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HTF REVIEW: "Reservoir Dogs" Tenth Anniversary Special Edition (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

HankM

Second Unit
Joined
May 15, 1999
Messages
332
I just received my R2 copy from Amazon UK. It is 16:9 enhanced. This was released in 2000 (this is not the Artisan 10 year SE), the transfer is different from the Live release (non 16:9) in that it is sharper with better color detail and skin tones,(no doubt due to the 16:9 enhancement) but it looks alot different from the screnshots by Obi at the AVS Forum from the new Artisan release. The Artisan release is softer and duller in colors along with that green tint which is not as bad on my R2 release. What I'm trying to say is that Artisan did do something different here, the R2 Momentum release is better and is what we all expected. I wish I still kept my R1 Live release but I sold it like many of you for the this Artisan SE (:thumbsdown: ) So, it was off to Amazon UK.
 

Patrick_J

Agent
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
42
Thanks to this thread I just took my old copy of RD off eBay. I'll rent the new one for the bonus features and hope for a better 15th anniversary disc with a "live" commentary and director approved transfer.

Thanks again to all!

Off to buy the new Pulp Fiction!! Also counting the days for the "other" Tarantino written film; True Romance - a classic!

-pjc
 

Geoff_D

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jul 18, 2002
Messages
933
Got my Mr.Pink edition today. And I have to say that the transfer looks good enough to me once the brightness is dialled down a touch. Sure, you shouldn't have to do this, but a recall looks unlikely (unless QT makes a big fuss) so we'll have to put up with it. And to paraphrase Morpheus, you really have to see this transfer for yourself (on your own setup) to properly judge it. It looks different to what has gone before, yes, but different does not always mean bad...
Personally, I like the colour balance on this version. The blood is still as vivid as ever (as are the yellow titles) but other colours aren't as eye-searingly overpowering as they were on previous releases. The green of the safehouse, for example, is less bright, less luminous and much more subtle. And the detail level is fantastic.
The print's in great condition too, with barely a scratch or mark anywhere. The 're-framing' is a strange situation, though. I like it, but it's puzzling all the same. Did QT shoot it in 'Scope (anamorphic 2.35:1) as he claims on the DVD? Or does he simply mean the 'Scope ratio of 2.35:1 shot on Super 35?
The 4:3 version on the disc has clearly been 'panned' from an anamorphic 2.35:1 print, meaning nearly half of the widescreen image is missing. But I've got 4:3 clips of the movie that open up considerably on all sides compared to this 4:3 version, and these clips clearly show more information at the top and bottom that isn't even there on the re-framed widescreen DVD transfer.
Anyhoo, I think the set's great, and like my Jackie Brown with the faulty trivia track, I won't bother changing Dogs if it gets recalled. The problems simply don't bother me that much. For others, it's the end of the world. To them I say:
chill out :D.
PS
The packaging is cack, though.
 

Jenna

Second Unit
Joined
Feb 12, 2002
Messages
485
Real Name
Jeanette Howard
Hmmmm...I'll be among those going with the "Mr. Pink" cover. IMO, Steve Buscemi is worthy of a cover. He's terrific!
 

Greg Thomas

Second Unit
Joined
May 3, 1999
Messages
438
I just came back from Circuit City, where they have all 5 covers. The 5th one has Mr. Brown (Tarantino) on the cover and his signature below. I picked up the Mr. Pink with Buscemi but maybe I should go back and trade it in for the Tarantino version, since it seems the most unique.

BTW, Circuit City's price is $15.99 this week.
 

Adam_WM

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 25, 2001
Messages
1,629
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Adam Moreau
Well, I gotta say, the transfer is nowhere as bad as people have said. On my television to get the colors to where they appear as if they should be, I just turn the color adjustment up from the usually 50% or so up to around 65%. Other than that, I think it looks fine.
 

Jason Whyte

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 3, 1999
Messages
1,439
Hmmm, interesting.
I finally got a chance to sit down with this disc and while I don't think this is the best film-to-disc transfer I've ever seen, it looks fine, and it appears, at least to me, to be more along the lines of what the original 35mm prints are supposed to like. I've certainly seen worse 16x9 transfers, and I was happy with this one (though the "black screen" scenes had a scary level of grey-black to them). Perhaps Artisan (Live Video at the time) were boosting up the colors and contrast for the older releases?
The whole framing issue is also interesting. This IS a Super-35 film, yet the full frame transfer on disc 2 appears to be a new transfer (which looks awful), panned-and-scanned from the 2.39:1 widescreen frame! (Tarantino makes mention of it being a "scope" film on the interview on disc two -- where Sundance presented his first screening of the film with a spherical flat lens -- but theatrical scope from a Super-35 blowup, not how he originally shot the film.)
Overall, it's a nicely put together disc, but could do without the full-frame transfer, which is a waste of space (and could have just carried over the disc one features to the second).
I recommend it.
Jason
PS. For what it's worth, I got the Mr. Blonde cover. "Are you gonna bark-"....ok, you've heard that one before, nevermind. :)
 

Aurel Savin

Supporting Actor
Joined
Nov 15, 1998
Messages
839
I am not sure I understand about the complaints about the video "problems" of this version. I think it looks the truest of the original theatrical version.

I've seen the movie the first day it was released, then I had the VHS, the LD, the LIVE version and now this Artisan version.

