A Few Words About A few words about…™ The War of the Worlds (1953) – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[akatanaka]

I am trying to buy the disc during Criterion's sale, but it's still unavailable/out of stock. I did buy the 4K online about a year ago, so I'm wondering if anyone has yet compared the 4K with the blu ray disc. I prefer to own physical discs, but if the 4K is better than the blu ray, it wouldnt make sense to buy the disc. Also, I think 39.95 is too much to pay for a blu ray, but if Criterion gets it back in stock before the sale ends, I would pay $20 for it! Anyone have any comparison opinions?

Hi buckmichaels!

I too, prefer physical media and one of the main reasons is the general quality uptick in comparison with digital/streaming files.

My understanding is that the bitrate of digital files are, out of necessity, many times lower than physical media, in particular Blu-ray Discs.

I have the iTunes HD version and Criterion’s Blu-ray, and I can see a small but noticeable difference in image quality at 5’ from my 48” TV.

I don’t have the 4K version, but I believe the digital 4K would still be under the same bitrate constraints as it’s digital HD cousin.

I guess it comes down to how big your viewing monitor or screen is, and how far you sit from it...

Another reason I prefer physical media over digital, is that the physical disc won’t change over time... for example, I recently bought four of Roger Corman’s Poe cycle from iTunes in HD, and was shocked to discover a few days later that they had reduced the movies to Standard def. without any prior notice! That isn’t right, but you have no control over the future quality of your digital movies. (unless you download all of them?)

Hope you get your WOTW Blu-ray soon. It’s great!

 

[akatanaka]

Hey guys, I finally was able to sit down and watch the new Criterion disc of The War of the Worlds last night. I used the 5.1 audio because it was new and I thought I'd try it. I was surprised how much surround that ben Burtt was able to produce. It was fun to hear it this way. The image looked great! I didn't think it was soft at all and it looked great to me.

I posted this in the other WotW thread. Thought I'd repeat it here for fun regarding the color of Mars. These are screen caps I made off of various sources. It seems only the iTunes version has the colors of Mars shifting more cooler for some reason :

1993 laserdisc
View attachment 75671

1999 DVD
View attachment 75672

2018 iTunes (Crude shot from a phone camera off the screen as iTunes won't let make a screen cap)
View attachment 75673

2020 Criterion blu ray
View attachment 75674

And finally, there was a post that Alan (Carabimero) had made on the War of the Worlds fully restored 4K thread in which he was dissatisfied about some banding issues he saw in one scene. (IIRC what he said) I happened to notice it too on this blu ray in the same shot. It maybe be hard to see in the screen cap, but in the sky, I could see banding as it went from light to dark. I viewed this on a plasma display.
View attachment 75675

The Criterion supplemental on the restoration of the film with Andrea Kalas was very interesting and the description of the three strip film. So I was surprised to learn of the later prints made would get lighter and the effects shots would suffer as a result, showing the wires. When the film was originally processed the wires were very hard to see, if at all. And she said she used the IP print as reference. So that was great stuff. (Maybe To Catch a Thief does look right?) The other supplement with Ben Burtt and Craig Barron was also very worth your time about the effects and sound.

I really hope that Miss Kalas will be able work on the restoration of Star Trek The Motion Picture. And soon!

By the way, I collect movie soundtracks of my favorite films, I didn't know about the Intrada release of The War of the Worlds. Its OOP and very expensive on the secondary market. Maybe they will do another pressing?

For now, very glad to have this new War of the Worlds disc!

Hey Nelson Au!

My understanding is that the (Intrada) correction! [imprint] disc didn’t correct the opening shot of Mars which is similar to the iTunes version being an overall blue look.

As you know, the Criterion version has colour corrected Mars to its original glory.

The other reason the (Intrada) [imprint] disc is of interest though, is that it has two additional commentaries over the Criterion disc: one older and one new.

 

[jayembee]

Michael, I think you mean "Imprint" (or as they stylize it, "[imprint]"). Assuming you're talking about the Australian Blu-ray release. Intrada is, I believe, a CD label.

 

[akatanaka]

Michael, I think you mean "Imprint" (or as they stylize it, "[imprint]"). Assuming you're talking about the Australian Blu-ray release. Intrada is, I believe, a CD label.

Lol. You’re absolutely right, jayembee! I meant Imprint or [imprint]. I recently had dealings with Intrada...

 

[Bartman]

I believe WotW is a microcosm of 1950's America and, for that reason, is a very important movie. I've been a grump about WotW because I can't get over seeing WotW in 1993 (Paramount laserdisc, one of my best) for the first time since my childhood. The clarity, colors and soundtrack were outstanding. Both the CE DVD and a recent HD streamed version were disappointing. However, there are many positive things being said about this Criterion WotW, my only question regards grain reduction (scrubbing), has it had any negative effects on picture quality (softness, waxy skin texture, etc) compared with other versions?
For the LG OLED owners out there, have you found it necessary to adjust the picture settings to get the most from this WotW?
I recently streamed When Worlds Collide in HD, it looked great, let's hope this gets the Criterion treatment too!

 

[haineshisway]

I believe WotW is a microcosm of 1950's America and, for that reason, is a very important movie. I've been a grump about WotW because I can't get over seeing WotW in 1993 (Paramount laserdisc, one of my best) for the first time since my childhood. The clarity, colors and soundtrack were outstanding. Both the CE DVD and a recent HD streamed version were disappointing. However, there are many positive things being said about this Criterion WotW, my only question regards grain reduction (scrubbing), has it had any negative effects on picture quality (softness, waxy skin texture, etc) compared with other versions?
For the LG OLED owners out there, have you found it necessary to adjust the picture settings to get the most from this WotW?
I recently streamed When Worlds Collide in HD, it looked great, let's hope this gets the Criterion treatment too!

