A Few Words About A few words about...™ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- in BD (1 Viewer)

[Lord Dalek]

Mr. Harris' post (#85) from page 5 should go down as an all time classic in the annals of HTF lore.

"This thread has become confusing enough, with viewers referring to past incarnations of the subject on home video, theatrical screenings by memory, strips of film, and some who have not yet even viewed the disc in question. Taking the proverbial cake, however, is the use of digital photographs of color litho plates from a book as evidence of color propriety for a film. In short, I believe that this entire thread is now going off the deep end and reading much like a Christopher Guest production. Since this is a High Definition forum, might we at least eliminate postings based upon those who are now chiming in after viewing on stardard definition? SD and an HD images are quite dissimilar. The point should also be made that this disc was meant to be viewed on HD monitors, and will appear different at each level of resolution. Those viewing at 1920 will perceive a far different image than those viewing at 720." RAH

That's basically the entire irrelevancy of this forum distilled into one post.

 

[Dave H]

Dracula is coming again in October in a limited and regular release!!


http://dvdlist.kazart.com/queryDVDList2.php3?id=8219926

http://dvdlist.kazart.com/queryDVDList2.php3?id=8219927

(thanks for the heads up to Mifunefan at bluray.com)


Those of us that weren't happy with the original Bluray colors with the green fires, moon and darkness that obscured visual effects, let's hope for a remaster that will "correct" these!!

It's going to be very, very interesting! Looking forward to it either way.


I do think something was off with the original disc.

 

[Dick]

I think the Sony Blu-ray looks exemplary, but I wish the making-of doc included was the full hour-long version included on the laser disc, which provided great insight into the planning, rehearsal and shooting of the film, warts and all.

 

[Oblivion138]

While I like the darkness and desaturation of the existing BD transfer (and hope to see much the same grading on the new transfer), there is something a bit...vague...about the resolution and clarity. I think it can definitely benefit from a new 4K master. It will certainly be interesting to see the difference, and no doubt, it will inspire many a spirited discussion.

 

[Oblivion138]

The new edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula will kick off Sony's new Supreme Cinema Series, described by Sony as "a premium, limited edition collection befitting beloved cinematic favorites and modern classics. Each film is presented with pristine high definition picture, enhanced sound and a collection of new and/or archival special features, creating an ultimate edition for first-time viewers and fans alike. Complete with unique Clear Case packaging, the Supreme Cinema Series is the optimal way to celebrate these unforgettable cinematic experiences."


Also available in a (much cheaper) standard Blu-ray case edition, Bram Stoker's Dracula will be from a new 4K master, will include an Atmos track, plus all the original Blu-ray's extras, three brand new featurettes, and the 1993 Criterion Laserdisc commentary.


Sounds pretty well definitive.

 

[Dick]

I wonder if this will include the full-length behind-the-scenes doc (that ran the better part of an hour on the laser disc box set) rather than the truncated version we got on the previous Blu-ray. There is some fascinating warts-and-all footage of Coppola rehearsing his actors that reminds me of the footage his wife Eleanor shot for the APOCALYPSE NOW documentary, HEARTS OF DARKNESS. Plus, how 'bout the trailer, boys? The inclusion of these two items would persuade me to buy the title for, what...the fourth or fifth time?

 

[Chris S]

Well that's definitely more interesting than simply another "remaster" of the film. My interest is now peaked.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I never had the Criterion LD but I love Coppola's commentaries - might rebuy the new version just to get that track.

 

[Bryan^H]

Oops, wrong thread.

 

[alpy]

I watched the new BD mastered 4K of Dracula by Coppola with my VPRJ. I enjoyed the old edition and found it with good quality film.

IMHO, I'd say that the difference between the two editions is that playing the new one is like projecting a positive 35mm directly developed from the negative. Playing the old edition of 2007 is more like projecting a positive third generation.

Exceptions are the opening scenes, because if I did not know was that BD projected, I do not think I would have noticed the difference.

