Recommend some Arnold movies with good transfers, please. (1 Viewer)

Hey all,


I just picked up The Running Man today and enjoyed watching this movie again, just like when I was growing up in the 80s. The transfer is very good. Anyway, I always enjoyed the good ole Arnold flicks of the 80s and was wondering what other Arnold movies have had really good transfers done, or which ones may be coming?

I have both Terminators, and Total Recall. Are there good transfers of Commando, Red Heat, Predator, etc.?

Thanks for any info, guys,
Geo

You might want to check out Stay Hungry as it just recently came out and is actualy quite good but different than most of his movies and the transfer was pretty good. I would also recommend Hercules In New York as it is his first movie and is quite good too.


-Mike

If you want Predator, I'd advise waiting a couple months for the new Special Editon

Ummm....I think there is still one more you need to get

Oh, I have Terminator 3. There's no way I'd be without such a cool demo disc, plus I liked the movie. I was referring to the older Arnold flicks that didn't have the best transfers when first released, like the special edition of T1 and the Ultimate and Extreme editions of T2.

I have every Arnold Schwarzenegger movie released in my inventory so I might be able to provide some assistance.

Wait for the Predator: SE coming soon as well as an eventual release of an anamorphic True Lies. Red Sonja is also being released soon.

Recommendations:
Stay Hungry
The Villain
Pumping Iron
Conan: The Barbarian (if you have a region free player, get the R3 version since it's in 5.1 while the R1 is in 2.0 Mono, but still good)
Raw Deal
Last Action Hero
Junior
Eraser
End of Days
The 6th Day
Collateral Damage

Stay away from the following right now:
Conan The Destroyer: Non-Anamorphic
Commando: Non-Anamorphic and only in stereo
Red Heat: Non-Anamorphic
Twins: Fool-screen, stereo and a very bad transfer
Kindergarten Cop: Same problems as Twins
Jingle All The Way: Non-Anamorphic and OOP

Hope this helps!

Some may disagree, but I believe the True Lies transfer is outstanding. The only problem is, while the transfer is great, the darn DVD is non-anamorphic!! So, assuming that you own a 16:9 HDTV monitor, it's still really hard to recommend the disc. If your set or your DVD player has some kind of 4:3 "shrink and zoom" mode (to make 4:3 LBX appear to be 16:9 anamorphic), then you'll probably enjoy the otherwise very nice presentation.

The Eraser disc, while a very early DVD, sports a very fine 16:9 anamorphic transfer, and I can definitely recommend the title. Just be aware of the fact that its a totally "bare bones" disc. It contains a P&S transfer on one side and the aforementioned 16:9 anamorphic transfer on the other.


These discs, along with the three Terminator movies and Total Recall, pretty much makes up my entire "Ah-nold" collection at this point.

I'm sure somebody here can chime in on the quality of the two Conan movies.

It's funny you should say that. Zellers here in Canada has it on sale for $9.97. I had it in my hand yesterday and almost purchased it until I read on the back that it was non-anamorphic. We just recently purchased a 16:9 set, otherwise it would've been a no-brainer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I heard somewhere that a special edition of "True Lies" was in the works.

Also on the $9.97 shelf was "Speed", but it was the single-disc non-anamorphic version, which was sort of a let down considering the version advertised in the flyer was the 2-disc 5 Star edition. Oh well.

Based on the recent "chat" with Fox, it's gonna' be a long time coming. Apparently, they're just having a hard time getting any of the principles of the movie (Cameron, Arnold, etc.) interested enough to work on the Bonus Features.

A Hi-Def transfer of the movie has already been released to D-Theater (the digital VHS format); and a "bare bones" Hi-Def disc version will probably make it out early in the viable life of HD-DVD (2006-2007?)

So, if you want the movie, you might just as well go ahead and obtain the current disc. The transfer, while non-anamorphic, is otherwise outstanding with really incredible black level and good detail. (It's right up there with Armageddon as one of the best non-anamorphic transfers ever made, IMO). My Panny DVD player has a "4:3 LBX Shrink and Zoom" function which makes my 16:9 monitor "think" that the transfer is anamorphic. If your DVD player doesn't have this feature, I'm sure your monitor has some kind of "zoom" function that you could utilize for non-anamorphic LBX transfers.

Harminder,


If you have every Arnold Schwarzenegger movie than could you tell me what the
Hercules In New York transfer is like as I have yet to pick it up.


-Mike

Thanks for the info. If there are no plans for a re-release in the forseeable future, I'll most definitely pick up the existing version, and for 10 bucks, I really can't go wrong. My DVD player doesn't have the shrink & zoom feature you mentioned, but I can use the zoom on my RPTV.

Mind you, I hope sometime eventually they will find a way to bring a nice special edition of the film to us.

Just go into it with the realization that the transfer will seem a little "edgy" when viewed this way, and you'll be all right. I forgot that with my current setup I also have a Faroudja chip between the transfer and the monitor. This really helps in getting rid of some of the "edginess" that's inherent with a non-anamorphic transfer. If you view this transfer with your monitor's "zoom" function, but you don't have Faroudja processing available either in the DVD player or the monitor, then the "edginess" will probably appear even worse via the "zoom".

* sigh *

I, too, would *love* a two-disc True Lies SE with a new anamorphic transfer. It's one of my favorite "Ah-nold" movies (right behind Terminator 2.)

Hopefully it'll come before the end of the decade. In the meantime, as you say, the price for the current disc is not bad (I've seen it for as low as $8.88 at my local Wal-Mart Superstore.)

The best option you've got right now for True Lies on DVD(assuming you're region-free) is the Japanese R2 disc. It's got a nice anamorphic transfer and DTS audio. It also has a 23-minute behind-the-scenes featurette and the trailer. The only downside is the price. Expect to pay at least 30 bucks for it.

there is a region 2/4 of conan the destroyer from MGM that is enhanced for widescreen and has a 5.1 soundtrack. It also has commentary and some documentaries.

JACOB

I thought Jingle All The Way looked pretty good for a non-anamorphic disc.

I think it's also a really good movie...

be wary of last action hero because alot of the ones on shelves I see are Foolscreen

The Last Action Hero DVD has both Widescreen and Full Screen Transfers. So there is no need to worry about the OAR. The Villain on the other hand is Full Screen Only.


-Mike

Didn't I hear that they were making a 3rd version of "Total Recall" a la T2 Extreme Edition?

Michael if memory serves me correct CTHE has been re-releaseing "Last Action Hero" as follscreen only. And the dual sided disc that you & me have is OOP. So that may explain why Matt can only find the foolscreen version only.