Gladiator: Extended Edition (1 Viewer)

[Timothy Alexander]

The hell? I could've sworn that was what I did. Something I did made that medallion light up. Just tried to do it again and it didn't work. :frowning:

 

[Geoff_D]

I've just watched the extended movie, and while that version of the film didn't do a lot for me (Ridley's oh-so-enthusiastic introduction says it all really!) it was nice to watch Gladiator again.

But I noticed some more crackling (is that an okay description Carlo? ) in the louder moments in the scene where Lucilla goes to see Maximus and he's chained to the wall; the two moments where he shouts stand out in particular. And just to satisfy my curiosity I dug out the original R1 edition and listened to that same scene - not a hint of distortion was present in either the DD or the dts track.

Maybe lower quality electronics exacerbate the issue on the EE, but I can only tell you guys what I'm hearing. And yes Robert, this is noticable enough for me to have heard it even if I wasn't looking for it. I may not have the greatest system, but I can usually pick up glaring issues with the *quality* of audio tracks, e.g. the shrill moments of high-end during Diva Plavalaguna's performance in The Fifth Element. And I wasn't aware that Sin City had issues with the dialogue track, but I sure heard something odd when I watched that one! But I don't notice the flipped music in the surrounds on Star Wars...

The video quality of the new Gladiator is superb though. There's a slightly 'busy' look to the original version, whereas this new edition looks smoother without sacrificing any detail. Top-draw stuff. And the documentary is fantastic. It's as honest a piece as I've seen about a film - the opening statement from Sir Ridley sets the tone - and it makes me pine for the director's cut of Charlie de Lauzirika's Alien3 documentary all the more. Great work!

Basically this edition is worth a punt for a fan of the film. The extended cut is a curio, and doesn't add greatly to the film IMO, but it's great to have the option of a near-three hour version of this corking film. The video quality is excellent, and while the audio lets the side down occasionally it's still a very good mix, even if it doesn't top the roaring dts-es track of the previous release. And the extras are first-rate.

 

[Carlo_M]

Couldn't trouble you for a timecode for that scene could I, Geoff? I don't know the movie well enough to go right to that scene from memory.

 

[Geoff_D]

Sure Carlo, the scene starts about 1:45:45 into the extended version. Near the end of the scene Maximus shouts "Then let him kill Commodus!" and the crackling sound is all too apparent to me.

 

[Ryan L. Bisasky]

isn't it also apparently when Maximus shouts out, "alright now, keep together."

 

[Patrick H.]

This is thankfully a much more balanced thread than the pre-release one, where the ranting was getting rather scary. The more complaining I read in there about the audio issue, the more I was convinced that it probably wasn't really a problem. However, now that I've got the disc in my hands and given it a spin, it DOES stand out that there's something a little "off" with the track. The battle of Carthage scene is indeed the most glaring...pretty much every shouted line from Maximus is distorted, and the big music surge at the end of the scene tears across my entire front soundstage. I don't have a reference-quality system, but my front speakers (particularly the Infinity center channel) are solid, and I tried the scene using both my receiver's and player's decoders, each time getting the same results. The track also just doesn't have the "punch" that BOTH audio tracks on the older disc seemed to; directionality is okay, but the low end seems more subdued and the overall mix just sounds somehow flatter.

Of course, Robert has a very valid point above...would this stuff have been noticeable if a) we weren't alerted to it, and b) the other disc (with its house-destroying DTS track) hadn't come before it? First off, the format isn't the issue for me...a good soundtrack is a good soundtrack, and I was unfazed when this set was announced without DTS. As for the problems, though, I don't know...distortion in dialogue isn't uncommon and your brain can filter out a certain level of it. However, the tearing during the music swell is pretty obtrusive. In the end, I guess I'm glad to still have both sets, although I'm otherwise pleased with this one.

