A Few Words About A few words about...™ Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Stephen_J_H]

It might also be possible to release an over/under 3D HFR version on a UHD disc. Assuming most if not all 4k 3Dtvs can combine over/under images into 3D.

Passive 3d already halves vertical resolution, so by going with over/under there wouldn't be any additional resolution loss. A resolution of 3840 x 1920 would seem an acceptable compromise. Although it would be a relatively small potential audience capable of taking advantage of this.

I think you meant 1080 by 3840 if it's over/under, since home 4K is 2160 x 3840; side-by-side would yield resolution of 2160 by 1920. To crunch the numbers in terms of megapixels, both would be 4.15 MP.

 

[Interdimensional]

yes, I meant 3840 x 1080. ... that's what I intended to type. - I just have an unreliable brain.
I have edited the original post accordingly.

As I understand it, over/under would result in a higher pixel count on a passive 3D system.

If you start with side by side, you're then halving the horizontal resolution in addition to the vertical resolution (which is halved through polarization). Since the vertical resolution will be halved anyway, you might as well split it that way to begin with.

On an active system you are correct that it would make no difference to the overall resolution (although I would imagine active might present issues with high-framerate)

 

[PMF]

Glad to read that John Toll is back in full force.

 

[Robert Harris]

I was finally able to view the entire film last night.

Had no idea what I was getting into, going in.

The film is more of a character study re the glory of soldiers returning from overseas, the way that they're marketed, by both the military as well as big business. This is allied with the unified brotherhood of soldiers, PTSD, and the personal decisions relating to returning to battle.

It works.

One shot stood out in XUHD.

Viewing, I was thinking that this may not have been the best use of the format. Rather like using UP70 for a film that was basically an indoor drama.

But worth one's time.

RAH

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I almost wonder if the story might have been better served by only having part of the film told with HFR - I think you could make a good argument either way about whether that should be the Iraq flashbacks or the American "present day" sequences.

I found that, when combined with 3D, the HFR really drew me into each individual scene, especially the more intimate, quieter scenes. But what didn't work as well for me was the transitions from scene to scene. There was something about cutting from one scene to the next, which in a normal 24fps movie would never register to me as anything unusual, that seemed very disruptive in HFR - almost as if I'd forget I was watching a movie as a scene unfolded, and then immediately would be snapped back into the reality that I was in a theater watching a screen whenever they'd cut to a new scene.

 

[Howard Tom]

Speaking as one who only saw it in a theater with HFR (local theaters did not offer any 3D option for the film) and likely only 60 fps I can still appreciate the difference it created in my perception after a lifetime of watching 24fps. Without the perceptible stuttering of lateral motion and pan shots, I accepted what was playing out before me as being without artifice, even what had to be CGI and postprocessing (a likely intentional exception is one shot that we have already seen but this time with the sky blacked out instead of blue). This was brought to light for me when I finally saw the online trailer for this film. At 24fps the motion and color values (an example is that except for the combat scenes daylight scenes were bluer than we're used in film) were markedly different, and to me, less immersive.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I almost wonder if the story might have been better served by only having part of the film told with HFR - I think you could make a good argument either way about whether that should be the Iraq flashbacks or the American "present day" sequences.

I found that, when combined with 3D, the HFR really drew me into each individual scene, especially the more intimate, quieter scenes. But what didn't work as well for me was the transitions from scene to scene. There was something about cutting from one scene to the next, which in a normal 24fps movie would never register to me as anything unusual, that seemed very disruptive in HFR - almost as if I'd forget I was watching a movie as a scene unfolded, and then immediately would be snapped back into the reality that I was in a theater watching a screen whenever they'd cut to a new scene.

In other words, something like Doug Trumbull's initial plans for using ShowScan in Brainstorm, which was eventually scaled back to simply changing between "flat" 35mm and 70mm.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I almost wonder if the story might have been better served by only having part of the film told with HFR - I think you could make a good argument either way about whether that should be the Iraq flashbacks or the American "present day" sequences.

I think the story would've been better served with a half-decent script that didn't just cram together a string of movie cliches...

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think the story would've been better served with a half-decent script that didn't just cram together a string of movie cliches...

Fair enough. I didn't think it was the best thing ever, but when it got into a groove, I found myself really moved. It's really a smaller story, and many of the characters felt real to me. I particularly enjoyed Garrett Hedlund's role.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Fair enough. I didn't think it was the best thing ever, but when it got into a groove, I found myself really moved. It's really a smaller story, and many of the characters felt real to me. I particularly enjoyed Garrett Hedlund's role.

Yeah, Hedlund's character was easily the most interesting part of the movie. Like I said in my review:

" Hedlund manages some edge and personality – enough that I often wished the movie would shift focus to him instead of boring old Billy. Dime strikes us as a character with an interesting life/backstory, while Billy’s existence comes straight out of Hollywood War Movie Cliché Central."

 

[Edwin-S]

Watched the 3D version last night and sampled the 4K. The 3D version was well done, except I started getting a bit of a headache about halfway through. The 4K HFR version looked very detailed, but I really don't like the look of HFR. It just looks too artificial and static to me. It looked exactly like what applying anti-judder algorithms to 24 fps material does to the material.

 

[Edwin-S]

What impressed me the most about the 4K version was the soundtrack, especially during the halftime show. The soundtrack at that point had a massive amount of presence. You felt like you were right on the field, marching with those guys.

 

[Wayne_j]

I picked up the Phillips player and this movie as my first UHD title. Although I currently only have 1080p, I want to be prepared for the future. I picked out this movie because out of all available titles this one provided the most benefits available to those without a 4k/HDR display since standed Blu Ray cannot display 1080p 60 images.

I started out thinking that this looked like a documentary but by the end I was able to be immersed into the movie. After watching this I put in Fantastic Beasts and it looked choppy in comparison.

 

[Robert Harris]

I picked up the Phillips player and this movie as my first UHD title. Although I currently only have 1080p, I want to be prepared for the future. I picked out this movie because out of all available titles this one provided the most benefits available to those without a 4k/HDR display since standed Blu Ray cannot display 1080p 60 images.

I started out thinking that this looked like a documentary but by the end I was able to be immersed into the movie. After watching this I put in Fantastic Beasts and it looked choppy in comparison.

Most anything shot at less than 30 fps can look "choppy," especially tracking or trucking shots.

Add a picket fence, and you've achieved the perfect cinematographic storm.

 

[SamT]

Just watched this. The High Frame Rate 60 fps looked terrible, terrible. I could never accept anything higher than 24fps as movie. Never.

We don't want to watch reality. We want to watch fantasy, dream, drama. And 24fps gives that dreamlike, fantasy look.

No matter how hard they try, I will never like it or accept it.

 

[madfloyd]

Just watched this. The High Frame Rate 60 fps looked terrible, terrible. I could never accept anything higher than 24fps as movie. Never.

We don't want to watch reality. We want to watch fantasy, dream, drama. And 24fps gives that dreamlike, fantasy look.

No matter how hard they try, I will never like it or accept it.

Ironically I find HFR to look very fake (in a bad way).