HTF HD DVD Review: The Bourne Ultimatum (Combo) (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

He was wrong at the time which made it even funnier. He said it to ME and I DO have to hit the A button cause I'm the idiot who has to review all the extras, good or bad, that they put on the disk.

 

[Paul.S]

Setting aside that it is not entirely accurate to say that the behind the scenes footage is not menu selectable (per my comments in my last post), it's unclear whether you bothered with the U-Control content on this disc because you've obviously already made up your mind that you don't care for that kind of interactivity regardless of content.

 

[Sam Posten]

I remember it differently, Bill and I were both asking questions at that time, and it was just around that time I shouted 'bullshit' and then gave up, as it wasnt my place to make a scene, and if I hadnt already at that point I very likely would have soon after. And I apologized for getting that way, and havent said anything further on it since, public or private... But I suppose its not all that hard to guess how I feel about their posturing and how I feel about them dragging out both HD DVD and their unevely implemented interactive features.

EDIT: It's not that I really care at this point, but it was my understanding that this exchange was one that had been mercifully lost from the tape due to it being during casette swaps. If you care to transcribe it from the youtube version go nuts, if I'm wrong I'm wrong. Regardless of whether it was aimed at me or not, I DO like extras on disk and WILL search them out, but I absolutely HATE HATE HATE just about every interactive implementation so far, and if, like me, you DO want to see this stuff without wasting your time you have VERY limited choices. You either rewatch the whole film with the extras on autopilot or somehow flip a button like a monkey during the scenes you care about. There isnt anyone on either format that has really gotten that down without making something menu selectable in my opinion.

 

[Sam Posten]

And to answer your final question: Yes I DID subject myself to the inanery of the included u-control features, all 3 ways: by putting them on autopilot, by clicking them individually and by trying the menu, which as I said had just about every chapter listed with content, making that pretty much useless to me. And I really felt the Toureg extra was nauseating in its boldness for product placement.

Just because I dont like the past U-controls doesnt mean I'm not there on every new release hoping it will be better 'this time!' =)

Sam

 

[Paul.S]

Word. Thank you.

Paul

 

[JGiampa]

I just picked up and watched it tonight. I did not see it in the theatres because a lot of people told me the camera was too shaky and it made them sick...

After watching it I didn't think it was any different then the first two. I actually thought the fighting scenes were easier to see.

I really enjoyed the movie- thought it did the first two justice, unlike a lot of 3rd parts to trilogies.

However I did run into some problems with the disc freezing and also not loading scenes. I suppose i will update the firmware on my XBOX 360 add on tomorrow. If that doesnt fix it I will have to bring it back to Best Buy.

*Im not looking forward to updating the firmware btw.

 

[Sam Posten]

Regarding Universal's posturing, see:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...here-stay.html

Obviously with that title under my name anything I say can get me in trouble, but the truth is I dont know any more than anyone else on this forum what Uni is going to do. I have over $1500 worth of HD DVD players and thousands of dollars worth of HD DVDs from all studios who support(ed) it, but it saddens me to see this fight dragged out any longer than necessary.

I want to be able to encourage my friends and neighbors to buy with confidence and right now I cannot do that, cause I truly believe momentum has swung too far to Blu's side (and of course I have BOTH, thats a risk I took as an early adopter willingly and I have enjoyed the FILMS but not the politics and fanboyism) to ever recover or to continue to support both formats. Again, as an early adopter its cool with me to back things that dont catch on, but the average consumer (ie my friends) would be really ticked to make a choice and have that choice disappear...

I'm not the most accurate technology bellweather tho, the geek side of me is often wrong when making technology predictions because it is the business or economic or style choices and options that dictate which trends really kick off and which don't. I was terrifically right about the original DIVX for example but horribly wrong about things and companies like SGI, Minidisk, DVD-A/SACD etc... Time will tell...

 

[JGiampa]

So I updated the firmware on my XBOX 360 add on....now the disc wont play AT ALL.

Ironic isn't it?

 

[JGiampa]

I just returned it for a new copy....still does not play. Does anyone have any advice? Bestbuy refuses to give me my money back, they want me to buy the standard DVD.

I refuse to buy standard DVDs...

 

[Sam Posten]

no idea sorry. I wasted $200 on my 360 drive, watched king kong on it then never put another disk in it

 

[Paul.S]

I know what you mean but even if I agree with you on this point (I do), "posturing" is a semi-perjorative term intimating disingenuousness on Graffeo/U's part.

Per your own statement, you don't know what U is going to do. I acknowledge the quandary you mentioned about how to advise friends and neighbors who come to you for advice (but it sounds like you perhaps think you should tell them to buy a BD player). And I appreciate good criticism as much if not even more than the next guy. However, especially since we both already have HD DVD players, why not just accept what Graffeo (who was kind enough to speak to you, me and a buncha other HTFers last summer) has to say about their plans on faith until they announce otherwise and in the interim enjoy terrific discs like this one, The Pianist and many others instead of looking the gift horse so deeply in the mouth?

 

[Sam Posten]

I guess you are right about the connotations of "posturing" but I've had uneven experiences with everything connected to HD DVD _outside_ of the movies themselves, have trust issues with many of the companies connected with this technology. That I've been willing to spend so much on this tech despite these experiences should give some insight into how much weight i give the films over the tech. Honestly not much more I can add about it than that.

 

[Paul.S]

iHD? MS?

There's ample mistrust to go 'round on both sides of the aisle though. Remember Sony's "rootkit" episode?

 

[Jari K]

Not the "official" box set, but you can get all 3 films from Amazon:

Amazon.com: The Bourne Trilogy (The Bourne Identity / The Bourne Supremacy / The Bourne Ultimatum) [HD DVD] - Amazon.com Exclusive: DVD: Matt Damon

There´s also UK box set:
Amazon.co.uk: The Bourne Identity/The Bourne Supremacy/The Bourne Ultimatum [HD DVD] [2002]: DVD: Matt Damon,Albert Finney,Clive Owen,Franka Potente,Brian Cox,Chris Cooper,Julia Stiles,Gabriel Mann,Joan Allen,Paddy Considine,Doug Liman,Paul Greengras
(£37.98 = roughly 74$)