A Few Words About A few words about…™ To Catch a Thief (redux) – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Angelo Colombus]

I have both releases on my shelf so i can chose a sharper image or brighter colors to watch the film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have both releases on my shelf so i can chose a sharper image or brighter colors to watch the film.

I don't as I'm happy with my 2012 Blu-ray. I'm curious to see this new video presentation, but, I'm not willing to spend my money to do so. Enough people that I have trust in has stated their criticism of this new Blu-ray so I'll sit on the sidelines until perhaps a new digital presentation or a 4K release is available for me.

 

[OliverK]

As I stated beforehand in this thread, there is a large segment of people that actually prefer less grain in their video presentation because it looks better on their display. Again, I haven't seen this new BD so I'm going by what has been described here. Also, this same group of people don't care about color accuracy, what they care about is how beautiful the picture appears on their display. Unfortunately, it's sad, but, it's what they care about in this self-serving world of ours.

Yes there are people who do not like grain. But would they even consider to buy such an old movie on a Blu-ray disc?
And even if they bought it would they even notice the very fine grain structure of To Catch a Thief if the grain was left alone?

I would think that we are talking about very few people for whom you could answer yes to both questions. Certainly not as many as those who care about a proper presentation and who would also be willing to buy To Catch a Thief on Blu-ray.

 

[Robert Harris]

As I stated beforehand in this thread, there is a large segment of people that actually prefer less grain in their video presentation because it looks better on their display. Again, I haven't seen this new BD so I'm going by what has been described here. Also, this same group of people don't care about color accuracy, what they care about is how beautiful the picture appears on their display. Unfortunately, it's sad, but, it's what they care about in this self-serving world of ours.

Robert,

Color is actually quite nice on this release, aside for the day-for-night. For the average consumer, it's beautiful, and they'll never be aware of it's shortcomings. To be absolutely fair and clear, there's one frame grab that while representative, doesn't fully ring true to the rest of the sequence, and that's the driving shot, with the white glove. It's just an odd frame - may be movement, light... There's more detail, ,and a less blown-out image in other shots.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yes there are people who do not like grain. But would they even consider to buy such an old movie on a Blu-ray disc?
And even if they bought it would they even notice the very fine grain structure of To Catch a Thief if the grain was left alone?

I would think that we are talking about very few people for whom you could answer yes to both questions. Certainly not as many as those who care about a proper presentation and who would also be willing to buy To Catch a Thief on Blu-ray.

I don't know, but, what I think is true is that the majority of those people careless about fine grain structure than how it looks on their display. There is even a silent segment of this membership that probably likes this current presentation. I bet it's the same over on other forums too. A few brave souls has stated it so, but the reaction to their posts probably prevents anybody else from speaking up.

I suspect that one day, Paramount will allow this current presentation to be shown digitally in the years to come so they get back more money from that than those that are boycotting buying this Blu-ray.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Robert,

Color is actually quite nice on this release, aside for the day-for-night. For the average consumer, it's beautiful, and they'll never be aware of it's shortcomings. To be absolutely fair and clear, there's one frame grab that while representative, doesn't fully ring true to the rest of the sequence, and that's the driving shot, with the white glove. It's just an odd frame - may be movement, light... There's more detail, ,and a less blown-out image in other shots.

Understood about the color!

 

[Douglas R]

I’ve ordered this because I like to judge for myself regardless as to who or how many say it’s not worth buying. From what I can see, with some exceptions, the vast majority have judged it on screen caps - something I won’t do. Of course if I prefer it to the 2012 release, you can rest assured that I won’t say so here!

 

[OliverK]

I don't know, but, what I think is true is that the majority of those people careless about fine grain structure than how it looks on their display. There is even a silent segment of this membership that probably likes this current presentation. I bet it's the same over on other forums too. A few brave souls has stated it so, but the reaction to their posts probably prevents anybody else from speaking up.

I suspect that one day, Paramount will allow this current presentation to be shown digitally in the years to come so they get back more money from that than those that are boycotting buying this Blu-ray.

I'd like to think that there is not that much aversion against film grain.

At least those who don't like it can look forward to a mostly grainless future and the digital filtering options on TV's are also getting better all the time which I consider perfect for people who want their movies to look cleaner / more contrasty or whatever.

 

[Worth]

I’ve ordered this because I like to judge for myself regardless as to who or how many say it’s not worth buying. From what I can see, with some exceptions, the vast majority have judged it on screen caps - something I won’t do. Of course if I prefer it to the 2012 release, you can rest assured that I won’t say so here!

I have both. The new one certainly isn't unwatchable, but it's noticeably soft and flat looking, and not as good as the previous disc, which also isn't perfect.

 

[AlexNH]

Doug, why won't you say it?

 

[Will Krupp]

Comedy is a tricky business.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Doug, why won't you say it?

Perhaps, he doesn't want to deal with the stress of having to defend his minority opinion against this thread's majority opinion. Too many personal comments has been posted here for some people to feel comfortable in expressing their contrary opinion.

 

[bujaki]

The Italian Sfocato (the gentleman's name) means blurred, fuzzy, hazy in English. Was something lost in translation?

 

[Robert Harris]

The Italian Sfocato (the gentleman's name) means blurred, fuzzy, hazy in English. Was something lost in translation?

Whatever could you mean?

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I am happy having both versions on my shelf and part of the reason i purchased the new release is to support the Paramount Presents series and hope they will release some films not on Blu-ray yet.

 

[Harry-N]

Oh my. I hadn't thought to compare the DVD at the Caps-a-holic site, but it appears that there was more detail in Grace's glove on the old DVD.

To Catch a Thief • UK Special Collector's Edition DVD vs. US Paramount Presents Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

 

[Trancas]

Oh my. I hadn't thought to compare the DVD at the Caps-a-holic site, but it appears that there was more detail in Grace's glove on the old DVD.

To Catch a Thief • UK Special Collector's Edition DVD vs. US Paramount Presents Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Cary and Charles Vanel have virtually the same facial detail on the DVD when compared to the 2020 BR.

To Catch a Thief • UK Special Collector's Edition DVD vs. US Paramount Presents Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

 

[bujaki]

Whatever could you mean?

It's so clear it's hazy.
BTW, where can I see that 20th century Italian classic, The Stolen Bicycle?

 

[OliverK]

Cary and Charles Vanel have virtually the same facial detail on the DVD when compared to the 2020 BR.

To Catch a Thief • UK Special Collector's Edition DVD vs. US Paramount Presents Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

You're being kind as overall the DVD has more detail.

 

[haineshisway]

Robert,

Color is actually quite nice on this release, aside for the day-for-night. For the average consumer, it's beautiful, and they'll never be aware of it's shortcomings. To be absolutely fair and clear, there's one frame grab that while representative, doesn't fully ring true to the rest of the sequence, and that's the driving shot, with the white glove. It's just an odd frame - may be movement, light... There's more detail, ,and a less blown-out image in other shots.

This is one of the problems with screen caps - they'll post something that isn't accurate to the sequence, one frame of a moving shot, for example, or where someone's head gets cropped a bit too much but the shot is a moving shot and in motion you don't even notice it because that's the way it was shot.