What are your best-looking Blu-rays?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Time Is On My Side, May 1, 2016.

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  1. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    It's very likely they did a completely rescan and mastering job on The Honeymooners, so you're really reacting to that more than the formats. It's kind of like when people go crazy about the differences between an old CD and a new SACD, and they assume 90% of the differences are due to bandwidth. Source material, mastering decisions, technical equipment... all that stuff has a greater effect.

    Doug Trumbull and his crew were the real geniuses at those effects in 2001. Kubrick got credit as the "Special Photographic Effects Designer," which was kind of a crock because he did no more work than any traditional movie director does at approving or rejecting the VFX work being done:

    Kubrick ‘did not deserve’ Oscar for 2001 says FX master Douglas Trumbull »

    Incredibly, this was the only Oscar Kubrick ever won, despite being nominated 13 times.

    I only found out many years after the film was released that a lot of the shots of the spaceships were just cardboard cut outs moving across a background. Once you know that and you look at it carefully, you can see the magic unravel. Same deal with the front projection on the "Dawn of Man" sequence.

    One thing I'll say for Kubrick's films: they looked like nothing anybody else ever made, so he had a very distinct visual style that really, really stood out. It's an amazingly clean, interesting look, one that holds up well in HD and 4K.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2016
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  2. JimW

    JimW In the Process of Becoming

    Location:
    Charlottesville VA
    Thanks for the info. Never heard of Doug Trumbull. What else did he and his crew do?

    That Oscar situation is really ironic.

    And I'm going to forget I ever saw that penultimate paragraph...
     
  3. Partyslammer

    Partyslammer Lord Of The New Church

    Probably aside from 2001, the most notable film Trumbull was responsible for the spfx for was Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. In the 70's, off the top of my head he also did the effects for the cult sci-fi film "Silent Running (which he directed)," some effects for "Star Trek The Motion Picture" and the "computer graphics" and microscopic shots of the organism using pre-CGI techniques. In the 80's his biggest films he had a hand in included "Blade Runner" and "Brainstorm" which he directed.
     
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  4. Partyslammer

    Partyslammer Lord Of The New Church

    Somehow in my above reply, I forgot the title of the film Trumbull did the pre-CG computer effects for, which was The Andromeda Strain.
     
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  5. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Best looking blu rays?
    Packaging = steelbooks.
    Content/picture...
    Oblivion BD
    Marvel/DC 3D BD
    Pixar
    Powell/Pressburger
     
  6. JimW

    JimW In the Process of Becoming

    Location:
    Charlottesville VA
    Thanks. I actually have Brainstorm- so I have heard of him, just never stuck. And BR- that's one of my all-time faves. And CE, AS. Some impressive films.

    I've heard of but never seen SR- will seek that out. Thanks for the info.
     
  7. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Are 4K discs /movie titles being released in similar numbers as DVD & Blu Ray discs ?
     
  8. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I don't know what the press runs are nowadays for Blu-rays or 4K Blu-rays, but my bet is that the worldwide quantities are low for the simple reason that dealers don't carry them in stores very often these days. True, all the web suppliers (Amazon, etc.) have them, but the video stores have dried up and so has the media.
     
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  9. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Rather ominous.
    I don't download movies.
    Guess it'll become a niche market.
     
  10. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Boutique labels tend to press 3,000-10,000 copies depending on the title. Not sure about the majors.
     
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  11. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I'm pretty darn sure the best looking blu ray I own, and I have a rather large collection, has to be 2001 A Space Odyssey.

    Man......that flick is silly great looking, it is so good it actually distracts me from engaging in the story line as I'm always wowing and ohh ahhing while watching it. My wife said last time i watched it she was wondering if I was watching fireworks with all the oh ah's coming from me in the man cave.
     
  12. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I'm pretty darn sure the best looking blu ray I own, and I have a rather large collection, has to be 2001 A Space Odyssey.

