UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[MatthewA]

I'm also seeing what looks like plenty of film grain. There also seems to be a lot more fine detail on fabric, faces, and things of that nature.

 

[Robert Harris]

I'm also seeing what looks like plenty of film grain. There also seems to be a lot more fine detail on fabric, faces, and things of that nature.

What would be the rationale of a 4k UHD release of a film shot so soft and without focus, that multiplying the visual information by 4, or 24, would not add high frequency detail?

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

I have an complicated conundrum for some tech savvy people on the forum.

I have been buying 4K discs for a while, I still don’t want to let go of my panasonic 65” studio master plasma. And bought a oppo 4K player when they announced they would stop manufacturing them. I wanted it also because I play a lot of SACDs and also upgraded to Atmos audio.

So this is where the issue comes in. I’ve never had any issues with watching 4Ks downrezzed to 1080p. This Willy Wonka disc is a first. I was watching the disc and kept thinking the color is off somehow. First I noticed Wonka’s jacket looked more blue than purple and Veruca’s dress was orange!! Mind you orange such as the Lumpas were orange. But it was odd the reds weren’t red at all.

then I thought okay I own a ton of 4Ks and never noticed this.
Quickly threw in Superman the movie… His sheild was beautifully red, Basic Instinct.. that blood was red! Flash Gordon Reds are reds, 2001 that helmet us red and that red lit turning off HAL was red.

so I guess technically I wonder what is different about this 4K than others that downrezzed the transfer would be this way. Perhaps the HDR component is different. If that were the case why are other 4Ks fine.

I know this is a bizarre way that I’m watching the discs but again just curious if anyone with some knowledge about this tech issue?

 

[Robert Harris]

I have an complicated conundrum for some tech savvy people on the forum.

I have been buying 4K discs for a while, I still don’t want to let go of my panasonic 65” studio master plasma. And bought a oppo 4K player when they announced they would stop manufacturing them. I wanted it also because I play a lot of SACDs and also upgraded to Atmos audio.

So this is where the issue comes in. I’ve never had any issues with watching 4Ks downrezzed to 1080p. This Willy Wonka disc is a first. I was watching the disc and kept thinking the color is off somehow. First I noticed Wonka’s jacket looked more blue than purple and Veruca’s dress was orange!! Mind you orange such as the Lumpas were orange. But it was odd the reds weren’t red at all.

then I thought okay I own a ton of 4Ks and never noticed this.
Quickly threw in Superman the movie… His sheild was beautifully red, Basic Instinct.. that blood was red! Flash Gordon Reds are reds, 2001 that helmet us red and that red lit turning off HAL was red.

so I guess technically I wonder what is different about this 4K than others that downrezzed the transfer would be this way. Perhaps the HDR component is different. If that were the case why are other 4Ks fine.

I know this is a bizarre way that I’m watching the discs but again just curious if anyone with some knowledge about this tech issue?

I wish I knew. But sorry, not a clue. I had sync problems, as well as handshake problems with this disc.

“There are more things in heaven and earth…”

 

[Dave H]

I have an complicated conundrum for some tech savvy people on the forum.

I have been buying 4K discs for a while, I still don’t want to let go of my panasonic 65” studio master plasma. And bought a oppo 4K player when they announced they would stop manufacturing them. I wanted it also because I play a lot of SACDs and also upgraded to Atmos audio.

So this is where the issue comes in. I’ve never had any issues with watching 4Ks downrezzed to 1080p. This Willy Wonka disc is a first. I was watching the disc and kept thinking the color is off somehow. First I noticed Wonka’s jacket looked more blue than purple and Veruca’s dress was orange!! Mind you orange such as the Lumpas were orange. But it was odd the reds weren’t red at all.

then I thought okay I own a ton of 4Ks and never noticed this.
Quickly threw in Superman the movie… His sheild was beautifully red, Basic Instinct.. that blood was red! Flash Gordon Reds are reds, 2001 that helmet us red and that red lit turning off HAL was red.

so I guess technically I wonder what is different about this 4K than others that downrezzed the transfer would be this way. Perhaps the HDR component is different. If that were the case why are other 4Ks fine.

I know this is a bizarre way that I’m watching the discs but again just curious if anyone with some knowledge about this tech issue?

Assuming nothing has changed with any of your settings, I can only chalk it up to something in the HDR encoding on the disc that is not tone mapping nicely to 1080p SDR with the Oppo. It could just be something in the metadata, who knows. Some people do encounter this from time to time on certain discs while almost everything else looks fine while tone mapping. I recall one poster on another forum saying every UHD disc looked great tone mapped in his set-up except for Field of Dreams which looked way too dark.

However, I would strongly consider using the Panasonic 420/820 for tone mapping as Oppo never got out of the early stages with their progress before they closed shop. I was actually beta testing for Oppo. The Panasonic is significantly better in this regard.

I'm using the 820 for tone mapping in my FP set-up and so far, I haven't encountered a problem with any disc including this one.

 

[MatthewA]

So this is where the issue comes in. I’ve never had any issues with watching 4Ks downrezzed to 1080p. This Willy Wonka disc is a first. I was watching the disc and kept thinking the color is off somehow. First I noticed Wonka’s jacket looked more blue than purple and Veruca’s dress was orange!! Mind you orange such as the Lumpas were orange. But it was odd the reds weren’t red at all.

So I guess the snozzberries no longer taste like snozzberries.

