some of the scenes looked. If you listened (or read the english translated) commentary, they note alot of these things.
***END SPOILER***
It makes no sense to compare the CGI and animation between Final Fantasy and Toy Story. Toy Story goes for a 3D cartoon look. Final Fantasy tries to emulate real people, environments, etc. Of course the animation styles and looks would be totally different. Aside from whether you liked the story or not, I think Final Fantasy was a MUCH more impressive achievement than Toy Story. ANYONE can render super crisp, bright, shiny objects. It becomes much more difficult when you try to render mundane stuff like beards, rubble and rocks, subtle facial expressions, dust, etc.
That said, I think FF could have been better. If they only made the characters expressions more pronounced, they would have seemed more real than computer generated. This is where American animators are much better than Japanese animators. Also, I'll concede that some parts of the movie was uneven in terms of quality of rendering, etc. But, this is due to the fact that this movie took 4 years to make and computer technology as well as their techniques improved as they were making this movie.
If anything, I recommend buying this disc for demo material. Good bass from the DD5.1 soundtrack and, IMO great graphics overall despite the limitations of CGI.
Glen
[Edited last by GlenH on October 24, 2001 at 02:48 AM]

 

[Hubert]

"I think Final Fantasy was a MUCH more impressive achievement than Toy Story."
Much more impressive from a storytelling standpoint or a CGI standpoint?

 

[Lewis Besze]

Loved the movie,and it's easily one of the best picture and sound on DVD today!
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"You Hungarians always disagree"

 

[Todd_Peter]

What I said in my post regarding an example of where the transfer showed noise was "...at the start of chapter 2 during the pan over the streets and city". Maybe the first 15 seconds of it before Aki lands the ship are really noticeable to my eyes. NOT the entire first act of the film as you described Glen. Some portions look phenomenal. Maybe take peak at the beginning of the chapter 2. I noticed movement in the street and sky that looked like noise and not CGI created.
I played the disc on my 46” rear screen projector with a Toshiba SD-2019 DVD player connected via SVHS and the effect was less noticeable (but still there). On my 36” Sony Wega XBR400 in 16:9 mode with a Toshiba SD-1600 DVD player connected via component, the effect was much more visible. Probably because of it’s increased sharpness and being viewed anamorphic. Both sets have been calibrated with Video Essentials.
I wasn’t comparing the movies directly aside from their transfer quality IMO. I do agree, the CGI was AMAZING in Final Fantasy.

 

[CraigR]

I did not see this movie at the theater but knew before purchasing the DVD that it was heavy CGI. I thought the animation/visuals were amazing. The story content was ok. All in all a good purchase. I'll being watching it some more and it definitely will become one of my demonstration pieces. It should be interesting watching the extra/bonus material.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

I actually noticed a fair amount of ....dare I say, Noise ...and Grit/Grain in this transfer. Not quite up there with Toy Story 2 or Dinosaur.

I remember reading somewhere that they rendered in film grain for a more 'realistic' look. But then, I remember being the Lindberg baby, so take it with a....grain? or salt. *Dr. Evil pinkie move*

 

[Yohan Pamudji]

The theatrical release definitely had artificial grain.
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This screen has been formatted to fit your movie.

 

[Rob Robinson]

"because every FF fan that I know who has seen it confirmed that the movie has little or no relation to the video game series of the same name."
this is RUBBISH, and a silly reason to not pick up this disc.
First- none of the share a common plot line- FF II & FF7 have no connection, nor do any of the others.
In fact, about the only thing that's been pretty consistant in the FF "universe" are the overarching themes of 'stop hurting our planet' , which this flick had in spades.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Some of the comments here made me consider a purchase, but then I thought about the other CGI extravaganzas that the HTF has talked me into buying, like Lost in Space and The Mummy, also lousy movies, and thought better of it. Content is more important than effects, for me.
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"This movie has warped my fragile little mind."

