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Tron (1982) - looks stunning! I am embarrassed to admit, however, that until I heard the filmmakers point it out on the commentary, I never saw that Mickey Mouse face in the background. How could I miss that?!
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Posted: |
Oct 11, 2012 - 6:19 AM
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By: |
Joe E.
(Member)
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Recent screenings:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Most of it looks great on Blu, except many of the interior shots, which look pretty bad. I understand that the hyper-grain activity is supposed to be there, but honestly it goes beyond just film grain. Some of the shots, such as when Roy is fighting with his wife in the bedroom, are hard to look at. Sometimes there is almost a hazy glow around the edges of the image that is really distracting. Most reviews I've read seem to indicate that the film looks better than ever and that the crappy-looking shots are supposed to look exactly as they do. Meh. Anyway, still a treasure to watch overall.
I still don't have a Blu-ray player (or a high-def TV or decent stereo/surround sound system to watch it on), but I've been getting a few Blu-rays anyway for when I finally do - sometimes things I want for which there's a BD/DVD combo release, and other times things for which the specific BD edition I want seems to be going away. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is one of the latter - there's that swanky first set with all the extras and whatnot, including the fold-out poster illustrating the differences between versions, and there's a less-substantial later release, part of what Sony is calling "The Essentials," that has the three versions of the movie but not much in the way of extras. I found a remaining copy of the original release for $10, and had to scoop it up.
Gremlins
Another one of my all time favs. Though I think this Blu could have looked better (it's not much beyond the 2002 DVD transfer), it looks spiffy enough and I was glad to revisit the movie before listening to FSM's glorious new soundtrack!
I wish they'd used the original John Alvin artwork for the cover. I'm frequently disappointed these days when new video releases of older titles eschew using any of their classic poster art in favor of boring new photo illustrations.
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Posted: |
Nov 27, 2012 - 11:56 AM
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By: |
mastadge
(Member)
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Just took advantage of Black Friday and ordered an obscene number of Criterion BDs. Can't wait to dig into them over winter break. In the meantime, I looked at my BD collection statistics from Blu-ray.com and was a little surprised. By decade, my collection breaks down as follows:
2010s - 12%
2000s - 20%
1990s - 14%
1980s - 14%
1970s - 7%
1960s - 11%
1950s - 12%
20s-40s - 10%
Most of this is no surprise. The lion's share is newer movies, since 2000, many of which I probably won't watch as often as I expect -- I'm already looking to get rid of a few of these! The next largest chunk, 80s and 90s, all the childhood favorites that I'm always happy to return to -- Indy, Predator, Nightmare Before Christmas, Paul Verhoeven, etc. Slightly lesser representation of 20s-60s. But what really surprises me is how underrepresented the 70s are, considering that, if asked, I'd have named the 70s as one of the strongest decades for movies, perhaps the strongest decade ever for American movies. I'm curious as to why that decade is so underrepresented in my collection. Strange.
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It's been a while since I've posted to this thread. Let's catch up...
Dave (1993) - revisited this comedy classic in prep for the new LLL release. A shockingly low-quality blu-ray transfer. It barely looks better than the old DVD. It's not horrible, but not good enough. And 2.0 sound. Methinks WB was a tad lazy with this one. Bummer.
Harold and Maude (1971) - this is the first movie I ever remember seeing theatrically at age 4 in a re-release. An affecting little tale that holds up. The quality of the blu was mediocre, but I'm not certain how good the source material was, so I'm not going to be too harsh on it. Sound quality was great!
Trouble with the Curve (2012) - it's a formula picture, so it's terribly predictable and the love story subplot is about as pedestrian as they come, but I found the overall movie highly entertaining. It has a good heart, and it has the kind of predictability you want in this kind of movie; you want a happy ending for these characters. I like how everything came together, and Eastwood was awesome. I feared that he would just do a retread of his Gran Torino character, which is a great movie, but I didn't want to see him phoning it in. He didn't. He had some excellent scenes of anguish and sadness, and the humor was balanced without being too much. Nice supporting cast including a loveable John Goodman and a thoroughly snaky Matthew Lillard.
Snakes on a Plane (2006) - as I said in a recent thread devoted to this movie, I loved it and it looks great on blu.
