The Official Blu-Ray Thread

[raithrover]

Thought it would be worthwhile seeing how Blu Ray is the HD format of choice (by force) that we could review ones we've seen. What the extras, picture quality etc are like, seeing how costly they can be and many are disappointing.

I've picked up a few whilst on holiday, so will be writing up Blade Runner (5 disc edition), Cloverfield, There Will Be Blood, Troy (directors cut), Cars and Alexander (final cut), once I've viewed what they have to offer.

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Good movie choices, aside from Troy & Alexander Alexander was without doubt the worst movie I've ever seen imo

For anyone that wants to know how good the video & audio transfers are, checkout this website

Here's my Total Recall blu-ray review anyway

Total Recall - Bluray

Haven't seen this movie from start to finish until now. Caught glimpses of the 2nd half on tv, looked alright so for US$11.95 I figured it'd make a good purchase.

Transfer & Audio:

The transfer whilst not great is still pretty clean however its quite average where some of the detail is lost due to a soft image. Only just above the DVD quality but has extra subtle features - broken shards of glass look fantastic and thanks to a new colour scheme the picture seems to stand out more.

The audio isn't quite clear as you'd want it to be but there's 2 defining moments, one is an explosion at the mall halfway through the movie where my subwoofer made so much noise it was literally making my whole tv cabinet vibrate. Then the other was towards the end where the reactor blows up, lots of big noises and really makes you feel like you're amongst it - I doubt this kind of sound can be imitated on standard DVD

Extras:

None, no audio commentary, no behind the scenes. Very disappointing considering the capacity of the blu-ray discs - why do they always take out the special features?

Movie itself:

Lots of big dumb fun and good ol' Arnold is a joy to watch. The movie never takes itself seriously but there's still a storyline amongst the action to keep you entertained

***1/2

I've got a few more blu-ray discs coming over the next 3 months

[raithrover]

Troy and Alexander where a special deal so pretty cheap, I know about the criticism but hopefully these revised cuts may improve matters. We'll see!

[raithrover]

Cars

Transfer & Audio:

Sensational probably covers both aspects. Certainly the clarity and detail on the picture is amazing, adding more than just cartoon colours to the visual presentation.


Extras:

Plenty. There's an interactive game for the kids, plenty of unique animated menus, documentary shorts showing how much research went into the film and NASCAR. Also the real Route 66 explained and deleted scenes in a storyboard fashion. Another unique feature 'cine' allows you to watch the film, switching between director or production commentary, jumping into artwork or documentaries whenever relevant.


Movie itself:

Its certainly not Pixar's best work however it remains a fun romp with some memorable characters and moments.

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Troy and Alexander where a special deal so pretty cheap, I know about the criticism but hopefully these revised cuts may improve matters. We'll see!

The only way you could improve Alexander is to make it shorter Like say that Korean guy (I think) who presented 'The Sound of Music' without the music

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Related news:

Whilst Cars wasn't among the best I liked it better than Ratatouille (which I also own on blu-ray)

[raithrover]

Cloverfield

Transfer & Audio:

Booming audio and the style in which Cloverfield was shot, tranfers well to the blu ray format. A very crisp, clear and detailed transfer . Another exceptional blu ray demo disk.

Extras:

A couple of alt endings which don't bring much to the equation - same for the deleted scenes. There are a couple of documentaries with one focusing on the creature, which received a great deal of attention during development. Informative but not essential, the main bonus is the Special Investigation Mode. Here you watch the film, whilst also being able to see the characters on a GPS tracker map and snippets of information from the government files will also appear. A nice touch that adds a little more to the experience, plus the commentary from Matt Reaves.

Movie Itself:

This was my first time with Cloverfield. Excluding the slow opening 16 minutes which are tiresome, the main problem is the fact it just doesn't know what it wants to be. A monster movie? An action flick? A commentary on yuppies or the tangled lives we lead? It tries all of these and doesn't master a single one. However its ok as a film and the length is just about right.

[raithrover]

There Will Be Blood

Transfer & Audio:

The score is wonderful and shines through on the audio. The picture is excellent, as the film is very dark and yet the format maintains a great depth of colour and detail. It lacks the wow factor of Cloverfield but this is still a strong disk in its own right.

