A Dream Come True: Spartacus on HD-DVD!!!! (1 Viewer)

[JeremySt]

Is the HD DVD version of Spartacus the RAH supervised version?

 

[Jace_A]

Spartacus is generally considered to be one of the worst HD DVD titles released. From most accounts, it's barely better than the Universal SD DVD and actually worse than the Criterion DVD in terms of color reproduction.

 

[Paul_Scott]

RAH declines to comment on it- but I'm sorry, on a big screen I would much rather watch the HD DVD than the Criterion version. The ringing and the mpeg2 smearing of details are noticeable on the Criterion to me, not so on the HD DVD.
I will happily upgrade if a better RAH approved version should make its way out, but until then the HD DVD is what I will reach for whenever I want to watch the movie.

 

[Sam Posten]

The official HTF spartacus review is here:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...spartacus.html

And you will note that I have quoted Mr. Harris regarding the audio portions from another interview, I have not ever had the pleasure of discussing it wil him directly. His silence regarding this version is pretty interesting tho and I hold out hope that he will be involved in a better future release as Spartacus is one of my favorite films.

 

[Douglas Monce]

The HD DVD version is clearly sharper than the SD criterion version which is pretty obvious when you look at the small print in the title sequence. However the color timing on the HD DVD seems to be way off, when compared to the Criterion.

Doug

 

[Gary Murrell]

the Spartacus release concerning everything but color timing is great, it looks pretty darn good if you ask me i'm sure it could be better and when and if it is I will buy it again

-Gary

 

[OliverK]

Spartacus has a color timing that makes it look more like Ben Hur part II when it really was supposed to look very much different.

I have had the pleasure to view it theatrically in 70mm, a print that was done after the RAH restoration which is said to be very accurate to the directo'S intent, and it looked completely different.

Overall the HD-DVD is still better than all DVD versions that are out when watched on a large screen projection system. That is however the best I can say about it - rent, don't buy.

 

[Rachael B]

I saw Sparticus in the theatre when I was a kid and it made quite an impression on me. My fav scene was when they they were at a battle looking down a mountain at the Roman Legions. The legions were all in red and white and it was cute how they formations were making a psychedelic light show, relatively. That scene looks so poor on the HD-DVD.

I'd say Sparticus is the single most disappointing HD-DVD I have out'a 140+. When I see what Warner coaxes out'a their catalog titles, it's easy to get high expectations for a film like Sparticus, for me. I hope it's restorable to yield a better PQ if it has a next time...? I'd buy it again if....if...if.....I wish Robert Harris could get a go at it.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

The problem is that this is a large-format film, and the studios (especially Universal) aren't taking the time and $$ to properly scan these elements using state-of-the-art gear that's optimized for large-format (in the case of Universal, they seem to want to recycle existing HD masters as much as possible before investing in new film-to-digital transfers... even when those existing transfers are clearly sub-par given today's 1080p dispay technology).

What they typically do instead (WB did this with Ben-Hur too, which is why it's such a blurry SD DVD) is just scan the 65mm elements on gear made to scan 35mm. What you get is a soft-focus image that captures absolutely no fine detail. It would actually be *better*, in that case, for the studio to just use a decent 35mm print and scan that instead.

Hopefully with consumers being outspoken about their displeasure with HD masters that look this way, the studios will start to invest in scanning their large-format films properly to preserve detail. There are a LOT of large-format classics in the vaults... and they should look "window clear" in 1080p... rather than *worse* than typically 35mm release-prints!

dave

 

[OliverK]

If you want to have a look at what is possible with movies shot in 35mm horizontal like Spartacus look no further than the Searchers or the recent showing of Vertigo on HDnet.

Differences in principal photography and the condition of the OCN and derived elements play a part too, but still we could get much better quality from Spartacus.

Two more Super Technirama 70 movies are announced for 2008 by the way:
El Cid on a new and rather obscure format from Europe called HD VMD and Sleeping Beauty.

Oliver