Best High Definition Discs

[denti alligator]

Adventures of Robin Hood is stunning.

[denti alligator]

Shaun of the Dead looks very good, though it is slightly pictureboxed (!), meaning that there are thin bars on the left and right of the image. Don't know why this would have been done, but I guess most viewers have even their HDTVs set to "overscan" a little and don't notice this.

I thought Casino looked really good, too.

[Luke M]

I just watched Elizabeth and it looked beautiful.

[denti alligator]

Le Pacte des loups - This transfer looked perfect till about halfway through the movie and then I noticed some scenes had some serious grain issues. It seemed to be a bit more noticeable with the scenes at night. The scenes that look good rank up there with the best but the bad is real bad.

Luke, do you have the French or the UK version? Are they supposed to be identical in terms of picture quality?

I ask because this review of the UK disc from hidefdigest rates the picture quality very, very high. Grain is mentioned, but as being "consistent" throughout:

The 1080p/VC-1 encode on this HD DVD import holds up wonderfully well. This is one very good-looking picture, and is easily up there with the best catalog transfers I've seen on any domestic HD DVD or Blu-ray release. The lovely cinematography is lush, colorful, film-like and eye-popping. The image is a tad dark by design, but the print is so clean and boasts such rich blacks that shadow delineation doesn't falter. Contrast also has a nice amount of pop with little in the way of excessive boosting to blow out whites or curb detail.

'Brotherhood of the Wolf' has a natural appearance that reveals some film grain, but it's consistent and smooth throughout, and I was never distracted. The print is also in excellent shape, with no blemishes or other issues. Colors are vivid and pure, even if the film's visual design does lean towards darker (but no less impressive) hues. Detail is quite nice, with a near-perfect balance between naturalism and sharpness, and depth often achieves the thee-dimensional. In short, it's hard to imagine any fan of 'Brotherhood of the Wolf' being disappointed with this transfer.

[Cosmic Bus]

I just watched Elizabeth and it looked beautiful.

This is one in particular that I'm looking forward to watching, but I'll have to wait for a good sale. One issue I've got at the moment with HD is that so many of the titles that interest me can be had for around $5 on standard DVD. Makes it a tough pill to swallow on catalog titles (I don't even consider DVD over HD on applicable new releases).

[Luke M]

Luke, do you have the French or the UK version? Are they supposed to be identical in terms of picture quality?

I have the French version which appears to be identical to the UK version from what I've read. I read that review also where the reviewer raved about picture quality, however this review at DVDTalk is a bit more critical regarding the PQ. Perhaps there is a difference between the French and UK versions of this disc but I highly doubt it because Studio Canal has been pretty consistent with releasing the exact discs in various countries.

I just watched Elizabeth and it looked beautiful.

This is one in particular that I'm looking forward to watching, but I'll have to wait for a good sale. One issue I've got at the moment with HD is that so many of the titles that interest me can be had for around $5 on standard DVD. Makes it a tough pill to swallow on catalog titles (I don't even consider DVD over HD on applicable new releases).

This was one of those movies I never got around to picking up on DVD so I didn't mind paying the full price. It's a real tough pill to swallow when you're buying an HD title and the DVD is already sitting on your shelf.

[mogwai]

Received Halloween (1978) and Dawn of the Dead (1978) today. Halloween looks incredible -- the one caveat being the color timing issues that have been documented elsewhere on the net. It seems that Anchor Bay used the more recent Divimax DVD transfer, which stripped the movie of its blue tints during the night scenes and created a less Fall-like feel during the daytime scenes. It does appear as though they attempted to correct it somewhat for this blu-ray release. The daytime scenes look correct, but the night scenes still do not have the strong blue hues from the Dean Cundey approved DVD release.

I have no way of knowing which version is more correct to what would've been seen in the theater back in '78 -- I wasn't yet born -- but Synapse president Don May Jr. has stated that he has tons of 35mm camera negative b-roll material, most likely from this recent discovery, that is in pristine condition and all clearly show the strong blue hue. When you take that in to account, and the fact that Cundey himself approved the '99 DVD transfer, then the blue hues are almost certainly intentional. Frankly, the movie doesn't feel the same without the blue lighting. All that said, the blu-ray release is still remarkable. The amount of detail is stunning and this is certainly the best Halloween has ever looked on home video. It'd be a perfect release if the color timing was correct. Of course, this is Anchor Bay, so we're bound to see the inevitable double-dip at some point. Maybe they'll get it right then. Until then, I'll be hanging on to the '99 DVD release.

Dawn of the Dead isn't quite the revelation that Halloween is, but it still looks pretty damn good. It's better than the SD release, I'm just not sure it's such a significant improvement that it's worth double dipping. Not to mention the extra features are pitiful when compared to the ultimate edition.

[Luke M]

The Departed - This actually surpassed, quite considerably, my theatre experience. Colors were so much more vibrant, and although this isn't the most obvious 'HD' movie (drama, lots of close-ups, etc.) there's occasional moments were the format is able to shine (wide-shots of Boston, etc.) and all the things like fabric detail, etc. are truly first rate.

I watched this last night and was blown away. This is one of the nicest transfers I've seen. The colors pop off the screen.

[jedgeco]

This is not about a transfer per se, but about an unexpected bonus of the Blu-ray (and presumably HD DVD) format for foreign films.

I watched "The Lives of Others" this weekend and was struck by the subtitles. Unlike DVD, with its often blocky, electronically imposed subtitles, Blu-rays have crisp, clean, narrow sans-serif subtitles that look strikingly similar to what's on theatrical prints.