Extras:

No commentary from the director or actors which I would have welcomed. The documentary '15 minutes' (named after its running time) shows a stream of pictures and footage from the early oil days, with notes from the researchers. Here you can appreciate the work that's gone into recreating There Will Be Blood. The same can be said of a very early 1920's documentary on the oil, which has been remastered for HD and utilises the Greenwood score.

In addition there are a few trailers, teasers and deleted scenes - both of which are worthwhile.

Movie Itself:

Sensational. I regretted missing this at the cinema, instead going to see No Country For Old Men. Both films are thought-provoking, quiet with moments of rage and beauty. There Will Be Blood is almost a religious experience; the word of a preacher and the power of the black gold. It's also a film that I have no doubt will improve from repeated viewings, but it is not for everyone in our popcorn generation.

[Madjeski]

Cloverfield

Movie Itself:

This was my first time with Cloverfield. Excluding the slow opening 16 minutes which are tiresome, the main problem is the fact it just doesn't know what it wants to be. A monster movie? An action flick? A commentary on yuppies or the tangled lives we lead? It tries all of these and doesn't master a single one. However its ok as a film and the length is just about right.

I find that Cloverfield broke a very important rule in the Horror/Thriller genre! The more you see of the bad guy / monster, the less scary the film actually is! The build up was excellent when you just saw flashes of the monster in the distance, but then they ruin the suspense by showing the thing too much.

*Potential Spoiler* For example, when the girl was bit and rushed away by the army medics only to expload or be shot? That was terrifying as you didn't get to see what actually happened and left unanswered questions. When will Hollywood realise it is what we can't see and don't understand is far more terrifying than seeing someone ripped in two with plenty of CG blood and guts?

[raithrover]

Yes, I just didn't think Cloverfield knew what it was in the end.

Dark City is region coded, so just ordered it via The Hut for under £12 - cannot wait to see the new version.

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Shinobi - Heart Under Blade

Transfer & Audio:

A huge upgrade over the DVD version. The fight scenes on the DVD version looked pretty awful and it was hard to make out of anything that happened during the night scenes. This blu-ray copy exceeds in all areas with a near perfect picture. Unfortunately there are indoor scenes which are a little too dark but they're still well detailed - when its daytime you're presented with a flawless clear image & gorgeous pictures of the forest. Its almost like a 'Planet Earth' experience

Sound is good too, not exactly mind-blowing (there's not many big explosions) but decent and the japanese audio is in 6.1 TrueHD.  There's an optional 5.1 TrueHD english dub which isn't too bad aside from minor moments where the lips are still moving but the dubber's finished talking

Extras:

Shinobi Action - Sumpu Castle Fight
Director Storyboard Collection
Original TV Spots and Trailer
Shinobi Art - Majidani
VFW Behind the Scenes
Weapons Introduction
Storyboard Collection

80min worth of material there, not shabby at all compared to some blurays that have none! I'm looking at you Die Hard 1-3!

Movie itself:

Didn't think much of it on DVD but it was a totally different experience the 2nd time around. Its got a romance story amongst the action but the romance never gets in the way except where its important (if you're looking for sex scenes or ninja weapons that tear people's clothes off this is the wrong asian movie for you).

Basically its a movie of Shinobi against Shinobi (one of them who falls in love with his rival), 2 remote ninja clans who are no longer needed by the empire due to a peace agreement so they're forbidden to fight and are tricked into killing eachother. Its better than it sounds, trust me. If you liked Azumi, Hero, House of Flying Daggers or Versus then this should be up your alley

For a lineup of characters there's a guy who can move like Superman, another guy with a billion daggers, a woman who can control a person by looking into their eyes, a guy who can shapeshift into other people, a werewolf, a girl who breaths poison, a guy who never ages (like a vampire of sorts) & a guy with arms like Dhalsim from Street Fighter 2 but with blades for fingertips. Quite a cast!

Ratatouille

Transfer & Audio:

Easily 5 stars in both departments. Everything is in the highest amount of detail possible, there's even visible scratches on the chopping boards! The sound makes it seem like you're in a real hustling bustling kitchen restuarant.

