Will Predator: CE have a new transfer? (1 Viewer)

[Brent M]

Has anyone that bought it today checked the transfer yet to see how it compares to the previous version? If so, please post your findings here.

 

[Chris Rein]

I see all of these complaints about film grain and I just can't wait for Collateral to hit so we can strike up the debate on grain once again.

Seriously though, the extras, movie ticket (if you get one...see other thread) and the new transfer (confirmed by The Digital Bits) sounds like a purchase to me!

 

[Brent M]

Chris,

I don't think The Bits confirmed it was a new transfer. They just said something about a newer compression technology and higher bit-rate. According to all the other review sites, this is the same transfer as the previous releases.

 

[Tim Glover]

I'll post a quick review tomorrow.

 

[Rob T]

That's strange. It's on the one that I got from HMV. The bilingual sheet was there, too. Not glued on thankfully.

 

[CraigF]

Rob: You're right, the quote is there, I just missed it. And so much for the 5 glue dabs, my sheet has already fallen off.

 

[Kachi Khatri]

Agreed!

I picked up mine yesterday from Best Buy and does have the "ugly mother***" quote.

Also checked out the disc and for me it's an improvement in audio & video since I can only compare it to the original barebones version that I had.

I'd be interested to hear the comparison between the DTS release and this collector's one.

 

[Tony Scello]

I'm also disappointed in the lack of quality in the packaging. Flimsy cardboard and one of the two clear plastic trays has already come loose(could they invest in more/better glue in the future?) which is the same problem I had with Fox's Alien Quad Set packaging.

I watched the film last night. The transfer starts out grainy but then seemed to improve a bit as the film went on(maybe it's just my eyes). Not reference quality by any stretch but I found it pleasing enough as the film went on. I'm not exactly sure how this compares to the last release but remember that transfer wasn't exactly stellar either.

 

[Chris Rein]

True, but if the compression quality has improved, hopefully the image (maybe sound) improves too. Haven't opened it yet, and not sure about the ugly MF quotes. Guess I'll have to check that out!

 

[Jean D]

Has anyone watched it yet and can confirm better video quality than the DTS release? reguardless of what the package or reviews said.

 

[CraigF]

After all the comments I've read about the grainy transfer of this film in previous versions, I was sure surprised when watching the CE. During the first few minutes I thought: yup, that's pretty darn grainy, thought not nearly as bad as The Stepford Wives I got a few weeks ago...I guess I can live with it though, I survived TSW. But that was pretty much it, except for a few other short grainy scenes/shots. I thought the picture overall was pretty darn good, clear and lots of detail in even some of the dark scenes. I could not determine a correlation between grain and lighting in scenes, but you can figure that after the guys are dropped into the jungle, near the film's beginning, the most annoyingly visible graininess is essentially over.

I haven't seen this movie for years, and it was my first time on home video. I thought it was still pretty good, though Arnold's character doesn't exhibit much of the wry humour that we've come to expect from later films. I listened to the dts track, and though clear, it was rather lacklustre and certainly no dts or surround showpiece like we expect from current action movies. Not much LFE either. Still, a decent presentation for a film of this budget/vintage.

Sorry, I can't answer the question if this is better than previous DVDs, but IMO it's plenty good enough to be satisfying (though better is always nice) and exceeded my expectations by a large margin.

 

[Eric Huffstutler]

I never owned a previous copy either to compare but when the 20th Century Fox logo came up looking like it was shot through a screen door, my heart sank. I couldn't believe that my favorite DVD studio Fox would let a print like that go out - or was it intentional? After the film started the grain seems to fade away, why?

Eric

 

[Tim Glover]

Well this is my 3rd dvd version of Predator. Bought the first non-anamorphic Dolby Digital only dvd, then the "enhanced widescreen" version that added DTS. Now this.

I don't have the other dvds to compare but I do believe the overall image quality is slightly smoother than the previous releases. There is the initial grain then it kind of goes away. I thought the image looked a little more film like this time around.

Again, I'm basing this on memory, but I did watch the old dvds quite a bit.

I would agree with the bits reviewer who said it was the best this film has looked.

Really good sound too. Both the DTS and DD tracks are great for a 1987 film. Not much difference in these, however the dts version does sound more open giving it a larger soundfield.

Still a great film and one of Arnold's best.

 

[Jimmy M]

Regarding the 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning, it was intentional. Listen to the commentary (at least I think it was the commentary, as opposed to one of the featurettes) where John McTiernan says why the logo looks the way it looks.

Jimmy!

 

[MuneebM]

Ray_R, I had heard this somewhere a few years back but never found anything to confirm it. Anybody got a link or an article that confirms it? Is he listed in the cast?

BTW, I picked up my copy from a Wal-Mart store here in Canada and I had the movie ticket but absolutely no disc 2!

http://66.46.69.23/sigserv/pl/index.pl?p=75
My DVD Collection

 

[Jim Peavy]

Recieved the Predator: CE as a gift recently, and am wondering if the extras are the same as on the various non-R1 SEs?