Why proper Blu-rays are amazing

David Jimerson said:
And this should not be done unless the filmmaker(s) give(s) assent. There's nothing about transferring to a delivery medium which necessitates it. It should not be taken as an opportunity to alter the film.

The 'bits would surely agree with this, given their long-standing championing of "director's intent."
Click to expand...
I agree (which in Star War's case, would be nothing but the case given George's grip), though it's hard for me to say since I thought Ridley Scott usually took pretty good observation over his films.

The Blade Runner restoration - admittedly lending itself to blue tones anyway - also had a similar color grade, and he completely oversaw that. As far as I know, he's been supervising the Alien transfers each time in recent years, and I wouldn't be shocked if he went cooler there as well.
 
In my opinion, the new Blu-ray transfer of Gladiator makes the old one look like DVD by comparison.

And I have to imagine that the color shifts are making it looking closer to what Ridley Scott originally intended. It's not like the color has shifter cooler across the board, as some of the shots of the new transfer are significantly warmer than the originals.

And some of them are a lot darker than the original transfer, especially shot #5. I don't think they would have changed the brightness that much unless that's how it was supposed to look.
 
So can we buy this new version here in North America? I wasn't totally impressed with the Blu-Ray that I picked up, however the story still immerses me every time.

I'd likely pick up the new one if we could get it here.

Kegan
 
Wow, that is very interesting, I will give you that. For the most part, the grabs from the newer disc are better but not all of them. I think that on the last two the original images are more pleasing to me, and, at least to me, look sharper. They did put some serious effort into the new transfer there is no question. However, I wonder if John Mathieson, the DP of the flick had any input. They made some decisions that I really, really hope the DP had input on.
 
David Jimerson said:
Which one is supposed to be which? If the purplish-colored one is the new transfer, I don't like it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was going back and forth between the photos and was thinking the exact same thing. Thing is, even the sharpness bump is nominal. Certainly not enough to warrant replacing your old Blu-ray.
 
Rick Meyer said:
Yeah, I was going back and forth between the photos and was thinking the exact same thing. Thing is, even the sharpness bump is nominal. Certainly not enough to warrant replacing your old Blu-ray.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by "sharpness" bump? Are you sure you are not confusing the images?

On a small screen the old transfer could look "sharper" because it is being severely over-sharpened with a boost in contrast.

But there are much finer details in the new transfer, without the bogus effects of over-sharpening.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top