 

[compson]

I watched this last night, having seen the movie only once before, on TV, decades ago. I enjoyed the heck out of it. To my untrained eye, the color and detail were nice, but the framing did look tight in places. I understand obsessing over imperfections in presentations—I do it myself—but this was 100 minutes of my life that I wouldn’t want back. The included Blu-ray disc contains a 2001 making-of SD extra that looks terrible but includes good interviews (the director, Mel Stuart, talks about how skilled and critical Gene Wilder’s performance is) and a great story about the movie’s last line.

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

Assuming nothing has changed with any of your settings, I can only chalk it up to something in the HDR encoding on the disc that is not tone mapping nicely to 1080p SDR with the Oppo. It could just be something in the metadata, who knows. Some people do encounter this from time to time on certain discs while almost everything else looks fine while tone mapping. I recall one poster on another forum saying every UHD disc looked great tone mapped in his set-up except for Field of Dreams which looked way too dark.

However, I would strongly consider using the Panasonic 420/820 for tone mapping as Oppo never got out of the early stages with their progress before they closed shop. I was actually beta testing for Oppo. The Panasonic is significantly better in this regard.

I'm using the 820 for tone mapping in my FP set-up and so far, I haven't encountered a problem with any disc including this one.

Okay so call it crazy. I guess I messed with the oppo HDR settings and didnt realize it caused the color red to just go orange and pull red from everything else.

for some strange reason I must have clicked on the HDR format instead of having it turned off. Now odd thing is I could have sworn I messed with that setting and felt like it did nothing. Finally on my setup Veruca’s dress is red and Wonkas jacket looks correct. (Basically, Its like a superbit Blu so even though I’m not taking advantage of true 4K it does give a better transfer) plus my purchases help sales and Wonka was my 200th 4K disc!

 

[John Maher_289910]

I saw this film, for the first time, only a few years ago. That my grown kids had seen it, more than once, as children, and I somehow never did, I don't quite understand. It was coming on television (yes, with commercials), and I decided to give it a try, even though I detested EVERYTHING about CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, which I had seen. I never expected to last through the entire broadcast, nor did I expect to have a tear in my eye, at the end. While I was somewhat put off by how cheap it looks, performances from the cast, particularly Gene Wilder, are all first-rate. I won't be buying it, because it isn't something I want to return to, and I expect in 4K, I would be even more put off by its cheap look; but, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and get why so many people are fond of it.

 

[Dave H]

It's always interesting to read of different perceptions when it comes to movies. When my girlfriend and I watched this disc (projected), we talked about how impressive the sets looked especially given this movie was made in 1971 with no CGI. I thought some of the sets, especially the large candy making machines in the factory, were rather impressive.

 

[MatthewA]

What's more important is whether you believe the actors' reaction to their surroundings, real or fake, and that's where the movie really shines. They even united two Oscar competitors: three years earlier, Jack Albertson won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Subject Was Roses over Gene Wilder in The Producers, which won Best Original Screenplay.

 

[ChuckyMan]

Just got the Willy Wonka 4K. Why in the world are the credits on the blu ray windowboxed ? It's very distracting. Redeemed the digital copy on moviesanywhere. Watching that, the credits AREN'T windowboxed.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Just got the Willy Wonka 4K. Why in the world are the credits on the blu ray windowboxed ? It's very distracting. Redeemed the digital copy on moviesanywhere. Watching that, the credits AREN'T windowboxed.

It has probably been mentioned in this thread, but the Blu-ray (is there one included with the set? I didn't notice) is the transfer from several years ago that was incorrectly framed.

The 4k has completely been reframed, though there is no agreement across the board that it has been done correctly. Let's just say it looks much better.

 

[Dave H]

Speaking only for myself, I saw no issues or distraction with the framing.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Speaking only for myself, I saw no issues or distraction with the framing.

Neither did I, Dave. I have read remarks that say it’s still off. Somebody recently said they zoomed in some shots. I really don’t know. It looked damn good to me.

 

[Chewbabka]

Neither did I, Dave. I have read remarks that say it’s still off. Somebody recently said they zoomed in some shots. I really don’t know. It looked damn good to me.

I haven’t watched this yet, but there is a tendency on the internet for people to scream that framing is wrong whenever a new transfer has less information than an older one. Why people assume an ancient Blu-Ray necessarily has more correct framing than a newly minted transfer is beyond me. I have no insider info, but on the stills I’ve seen, the new framing seems much more pleasing thoughtful.

 

[Osato]

Neither did I, Dave. I have read remarks that say it’s still off. Somebody recently said they zoomed in some shots. I really don’t know. It looked damn good to me.

I watched the hd version on iTunes last night. I believe I bought this film a year ago from vudu so my copy didn’t upgrade to 4k. I recall watching it last year as well.

I was very happy with the picture and sound on the newer hd version. I noticed the paramount intro last night too.

I may eventually pick up the disc for 4k but it’s not high on my list.

 

[moviebuff75]

I discovered something interesting about the deleted "Wait!" It's actually Charlie saying it! It is Mrs. Bucket's line. I am wondering if he recorded it during prerecording the song, to be used as a cue for Jack Albertson. That way they could just play it back during multiple takes. It should have been replaced with her reading of the line. So, maybe that part of the next shot was cut, and that line with it. How it ended up in the VHS mono is a mystery.

I saw the scene hundreds of time's on cable in 1982-1983. When I first rented the vhs in 1987, I thought it was a mistake. My sister and I kept rewinding that part because we had never heard that line before.
Warner must have done something with the track when they prepared the VHS in 1984, because the HBO/Showtime/Cinemax showings just a few months earlier did not have that dialogue. The VHS had cue marks during reel changes as well.