 

[Ron-P]

I'd give it

out of 5

s
Decent movie, a little on the boring side. Audio was good, but not quite as good TS:2 or Titan A.E. Video was also impressive, some scenes suffered from a little too much grain, weather it was intentional or not. As for the "absolutly Increadible", I'd have to dissagree.
I think it is worth a purchase, even if it is just to look at Aki, she's hot
Peace Out~

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http://home.earthlink.net/~peregrinefalcon

 

[Nelson Au]

Ron-
I agree, for a CGI girl, Aki is nice to look at. Very well done.
Maybe someone already posted here, but if you don't already know, check out dvdeastereggs.com. There an easter egg on this disc that opens to review test shots of her in a bikini and other clothes.
Nelson

 

[BrianSC]

I picked it up out of curiosity for the CGI and was pleasantly surprised.
I'll agree with an earlier poster that the facial expressions and mouth movements were a little stiff. And if they want to add a little more realism, put some sounds of clothes rustling in. They had voices, music and overt effects but the subtleties of incidental sounds were missing. (Especially that leather coat that one guy was wearing.)
Overall though, it's worth a look.
Brian

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I've played (and beaten) most of the FF games and I saw the FF movie twice in theaters and have tons and tons of media from it. What I'm trying to say is that I did my homework.
The movie has connections to the games in a few ways. Common themes (life, death, love, etc.), some names (Sid/Cid), and some plot elements. The theme of "stop killing our planet" is actually not one of the themes. The whole point of the Gaia (which was a big plot point in several games) was to show the connection between people and help explain spirituality in the eyes of Sakaguchi (the guy who does all the FF stuff).
If you thought this film was boring, then you either didn't understand the story or were watching something else. There was always something happening in this movie, whether it was dialogue that explained the back story of the movie or the characters' current state of mind or a bunch of action sequences.
And yes, that grain was put on there to give the film a "look" kinda like Silent Hill 2 for PlayStation 2 has a grain put over it to give it a "look." A lot of that grain can be seen as dust, but during some scenes, it was put there to make the background look fuzzy, out of focus, or to draw attention away from it (it saved time in rendering for the final film).
I loved this film.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Though I was bored to sleep by FF at the theaters, I also bought the DVD because I appreciate the artform, and the painstaking care that went into this production. Plus, I wanted to watch it again (just to be fair in my assessment of the story), and for the extras on the 2nd DVD.
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PatCave; HT Pix; Gear; DIY Mains; DIY CC; Sunosub I + II + III; DVDs; Link Removed

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Jeff and Morgan are absolutely right about the film, content-wise. I agree completely that you have to appreciate the Japanese mindset to appreciate this movie.
Also, I read about it in Creative Screenwriting magazine, where the American writer(s) talked about how the Japanese writers came up with the story, the Americans translated it into English, and then the Japanese writers went over the English version a final time. The American writers were concerned that the result was on too much of a Japanese wavelength for American audiences.
I always tell people who ask me that if they keep in mind that the film was written by Japanese video game designers, then they'll be able to enjoy it, otherwise it'll just be too weird.

 

[Phil Morris]

I'll join those who are praising this movie and add a virtual pat on the back. I found it a superb film, very engrossing, not dull for an instant. Oh, and I never felt sleepy once. I'll definitely be watching it again, no worries there.
It is though one of those films where you have to pay attention in order to understand the plot. Then again, maybe it's just not some people's 'bag' - it was mine.
To compare it to a film which seems to get universal praise - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - to me that film was one HUGE yawn and should have been strangled at birth. Still, each to his/her own.
The DVD set for Final Fantasy is outstanding - it's worth buying even if you don't like the film!
Phil

 

[Richard Kim]

quote: Jeff and Morgan are absolutely right about the film, content-wise. I agree completely that you have to appreciate the Japanese mindset to appreciate this movie.[/quote]
How do you explain the fact the film tanked when it was shown in Japan?
[Edited last by Richard Kim on October 24, 2001 at 03:32 PM]

 

[Phil Morris]

To Mark Zimmer - Believe me, Final Fantasy is far, far superior to Lost in Space and The Mummy! Both those films WERE an EXTREME yawn!
Phil

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Hey Richard,

How do explain the fact the film tanked when it was shown in Japan?

I said I *appreciate* the Japanese mindset, not that I *understand* it!!!

(And I was *married* to one for almost 7 years!)