Best Picture Quality Ever (SEABISCUIT and others) (1 Viewer)

[Larry Talbot]

I'm sure this is old news to most of you but I just saw Seabiscuit for the first time last night. I thought the movie was okay - a little corny in places - but man the picture quality was hands down the best I've ever seen on DVD. I have several supposedly reference quality discs and Seabiscuit utterly destroys them. Just breathtaking clarity with no flaws whatsoever, something that is very rare on my 82-inch wide screen. Nothing else even comes close to this disc. I wish I liked the movie a little more, because I would buy it for sure.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Yesterday's best becomes tomorrow's worst.

 

[Chuck C]

I agree, Larry...Seabiscuit looked awesome! With each passing Tuesday, DVDs hit a new level of reference. In fact, is there anymore room for improvement?

 

[Larry Talbot]

"Yesterday's best becomes tomorrow's worst."

I get what you're saying, as a generality, but in this specific instance, I disagree. Seabiscuit IS leagues ahead of every other DVD I've seen, period. Seven PE, Training Day, Mullholland Drive, Toy Story, Below - all films I own that stand out from the rest of the pack - all bunched up and left far behind in Seabiscuit's wake. Like I said - nothing else comes close.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Well, I'll be the first one to admit that when I'm reading DVD reviews and the critics start getting into some of the fine details of the transfer, I start feeling like I'm reading one of my father's old chemistry books.

Still, I think - like many things in art - perceived quality involves some small measure of subjectivity. Do you like film grain? Some do. Do you like a more natural "film" look, as opposed to a sharp "digital" look? Some do.

That's why I don't think it is ever possible to quantify any work of art - or even any work of man - as the "greatest achievement ever". At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what is most important to you.

Having said that -- here are my choices for the best transfers I've seen recently:

Sleeping Beauty: SE
Once Upon a Time in the West: SE
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: SE
Finding Nemo
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Casablanca (Warner Bros. Collection)

Great work.

 

[Kristoffer]

Mine would be
Matrix Reloaded
Alien ( quad )
Terminator 2 EE
Indiana Jones and the raieders of the lost ark
Once upon a time in the west
Two Towers EE
Fellowepship of the ring..

 

[Marc Colella]

The best I've seen so far is The Pledge.

When they want to, Warner can really do some beautiful transfers.

 

[dpippel]

Seabiscuit is indeed a gorgeous transfer, but one that would have been much better without the edge enhancement it suffers from. It's not BAD, but definitely noticable.

My reference transfer of the last 6 months has been, surprisingly enough Undercover Brother. If you haven't seen this you're in for a surprise. Not only is the film *hilarious* (and one that gets better with each subsequent viewing), the 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer is simply stunning. Stunning! Color saturation and detail are spot-on throughout. On my ISF calibrated Hitachi 57SWX20B it's the most high-def looking DVD transfer of a filmed movie that I've seen yet.

 

[Robert Harris]

Seabiscuit was produced via DI (digital intermediate).

The DVD may have either been produced directly from the digital files or via a normal film to tape transfer.

RAH

 

[Jonathan Carter]

The best I've seen recently are:

Underworld
Freddy Vs. Jason
Finding Nemo
The Lion King: Special Edition
LOTR:TTT Extended Edition

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Glengarry Glenn Ross has exceptional video as well.

 

[Herb Kane]

Ernest... very well said.

I'll second Lou's choice of Glengarry Glenn Ross - the facial detail is a sight to behold (did ya ever think we'd be giving such praise to Artisan...?). I'll also add the Bad And The Beautiful as one of the best B&W transfers I have ever seen.


Herb.

 

[oscar_merkx]

I thought that the recent restoration of 1938's Robin Hood was truly exceptional with Glorious Technicolor

 

[RobertR]

It helps if someone lists his equipment when praising a transfer. For me, it has to look good based on how it looks on a CRT front projector with a large screen.

 

[Shawn_KE]

The Matrix Reloaded's picture quality is pretty tuff to beat as well as it's sound.

 

[Zen Butler]

Fifth Element (SB) hands down for "digital" look. Ernest brings up a good point.

For a more "film" like look.
Once Upon a Time in th West
LOTR:FOTR- although I'm not floored by the movie itself.

Most recently, Underworld is amazing. For a film so dark.

EDIT: DV CRT

 

[KimK]

Freddy vs Jason definitely has a first class transfer and I don't think I've seen it done better.

 

[Jeff D Han]

My 2 cents-

Black And White movies-

Casablanca 2 disc SE
Sunset Boulevard


Color movies-

Matrix Reloaded
X2: X Men United
Fellowship Of The Ring
Terminator 2 Extreme Edition
Alien 2 disc SE

 

[JonZ]

American History X

 

[Dave Mack]

Check out the Bjoern site in regards to FOTR... Some interesting obervations as to the softness....
TT had a bit too much EE for my taste.
Training Day blows away the LOTR discs as far as detail IMHO... Just stunning...