DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Top Gun: Special Collector's Edition (Highly Recommended) (1 Viewer)

[Charles de Lauzirika]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Sorry I haven't responded before now. I just got back from Las Vegas, where Tony Scott is shooting his latest film, "Domino." And when you're in Vegas, you tend forget all about surfing the web.

I think all of the questions posed have already been kindly answered by others, but yes, I produced the Five Star Edition of "Speed," and yes, the menus for that and "Top Gun" were both designed by the same company, 1K Studios.

I don't think I ever heard about after-the-fact profanity added to the film, but yes, the Maverick/Charlie love scene was spiced up a bit after early screenings.

Finally, I just want to mention the huge contribution of David Crowther who has edited several of the documentaries I've produced, and who co-produced "Danger Zone" with me. He really went above the call of duty on this one. The Best Buy bonus disc featurette "The Best of the Best" is his baby, and I really hope you all managed to track it down.

Anyway, as always, I truly appreciate the feedback!

 

[Runar_R]

Charlie,

VERY nice job on the TOP GUN dvd. Got it in the mail today, and had a great time all day going through it.
A+
Made me feel 12 years old again (only I didn't have to sneak into a cinema to see it this time. Too bad. You should start working on a dvd-feature that recreates the thrill of sneaking into movies you're not old enough to see..... )



Canadians, do not worry. The DTS is present, and it's THUNDERING!!!

And the bi-lingual cover isn't THAT bad either.....

 

[John Simon]

I know this is becoming an all-too-common question for new releases, but I just wanted to make sure: Does this SE not include an insert in the case? I have yet to get used to that practice and always instictively assume there was an error. Anyone care to confirm there's no mistake with my copy? Thanks.

 

[Aaron Gould]

John: I did not get an insert in my copy either. I thought the same thing; but I guess for the price, I'm not too concerned!

 

[Scott Kimball]

Paramount has not included inserts in their DVD releases for nearly a year. The only exceptions I can think of at the moment are the Star Trek TOS sets.

-Scott

 

[Nelson Au]

Just curious about the DTS mix. I'm one of the guys still using a 5.1 system with AC-3 and DTS. I had a quick look at the opening sequence last night, will watch the whole movie this weekend. I didn't notice anything diiferent about the mix. So the question is, how does a 6.1 mix work on a 5.1 system. Is there a "down conversion" of sorts? It sounds like the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix to me, but I just saw a little part of it.

Looking forward to seeing the extras that Mr. de Lauzirika put together!

Nelson

 

[Justin Bauer]

I have waited years for this. I cannot wait to hear it in DTS.

 

[Wyatt_Y]

NOTE EDIT ADDED Saturday evening - 24 hours later after my first post - Upon watching some more of the movie today, I was unable to duplicate the lip sync problem I saw yesterday. I don't know whether I hallucinated it or what...???!!! Anyway, the DTS was sounding good and while the movie opening is very grainy, later flight scenes were clear and I was seeing details I hadn't noticed before! Sorry if I put anyone off on this movie - based on what I saw tonight, I'm glad I have it!! Please disregard my initial impression!

EGAD!!!!!!! I watched some of the opening sequence in DTS on my Denon 3910 into a Lexicon MC-8....wonderful until it got into dialogue....I could only bring myself to watch about 10 minutes of it.....

LIP SYNC PROBLEM!!!!! Didn't try DD....I want my money back!!!!! @*#&%#! doesn't anybody do any quality control - watch as soon as Cougar knocks on the door on the carrier to turn in his wings......uggghhhhhhhhh. Not as bad as MR but still quite noticable.

 

[Scott Kimball]

There are no sync problems here on my gear... and nobody else in three pages of this thread has noticed, either. Nor have any of the dozen or so online reviews mentioned a problem. I just double checked the scene you pointed out, too, btw.

Perhaps you have a decoding problem.

-Scott

 

[ernie.bin]

I've watched the CE disc a several times now on two setups and didn't run into any lip synching problems with any three of the english audio tracks either.

 

[John Stone]

This disc was well worth the double-dip. The DTS mix and the picture were well above my expectations. My rear surrounds and sub got quite a workout!

The icing on the cake was the incredible 6-part documentary. It was absolutely outstanding in every way. A hell of a lot of work obviously went into the documentary, and I couldn't be happier with it. I own a lot of DVDs and the new Top Gun documentary is definitely one of the best, if not the best, documentaries on a film that I've ever seen. It pretty much covered every imaginable aspect of the film. Awesome job!

This is an outstanding release in every way... and, no - there are no lip sync issues with my DVD either.

 

[Carlo_M]

No lip sync problems on two separate DVD player/receiver combos (Sony SACD/DVD + Sony receiver, and Panny RP91 + NAD T763). Watched the movie in its entirety twice and auditioned clips numerous times, all in DTS.

And yes, I did see sync issues w/ Moulin Rouge DTS, so whatever you're experiencing, it may be more related to your hardware than a more widespread problem like Moulin Rouge had.

 

[Jonny P]

I purchased this new 2-disc version for $12.88 at MegaMart here in Omaha.

It really was well worth the price. My wife saw me watching it and said, "That is a great movie!"

I was 14 when it came out. I liked the movie then and I like it now.

The documentary is amazing. I didn't time all the parts together, but it ran nearly 3 hours if I am not mistaken. It was wonderful to finally have some background material on this movie.

I must say...and I mean this...it is kind of nice to watch an "old" movie like "Top Gun" just to recall the days when visual effects weren't all done in the computer.

The visuals in this movie are still terrific today.

I can only imagine the sort of "unrealistic" plane effects they would have put in this movie using Adobe Photoshop if it were made today.

After watching the docs for this movie I can understand why movies use so much CGI instead of filming on location and using miniatures, but sometimes today's FX just don't look terribly believable.

 

[CaptDS9E]

Great job on the dvd One one of the better dvd sound tracks in a long time(DTS)

capt

 

[Wyatt_Y]

Well, after further review...I was unable to duplicate the lip sync problems that I saw yesterday and have amended my earlier post!

 

[Matt Butler]

Charlie,
Thanks for a wonderful job on this and all of your previous SEs also. I wasnt able to get a BB bonus disc cause I refuse to shop at BB but if anyone is willing to send one my way I wont complain.

 

[Grant H]

Regarding Val Kilmer's neck in his interviews it looked like his right mole was inflamed and maybe covered with make-up. Perhaps he had it frozen and had a big 'ol blister in that area. Seemed like they tried to hide it with the camera angle, but couldn't quite.

 

[Richard Kim]

Fimally got a chance to watch the DVD last night (this is my first time ever watching Top Gun), and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the AV quality, considering the film is almost 20 years old. The DTS track is absolutely incredible.

 

[BrandonJF]

This set is just unbelievable to me. Low price point, fantastic A/V, incredibly well done features... Across the board, this one has raised the bar for how catalog titles are treated on DVD. I know there have been some good catalog releases here and there, but nothing has impressed me as much as this one so far.

Honestly, taking out the "catalog" disqualifier, this is probably in my top 5 releases for the whole year.

 

[Steve K.H.]

Watched this on the weekend. First time for my 20 year old, and my 15 year old too.

This film is one of the Best DTS-ES films in my collection (and I got pretty much all of em)

If you are set up with 6.1 - I cannot overstate the importance of having this film in your collection. There is a host of information flowing through the surrounds and at surprisingly high levels. I had to knock all four of the rears down a dB.

(I forgot how corny some parts were though... it was borderline revolting watching half naked guys on the beach and in the locker room, and the gigantic cheeseball of exchanges between "Iceman" and "Maverick")

Now, bring on Days of Thunder DTS-ES.