Extras:

Plenty! Audio commentary, additional animation shorts, behind the scenes, a history on rats, an interview with a chef. There's about 2 hours of material I think

Movie itself:

Personally I think its not as good as the previous Pixar movies. The 2 lead characters voices are a little annoying and the whole movie is mainly stuck in 1 location - the kitchen. Sometimes it seems like they're spending WAY too much time there (goes for 2 hours too) and there's no scenes that really stand out. If someone asked me what was my favourite scene I'd be stumped

[Sprite Machine]

I rented Ratatouille as my first ever BluRay (not particularly interested in buying them right now), so although I have no basis for comparison with other BluRays, it certainly looked a heck of a lot sharper and clearer than DVD. Not mind-blowingly so, but just enough.

Once you stop noticing individual strands of hair, etc. it just becomes normal again.

[Sprite Machine]

Another rental, this time Casino Royale. Not as "wow" as Ratatouille in terms of high def loveliness but some of the crowded scenes stand out well with fine detail. The rest of the time it's just like watching the DVD, particularly at the beginning where it's intentionally grainy black-and-white footage. Mind you, I did notice one Sir Richard Branson at the start of the whole airport sequence (he's getting scanned by security), which I never noticed before, so maybe the extra detail is more apparent than I thought!

As for the film itself, I've probably commented on it before, but it's excellent, and quite possibly my favourite Bond movie. It's another series that desperately needed updating to stop it from becoming a total cheese-fest (well, too late for that) and it's done fantastically well. Love the theme tune / graphics, too!

As for extras, I've just started watching the 'becoming Bond' feature, which is good so far. It documents the events leading up to the final casting decisions, including all the reports of ill-will and negativity (craignotbond.com, etc), which in hindsight are very misplaced!. I'll check some of the other features out before the disc has to go back.

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For some reason I think GoldenEye is by far the best 007 movie but that's probably because I loved the tie-ins between the movie & the videogame so I think "awesome! its the facility level!"

[Sprite Machine]

Are the other Bond movies available on BluRay soon?

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They've got 6 of them for pre-order on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_d?url=search-alias%3Dblu-ray&field-keywords=007&x=0&y=0

Doesn't say when though but it should be before the end of this year. They put Die Another Day in front of GoldenEye (which is yet to be announced)

[raithrover]

Should have The Shining and Dark City later this week.

Alexander Revisited The Final Cut

Transfer & Audio:

Really good on both fronts but not enough to save the experience.

Extras:

Plenty commentaries and documentaries, having seen the film I was too jaded to check em out.

Movie itself:

3 and a half hours! Seriously epic and bloated. Stone may have indulged himself with this cut but it cannot save what is a hopeless mess.

[AdamGS]

Hope Raith doesn't mind, but I changed the title of this thread so we can share not just reviews but news about upcoming blu-ray releases.

Here's a bit of news for classic Horror/Bruce Campbell fans. Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness will be released on 22nd September. The former is already out in America if you happen to have a multi-region blu-ray player. Strange that they wouldn't release the first one along with them. Would've much preffered a box set of the whole trilogy.

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Rumor Patrol: 'Wall•E' to Get November Blu-ray Bow?

Disney has yet to officially announce it, but a new trade ad has revealed the studio appears to be planning a mid-November bow for the Pixar hit 'Wall•E.'

Opening to rhapsodic reviews (with many critics hailing it as an instant classic) and a box office gross now topping $200 million (and counting), 'Wall•E' is one of the most highly-anticipated Blu-ray releases of the year.

Though we are still awaiting an official announcement, retailers have reported receiving a trade ad touting a November 18 Blu-ray arrival for 'Wall•E,' day-and-date with the standard DVD.

No tech specs or supplemental details are available at this early juncture, though the ad does tout the Blu-ray as a two-disc set, which certainly bodes well for extensive extras.

There's also no suggested list price, but we'll keep you posted.

As we await further word, you'll find preliminary specs for 'Wall•E' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under November 18.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disney/Pixar/Disc_Announcements/Rumor_Patrol:_Wall%E2%80%A2E_to_Get_November_Blu-ray_Bow/2006



I'll be buying this for sure! I only have to wait 2 months after the local cinema release to get it (which I'm going to avoid)

[raithrover]

Seen the film, also planning on importing this when its available. I'm sure Pixar will do a good job. Also the intro short was excellent.

[AdamGS]

My blu-ray of Dark City arrived this morning. First time I've ever watched it. My god that was awesome.

With one character I kept thinking, "That's not him is it?? It can't be?" Then I looked on the back of the box and it really was him!



Amazing.