Paul_Scott
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2002
- Messages
- 6,545
Van Helsing!
And damn near one of the most enjoyable 2 hours I've had yet with this format.
After hearing so many bad things about this one for the last two years, and the brief glimpses of CGI overkill i would see in demo scenes and trailers, this one has been quite easy to ignore. I never felt any interest in even renting it out- even with unlimited rentals and nothing else in the store I wanted to see.
However in another thread here, a while back, Robert Harris claimed that he was looking forward to this, and when I asked him how he could (rightfully) slight some of the weaker Bd launch titles, while saying he was looking forward to Van Helsing, he replied he was a fan of Allen Daviau's (cinematographer) work. I think he also might have said he enjoyed the film for what it is.
And after finally seeing, I have to heartily agree.
To take the second issue first- I must have been in the perfect mood for this last night and didn't even know it, but I had a blast with it. Although there were points where I was laughing at it rather than with it, it seemed like that was always the intention. In some ways, it was camp, but rather than witless Batman & Robin camp, it was more like DeLaurentis's Flash Gordon camp. In fact, that was the one movie I was consistently reminded of by the films 'vibe'. It took me a while to appreciate the charms of Flash (I sneered at the thought of it as a kid), but now I love the film , and Van Helsing is eventually going to find a place not far from it on the shelf.
as to the disc itself, I understand now why Mr Harris was looking forward to this and singling out Daviaus work. Although Unforgiven and Serenity have been the discs with the best transfers/best content ratio so far for me, this one does not disappoint in the slightest when taken as simply eye candy.
From a pure visual standpoint, I think this may be my favorite release so far on the format.
Absolutely beautiful.
And damn near one of the most enjoyable 2 hours I've had yet with this format.
After hearing so many bad things about this one for the last two years, and the brief glimpses of CGI overkill i would see in demo scenes and trailers, this one has been quite easy to ignore. I never felt any interest in even renting it out- even with unlimited rentals and nothing else in the store I wanted to see.
However in another thread here, a while back, Robert Harris claimed that he was looking forward to this, and when I asked him how he could (rightfully) slight some of the weaker Bd launch titles, while saying he was looking forward to Van Helsing, he replied he was a fan of Allen Daviau's (cinematographer) work. I think he also might have said he enjoyed the film for what it is.
And after finally seeing, I have to heartily agree.
To take the second issue first- I must have been in the perfect mood for this last night and didn't even know it, but I had a blast with it. Although there were points where I was laughing at it rather than with it, it seemed like that was always the intention. In some ways, it was camp, but rather than witless Batman & Robin camp, it was more like DeLaurentis's Flash Gordon camp. In fact, that was the one movie I was consistently reminded of by the films 'vibe'. It took me a while to appreciate the charms of Flash (I sneered at the thought of it as a kid), but now I love the film , and Van Helsing is eventually going to find a place not far from it on the shelf.
as to the disc itself, I understand now why Mr Harris was looking forward to this and singling out Daviaus work. Although Unforgiven and Serenity have been the discs with the best transfers/best content ratio so far for me, this one does not disappoint in the slightest when taken as simply eye candy.
From a pure visual standpoint, I think this may be my favorite release so far on the format.
Absolutely beautiful.