DVD Review HTF REVIEW: The Passion of the Christ (1 Viewer)

[Garrett Lundy]

I'm going to have to wait to rent this title, as good as it sounds I'm going to want to read the book first to see if the ending is different

tough crowd, tough crowd..........

 

[Ricardo C]

Well, the sequel's supposed to be in the works

Great review, Michael The fact that you evaluated it on such a large screen is very encouraging

 

[Kevin_H]

Is the Newmarket logo still before the film, or is it replaced with the 20th Century Fox logo?

 

[Michael Osadciw]

Kevin



The Canadian release has the ICON logo at the opening of the film with it's lovely crack of thunder.



Mike

 

[Kevin_H]

I guess that means the Equinox logo (or Newmarket in the US) must be removed from the beginning because those companies don't distribute the movie on home video. In the US theatrically, the ICON logo with the lightning was followed by the Newmarket logo, changed slightly so it looked like etched stone (I rather liked it actually). I would have thought it would have been replaced with the Fox logo (or Warner Bros. in Canada)

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Excellent review, Michael!



I have the Fox release, and it's also a beautiful DVD IMHO. I would like to see a comparision between the two sometime.

 

[Jason^G]

The R1 "american" version has spanish subs, english and english for the hard of hearing subs, and subs disabled option. NO french subs on this version. UPC 2454312975



Also, this version has audio commentary DD 2.0 for the hard of seeing. A male and female read from the movie script and translate the spoken aramaic and latin into english.



The DTS bit-rate is half.





On a 27" interlaced TV and on a progressive monitor I noticed no real problems with EE on the WS version.

 

[Michael Osadciw]

quote:With changes in color and density due to daily drift in processing, and those printing banging away creating 35mm prints at ungodly speeds upwards of 5,000 ft / minute, the majority of prints out there are not truly representative of the look of the approved answer print.

quote:It seems every release has someone seeing something that others don't so I'm started to suspect that equipment has a lot to do with these issues.

Robert, I couldn't agree more with you on your position about DVD being more representative of the intended look compared to what I saw in the theaters. Film degrades quite quickly after being run 3 times a day, every day for weeks and weeks. I didn't see the film theatrically until about after a month in its run.

Michael - I've realized for so long that people's equipment and setup has a profound effect on what they see. Based on this, I think there is a lot of unjust criticism for well done transfers.

Jason - thanks for the info re: Spanish subs on the US release. I figured they were there but didn't write that in the review.

For everyone's info, I have a FOX copy being sent to me as I type this. When I receive it I'll add new comparison comments to my review and any other additions this disc has in comparison/replacement for what is on the WB release.

Regards

Michael

 

[Tim Glover]

Excellent review Michael! Your thoughts on the film are honest and your dvd review re: image & sound are on target.



Like Larry said, I too have the Fox-US version and thought it was a stellar presentation. Thankful this powerful film got proper treatment.



Hoping that a SE is indeed in the works. Would love a commentary track from Mel & Jim C.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

quote:Film degrades quite quickly after being run 3 times a day, every day for weeks and weeks. I didn't see the film theatrically until about after a month in its run.

If the theatre is doing things correctly, there should be no print damage/degradation after a run of only a month. I've run a single print more than 150 times and there wasn't a mark on it when it left my care.

 

[Chris Wagner]

Michael,

Well worded, insightful review.

Thanks.

 

[Mark_TS]

Excellent Review! I hadnt planned on buying this, dammit!

 

[TedD]

quote:I've run a single print more than 150 times and there wasn't a mark on it when it left my care.

Back in the days of union projectionists running prints on reels, I was working at the Cooper theater in Denver. We ran the same 70mm print of Star Wars for at least 6 months, 5 shows a day. When it left, it was still in excellent shape.



Ted

 

[george kaplan]

quote:I hadnt planned on buying this, dammit!

The perfect marketing blurb for this film.

 

[BrettB]

Thank you for the excellent review Michael.

I'm not sure what to make of the fuss over the video quality. I haven't watched the entire film yet but I skipped around and watched probably 40 mins. worth (day and night scenes) and it looked very good to my eyes.

Looking forward to US/Canadian comments.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Michael,



And absolutely REFERENCE review. Wow. Thank-you for all the work and sincere thought you've put into this. It comes through.





I've got some catching up to do.

 

[Michael Osadciw]

Peter & Ted



Out of curiosity, how often do theaters actually 'do things properly', and do most take the care to ensure the print stays as pristine as possible? It's a rarity that I get to watch a film on its opening night, I don't usually get around to it until weeks and weeks later...by then, the film looks pretty beat up compared to what I've seen when I actually do go on opening night.


Thanks for the flattering comments, Dave!
Mike

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Michael:

Many do, many do not. It's a sad commentary that many do not. While it's tempting to blame projection automation for damage, it's mostly poorly-trained personnel who cause the problems.

If you come to any of my shows - [url=http://www.bigscreenclassics.com]www.bigscreenclassics.com[/url] - you'll see it done right.

 

[Tony_Faville]

Very nice review. My wife and I watched this for the first time on tuesday night. Completely drained by the end of the film, feeling like we had just experienced something instead of merely watching a movie. Will be a while before either one of us will watch it again, but we will, in time.

 

[Ernest Rister]

I think this is the best review of a DVD I have ever read. I'm struck by the respect given to both the film and the technical credentials. Respect is a word that is sometimes misunderstood. By respect, I don't mean "subservience", I mean mature understanding and mature appraisal. No attempt at cheap glib jokes. No snarky prose written in a vain attempt to entertain. One adult speaking to an assumed adult audience on his own adult terms, uncompromising. The great thing about such writing is that it elevates the audience -- like a great teacher, he challenges his audience to meet him at his own level. It is an invitation to greater appreciation. Shouldn't that be what all criticism strives toward?



With great respect to Michael Osadciw,



Ernest Rister