"Ray" - no reviews yet! (1 Viewer)

[Steve K.H.]

...anyone else a little puzzled by that?

Three offerings, including an intriguing but "pricey Limited Edition" and Feb 1 release date.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Ever since it opened in theaters, there has been a bootleg dvd of this film out there. I'm sure the studio was aware of it too, thus, they probably have delayed the screeners to reviewers. Also, the film being up for several Oscars probably has factored into the delay too.





Crawdaddy

 

[Andy Patrizio]

Let's just say it's not MY fault I haven't been able to do the review.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

The PR person handling Ray told me there was a "major delay" in their receipt of the DVDs. She said to expect a copy Monday or Tuesday of next week...

 

[TonyD]

so is there a 1 dvd and a 2 dvd version?

here at the video store i work we have the 2 dvd version for rent.

i'll be taaking a peek at it this weekend.

 

[Kyle_D]

I heard there's an extended cut included on both DVDs that lengthens the movie to 3 hours. I know a lot of people thought the movie was too long already, but I actually thought many scenes in the theatrical version felt rushed through, especially those at the beginning and the end. It'll be interesting to see how the new cut works.

 

[TonyD]

"So I watched some of the, so-called, "extended version" - and it's a total waste of time. It's not seam-less branching - the movie just stops and goes into a repeat of the same scene, only with a bit of dialogue added to the end of it."


someone over at dvdtalk posted that.

an icon pops up and you see altrenate/longer takes of some scenes

 

[Dane Marvin]

Looking forward to the pricey 2-discer.

 

[Roger Mathus]

I suspect that the reviews will be bad news....particularly with regard to the extended version. The first added footage happens mid-way in Chapter 1. There is a long pause and then the picture goes to non-anamorphic with a distorted grainy picture given the player is set for the full screen anamorphic presentation. At the end of the added material the picture returns to anamorphic after a nother pause. At this point I switched to the theater version to watch. The menu instruction says an icon will appear but that one does not need to click it. I did not see the icon. The disc in the one disc set is a flipper with movie on one side with extras on the reverse side. It appears that branchimg is used but the added material (at least in Chapter 1) is not anamorphic nor finished material.

 

[Robert Crawford]

If true, when are studios like Universal going to learn, if you're going to give us an extended version then you need to do it seamlessly as to not effect our viewing pleasure? This is just plain dumb! I'll hold back any further comments until I see the dvd firsthand.




Crawdaddy

 

[Roger Mathus]

As I recall, not too many disc have used branching to effect an extended version. It appears, however, that the recent release "THE FORGOTTEN" used branching as I witnessed a pause in several locations similar to a layer change. In the case of this DVD, however, the added material was anamorphic and matched the main content quality.

 

[GlennH]

THE ABYSS did the branching thing very well for an early DVD release.

 

[Jan H]

I've seen the seamless branching version on a legit DVD(without having seen the original in theaters) and I agree that it is poorly thought out. Far from seamless, this version gives you cues when it is about to switch to the extended material. The fact that this material is non-anamorphic is a serious problem and took me right out of the film. Shame, too, because much of the extended stuff was excellent. It's still a great movie, and the anamorphic video quality is pleasant (though far from reference, IMO). Sound is fine for a movie like this, as it gets the music right, which is the most important aspect of it, I suppose. The extras are the standard self-congratulatory fare, though it was fun seeing the footage of Ray with Jamie Foxx. My advice would be to stick with the standard version of the film and forego the extended edition option.

 

[Roger Mathus]

Jan, the first instance in Chapter 1 also took me right out of the film and I switched to the theater version. IMHO, I also feel that the transfer of RAY is far from reference. I reserve judgment, however, as I did not see this film in the theater and the effect might have been part of the film. Universal usually does nice transfers in mty experience.

 

[ZacharyTait]

I don't mean to sound like a prick, but do we really need these threads every week asking where the reviews are for soon to be released titles?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I agree. This is getting out of hand.
Every week I see at least one of these
kind of threads posted here.

I am not trying to single out the author
of this post. It is not his fault as I
see these types of threads posted by
multiple authors each week.

I am saying this as politely as possible
so please do not take offense....

Posting threads asking for reviews will
not get them covered any quicker. All the
review sites are at the mercy of the studios
who more than ever are sending titles out
late due to piracy concerns.

All one needs to do is search their
favorite review websites. If the review
you want is not posted there is a valid
reason why. Please avoid posting threads
such as this.

Greatly appreciated.

 

[GlennH]

This website is usually pretty good about providing links to DVD reviews at many different websites (including HTF) as soon as they appear:

http://www.dvd-basen.dk/uk/home.php3

You can search or browse reviews by Region. Still no links posted for "Ray."

 

[TonyD]

i was thinking the same thing about those who ask, were are reviews.

they'll b here or they wont.
if the screeners get to them and they have time we'l see a review.
same for the is there an insert threads, if there is an insert then you get one if not who cares.

anyway i bet they are reluctant to go to seemless branching because in the past there have been lots of trouble for certain players. maybe they just dont wont to deal with it.

 

[Steve K.H.]

I love that "I hate to sound like a Prick but..." I'm going to start more threads that way... just not on Superbowl Sunday because everyone is so damn (er darn) self righteous since the Janet Jackson and Terrell Owens incidents

I also DETEST the perpetual threads that ask when a review is coming...

That wasn't the basis for this thread however... I searched the entire Web (well maybe not the ENTIRE web) and was shocked that there has been no review posted for Ray yet...

Hence the "Anyone else concerned" question.

To me, this DVD has red flags all over it. If it hasn't been released to the screeners and it's THIS close to the release date, YA JUST GOTTA THINK that maybe, just MAYBE, this release is a POS insofar as the transfer is concerned.

Suddenly I panic and believe it's much, much more sinister. Perhaps Universal is hoping to sell a whack of these based on the Oscar nominations, and will do this before anyone realizes what a POS transfer they put together...

Or maybe someone just dropped the ball and forgot to use FedEX

Anway, no offense taken, and in retrospect I should have said something different in the topic like:

"Do you think that there might be a problem with Ray DVD Transfer being that there's no reviews out there and it's only 3 days from release?"

(Then again... that wouldn't fit in the Title Bar)

In closing... let's try to have the members operate a level above "moron status". Anyone posting future threads asking

"Gee... um is the review coming out soon?"

can expect the wrath of the membership being that no one, including me, appreciates your incessant waste of forum space, being that we all recognize it was posted to stoke your ego because you thought it was a great idea to become the author of a thread when in retrospect, you unwittingly stereotype yourself on here as a lower class of species.

So STOP IT ALREADY.

In the meantime I'll think up some better titles.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Steve,



You successfully got yourself out of that one.

Bravo!