A Few Words About A few words about...™ Tucker: The Man and His Dream -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Francis Coppola's Tucker: A Man and His Dream (1988), surprised me upon its original release with a superb performance by an un-billed actor, Lloyd Bridges. A nice touch.

Father and son would appear together again in 1994, in Blown Away.

Tucker is less a filmed biography, and more a fanciful "gadget," as Mr. Coppola references it.

With theatrical ties back to One from the Heart, with that film's use of the analogue wonders of thoughtful cinematographic and set design, it's a film filled with delightful tricks that make it an extremely special and rewarding experience for cinema lovers.

The new Blu-ray, released by Lionsgate, is based upon a new 4k scan of the camera original, and audio presented in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, that fills one's proscenium with wonderfulness.

I love this film!

Finally available in top form for home theater enjoyment.

Image - 5

Audio - 5 (5.1 Dolby True HD)

Pass / Fail - Pass

Upgrade from DVD - Must you ask?

Highly Recommended

RAH

 

[Felix Martinez]

I love this film also! I have been waiting for the upgrade from DVD for YEARS. As it turns out, I’m typing this a few miles from the Inglenook estate, where Mr. Coppola kept one of his Tuckers on display even after the lions share of the film memorabilia went up north to his relocated Coppola winery in Geyserville. Alas, it seems the vehicle @ Inglenook had been taken away for an event, so I didn’t get to be in its presence. Love that car, love the film!

Nonetheless... I do so wish we had a UHD release of this fine, fine film...

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Curse you, RAH! I'm going to go broke at this rate.

 

[jauritt]

Curse you, RAH! I'm going to go broke at this rate.

Ah, c'mon...ten bucks ain't gonna break you.

 

[skylark68]

I pre-ordered this one and took a chance. It looks great, I second RAH's review! First time I saw this was on VHS in my high school economics class... Great film for classic car folks too!

 

[Peter Neski]

This is One where I want to test to see if 4k streaming beats the Blue Ray

 

[Mark Booth]

This is One where I want to test to see if 4k streaming beats the Blue Ray

The only way to do that is to buy both the 4K digital copy (from Vudu or iTunes) AND the Blu-ray. The digital copy redeems as HDX at Vudu, not UHD. The code isn't redeemable in iTunes and since Lionsgate doesn't participate in Movies Anywhere, you also can only redeem at one spot.

I am planning to do the very comparison you mentioned. I had an iTunes gift card (birthday gift) and used part of it to buy the iTunes 4K digital copy (Dolby Vision).

Mark

 

[PMF]

Tucker is a great film and has yet to age.
I love such films that involve the individual and an innovative vision.
And speaking of vision, its great news to learn that this is a 4K scan from an OCN;
as Vittorio Storaro was also an innovator within his uses and studies of color.

 

[David Wilkins]

Can anyone tell us the size of the 4K download? I've seldom downloaded large files, even something like HD Tracks music files, and I imagine that very few people have a robust enough connection to download this thing within a reasonable timeframe. Since Lionsgate has offered several UHD's already, including titles that aren't exactly crowd-winning favorites, I wonder why they opted not to release this one on UHD as well.

I really, really hope this isn't a trend for the future.

 

[Mark Booth]

I watched the entire film in 4K Dolby Vision via my Apple TV 4K this morning. Then I popped in the Blu-ray. I immediately noticed the HD Blu-ray lacked some of the "pop" of the 4K DV version. Colors on the HD Blu-ray weren't as saturated. The HDR (Dolby Vision) of the 4K stream made for a better presentation. Absolutely, the 4K Dolby Vision stream looked better. It's a shame that Lionsgate didn't release a 4K Blu-ray version.

If I had it to do over again, I'd only buy the $12.99 iTunes version. I'll likely never watch the HD Blu-ray again.

That said, there is nothing "wrong" with the HD Blu-ray. It looks excellent. The 4K DV presentation simply looks better. HDR has spoiled me.

Mark

 

[PMF]

Yes, what is the distribution resistance towards UHD?
Is it financial? Is it a lack of technical knowhow and/or abilities?
Seems odd, especially when new 4K scans from the OCN are part of their boastings when releasing something new.
While one side is offering the displays and projectors, the other side (physical media) is holding back.
How can 4K/UHD ever succeed when the other side is not making their own commitments to superior PQ and sound?

 

[Peter Neski]

I watched the entire film in 4K Dolby Vision via my Apple TV 4K this morning. Then I popped in the Blu-ray. I immediately noticed the HD Blu-ray lacked some of the "pop" of the 4K DV version. Colors on the HD Blu-ray weren't as saturated. The HDR (Dolby Vision) of the 4K stream made for a better presentation. Absolutely, the 4K Dolby Vision stream looked better. It's a shame that Lionsgate didn't release a 4K Blu-ray version.

If I had it to do over again, I'd only buy the $12.99 iTunes version. I'll likely never watch the HD Blu-ray again.

That said, there is nothing "wrong" with the HD Blu-ray. It looks excellent. The 4K DV presentation simply looks better. HDR has spoiled me.

Mark

well I plan on getting the Vudu 4k version,but I don't think these steaming versions have the extras

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Yes, what is the distribution resistance towards UHD?
Is it financial? Is it a lack of technical knowhow and/or abilities?
Seems odd, especially when new 4K scans from the OCN are part of their boastings when releasing something new.
While one side is offering the displays and projectors, the other side (physical media) is holding back.
How can 4K/UHD ever succeed when the other side is not making their own commitments to superior PQ and sound?

My guess in this case is that Lionsgate believes that "streaming is the future" and therefore will only commit resources to a UHD/4K disc release where the sales will justify it; hence their focus mostly on well-selling action films and the like.

 

[Ryan Barrett]

I purchased this out of the gate (given how good this film is, and for under 10 dollars - this one is a no brainer)...I for the life of me, cannot figure out why Lionsgate didn't author a 4K disc. Considering the new scan and how good the bluray looks, I can only imagine how this would look in the new format.

 

[Mark Booth]

well I plan on getting the Vudu 4k version,but I don't think these steaming versions have the extras

Good point. The iTunes version certainly doesn't have the extra features.

But then, a lot of people don't watch the extra features (including me... well, rarely).

Mark

 

[Brian Husar]

Got this day of release and I am so happy. How did Coppola get Storaro to agree with the 2.35 aspect ratio on this and Apocalypse? I am happy that I can finally see the full aspect ratio. Now if only they can do it for Bertolucci and The Last Emperor.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Good point. The iTunes version certainly doesn't have the extra features.

But then, a lot of people don't watch the extra features (including me... well, rarely).

Mark

Neither does Vudu. However, iTunes has been known to add extras later on for many titles.

 

[Peter Neski]

Neither does Vudu. However, iTunes has been known to add extras later on for many titles.

I can't stream I-tunes on my tv,so Vudu is it

 

[Robert Crawford]

I can't stream I-tunes on my tv,so Vudu is it

It's the same price on both services.

 

[JoshZ]

Got this day of release and I am so happy. How did Coppola get Storaro to agree with the 2.35 aspect ratio on this and Apocalypse? I am happy that I can finally see the full aspect ratio. Now if only they can do it for Bertolucci and The Last Emperor.

Storaro's approval is not required to release the Blu-ray (nor is Coppola's, though he appears to have been involved in this one). I can't speak to Tucker, but I know that in the case of Apocalypse Now, Storaro had no hand in that Blu-ray. The transfer for that movie was approved by Coppola, who consented to restoring the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio at the urging of Lionsgate. I expect that the same thing happened here.