DVD Review HTF Review: King Kong (2005). Very highly recommended (1 Viewer)

[Paul Arnette]

Oh, no? Did you miss the watermarking memo?

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...75#post2972475

 

[Patrick H.]

Quick question...has else anyone noticed a handful of pops on the 5.1 track? They're subtle, since it's a busy soundtrack, but the most prominent one I caught was at about 2:37:58 in the right channel, which is during a quieter scene. Are these on the master, or did I get a bad disc?

No complaints about the picture, though...utterly gorgeous! Even the above-mentioned watermark was hidden well enough that I didn't see it two out of three times.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Over-simplification? Is that what all the fuss is about? Whew! For a second there I thought that all of the studios were completely ignoring quality and dropping OAR's, not counting Sony of course...the bastards.

Still not seeing the big deal, here.

As for that watermark, I never spotted it until it was brought up here in the forum.

 

[Vincent-P]

In my opinion, it doesn't matter whether most people don't notice it or not...it shouldn't be there.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Just what does that watermark mean, anyway?

 

[Sam Posten]

IMO the watermark isnt all that helpful, and may even be some kind of red herring. The idea is if exact duplicate of the DVD edition start showing up a few weeks early on the P2P networds the studio can check the watermark and see which duplication house let it out into the wild. So it's a limited use and it will 'marr' that one frame forever. It is not a big deal to me personally, but the more it is used in a film the bigger problem it becomes. Given the choice between crazy DRM schemes and a cheesy watermark, I'll take the watermark every time, tho 'neither' would be best.

Sam

 

[Paul_Scott]

just a heads up for anyone who hasn't bought this yet, but Universal is expected to announce this will be an early HD DVD release for May.
I didn't really care for the film, although i was a Kong fanatic as a kid- however this would be something i would purchase in HD solely for several undeniably spectacular set pieces.

in fact, i think this could be HD DVDs first killer ap (unless its dvd sales have already slaked most of the thirst)

 

[TheBat]

I know some people are excited about the HD dvd.. I use progressive scan and the picture is just fine.. I don;t know if everyone uses progressive? it does make a major difference.

JACOB

 

[TravisR]

Yeah but not as much difference as hundreds of more lines of resolution will make. And I'm not one of those "I stopped buying SD DVDs five years ago!" HD-obsessed type of guys either.

 

[TheBat]

I had gotten a samsung upconversion DVD player to 1080i.. had problems with the player.. the cheaper one did a better job.. notice a little differnce..

have to try a better dvd player for that.

JACOB

 

[Sam Posten]

Well, I am 100% on board for Blu-Ray, but my commitment as the official Universal reviewer means I will now be on board for Day 1 of HD-DVD, soon as the forst Toshibas are sold in the USA I will be there.

I hope the sneak attack of HD-DVD Kong is true =)

Sam

 

[Patrick H.]

Anybody have a chance to check up on the audio issues I encountered a few posts back?

 

[Sam Posten]

Patrick I did not notice them, I just went back to 2:37:58 and relistened too. I played it back 5 times and didnt hear anything but Kong letting out a gentle snort and the background of the city.

Sam

 

[ClaytonMG]

The score has pops in the recording, you can hear it on the soundtrack to. But if anyone would like to test out the scene I was refering to when Kong bursts through the gate on the island, I would be very grateful, cuz I think I might have a deffective copy or something... It's just when the giant theme plays for him, it sounds like it slows down and there's a digital glitch/pop sound in the front 2 channels.

 

[Patrick H.]

Hi Clayton, I took a look at the scene in question, and while I do hear a slight bit of intonation warble in the music, I didn't hear any glitches to speak of. If it jumps right out on your copy, perhaps it is a bad one.

Pretty sharp that you caught the pops on the soundtrack CD as well, although I think those were the result of the extremely compressed schedule they had for producing the album. In the past I've noticed such glitches on score CDs that I knew had an extremely fast turn-around time, probably because there wasn't adequate time to proof the master. In the instance of 'Kong,' I don't think they're on the original tracks, though, because none of the pops on the album are audible in the final mix of the movie. The handful I noticed on my disc are in different spots.

Regarding that, thanks for double-checking your copy, Sam. I also checked out a friend's copy the other day, and noticed pops in the same spots. We both have the single-disc edition, while you're review indicates you've got the two-discer. Just a shot in the dark, but maybe they were manufactured in different plants. We all know that Universal's quality-control has a reputation for being...uh...variable.

 

[andySu]

Looking forwards to this version, of “King Kong” and after seeing both the 1933 original and 1976, remake set in around a modern world, however the origins of “Peter Jackson’s” is keeping with the tradition of the 1933 realise, except stop-motion animation as come a long way since “Willis H. O’Brien’s” “King Kong.”

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Welcome to the forum!


There was no stop-motion in PJ's King Kong.

Stop motion animation's progress halted as soon as guy's like Phil Tippet witnessed the awesome power of CGI, to quote Phil after he saw the T-Rex CGI test footage during the production of Jurassic Park..."Holy shit. This is it, we're gonna be in big trouble now."

 

[andySu]

Thank you very much there John’ pleasure to be hear, a little busy at the moment with an (Upper centre) relocation issue in the home cinema, I’ll be around a lot more later.

Again, thanks for the warm welcome.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Couldn't one argue that cgi is an extension of stop-motion? In traditional stop-motion a model is physically built, and them animated by making tiny incremental moves of the model and photographing the model after each move.

In cgi, a model is built (a virtual model in the computer) and the animator than moves that model incrementally and the image photographed or captured after each move.

Since the model is virtual, it can be more complex, making cgi capable of far more complex and subtle images. Also, cgi can animate such things as hair by having the computer do that work. Of couse, Kong was animated mostly by motion capture which is another diversion from traditional stop-mostion. The dinos were probably animated by a cgi animator moving the virutal models incrementally.

If you sat Ray Harryhausen down in front of a computer with a virtual model of a dinosaur, teach him how to use the software, I think he'd find it very similar to what he did in his prime.

CGI is, of course, a great leap forward in the sophistication of stop-motion animation.

 

[Sam Posten]

Universal did provide me with a copy of the single disker after I did my 2 disk review so I will pop that in and listen today.

Edit, I just went back and listened to the same sequence on the 1 disker. I think they are the exact same master. I juiced up the volume a bit and I DID hear a very minor crackle that was barely noticeable at about the time but maybe 2 seconds before wht you listed. If you heard that during a normal viewing you have EXCEPTIONAL hearing and you must have gone mad during every movie you ever saw prior to DVD =) If it is loud to the point of distracting on your system I cannot explain other than your extreme sensitivity or a bad copy.

Sam

Sam