Just WHY do people buy films on HD? (1 Viewer)

Since HD-DVD and, to a lesser extent Blu-Ray, was launched I've been reading all sorts of comments like "the film stinks but the HD-DVD looks fantastic so: highly recommended" or "it's a lousy film but it'll really push my home theater to its limits" or whatever.

I can understand buying a lot of rubbish when a new format is released. I myself bought a handful of dud titles when I first got into DVD. But a lot of the comments I've read here just strike me as... baffling.

So I gotta ask: just why are y'all buying movies on HD? Is it:

1. Because you genuinely love movies and you want to see them with the very best possible picture and sound quality. You're only buying turds like Happy Gilmore and Fast And The Furious 2 because you're interested to see what the new format is capable of.

or

2. Because you have a real expensive home theater and you want to show it off to all your mates so you need the most colourful picture and noisiest soundtrack you can get your hands on for your next "demo disc" and artistic integrity be damned.

or

3. A little of both (this is a bit of a cop-out obviously!!) LOL

John

I haven't taken the plunge into HD movies yet, but when I do it'll be for part of the reason you've outlined in #1.

However, I will only purchase movies that I love - which is why I have yet to take the plunge. I will not purchase movies that I hate or even merely liked.

Goodfellas is the only film available so far on either format that I would like to have in my collection. While I did like the films such Lord of War and Jarhead, I have no desire to own either of them (unless they were free).

I want the best presentation I can get for films that I love.

From the looks of things, I'll be waiting a while until jumping on either.

To be honest, much of what is available on HD-DVD right now is
generally rubbish. That's my opinion.

Sometimes I think the studios put some of this stuff out
in the first batch of releases because they knew that we
would buy them NOW as opposed to LATER.

I'll admit I bought a few titles I would have otherwise ignored
just because I'm starving for HD-DVD titles to look at on my
new system.

So, to answer your question, I am buying some of these lackluster
titles because I'm looking for the best sources I can to show off
my system.

I would probably do the same thing with HD as I did with DVD and opt for the cop out route (#3), with somewhat more discretion due to the expense involved with HD discs. I think U-571 is a bad movie, but I would still consider getting an HD copy because it is an ideal film for demonstrating what a home theatre is capable of.........showing shitty movies with out-of-sight audio and visual qualities.

I took the HD plunge mainly because of the sound improvement. DD+ and Lossless sound I really couldn't resist.

The massive picture improvement is a great bonus to me. The In-Movie-Experience is really fun too!

I'll admit to having some stinkers on my shelf just because I was desperate for HD material. It just looks so pretty! But I generally buy films on HD-DVd because I enjoy them. They're not films I absolutely LOVE, mind you, but ones that I at least can enjoy now and then. And it has to be stated that one man's rubbish is another man's treasure. For instance, I LOVE Happy Gilmore and was delighted to have it in HD.

But I'm definently not the sort that's buying everything that comes out, because a lot of it IS crap. In point fact, it seems like the release slates now are worse than when HD-DVD debuted, with the exception of a few titles. Which is just as well, since I've already blown all my money.

For those of us with a front projector setup any improvment in picture quality is a worthwhile investment and I would still be holding off otherwise. And now the wait is on for some worthy titles so I'm hoping the Spartacus release will really make this film an experience that makes investing in HD really pay off.

There are many ways to enjoy a film. The best way is when everything in it is brilliantly executed and it's a great movie. That doesn't happen very often.

But it is also possible to enjoy individual aspects of a film: a particular performance, the photography, the art direction, the score, the special effects, and so on. When posters leave messages like the ones you cite, I think they're really saying, "This isn't a good movie but the visuals are enjoyable when I see them looking this good in my home." I think that's a perfectly legitimate reason to enjoy a film.

I happen to think "Van Helsing" is a piece of junk and an abject failure as a film, for instance. But I also think it has remarkable photography and production design and, if I bought an HD DVD player right now, I'd consider buying that disk just to admire the higher-quality presentation of those two elements.

This is hardly "artistic integrity be damned" or showing off for your friends. So, I utterly disagree with the tone and content of your post Mr. Ross.

But you're still one of my heroes because of the tribute to Jerry Goldsmith that you have in your signature. A wonderful tribute to an incredibly talented musician. (I hope you've heard his score to the "Soarin' Over California" attraction at Disney's California Adventure. One of his most wonderful creations, IMO.)

I have indeed heard "Soarin' Over California" (available on Disney's "Music From Disney's California Adventure" CD as you probably know) and it is indeed splendid! I have a jolly nice 7 minute video (mpg) too about the ride, with some shots of people queuing outside and a full trip through the ride. If you drop me your e-mail address I'll send it over.

