The New DVD and Blu Thread

Post by **Ben** » May 13th, 2007, 7:35 am

Still don't know why you don't by the discs, often for cheaper. If you're hell bent on watching them on your PC, you can always make a hard-disc "backup" copy for yourself.

I have too many to mention here but should start posting here again. I looked at the Chicken Little BRD the other day and was sorely tempted, though I'm already wondering when we'll see double dips on some of these. The packaging right now is so geared to setting up BRD that we're sure to get "properly" packaged releases that don't have silly slogans on them like "the look and sound of perfect" or "beyond hih-definition" (no, that would be still coming), etc.

I think, though, that my first BRD purchases will be this fall, when I get my player. I'm going to go for Cars, will probably go for ChickLit, and definitely for the Pirates trilogy. Yep, I'm going to hold out for the inevitable box set in December.

Can't actually think, right now, what other BRD titles would jump to the top of my list as "must-have" double dips. The upscaling on these things are so good now that I only noticed a little extra color bleed between true HD and upconverted-SD, so it would seem silly to rush out and start re-buying a ton of titles, most of which I wouldn't watch in a long time and which mostly only have SD extras.

Actually, I've been keeping a tab on BRD titles out there and here's what I might or probably upgrade to:

PIRATES TRILOGY (I'll need the third and a box sounds attractive)
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM (just bought the DVD, so will prob stick with that)
CHICKEN LITTLE (may wait for a price drop, but def interested)
MISSION: TRILOGY (not essential, have the regular 5-disc set)
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (nope, didn't like it that much but don't have a copy yet)
UNFORGIVEN (love this, never got the SE, and need a copy, so why not BRD?)
SLEEPY HOLLOW (again, love this but never picked it up)
FINDING NEVERLAND (same again!)
DINOSAUR (torn...no new extras, and perhaps an early title to be revisited)
APOCALYPTO (ready to order this...debating on whether to buy and wait)
SUPERMAN / SUPERMAN II: DONNER (my favorite film and its "new" sequel)
THE SEARCHERS (the fuss over color correction put me off the SE, but I need it)
ROBOCOP (the new SE looks nice...would jump to BRD in a flash for this!)

Post by **ShyViolet** » May 14th, 2007, 12:46 am

Hey, Ben, did you ever get to watch X3?

I'm just curious about what you thought is all.

Post by **Ben** » May 14th, 2007, 7:00 am

Yes. I thought it was okay...impressed by "young" Stewart and McKellen. It seems you (over)liked Spidey 3, but I would put X3 in the same frame based on my views on it.

I thought it was a good series of scenes, but lacked depth. I didn't notice much difference in the handling, but that's probably because you could never call Bryan Singer or Brett Ratner visionary directors, so interchanging them is a lot simpler. Anyone could have directed their movies and, it seems, that is proven with X3.

It didn't feel "cramped" to me with too many mutants, as some said, but I did feel the time wasn't shared around as equally. Some arcs needed to be explored more, and the "cure" seemed to work overly quickly. Would have been cool to see them getting "sick" before they got "better". I'm glad they kept the look and feel the same...it didn't jar as much as it could have, or as much as Spidey 3 does, from the same director!

Loved the final shot. Sets up a fourth (where Stewart comes back somehow?), or not, depending on where they want to go with it.

Post by **Daniel** » May 15th, 2007, 1:02 am

Ben wrote:The packaging right now is so geared to setting up BRD that we're sure to get "properly" packaged releases that don't have silly slogans on them like "the look and sound of perfect" or "beyond hih-definition" (no, that would be still coming), etc.

When the format war is over, I definetly see it happening. As it is right now, the slogan parts are tacky! Its espicially evident on Chicken Little.

Ben wrote:DINOSAUR (torn...no new extras, and perhaps an early title to be revisited)

I heard its worth it.

Post by **droosan** » May 15th, 2007, 2:14 am

I bought my first Blu-ray disc today .. Dragon's Lair

Although it was more for the 'Bluth collector' in me, than anything else; I own a copy of Dragon's Lair in just about every format ever devised (including the 'industrial-grade' aluminum laserdisc from inside the arcade game).

I am curious to watch it sometime, though, since it was supposedly re-mastered for HD. (it may even be the first 'traditional' animation released in either disc format; at least, I can't think of any others, offhand).

Unfortunately, it will be a while before I feel like 'springing' for a player, let alone an HD set.