Not sure about the complaints here .. I actually thought the LIVE version looked a little too sharp and oversaturrated. This version is definetelly more in line with the original look ... Believe me I saw this movie more times than I can count ... at least 4 times in the theater.
I think everyone is used to the ultra crisp and sharp video of newer films and forget that indie films have a certain "look"

BTW: the "TRIBUTE TO LAWRENCE TIERNEY" in the Special Features is priceless and worth the purchase alone
 

MatS

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 24, 2000
Messages
1,593
regarding the green tint reported on interior scenes (warehouse), if you look at the pics of the warehouse in the 'Securing the Shot' segment you will see that the warehouse has that tint and it is not a flaw in the transfer.

agreed the tribute to Lawrence Tierney is priceless (would love to have more bloopers from the set)
 

Josh Lowe

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 19, 2002
Messages
1,063
chiming in late on this - i saw a copy of this tonight. the saturation is not that bad. there are scenes where there's a white film or haze present, as Ron described in his review. What really stood out to me the most was there was a healthy amount of ringing/EE visible around characters when inside the warehouse. Outdoor scenes were fine, but scenes in the warehouse were definitely EE cranked up and it hurt the presentation of the movie.
 

Ronald Epstein

Founder
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Ronald Epstein
regarding the green tint reported on interior scenes (warehouse), if you look at the pics of the warehouse in the 'Securing the Shot' segment you will see that the warehouse has that tint and it is not a flaw in the transfer
As I stated earlier, the green tint is not
confined to those scenes. From memory, I noticed
it in the scene where Mr. Blonde is in Daddy's
parlor discussing his years on prison.
 

Inspector Hammer!

Senior HTF Member
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Mar 15, 1999
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John Williamson
I think Geoff and Jason are on to something, I really don't think the color saturation is the problem with this transfer at all, it's the black level, it's way too high!
If the black level had been dialed down a bit, the color saturation would be more accurate. The black level is washing out the color.
I don't believe in making changes to my monitor to suit a given film so my settings will stay where they are, i'll just have to put up with it. :frowning:
 

Marc Colella

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 19, 1999
Messages
2,601
I have to chime in here since I just got finished going through the whole DVD.
I owned the initial RD disc, and I have to say that this new one has a much better transfer. I don't know if people need to have their televisions calibrated but everything looked fine on my screen - even the black level.
The sound quality was pretty nice also - much better than I would have thought for a low budget, non-action film.
The extras were quite informative and took over 3 hours to get through (not including the audio commentary).
Overall I am quite pleased with this release.
It's nice to see that Tarantino is finally well represented on DVD with Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown.
I'm really looking forward to the upcoming True Romance: SE, and even though it wasn't directed by Tarantino - his script makes it feel like it was his project all along.
 

Inspector Hammer!

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Marc,
proper calibration is not the problem with the disc. Remember, your dealing with many people here that have had their monitors professionaly ISF calibrated. Trust me when I say that when this many reputed members of the HTF yell fire with a dvd, you better believe theirs smoke.

Me, I am absolutly meticulous with the A/V of my system, the black level is most definitely off on this disc. Their's no question of it.

But i'm glad it looked good to you.
 
Joined
Sep 13, 1999
Messages
44
My opinion of this disc seems to be the complete opposite of everyone else's opinion posted.

First, the transfer. In my opinion, the transfer is a thousand percent better than the old RD disc. Hanging on to the non-16x9 version is a waste of space on your DVD shelf, as this new transfer is much better. The old disc had a ton of ee, while this new transfer is very clear and crisp.

Second, the extras. I was not impressed at all by any of the extras on this disc. The interviews were cut in such a way as to make them very cutesy, with idiotic interludes and titles for each segment. Why not just have the interviews themselves without the other nonsense? Does anyone really care that they can edit the interviews creatively? The rest of the so-called extras were just a waste. The best thing was the feature ont hemaking of the action figures.

Just my 2 cents worth, I guess.
 

Mike_S

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
Messages
176
When I heard they were coming out with the 2 disc set of RD, I thought GREAT: movie on one disc, extras on the other. As the second disc is Pan & Scan with the same extras, well my friends, THAT disc is gone! It has no place on my shelf. I'll probably give it away or throw it out. They did the same thing to The Mask of Zorro. This just cheapens the idea of Special Edition 2 Disc sets. Just to chime in though on the picture quality and sound: very good on both counts.

-Mike
 

Ryan Peter

Screenwriter
Joined
Sep 15, 1999
Messages
1,220
Mike, I was thinking the same thing, until I actually went through the extras and saw how excellent they were. There's good stuff on that P/S disc.
 

GuruAskew

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2001
Messages
2,069
While the movie is indeed presented twice in the set, widescreen on disc 1 and fullscreen on disc 2, the extras are totally different. Regardless of the fact that the crappy pan & scan version is included, you'd be missing a pretty significant amount of supplements if you get rid of your second disc.
 

Marc Colella

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 19, 1999
Messages
2,601
Mike, I was thinking the same thing, until I actually went through the extras and saw how excellent they were. There's good stuff on that P/S disc.
I agree.

I was wondering how many people would only watch the extras on the 1st disc, and ignore the 2nd disc thinking that it either:

a) only has a P&S transfer and nothing more
b) contains a P&S transfer with the same extras on disc 1.

Artisan did get a little too cutesy with the intro's and edited some interviews, but the actual content is pretty damn good in my opinion. Lots of informative stuff... especially on the 2nd disc.
I've seen many highly praised supplements on Criterion discs that contained nowhere near the quality and quantity that this release provided.

One of the better DVDs of the year.
 

Mike_S

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
Messages
176
Thanks for the info re: extras on Disc 2. I wasn't aware that the extras on disc two are IN ADDITION to those found on the 1st disc. Thanks for the heads up. BTW, I made this assumption based on The Mask of Zorro 2 Disc Edition where they did in fact have the same extras on Disc 2 as on Disc one. Thanks again.

-Mike
 

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