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A Few Words About A few words about...™ South Park - The Complete Twelfth Season -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Colin Jacobson

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Maybe - and maybe I'm wrong and RAH really thinks that South Park looks/sounds a billion times better on Blu-Ray than on SD-DVD.

But I don't think so. I'm sure the discs look/sound fine, but cripes, it's South Park! Not Snow White, not Ratatouille, not anything with great - or even GOOD - production values. That's not a slam on the series - I'm a fan and I've reviewed all 12 seasons plus all the compilations. It's just reality - South Park isn't a series that will benefit from increased picture/sound resolution.

It's cardboard cutouts with a pretty simple soundtrack. Seriously - do you guys REALLY think RAH - the same guy that's intimately familiar with flicks like Lawrence of Arabia and Vertigo - is going to cream his pants over the Blu-Ray presentation of South Park?

I don't doubt RAH thinks the discs are fine. I very much doubt he liked them as much as this review indicates. Has he ever written another review so full of hyperbole?
 

Colin Jacobson

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"Slightly"? "SLIGHTLY"???

Like I mentioned above, RAH isn't given to excessive praise. Where else will you find comments like:

"Everything has been raised to hurricane force imagery."

"The score, while not reaching the heights of Moross, Steiner, Korngold or Bernstein, takes on a life of its own with new intensity and clarity."

The guy's comparing the simple music of the series to the scores of classic composers. He's describing cardboard cutouts as showing "hurricane force imagery". He's calling those same cutouts "fine thespians".

Again, maybe I'm way off-base and RAH was totally - or even mostly serious - with his absurdly over-the-top praise. But I doubt it. Methinks I need to sell you guys a bridge...
 

Robert Harris

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To clear up any concerns, "tongue in cheek" would be the concept of the day...

with the exception that these discs do truly look Amazing, taking into consideration what they are.

Once you get past the point that we are viewing what I assume to be bits of paper, (I'm a bit foggy on how precisely they get paper to speak) the Blu-ray has taken South Park to another level -- and on that I am totally serious!

As I noted above, fans of this series are in for a major treat.

This is not Gone with the Wind, nor Lawrence of Arabia. This is South Park. But it is NOT the South Park that I've seen on TV. The quality is far, far above that.

Clear?

RAH
 

FranklinC

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Okay, RAH. I'm glad I didn't misunderstand your meaning from the beginning. I'll be picking this up for sure on your recommendation.

I just hope I have enough money after I buy this really sweet bridge from Colin...
 

Todd smith

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Thanks RAH
htf_images_smilies_smile.gif


I am a big fan of this series and your posts have me VERY excited! I am confused on the actual release date as I have seen both the 10th and the 17th....which is it?
 

MarkHastings

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Ah. I don't get CC HD and the SD channel apparently crops the sides off.

That's good to know. I'll definitely be getting the BD version because the SD-DVD's say the apect ratio is 1.33:1 which would mean P&S...so I assume everyone here is also getting the BD version, or you have some 'splainin to do!
 

Keith Paynter

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Of course, they haven't used real paper cutouts for years, it's all done digitally. That's how some episodes are topical, sometimes just days after specific events the stories are sometimes based on.
 

Colin Jacobson

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Hey, I'm not selling anything! :D

Anyway, I thought RAH was more sarcastic than he was, but he still poured on an awful lot of irony. And I remain skeptical that the Blu-Ray offers a substantial improvement over the SD-DVD just because I remain skeptical that anything can make South Park look and sound particularly good. It's a show with limited animation and a restricted soundtrack - it's never going to be remarkable in either realm.

RAH states that the Blu-Ray is very good for what it is. I sense some here interpreted his comments to mean somehow South Park would offer a stunning visual and auditory experience, not just look/sound very good for South Park...
 

Colin Jacobson

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Do we know for sure that the 1.33:1 is cropped and the 1.78:1 is the "real" ratio? It seems odd to me that they'd put out SD-DVDs with the cropped ratio - not sure why they wouldn't make those 1.78:1 as well. Then again, I'm not sure why they'd make "fake widescreen" versions for the Blu-Ray crowd either...
 

FranklinC

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Right, you 'sense' others were still somehow mistaken in their interpretation of the original post. You still "got it" better then most, but slightly (SLIGHTLY!) just misjudged the level of sarcasm, right?

RAH clearly indicated the HD is a vast improvement over the SD. I think most of us understood that clearly from the get-go. You said he didn't mean what he said and implied those who thought he did weren't all that bright. Turns out you were wrong. No biggie, happens to the best of us.
 
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Did anyone see the South Park "Good Times With Weapons" HD DVD that was created as a one-off a few years ago? I think it was a Best Buy giveaway. The crew went back and redid the episode in HD, as they're now doing to earlier seasons of the show.

It looked fantastic! You wouldn't think it would make that big of a difference, but it does: vibrant colors, sharper edges, a bit more texture... I've been hoping for more HD "South Park" ever since the day I saw that one.
 

MarkHastings

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Of course, Amazon could be listing it improperly.

Since I don't have Comedy Central in HD, I'll be curious to see how the new season is braodcast in SD. The Simpons started broadcasting in HD and the SD channel showed the image properly by letterboxing it. Here's to hoping that south park does the same.
 

Mike Frezon

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Indeed, Franklin. It looks like--even in this uncertain economy--that Colin is more in the frame of mind to be "buying" rather than "selling."

:D
 

ToEhrIsHuman

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There is a thread on the topic of OAR for Season 12 on blu-ray.com and there it is shown that earlier episodes are indeed cropped for 16x9. However, later episodes in the season were native 16x9, therefore to have all episodes in OAR you'll have to get both the SD and BD versions. I think BD will be fine for me.

I would expect this next season (13) and future seasons will be native 16x9.
 

Brian Borst

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Yes, I think so too.

By the way, is there any news about a release of South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut on Blu-Ray? It still needs a decent SE, and actually using the digital files this time would make it look a lot better than the current dvd.
 

Todd smith

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I am all for OAR, but I am not going to buy both sets just to get OAR for the whole season. BR and half of them in OAR will have to do. Season 13 will be completely OAR and every season after I would imagine. Not a biggie.
 

MarkHastings

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Sorry, but this made me confused at first until I re-read...so you're saying that the first run (i.e. first half) of season 12 was originally done in 4x3 and the second run (i.e. second half) was done in 16x9 HD?

Again, just to clarify, that means the the first run on SD-DVD is proper aspect (i.e. the second half is cropped) and the second run on BD is proper aspect (i.e. the first half is cropped). Holy crop!...I mean Holy crap! :eek:
 

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