    Man......that flick is silly great looking, it is so good it actually distracts me from engaging in the story line as I'm always wowing and ohh ahhing while watching it. My wife said last time i watched it she was wondering if I was watching fireworks with all the oh ah's coming from me in the man cave.
     
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  13. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I'm glad they do... I've done about two dozen small obscure cult films over the last year or two, and I enjoy the work. I'm glad there are fans willing to get these limited-edition releases.

    I agree: the most-recent remastering of 2001 looked really great. I believe all the color on that was done by Pat Miller, formerly over at Warner MPI in Burbank. They spent an ocean of time and money on the 4K remaster, and there was also a lot of careful repair, steadying, and grain management going on to make it look very clean and sharp. The whites of the ship in particular look really, really clean. For this era (1968), that is a pin-sharp movie. I generally say, "there isn't anything near 4K resolution in movies made prior to 1980," but 2001 would be an exception, mostly for the lenses used and the 65mm negative.
     
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  14. Licorice pizza

    Licorice pizza Livin’ On The Fault Line

  15. rich100

    rich100 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Middle of England
    So is there a remaster newer than the 2007 (I think) blu ray, or is it only the 4k that got the treatment?

    I love the blu ray edition, although it does show up the joinery in the backdrop in the dawn of man scene which I never spotted back on VHS and DVD.

    Worth mentioning that 2010 stands up well as a movie on its own, not as grandiose as 2001 but enjoyable none the less.
     
  16. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Lots of folks trash 2010, I love the hell out of it. The blu ray looks very good overall.
     
  17. Remington Steele

    Remington Steele Forum Resident

    Location:
    Saint George, Utah
    On a comparative level, my blu ray of Seven Samurai looks like silver screen gold compared with previous versions.
     
  18. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    70s 35mm try The Yakuza released by Warner Archive earlier this year. If you have calibrated video, especially front projection, then get ready for some special image quality.

    I'm not necessarily promoting the transfer work of The Master (2012), but this was shot in 65mm and anyone interested in image quality must screen it. Acting is fantastic and the director, PT Anderson, is among the greats of his generation.

    As for digital, all here will want to screen movies filmed with the Arri Alexa 65. Rogue One and Doctor Strange look great.
     
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  19. This is my reference for color.

    The Twilight Zone complete box set is my reference for B&W, sans those handful of episodes shot on videotape.

    In fact, color or B&W, I've yet to see anything beat The Twilight Zone transfers as far as PQ.
     
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  20. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I believe that was done in 4K. 4K film transfers go back to at least 2002.
     
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  21. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    Image is really nice, but best out of any blu-ray?!
     
  22. I certainly think so. I cant think of anything out of 350+ blu-rays that I own which has this level of clarity. There might be better, but I haven't see in yet. Now, obviously the colors don't pop, as it is all B&W. You're not going to get that The Thin Red Line or Apocalypto color pallet, but it more than makes up for it in the granular detail. That's the nature of really well done B&W, though, right? Even in still photography. Still, even in all of the B&W films that I have, they often dip into some crap focus, or heaven forbid, NR like Psycho or The Longest Day. These Twilight Zone episodes were just shot so well, preserved well, and then transferred well, which equals a match made in heaven.
     
  23. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    The Twilight Zones were all mastered from the original 35mm B&W cut camera negatives at Point 360 in Burbank and Los Angeles, and supervised by Dennis Rood, during 2004 and 2005. I agree, they did a very good job. The sound was all from 3-track and 4-track mono mags, and I think Dennis got several of the Bernard Herrmann soundtracks on isolated tracks for that release.
     
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  24. And not just Bernard Herrmann, but also Van Cleave, Jerry Goldsmith & Leonard Rosenman, among others. It's all lossless and sounds beautiful.

    One of my best purchases ever.
     
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  25. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    My projected 4:3 has a 75" diagonal and I certainly agree that this set is fantastic, but the episodes were shot with 35mm. Surely, you've seen some large format film on blu-ray which impresses even more.
     
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