But fortunately, I know a few people who have already taken the Blu-Ray 'plunge' .. so I might pay them a 'visit,' soon.

------------------------

I have seen Dinosaur on Blu-Ray, in full 1080p on a 66" screen, and it was amazing. Better picture quality than when I saw it in theaters, IMO.

Post by **ShyViolet** » May 15th, 2007, 6:05 am

I bought my first Blu-ray disc today .. Dragon's Lair Exclamation

Although it was more for the 'Bluth collector' in me, than anything else; I own a copy of Dragon's Lair in just about every format ever devised (including the 'industrial-grade' aluminum laserdisc from inside the arcade game).

Can you actually "play" it?

Post by **Ben** » May 15th, 2007, 6:47 am

droosan wrote:It may even be the first 'traditional' animation released in either disc format; at least, I can't think of any others, offhand.

I believe that the Looney Tunes extras found in such Warners sets as Casablanca and Adventures Of Robin Hood were taken from the cleaned up HD masters produced for the Golden Looney sets.

They apparently look amazing too.

Post by **droosan** » May 15th, 2007, 1:48 pm

ShyViolet wrote:Can you actually "play" it?

The laserdisc ..? It simply has the animation sequences in the order they appear on the disc (first, a sequence as it occurs without any 'deaths', then each individual death associated with that sequence). You can skip from sequence to sequence using the 'chapter' button on the LD remote, but you'd need the computer hardware from the arcade cabinet to actually "play" the game with the laserdisc.

As I said, though, the DL laserdisc was actually made of aluminum; it's very heavy! It makes a lot of noise while 'spinning up' in my Pioneer player .. I think it was meant for more 'industrial grade' players.

As for the Blu-ray disc .. I think it is 'playable', using the 'directional' buttons on the BRD remote. I'll give it a try when I visit a friend who has a Blu-ray setup, later on.

Post by **Ben** » May 15th, 2007, 3:40 pm

I read a review of the BRD version and they said it was as fiddly as the previous LD and DVD editions.

Droo...word of advice...if that disc is very much heavier than regular LDs, be careful that the strain of trying to make it whizz around isn't putting too much pressure on your belts. I have an industrial LD for a promo thing I was involved in ages ago and got to keep a copy. I was warned at the time by one of the engineers not to play it in my regular player for this very reason. I played it once and must have heard the same noises I guess you are hearing from yours - you could almost feel the player heaving it into action.

Just be aware that while it's a very cool item, it is putting stress on your player's internal organs!

Post by **droosan** » May 15th, 2007, 5:10 pm

Yah; I played it, like, once. And I haven't since, for that very reason.

Post by **Ben** » May 15th, 2007, 5:45 pm

Post by **Daniel** » June 11th, 2007, 4:02 am

Since my last update, I picked up:

The Devil Wears Prada.

Tom & Jerry: Spotlight Collection. Vol, 1 & 2.

The Huckleberry Hound Show. Vol, 1.

The latter 3 from Amazon, thanks to Ben's "Tooning in" notice. And yes, I used the special link for Huck, so hopefully it worked.

I still have to check my Tom & Jerry sets, to see if I got the correct disc or not. Would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.

Post by **Ben** » June 11th, 2007, 9:03 am

Thanks Dan!

Yesiree...that was an welcome sale! I bought all apart from Huck 1 as they don't seem to have the intention of putting out a V2!

I'm done on the HB sets now...my intention was always to just buy the one-shot series rather than any volume/season sets. I held off on the Tom & Jerry sets too, as I still have my LaserDisc collection.

Hope you enjoy Devil Wears Prada...it was a fun surprise for me.

Post by **Jeroen** » June 11th, 2007, 12:57 pm

Just bought:

The Office (UK) season 1,2 + christmas special boxset

Absolutely fabulous season 3-5

The Addams Family - season 1

Shaun of the dead

Monster House

Borat

James Bond - You only live twice

The Life Aquatic

Star Wars: Clone Wars - Volume 2

Clerks II

Post by **Jafar** » June 11th, 2007, 1:17 pm

Few of the dvds I purchased recently

Old Man And The Sea (Animated)

The Constant Gardener

Only Yesterday (Studio Ghibli)

Cinema Paradiso (Deluxe Edition)

The Green Mile (2-Disc Set)

Brokeback Mountain (I was actually waiting for a real special edition of the film but after seeing the shameless barebone double-dip by Universal, I purchased the single disc edition at a throwaway price

)

My next purchase would be "Volver" from UK but right now I'm completely broke