 

[Jack _Webster]

I've gone back and watched a bit of the original DVD, and I can see what people are saying about the audio having a bit more of a punch (even the DD track). I'm unsure which version I'll watch in the future. I love the added scenes, but the original DVD is still the way to go as far as A/V is concerned. I also like not having to pretend I didn't hear crackling in certain scenes. I don't know... I'm conflicted. :frowning:

 

[Roy Batty]

Having had at last the chance of doing an A-B comparison, you can count my vote in the not-so-impressed with the audio on this release.

First of all, DD on the new release is quite, quite poorer than DTS on the original, and not only for being simply softer, as DD usually is against its DTS counterpart. It all sounds somewhat muffled, as if lacking in dynamic range, and transitions between channels are much less natural than in the DTS old track. It is somewhat akin to hearing it through a cheap, badly adjusted set-up.

As for distortion, it is pretty apparent, specially in the much mentioned battle of Carthage. Go to 85'31'' ("Hold!"), 85'32'' ("As one!"), or 85'37'' ("Well done!") for some glaring offenders (all time codes provided relate to the theatrical cut). And my honest opinion is that yes, I would have noticed it even if I had not been expecting it.

As for the video, I do not know if this is the same transfer, but I have spotted a curious difference that, in my ignorance, I do not know to what part of the process may be chalked up to: when Commodus is giving his thumb up to Maximus after the battle (92'40''), there were some white, tiny spots that popped up for just a frame in the old release. They did not look as dirt but rather as "dead pixels", but, whatever they might be, they are absent in the new release (all but one, that appears upon the arm of the soldier whose back is turn on us). Again, if they were dead pixels indeed, I guess they had more to do with digital coding than with actual film cleaning or transfer.

On a side note, I must say I feel aghast by the fact that this movie is just 5 years old, and three great, great actors in its casting are not among us anymore.

 

[Kevin M]

Well, I just got this in from Netflix and first I listened to the Carthage scene and heard the "crackling" as has been mentioned, so I did an A-B comparison with the original release during the Battle of Carthage and...yes the crackling is definitely there on the new track but not on the original , "Come together" "Stay together" are the most noticeable examples.

Would I have noticed it if it had not been brought up? Maybe, if I for some reason had done an A-B of that particular scene but in the end, no, I might not have had I not been looking for it.
But, sadly, as it has been brought to my attention I will never be able to "not" hear it from now on....will it ruin my enjoyment or stop me from buying this release? Nah, it is infrequent and I actually prefer the original cut of the film so I can always pop in the original for the film and this set for the extras.


Still an enjoyable set on all fronts...but if the question of a few audio problems is the point then, yes, they are definitely there.

 

[Tarkin The Ewok]

To access the Easter Egg on disc 2, watch or skip through the documentary first. Then, you go to the chapters submenu, highlight credits, press right, and press enter.

Really, the Easter Egg is not worth that much effort. It is merely a discussion about possibilities for a second Gladiator movie.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I saw the extended edition of Gladiator just recently after a trip to my local Best Buy. It would have been nice to have another copy with extra footage. After picking up the title and looking it over, I found that the new extended edition did not have a dts track. Therefor I did not purchase the extended edition. It does not suprise me that the DD track is messed up and gets distorted. I would rather keep my DTS copy and watch that without the extra footage.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Dolby Digital, the so called superior surround format

 

[Bill Williams]

I for one am not going to take it as the end of the world because this DVD doesn't have a DTS track on it. How many DVDs out there don't have DTS tracks on them? Too many for me to begin counting. And if Ridley Scott and co. can poke fun at themselves on the trivia track for the lack of a DTS track on the disc, all the more reason to enjoy the disc for what we have on it. It could be worse... it could be in 1.0 mono sound a la the "V" box set! lol!

 

[Carlo_M]

MISCONCEPTION ALERT (aka beating the dead horse)

DD does not introduce distortion/cracklies which DTS would eliminate. If there is distortion/cracklies (which I still unfortunately haven't had a chance to A/B but others here have), it is in the master audio tracks used for this transfer, not in their choice to use DD/DTS.