I can not say for colors. I know the old BD was approved by Mr. Coppola. The new no.
Other opinions? No one watched the new BD?

 

[Oblivion138]

The new transfer retains pretty much everything I liked about the previous transfer, while improving in the various areas where it was lacking. Overall, I think it's the best version we've seen to date. As to the colors, they are not vastly different from those of the previous BD...at least in most scenes, the grading is closer to the previous BD than it is to the Superbit DVD. Interestingly, the people who hated the previous transfer and held up the Superbit DVD as some kind of exemplar for how the film "should" look are now talking about the remaster as if it's closer to the Superbit, when it clearly isn't.


Overall, we still get the selective desaturation, and the image is still much, much darker than the DVD editions (if not quite as dark in certain scenes as the previous BD was). Contrast gradation is also much better, and the resolution is a massive leap forward. The fine grain field is beautifully preserved, along with all of the fine image detail therein. In my personal opinion, this is the best I've ever seen Bram Stoker's Dracula look. And for a film whose greatest strength is its visual style, that's the most important thing to me.


As for the much-discussed framing discrepancies, there's really no way to say which is more "correct," and as Mr. Harris pointed out elsewhere, at any rate, we're seeing more than we ever would have in theatrical presentations, so it's hardly worth quibbling over. A little more at the top, a little more at the bottom...either way, the framing is fine.

 

[alpy]

Beautiful analysis. I totally agree.

 

[Dr Griffin]

The new transfer retains pretty much everything I liked about the previous transfer, while improving in the various areas where it was lacking. Overall, I think it's the best version we've seen to date. As to the colors, they are not vastly different from those of the previous BD...at least in most scenes, the grading is closer to the previous BD than it is to the Superbit DVD. Interestingly, the people who hated the previous transfer and held up the Superbit DVD as some kind of exemplar for how the film "should" look are now talking about the remaster as if it's closer to the Superbit, when it clearly isn't.


Overall, we still get the selective desaturation, and the image is still much, much darker than the DVD editions (if not quite as dark in certain scenes as the previous BD was). Contrast gradation is also much better, and the resolution is a massive leap forward. The fine grain field is beautifully preserved, along with all of the fine image detail therein. In my personal opinion, this is the best I've ever seen Bram Stoker's Dracula look. And for a film whose greatest strength is its visual style, that's the most important thing to me.


As for the much-discussed framing discrepancies, there's really no way to say which is more "correct," and as Mr. Harris pointed out elsewhere, at any rate, we're seeing more than we ever would have in theatrical presentations, so it's hardly worth quibbling over. A little more at the top, a little more at the bottom...either way, the framing is fine.

I agree. I was one who compared the new BD to the super-bit DVD, but that was before I saw the new BD. That comparison was made from screencaps, with that caveat implied, just as an initial discussion. The sound is even more of an improvement.

 

[RolandL]

Comparison of old Blu-ray to new Blu-ray.

 

[Oblivion138]

I agree. I was one who compared the new BD to the super-bit DVD, but that was before I saw the new BD. That comparison was made from screencaps, with that caveat implied, just as an initial discussion. The sound is even more of an improvement.

Agreed. The audio is just as beautiful as the video. Overall, a very nice upgrade. And that's from someone who didn't have nearly as much of a problem with the previous BD edition as many people did. For an early release on the format, it wasn't bad. But BD has come a long way since then, and the remaster reflects that fact in every possible way.

 

[Chris S]

Ya'll have me convinced. Just ordered it from Amazon with same day shipping so I'll have it to watch tomorrow night.

 

[David Coleman]

Great looking transfer!

 

[Bryan^H]

Comparison of old Blu-ray to new Blu-ray.

Wow, its like DVD vs. Blu Ray. The new version obviously far superior.

I'm still waiting for the dedicated UHD release though.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

I watched it last night. It's gorgeous!

 

[dpippel]

I watched it last night. It's gorgeous!

Yep, me too. Screened it last night with my honey (who had never seen it before) and we both thought it looked wonderful. The word she used was "sumptuous".