UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ Almost Famous & Untitled Bootleg Cut -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Update - 7/9

I’ve checked a second copy, and the pixelation problem seems to be a defective disc.

However, for some reason, the Theatrical is projecting as SDR, even though it is not.

This may be player or projector specific, so I’d not be concerned. Trying to figure it out of my end.

Bootleg runs perfectly.

Cameron Crowe's now 21 year-old Almost Famous is one of those perfect films that appears with great rarity.

Two cuts of the film have been around for quite awhile, and while the "Bootleg" cut sounds to be something that shouldn't be discussed on HTF, it isn't what it seems - just an alternate director's cut - and the one that I prefer.

Paramount's new 4k gives us both cuts, plus a myriad of features, that makes it one of the finest special editions to be released in many a moon.

It's jam-packed with high quality material.

While I wanted to get a review on line, I need to make it clear that I've received a defective copy, so that while I'm comfortable discussing the "untitled" cut, I'm going to hold off on the theatrical, as my copy has extremely heavy pixelation, which leads me to wonder if it's also somehow affecting the overall look of the film.

The Untitled Bootleg cut is a magnificent affair (as photographed by John Toll) both visually and aurally, with superb color, shadow detail, a tight, pleasant grain structure, and an overall beautifully resolved image.

One of the things that kept going through my head I watched the Bootleg, was how absolutely perfect casting appears.

One look at the cast is akin to a who's who of top talent of the era.

Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bijou Phillips, and Jimmy Fallon as The Beaver.

And then there's the wonderful newcomer, Patrick Fugit.

There are also a few songs.

What an absolute pleasure to see this one in 4k.

Kudos to Paramount for a very special edition.

Image – Theatrical Cut -
Bootleg Cut - 5

Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Very Highly Recommended

RAH

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Gotta be something wrong with your copy.

I'm watching the theatrical version and it looks terrific! Colors full and rich, and no pixelization I can see...

 

[Robert Harris]

Gotta be something wrong with your copy.

I'm watching the theatrical version and it looks terrific! Colors full and rich, and no pixelization I can see...

Interesting. One of the professional YouTube reviewers has a piece up, stating that the color is properly muted to look like the ‘70s.

Which as I recall was slightly more muted than the ‘60s.

This after the optical trauma suffered by the Tech look of the ‘40s.

Do both of your versions appear the same?

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Interesting. One of the professional YouTube reviewers has a piece up, stating that the color is properly muted to look like the ‘70s.

Which as I recall was slightly more muted than the ‘60s.

This after the optical trauma suffered by the Tech look of the ‘40s.

Do both of your versions appear the same?

The colors seem appropriate. I think of "full and rich" as meaning they = the design, which is mainly amber-ish, but that makes sense for the story.

Anyway, I think the colors look great for what they intend to didn't. Didn't mean to imply they're wild and psychedelic!

Haven't gotten to "Untitled" yet. Assume it'll look the same - can't imagine it'll look better!

 

[Robert Harris]

The colors seem appropriate. I think of "full and rich" as meaning they = the design, which is mainly amber-ish, but that makes sense for the story.

Anyway, I think the colors look great for what they intend to didn't. Didn't mean to imply they're wild and psychedelic!

Haven't gotten to "Untitled" yet. Assume it'll look the same - can't imagine it'll look better!

I’ve re-checked on another system.

Definately have a defective disc, which seems to send wrong flags for color/densities. May be attempting to play SD on larger system, but decodes properly on OLED.

Beautiful grain, and masterly imagery courtesy of Mr. Toll!

The set is a true treat.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Glad to see that this is getting high praise for quality of release- I pre-ordered from Amazon. Great film, and the commentary with Crowe and his mother is entertaining too.

 

[Robert Harris]

Glad to see that this is getting high praise for quality of release- I pre-ordered from Amazon. Great film, and the commentary with Crowe and his mother is entertaining too.

Extras are listed as old and new, and there is a plethora of them. This portends to be one of the best releases of the year.

 

[Mark VH]

Can't wait! I'm not 4K-capable yet, but I'm super excited about the Blu-ray version (have held off buying the previous version due to hearing not-good things). This is a movie I'm exited to watch with my kids when they're old enough (about 7-10 years from now) and I'm glad I'll be able to do so in a pristine version. Until then I'll just enjoy it for myself

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I’ve re-checked on another system.

Definately have a defective disc, which seems to send wrong flags for color/densities. May be attempting to play SD on larger system, but decodes properly on OLED.

Beautiful grain, and masterly imagery courtesy of Mr. Toll!

The set is a true treat.

Agree.

And "Untitled" looks the same as theatrical, IMO.

Which I assumed it would!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Can't wait! I'm not 4K-capable yet, but I'm super excited about the Blu-ray version (have held off buying the previous version due to hearing not-good things). This is a movie I'm exited to watch with my kids when they're old enough (about 7-10 years from now) and I'm glad I'll be able to do so in a pristine version. Until then I'll just enjoy it for myself

I'm disappointed Paramount didn't include the BD with the 4K as I would've liked to see it as well.

Granted, I think it's safe to assume it uses the same transfer and will look very good as well - just without the extra resolution and HDR - but I still would've liked to see it so I could directly compare it to the 2011 BD.

