Just got my copy this morning. I've watched around twenty minutes of it. The Blu-ray transfer is not quite as good as the restored THE ROBE, but nothing I can see to really complain about and it generally looks fantastic. DTS Master Audio is also very good. I think most everyone who cares about the title will be pleased by everything -- except the price.
That's interesting. I have the restored DVD of The Robe (the BD was region locked), & I don't think it looks very good at all. It looks really "processed", the reds really suffer, anything red, like cloakes look really muted, not a nice look at all. I'm sure this is the best Fox could do, the masters must have been in a bit of a state. I also have a DVD of The Egyptian which looks lovely, none of that processed look, the colour looks spot on. I probably have a couple of weeks wait 'till I recieve the BD.
I think most everyone who cares about the title will be pleased by everything -- except the price.
I was reading the Nick Redman interview where he addressed the price issue: "Well, we've priced this at what I call the Criterion end of the spectrum because we've had to, and I would just encourage fans of the film and supporters of Blu-ray in general to get behind releases like these, or else there won't be any more of them."
I personally find the price difference between the DVD and blu-ray too big. Consumers are getting punished for wanting quality when the Blu-ray is twice the price of the DVD. They should have done the 20 $ / 30 $ for DVD / Blu-ray. Spending 40 $ on one title is IMO only justified when like Bladerunner you get 4 different versions and a ton of extra's.
Between this Blu-Ray and the new Varese release, I could spend close to 70 bucks on THE EGYPTIAN this week. Yikes!
40 bucks is way too high of a price point. 30 dollars is the tipping point for a single movie on Blu-Ray. Yes, Criterion Blu's do have a retail most times at around 40 dollars but can be found for much cheaper on Amazon. And I was able to pick up THE ROBE for 20 bucks on Blu when it was new. I love the guys at Twilight Time and SAE but 40 bucks? Really?! You're killing me!
I love the guys at Twilight Time and SAE but 40 bucks? Really?! You're killing me!
I remember when movies on Laser Disc cost $125.
And Laser Discs sucked big time; between cross talk and rott, and with the resolution just a notch better than tape. I eventually detested the format. I can't imagine anything being better than Blu Ray.
* The image is quite grainy in Blu-ray, but that's to be expected with early CinemaScope. The film probably does benefit from its not having been a success in its theatrical release; unlike THE ROBE whose camera negative Fox was constantly using to make new black-and-white color separations for its long theatrical run -- leaving it in tatters -- THE EGYPTIAN's negatives were merely put back into the vaults, though time and poor storage practices took its toll on both.
* There's a persistent flicker in the image, though it's not nearly as annoying as in the Blu-ray transfer of THE BIG COUNTRY.
* The color and contrast are superb, and full of wonderful subtleties.
* The sound is glorious, though the dialogue is best served by having a center channel to smooth out the left-right assigning of sound to the various characters.
The sound is glorious, though the dialogue is best served by having a center channel to smooth out the left-right assigning of sound to the various characters.
I haven't got my disc yet but I have to disagree with you there. I love it when the original directional dialogue is retained. I always hate it when dialogue for these early CinemaScope films is altered to centralise it.
I haven't got my disc yet but I have to disagree with you there. I love it when the original directional dialogue is retained. I always hate it when dialogue for these early CinemaScope films is altered to centralise it.
I'm with Doug on this one. Panned dialogue was an element of those original stereo mixes and should indeed have been preserved.
I love the guys at Twilight Time and SAE but 40 bucks? Really?! You're killing me!
I remember when movies on Laser Disc cost $125.
And Laser Discs sucked big time; between cross talk and rott, and with the relolution just a notch better than tape. I eventually detested the format. I can't imagine anything being better than Blu Ray.
I hear ya! (Although I must admit I don't know what you mean by cross talk.) Blu-Ray is my final stop when it comes to a format. These Blu's look great projected on a big screen and the sound quality is top notch. That's all I ever wanted in a format. I guess the next thing will be 4K. But I'm done.
And yeah I think on Friday I'm gonna bite the bullet and order THE EGYPTIAN Blu-Ray. I must say though that I'm not too crazy about these Blu-Ray's following a release pattern that mimics soundtrack releases. How about the rest of you? Do you really want releases limited to 3000 copies with a jacked up price?
I love the guys at Twilight Time and SAE but 40 bucks? Really?! You're killing me!
I remember when movies on Laser Disc cost $125.
And Laser Discs sucked big time; between cross talk and rott, and with the relolution just a notch better than tape. I eventually detested the format. I can't imagine anything being better than Blu Ray.
I hear ya! (Although I must admit I don't know what you mean by cross talk.) Blu-Ray is my final stop when it comes to a format. These Blu's look great projected on a big screen and the sound quality is top notch. That's all I ever wanted in a format. I guess the next thing will be 4K. But I'm done.
And yeah I think on Friday I'm gonna bite the bullet and order THE EGYPTIAN Blu-Ray. I must say though that I'm not too crazy about these Blu-Ray's following a release pattern that mimics soundtrack releases. How about the rest of you? Do you really want releases limited to 3000 copies with a jacked up price?
Blu Ray is my final format too! I don't believe the human eye can perceive any greater resolution than what BD offers. I think BD is fantastic. It is the first home video fomat that I'm completely happy with.
Hard to explain cross talk, but it is like vertical horizontal lines in the picture. Laser's were the biggest waste of money I ever invested in home video, expensive with poor quality. Yuk
I'm not sure about the "Egyptian" BD, not fond of the movie(save for the music) but would like to support Twilight
And yeah I think on Friday I'm gonna bite the bullet and order THE EGYPTIAN Blu-Ray. I must say though that I'm not too crazy about these Blu-Ray's following a release pattern that mimics soundtrack releases. How about the rest of you? Do you really want releases limited to 3000 copies with a jacked up price?
I think $20 is about right for the DVD's (they match the Warner MOD discs), but $40 for a BD is a bit much, I think they'll get away with it for The Egyptian, but with another title they could end up with a lot of unsold copies on their hands. I think they're going to have to speed up the releases. They've licensed about 100 titles, so one a month is not really enough. I wonder if we'll get another Blu-ray this year.