Not according to some - it's certainly had grain reduction of some sort but on this particular title people don't seem to care or won't acknowledge it. It certainly was noticeable and yes it bothered me a bit, but I still enjoyed the Blu-ray.

 

[Nelson Au]

Regarding the Intrada disc, I was going say, I was referring to the soundtrack CD.

 

[buckmichaels]

"You will believe Martian ships can fly" [no wires!]

That's the part I like the best!!! No wires on the Martian ships!!

 

[buckmichaels]

I believe WotW is a microcosm of 1950's America and, for that reason, is a very important movie. I've been a grump about WotW because I can't get over seeing WotW in 1993 (Paramount laserdisc, one of my best) for the first time since my childhood. The clarity, colors and soundtrack were outstanding. Both the CE DVD and a recent HD streamed version were disappointing. However, there are many positive things being said about this Criterion WotW, my only question regards grain reduction (scrubbing), has it had any negative effects on picture quality (softness, waxy skin texture, etc) compared with other versions?
For the LG OLED owners out there, have you found it necessary to adjust the picture settings to get the most from this WotW?
I recently streamed When Worlds Collide in HD, it looked great, let's hope this gets the Criterion treatment too!

I own an LG OLED 65", and I found WOTW in 4K to be a bit on the "sepia" side or it seemed to have a slight brown sheen to it. When the HDR flips on, go into the picture setting, and set it to "Standard" for this movie...gets rid of the sepia look, and the colors on this movie on this setting really pop! You probably don't have to do this for the new blu-ray if you get it.

 

[buckmichaels]

Hi buckmichaels!

I too, prefer physical media and one of the main reasons is the general quality uptick in comparison with digital/streaming files.

My understanding is that the bitrate of digital files are, out of necessity, many times lower than physical media, in particular Blu-ray Discs.

I have the iTunes HD version and Criterion’s Blu-ray, and I can see a small but noticeable difference in image quality at 5’ from my 48” TV.

I don’t have the 4K version, but I believe the digital 4K would still be under the same bitrate constraints as it’s digital HD cousin.

I guess it comes down to how big your viewing monitor or screen is, and how far you sit from it...

Another reason I prefer physical media over digital, is that the physical disc won’t change over time... for example, I recently bought four of Roger Corman’s Poe cycle from iTunes in HD, and was shocked to discover a few days later that they had reduced the movies to Standard def. without any prior notice! That isn’t right, but you have no control over the future quality of your digital movies. (unless you download all of them?)

Hope you get your WOTW Blu-ray soon. It’s great!

thanks, I'm really looking forward to getting the new blu-ray! I would be upset too over the standard def image reduction of your online purchased movies, just another reason to buy physical media!

 

[david hare]

Bruce I've now watched the Criterion as well and apart from the couple of color corrections I don't see much difference at all in tbe transfers. THe thing that struck me about the slightly "degrained aspectr was that faces for instance looked very much like faithful renditions of the classic Paramount/Wally Westmore makeup. It will be very interesting to see the Euro 4K UHD when/if it ever turns up.

 

[Reed Grele]

"You will believe Martian ships can fly" [no wires!]

They are really not supposed to be flying in this movie anyway. As Gene Barry says early in the film, they're supported by some kind of "magnetic flux" legs.

But they only show this "magnetic flux" in that first scene. As the bonus documentary states, that the effect was found to be too dangerous to use on the sets and may have caused an electrocution incident.

However, you can still see the electronic "footprints" of the Martian war machines causing sparks on the ground during later scenes.

Great effects that still hold up over 65 years later!

 

[Sadsack]

They are really not supposed to be flying in this movie anyway. As Gene Barry says early in the film, they're supported by some kind of "magnetic flux" legs.

Lol, good point. But you know I was making a joking paraphrase of the 1978 SUPERMAN tagline (meaning the effects are convincing) about the suspension wires being effaced.
Depending on how the magnetic legs work, the result might still be described as flying. A hovercraft is flying regardless of the method used to do it.

 

[Bartman]

To Catch A Thief and Paramount Presents has been mentioned several times here and I want to remind everyone that the previous preferred HD version may be streamed from Amazon Prime free!

 

[Robert Harris]

 

[Reed Grele]

View attachment 76329

I wonder if they showed the trailer for Roman Holiday?

 

[Nelson Au]

Looks like that flexible stainless steel rule went a little beyond it’s limits of bending, must have been the Martian heat rays.

I’m curious as to the source of that clipping. The photo looks contemporary so it’s either a reproduction, a very well preserved clipping or you have a time machine.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

Does that ad mean the movie is in stereo or the theater features stereo? I remember seeing a great THX trailer that advertised "This Theatre Features DTS" which was accurate. Unfortunately, I was seeing "Maverick," a movie that wasn't released in DTS.

 

[Robert Harris]

Looks like that flexible stainless steel rule went a little beyond it’s limits of bending, must have been the Martian heat rays.

I’m curious as to the source of that clipping. The photo looks contemporary so it’s either a reproduction, a very well preserved clipping or you have a time machine.

From a collector. Appears to be Metropolitan Theater, Boston, now the Wang.

 

[Dave MJ]

Not according to some - it's certainly had grain reduction of some sort but on this particular title people don't seem to care or won't acknowledge it. It certainly was noticeable and yes it bothered me a bit, but I still enjoyed the Blu-ray.

I'm with you on the grain reduction. It's a tad too much and detail is lost to a varying degree depending on the shot. It looks a tad digital as a result. It did bother me some and it's a shame because otherwise it looks and sounds fantastic. Not sure why Paramount keeps doing this. Still, a good release overall and big improvement from the DVD. The 5.1 track is well done.