John

I buy films that I really like and want to keep. I certainly don't consider them garbage, although others may. I rent other movies if I want to watch them as films, but I am not interested in Doom or movies like that. I know a lot of people are disappointed with the selection, but to me it's just a matter of increasing the quantity. On my hd dvd shelf, I am happy to have Serenity, The Fugitive, Full Metal Jacket, Apollo 13, U-571 and soon, The Searchers. When I run out of hd dvds to watch, I catch up on some TV sets, which look fantastic upscaled through Toshiba hd a1.

I buy HD DVD's because it gives me a high quality image comparable to the image I get from a 35mm print at a far lower cost.

Not to mention better availability......

Ted

The best way to understand human nature, is to understand one's self.
If you can understand why you did it with SD DVD, you'll have a much better understanding as to why other people are doing it with HD disc.

Having said that;
1. It because their fricking crazy videophiles!!! ;-)

After being on forums for a few years i've learned some will buy anything. Me,i go for action and sci-fi because i can watch those over and over but most the other stuff,1 or 2 times and i'm done with it. Different strokes for different folks.

I agree that I've purchased quite a few films I would have ignored if it weren't for the High Def formats, but a few of my favorites have been released(SLEEPY HOLLOW, GOODFELLAS,etc.). I purchased the format(s) because I've always wanted to replicate the look and feel of film as much as possible in my home, and these formats(especially HD DVD) have done that. Yeah, there are some real stinkbombs available now(DOOM, anyone?), but great titles like THE SEARCHERS and SPARTACUS are on the way, along with some great modern blockbusters like BATMAN BEGINS and SUPERMAN RETURNS.

Exactly.

Currently, I own these titles on HD DVD:

Blazzing Saddles
Bourne Supremacy, The
Enter the Dragon
Goodfellas
Full Metal Jacket
Jarhead
Lethal Weapon
Serenity
Sleepy Hollow
Unforgiven

I plan to buy Caddyshack and The Searchers when Amazon finally lists them, and I have pre-orders for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Red Dragon.

Each of these films I bought or plan to buy because I like the film. I think there is a lot of variety out there right now, and I a lot of good films if you look hard enough. My tastes are pretty diverse, and while I would like to see some blockbuster type movies on HD DVD soon, there is more than enough to keep me occcupied until then.

Although I'd like more day-and-date big titles (still waiting for V For Vendetta announcement) and great films like ET, Jaws, Back To The Future, etc, I think there have been some very good titles released thus far.

Goodfellas, Unforgiven, Enter The Dragon, Animal House, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, 16 Blocks, Ray, Million Dollar Baby, Cinderella Man, Apollo 13, Last Samurai, Jarhead, Blazing Saddles, Sleepy Hollow, Sky Captain, Spy Game, Bourne Supremacy, The Fugitive, Syriana, Full Metal Jacket, Training Day - these are all films worth owning, IMO.

I have a few mainly for visual presentation like Constantine, Riddick & Van Helsing, but I also owned all these on DVD.

yes, no kidding.
i guess i never figured out why anyone would expect others to justify thier purchases, dvds or otherwise.

oh well one person's rubbish....

that question can be applied to SD-DVD's as well.

an easy example is just today i swung by the local rental store. i didn't plan to buy war of the worlds... but i bought it cause of the DTS. i don't think it's a out and out spectacular movie like Star Wars or LOTR... but it's a blockbuster and it gets loud =).

i think many HTF'ers own a ton of DVD's because of that sole reason alone. that's how we view entertainment.

on the other hand, there are a ton of titles that we want on HD, classics in every sense. i think there's a list somewhere.

Studios always do this with new formats so I don't get sucked in. They put out their Back catalog first knowing new owners will buy anything just to have software for the Product (See UMD Sales for the PSP). THen later on they get to more new releases and better films.

I don't own a HD-DVD I will sometime, I picked up so far 2 disks , BOurne Supremacy and Serentity. But I would'nt rebuy too many of my collection. I watched the Searchers Last night on SD-DVD, and While I'd love to have it on HD-DVD the SD-DVD package was very nice, and the image great upconverted on my player

I own five HD-DVDs:

GoodFellas, Sleepy Hollow and Happy Gilmore - Reason #1: I love these movies. I'll pick up Kiss Kiss Bang Bang one of these days for the same reason. There are plenty of other titles I'd like to have, but I can't afford to buy them all at once.

Aeon Flux - Reason #2: I wanted to see how good HD-DVD could look and sound. I don't see anything wrong with eye-candy.

Swordfish - Reason #3: I liked the movie, and I thought it would look and sound great.