If DD introduced cracklies/distortion, then you'd hear it in EVERY THEATER that used it (and there's a ton of them) and basically every DVD that uses it (which would be ALL of them as it is the standard audio format).

So please, if there is distortion on this disc, then point it out and call it, but do not blame it on this release "not having DTS".

Thanks

 

[Geoff_D]

What do people think of the little scene added before the first fight in Zucchabar, where the big German fella is imparting his wisdom to the little runt ("I speak four languages!") who quickly gets killed?

I ask because I didn't notice this one when I went through the previous DVD's selection of deleted scenes, so it seems to have come from nowhere to be included in the new edition. Maybe it's another favourite little scene of Ridley's? Or maybe I'm just imagining it.

[Edit: Carlo got there first!]Dave/Bill, the audio format is not the main issue here. Most rational folk have conceded that dts had to be left out of this edition (the DVD even explains why!) but to have the remaining Dolby Digital track affected by a glaring (to some ) audio fault is disappointing, given the effort elsewhere that went into making this set. Yet it's worth buying for the documentary alone, and in conjunction with the existing release you've got a rather fancy five-disc edition.

 

[Dave Moritz]

While this problem with the Gladiator release is not a direct flaw with Dolby Digital. IMHO DD tracks are lacking and muddy to begin with. And I see no reason to believe that DD+ will be any different, only time will tell. And since this thread is not about that, I will leave it at that.

IMHO even if Gladiator Extended Edition did not have problems I would not get it just for extra footage. The DD track on the DD/DTS version is still muddy and lacking so why would I want a newer version of the same DD track. My room mate just got home from work with the extended edition and I told him he should return it right away and get his money back. For him its more of a point of not keeping a defective disc. He was only interested in seeing the extra footage. But if the audio is faulty then there is no use in keeping it.

 

[Dave Mack]

Carlo is right. There are PLENTY of examples of DD having amazing audio tracks. Look at Titanic, SW ep.2 attack of the clones. Even the original Gladiator release had a VERY, very good DD track. This apparently is just an example of a badly done DD track. And the original audio stems are fine, otherwise the other tracks couldn't have sounded so good. The distortion here apparently occurred when they recorded and mixed the new track. Someone should've done a better job. And yes, I've heard it now. For such a high profile title, this was poorly done. Once again, it has nothing to do with DTS not being present. While that is indeed a bit disapointing, for me what's worse is that what they DO give us is below par in this day and age. Especially for a list price of $39.99!!!!!!
What will be interesting is to see if the R2 UK version has a better audio track.

IMHO

d

 

[SteveCallas]

Strong words. I am a DTS fan, but I wouldn't say all DD tracks are lacking. Have you ever heard any of the 3 Matrix films, or perhaps The Patriot? How about Terminator 3, Last Samurai, Aliens, or Black Hawk Down? It all depends on the source material and the mixer.

 

[Carlo_M]

Dave, I see you're in AZ. If you are ever out in Los Angeles shoot me a PM...I'd love to get you in a double blind test to see if you can identify DD vs. DTS tracks. I even have an SPL meter to even match audio levels

 

[JoshB]

I thought the whole point of starting a new thread was to NOT continue the pointless discussion that the previous thread had regarding DTS or lack thereof. It seems ot be heading in that direction yet again, so I hope people can steer clear of it and try and focus on the disc itself, such as its qualities. I can see discussing the possible audio distortion, but to bring the whole DTS issue up is rather pointless and will no doubt incite further ramblings just as it did before. Leave DTS to another discussion, because this issue has been overanalyzed since.

 

[Grant H]

Sounds like confirmation that this release should be a rental for audiophiles. I probably won't bother getting around to that even; I'm happy with the original film, and I'll never bother with the extras. They just inflate the cost of the set. The movie presentation itself is the priority for me, and if the ball's been dropped in that department....

I can see why those who want some great extras and are willing to pay for them would still be interested though.

Has anyone asked the studios about the distortion? Maybe you'll get a response that any changes to the audio track are intentional.