A minor issue, yes, but it corrects something that always bugged me about DVD.

[Luke M]

I watched "The Lives of Others" this weekend and was struck by the subtitles. Unlike DVD, with its often blocky, electronically imposed subtitles, Blu-rays have crisp, clean, narrow sans-serif subtitles that look strikingly similar to what's on theatrical prints.

I noticed the clearer subtitles when I was watching La Haine. I thought it might have had to do with the better resolution.

[denti alligator]

Do anyone know if the UK HD DVD of Mulholland Drive suffers from the same problems that plague the French one?

[Luke M]

I just finished watching Arizona Dream and the transfer was beautiful. I've been very impressed with what I've seen from Studio Canal. They have some audio issues to work out with a few discs but their image quality is top notch.

[denti alligator]

They have some audio issues to work out with a few discs but their image quality is top notch.

What are the audio issues and on which discs?

[Luke M]

Mulholland Drive and The Graduate have pitch issues, that I've read about. I haven't gotten a chance to see them.

[Luke M]

The Pianist looks stunning.

[Cosmic Bus]

While Transformers looks expectedly flawless (a disc I bought more as a demo piece rather than something I'll watch a lot), I'm even more taken with the transfers on Mutiny On the Bounty and the Wild Bunch, which both look as if they were shot yesterday. I understand few, if any, of these classics are selling well on the high-def formats, but I sincerely hope Warner continues releasing them on a regular basis because it's a simply wonderful way to experience these films.

[denti alligator]

Yes, please, more of the classics. Forbidden Planet was a real treat on HD! I guessing 2008 will see Warner releasing all kinds of goodies on HD. I don't see how they could not release The Magnificent Ambersons on HD. Moonfleet would be great eye candy for HD, too.

Currently, though, I'm in heightened anticipation of next week's Kubrick HD releases!

Mulholland Drive and The Graduate have pitch issues, that I've read about. I haven't gotten a chance to see them.

How is this pitch glitch problem any different from the pitch discrepancy on the upcoming Criterion release of Berlin Alexanderplatz?

[Cosmic Bus]

Currently, though, I'm in heightened anticipation of next week's Kubrick HD releases!

As am I! It's been several years since I've watched them ('them' being 2001, Shining, and EWS, the three I ordered), so I'm seriously jonesin' at this point. Aspect ratio discussion aside, seeing the latter two in widescreen should be something quite lovely.

[Luke M]

Mulholland Drive and The Graduate have pitch issues, that I've read about. I haven't gotten a chance to see them.

How is this pitch glitch problem any different from the pitch discrepancy on the upcoming Criterion release of Berlin Alexanderplatz?

I have no idea. I don't think you can compare it to the Berlin Alexanderplatz issue because HD is not limited to NTSC or PAL.

[Darth Lavender]

Actually, the problem is similar but in the opposite direction. As I understand it, Studio Canal's HDDVDs suffer from a relic of PAL & NTSC... Specifically, the movie plays back at the PAL speed of 25 frames per second (instead of the film speed of 24 frames) and thus some people (not me) notice voices and especially music having a marginally higher pitch.

In the case of Alexanderplatz, the 'film' was specifically shot at 25 frames per second, to be shown on PAL television. Because Criterion insists on releasing this in NTSC, it will have to be slowed down to the equivalent of 24 frames per second, consequently reducing the pitch of voices, music, etc. by, I think, 1 semitone.

[denti alligator]

I would still like to know if the image problem david hare sees on his French HD DVD of Mulholland Drive is noticeable to anyone else (not that I think David is seeing things). The DVD Times review does not mention this problem, but so far there have been no other complaints (and also no reviews of the UK edition).

[Cosmic Bus]

2001 looks positively wonderful on HD. Crisp and clear, with a distinctive, almost three-dimensional appearance to many scenes, while retaining an extremely film-like transfer.

The Shining is a bit softer, particularly the opening and other outdoor shots, and looks to have a pinkish tint to the picture (the off-color tennis ball, here, in Beaver's DVD comparison is similarly colored in the HD-DVD and is one of the more noticable instances) but still a very appealing, detailed image overall.

Eyes Wide Shut is, unfortunately, not terribly impressive. Color seems quite "thick" and saturated, grain is heavy throughout, and noise is prevalent on many dark objects (suits, cloaks, smoke and shadows, etc) to my eye. Looks marginally better than my R3 unedited DVD (which is also heavily grained) but far from being any sort of high-def showpiece. The case mentions having both rated and unrated versions selectable, though I can't find any way to do so -- it appears uncensored by default -- and the previously promised commentary is neither listed on the case or anywhere on the disc.

[you gotta be kidding me]

Eyes Wide Shut is, unfortunately, not terribly impressive. Color seems quite "thick" and saturated, grain is heavy throughout, and noise is prevalent on many dark objects (suits, cloaks, smoke and shadows, etc) to my eye.

That's how it looked in the theater, and that quality was mostly lost on the previous SD DVD.

[Cosmic Bus]

Fair enough. I honestly don't remember a whole lot about how it looked in the theater, so I'll take your word for it. The movie still gives me chills, which is the important part, I suppose.

[denti alligator]

The Wild Bunch disappointed me (as an HD disc--the film itself went up considerably in my estimation [the last time I saw it it left me cold]).

About 1/5th of the film was what looked worse than a SD disc, soft (almost fuzzy), and lacking color. The other 4/5th looked good, but only a slight notch up from what an upconverted SD can look. Afterwards I popped in the Criterion disc of La Collectioneuse, and it looked five times better than the HD Wild Bunch, if that tells you anything of its quality.