 

[Mark VH]

I'm disappointed Paramount didn't include the BD with the 4K as I would've liked to see it as well.

Granted, I think it's safe to assume it uses the same transfer and will look very good as well - just without the extra resolution and HDR - but I still would've liked to see it so I could directly compare it to the 2011 BD.

Agree - would have gladly bought the 4K for a few extra bucks if the Blu was included. But at that point you're including four discs in the package (two each for 4K and Blu), so I get that it probably doesn't make sense financially.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Don't suppose they've actually gotten the rights to put Stairway on the disc for that one cut scene, right? Still requires us to synch our own copy of the music for it?

Thanks!

_Man_

 

[KeithDA]

This is due out on Monday 12th here in the UK. None of the usual online sites have a clear enough description to confirm whether, on the standard 2 disc release, the Untitled cut is also on the 4K disc - they suggest that it is only an 'extra' on the Blu Ray... I know I could simply wait and go into the store next week, but 4 days is a long time.....
This dilemma is not helped by this HMV limited 'Cine release' 4 disc release where the Untitled cut is clearly stated as being on a separate 4K disc... What is the disc configuration on the US standard release? Am I going to have to buy the this 4 disc set to get a 4K Untitled cut?

4K Films For Sale, 4K Blu-Ray Movies For Sale, 4K UHD Blu-Ray Releases & Deals | HMV Store

Buy The Latest Releases, Classic Films & Collector's Limited Editions on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray - Free UK delivery on orders over £20

store.hmv.com

 

[Robert Harris]

This is due out on Monday 12th here in the UK. None of the usual online sites have a clear enough description to confirm whether the Untitled cut is also on the 4K disc - they suggest that it is only an 'extra' on the Blu Ray... I know I could simply wait and go into the store next week, but 4 days is a long time.....
This dilemma is not helped by this HMV limited 'Cine release' where the Untitled cut is clearly stated as being on a separate 4K disc... What is the disc configuration on the US release?

4K Films For Sale, 4K Blu-Ray Movies For Sale, 4K UHD Blu-Ray Releases & Deals | HMV Store

Buy The Latest Releases, Classic Films & Collector's Limited Editions on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray - Free UK delivery on orders over £20

store.hmv.com

The release in The Colonies is two separate 4k UHD discs, both in Dolby Vision and DTS-HD MA 5.1.

 

[KeithDA]

The release in The Colonies is two separate 4k UHD discs, both in Dolby Vision and DTS-HD MA 5.1.

The UK standard 2 disc release seems to be one 4K disc and one Blu. The only place I've found the two cuts of the film on 4K is on that HMV, 4 disc, special set mentioned in my post 13 above.
I think this 'Outpost' is getting an inferior standard release

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Agree - would have gladly bought the 4K for a few extra bucks if the Blu was included. But at that point you're including four discs in the package (two each for 4K and Blu), so I get that it probably doesn't make sense financially.

I dunno - I can't imagine it really costs a studio much to toss in those extra discs.

I think it's a mistake for studios to leave off BDs in their 4K releases.

More than a few buyers will get 4Ks even if they don't have 4K players if BDs are included as well.

They can watch the BD now and have the 4K when/if they upgrade.

Those people won't buy just the 4K most of the time, though, if it doesn't include the BD...

 

[Robert Harris]

I dunno - I can't imagine it really costs a studio much to toss in those extra discs.

I think it's a mistake for studios to leave off BDs in their 4K releases.

More than a few buyers will get 4Ks even if they don't have 4K players if BDs are included as well.

They can watch the BD now and have the 4K when/if they upgrade.

Those people won't buy just the 4K most of the time, though, if it doesn't include the BD...

I don’t want this comment to sound akin to “let them eat cake,” but if someone will be upgrading, why not go for a 4k player in advance of a monitor? Aren’t the latest game consoles also 4k friendly?

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I don’t want this comment to sound akin to “let them ear cake,” but if someone will be upgrading, why not go for a 4k player in advance of a monitor? Aren’t the latest game consoles also 4k friendly?

Aren't there issues with tone mapping when using a 4k player & UHD disc in a 1080p-only setup?

 

[Worth]

Aren't there issues with tone mapping when using a 4k player & UHD disc in a 1080p-only setup?

I think it depends on the player. I bought a Panasonic which lets you tweak the picture settings and never had any issues until I eventually picked up a 4K display.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I think it depends on the player. I bought a Panasonic which lets you tweak the picture settings and never had any issues until I eventually picked up a 4K display.

Yeah, I think most of the brand name 4K players, including the sub-$200 ones, do a decent enough job at it, *but* it does seem a tad tricky to get results equaling (or possibly bettering) a good BD counterpart on a 1080p display.

That's certainly the case w/ the sub-$200 Sony 4K players me thinks. In general, I'd say I got slightly better results (via my Sony X700) than the BD counterpart (from same transfer, not much older inferior one) in the large majority of cases, but not everyone might agree particularly about the HDR->SDR conversion... and it did require some tweaking as well as manual switching of profiles (that may not be nearly obvious/easy enough for many)...

It's a definite weakness of the format that there's no standardization of HDR handling/usage/implementation (that affects both 4K HDR and 1080p SDR output and whatever in between)...

_Man_