DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Charlie And The Chocolate Factory - Two Disc Deluxe Edition (1 Viewer)

[TedT]

I think the reviewer told a little bit too much about the movie.

 

[Zack Gibbs]

I'll still prefer the Wilder version over this, but it is a worthy adaption. I loved everything in it other than Charlie himself, and what the father backstory did to the character of Wonka. I don't think the backstory was bad at all, it was just the direction of Wonka that didn't work for me. Too much of a wuss.

Luckily I've seen the film so I wasn't spoiled, but I agree the review gives far too much plot away. One more sentence and that would have been the whole film.

 

[Max Leung]

Well, I never read the book or seen the movie, nor do I know how the story goes.

I read the review. Well, I guess I won't need to read the book or watch the movie now. I've been spoilered!

Thankfully I'm not interested in watching this movie, so in a few years I will probably forget what I read in the review anyways.

(But wait, if I hadn't read the review, would I have watched the movie anyways? I will never know...)

Good to know the transfer is probably good.

 

[Dave Mack]

Nice review, Herb! And always good to hear your thoughts, Ron!
Burton is my Fave director and me and the better 1/2 were too busy what with moving 4x this past year to catch this in the house. Done deal for me.

 

[TonyD]

i agree wiyth tino.
the review shouldnt give away major story points it should general idea of what the movie is about.

i've learned that here on the htf there are a few reviewers that i won't read the part that discusses the movie itself only the info on the dvd, picture, sound etc.

gonna watch this tonight and have been looking forward to it for awhile.

i love the origional.

 

[Malcolm R]

Yeah, Wonka is a LOT more masculine.

Great film, light years better than the old version. Can't wait to get the DVD.

 

[Yumbo]

just finished it on the PJ.

fantastic presentation right from the opening trailers, sound wise.

why does Warner do non-anamorphic trailers nowadays?

Corpse Bride in 2.0 was great.

Picture - soft, good, but EE on some shots.
Sound - the main titles are flabbergasting! excellent use of bass. EX flag is there unlike Sith.

The songs expand the sound field thereafter. Only slight strain on center channel now and then.

The elevator concept seems similar to Hitchhiker's Guide. Who copied who?

Great movie...can't remember the original.

Better sound than picture.

Time to test Batman and Titanic.

 

[Mark Lucas]

The Choclate Factory trailer is non-anamorphic?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Great review Herb.




Ron, your sentiments before watching it reflect my own...so I'm hoping that the same is true for your sentiments after watching it...I've waited on this title but now I may give it a shot.

To rent or to own...that is the question (with BD in the winds...every new DVD "purchase" is getting harder and harder to justify!)

dave

 

[Mark Lucas]

My thoughts on Chocolate Factory's transfer:

Intentionally soft skin tones. Some annoying mosquito noise. Some minor EE. 1.78:1. The color choices that were done during the DI process are more obvious on dvd than in the theatrical prints. Some scenes have an interesting colorized effect that reminds me of Sky Captain's look, only more colorful. Overall a pretty good transfer but the HD version will make it look like mud.

The theatrical trailer is 16x9 and framed around 1.85:1. AC3 2.0.

The Cropse Bride trailer is really just a dvd preview and is non-anamorphic and flagged as video. Eh.

 

[Steven Simon]

Fantastic review as always Herb!!!

 

[Stephen Orr]

Who knew training squirrels was so difficult?

Loved the Dahl biography.

Still working through the other features.

 

[Jefferson]

I found the film entertaining on its own terms.
It looked even more glorious when i saw it a second time in IMAX. Stunning in fact.
The film follows the book much more closely than the original (which is part of my childhood nostalgia).
I also found the Oompa Loompa songs to be original,
and clever.

The little boy who plays Charlie is excellent, and
carries the first portion of the film which i think is
brilliant...then Depp's daring portrayal of Wonka pops up...effeminate, and just downright odd, but enjoyable.

The moment it all goes wrong for me is in an "epilogue" tacked on to the end of the film, having nothing to do with the original book whatsoever...without a spoiler, it has to do with Wonka and his dad.
Ugh.
Could have done without that. Otherwise, a fun flick.

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

I saw it in IMAX as well. Man, that knocked my socks off!

Overall, a very entertaining movie even though Depp's performance was a little jarring at times. The amazing art direction and Burton's skewed point of view made it worthwhile viewing.

 

[BarryS]

I love this movie. One of the best movies of the year in my opinion. I also love Tim Burton and I love Roald Dahl's story so this was a match made in heaven for me. I love everything about the movie from the actors to the songs to the production design. I think it's easily Tim Burton's best movie since Ed Wood, (although I loved Big Fish too). Just a fantastic movie all around, especially for Burton fans.

I was a bit disappointed to see that the DVD extras are not too remarkable. Given the higher price of the Deluxe Edition ($22.99 at most stores) I opted for the single-disc edition. I really wish that Warner Bros. could stop this Deluxe Edition nonsense and just release their big titles in 2-disc editions only and LOWER THE PRICE. Look at Star Wars: Episode III. 2-disc edition packed with extras and available at most retail stores for $14.99 the first week. Why can't Warner do the same? What's even more frustrating is that the extra features (not counting the kiddie games) from the Deluxe Edition of Charlie would probably have fit on a single disc. But Warner would rather put the few extra features on a second disc and charge $25. If you're going to do that, then at least make the features worth the extra money!

End of rant.

 

[Ron-P]

I have a Sanyo Z3 calibrated with AVIA and throwing an image of 85", I found the video to be poor. Noise, EE, soft and lacking detail. Blacks also looked washed out in certain scenes. I just finished watching Star Wars: RotS and there is a HUGE difference in PQ between these two. Star Wars looked stunning. I was quite let down with Charlies picture quality.

I sure hope they do a better job with The Corpse Bride.

 

[Dave Mack]

Hiya Ron! I still have to check this title out. So the Driftwood theatre has gotten a new PJ?

dmack

 

[WillG]

The sad thing is that Warner is actually the most fair with this practice as they typically only set the MSRP of the Deluxe set a couple of dollars higher that the one disc. It's the retailers that don't discount these deluxe editions very well. But, I do agree that whatever the MSRPs are, it's a gouge and I do agree with your Episode III comparison as well.

 

[Yumbo]

I wouldn't fault the picture that much, and wouldn't praise SW that much on the other hand.

The mozzie noise I would say is due to cabling/setup.

 

[Ron-P]

Nope, not the cabling or set-up. I've watched several dvds with the new PJ and this one has a below average PQ. The new Elektra DC dvd has much better PQ then this. I have yet to watch a dvd with the new rig with worse PQ. Titanic, Elektra, Star Wars...they all looked beautiful, this, below average. Even Kingdom of Heaven with it's darker image looked better.