The Debt (2010) - I wasn't sure what I was thinking of the movie as I watched it because I was so disappointed that Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson are barely in it. 80% of the movie is a flashback of young versions of the main characters. But as the story unraveled, I was compelled and the ending was nicely done. A good little moral tale of vengeance and regret and righting wrongs. Solid cast.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) - Meh. I'll probably watch it again to see if I'm missing something, but I found the film to be remarkably tedious, and the identity of the mole was obvious from frame 1. However, Gary Oldman totally inhabits the character of George Smiley and he was compelling to watch. The final shot was worth 2 hours of my life. Not a bad film, just...slow...and...predictable. I bet the sequel will be better.
Drive (2011) - LOVED IT. Reminds me of a Michael Mann film. Visually stunning, awesome rhythmic electronica from Cliff Martinez, shocks, twists, and a frightening performance from Albert Brooks. Ryan Gosling's screen presence was perfect and I think it will probably become an iconic performance years from now when people are looking back. Reminded me of Ryan O'Neal in Walter Hill's The Driver. My only "huh?" moment was the ending when it seems Gosling's character was rather ill-prepared and basically offered himself up for filleting. Strange.
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My latest bluray purchases have been “Dial M for Murder (3D)” “The Universal Monsters Bluray Coffin Box” (“Dracula” “The Mummy” “Frankenstein” “Bride of Frankenstein” “The Invisible Man” “Phantom of the Opera” “The Wolfman” and “Creature from the Black Lagoon”) and “Gate of Hell” (the UK Masters of Cinema edition).
“Dial M for Murder” is pending for viewing until I can access it on a friend’s 3D system – so I cannot comment on it.
I’ve watched “Dracula” “The Mummy” and “Bride of Frankenstein” from the Coffin box. Also previewed “Frankenstein” “Creature from the Black Lagoon (2d version)” and “Phantom of the Opera”. The 3D version of “Creature” will also have to pend until I can watch it with my friend on his system. I’ve not yet glanced at the other titles in the box.
Watched “Gate of Hell” last night.
So, some thoughts:
“Gate of Hell” is an astonishing disc. This is one of the greatest color films of all time – perhaps the greatest – and it is simply eye-popping on the Masters of Cinema disc. Please note that this is a UK, Region B, disc, so you’ll need a regionless bluray player to see it. US Criterion is bringing out their own BD edition in a few months, so you may wish to wait for that US disc. The colors in this film are so beautiful, so carefully integrated into the landscape, story, and psychology of the characters, that they become perhaps the major force in the film. There is a simple shot near the beginning of the film of samurai soldiers in pursuit of an enemy – a forest with trees is foregrounded – and the soldiers are in the background seen through branches and shrubs. The multicolored uniforms of the solders pass in the distance on a road in chiaroscuro seen in glimpses here and there – the detail of the image and the preciseness of the colors took my breath away. It was almost three dimensional in its clarity. This disc gets the highest recommendation that I can offer – and I am sure the Criterion version will be comparable. It is simply gorgeous.
The Coffin Box (I had to get the Coffin packaging which is a hoot): Again, as noted by so many other reviewers both professional and amateur, these transfers are by and large superb. When I put “Dracula” in my player I was expecting a medium upgrade on the DVD – but, wow, it was like seeing a new film. The clarity and stability, depth and richness of the black and white image with wonderful contrast, is beautiful to behold – not to mention the refurbished sound. In this state one can concentrate on just watching the film – and forget about pops, ticks, scratches, wow, and gate float. “Bride of Frankenstein” is also quite beautiful – although the “before and after” is not quite as dramatic to my eyes and ears. “The Mummy” is one of my favorite films – and the restoration made my jaw drop. As with “Dracula” the image is startling: clear, sharp, and stable. And the sound, which always used to sound like a radio broadcast heard through gauze, has been restored to near perfection. “Creature from the Black Lagoon” is not as eye-popping in its 2D version – but the image is still sharp, clear, and perfectly fine. “Phantom of the Opera”, as has been noted by the reviewers, is a bit of a disappointment. Some of the scenes look gorgeous – but often the colors lack the richness you expect – Robert Harris commented online at one of the forums that Universal might have been able to do better with color registration, etc. The image is sharp and detailed – but I was a trifle disappointed overall with “Phantom.” I can’t wait to watch the other titles in this box. Highly recommended – perhaps essential if these films are among your favorites.
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