The General HD Releases Thread!

[saltysam]

Interested in the 2nd movie as i think the BD i have now is missing a scene, Fistful i'll be surpised if it tops the Italian version i have which is excellent.

[grim_tales]

Cant remember if the DVD was missing anything, thought the German DVD of Dollars More was uncut.

[Markgway]

We need a proper BD of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

[grim_tales]

The US BD isnt bad but I agree, a new restoration and maybe the theatrical cut restored also with genuine mono.

[Markgway]

and maybe the theatrical cut restored also with genuine mono.

That's the only version that counts for me.

And reportedly the US BD (of the Extended Cut) is piss poor.

[saltysam]

Does anyone have the Scream Factory version of They Live? Was tempted to get it if it was an upgrade on the italian release but i came across this...

"And while you're at amazon.it, buy their version of They Live because it's far better than the DNR'ed piece of trash that is the US Blu-ray." that's from a dvdforums reviewer i believe.

[gasteropod]

Does anyone have the Scream Factory version of They Live? Was tempted to get it if it was an upgrade on the italian release but i came across this...

"And while you're at amazon.it, buy their version of They Live because it's far better than the DNR'ed piece of trash that is the US Blu-ray." that's from a dvdforums reviewer i believe.

Yeah I've got the Scream Factory one, I wouldn't call it a piece of trash but there does appear to have been DNR used (presumably the master they were provided with, their Halloween II is grainy). I'd definitely recommend the Scream Factory release.

DVD Beaver compared it to the Italian one:

The Shout! Factory image quality is superior in every way - brighter colors (cooler flesh tones), sharper (full jump in contrast) and in the correct theatrical 2.35:1 aspect ratio (and frequently shows more information in the frame). It's dual-layered with a high bitrate - no contest. It may be a shade glossy but any manipulation is not egregious.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-ray_ ... lu-ray.htm

Blu-ray.com mentions DNR, but adds that

Grain does remain over the image, solidifying some fabulous detailing that reveals complex facial lines, fine textures on Nada's hiking gear, wear and tear on dirty and worn garments, stucco around the church, and brick and concrete in alleyways.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/They-Live ... 76/#Review

[grim_tales]

@ Mark, IMO the US BD isnt bad, but it could be better as its clearly based on the dated 2003 master.

[saltysam]

Does anyone have the Scream Factory version of They Live? Was tempted to get it if it was an upgrade on the italian release but i came across this...

"And while you're at amazon.it, buy their version of They Live because it's far better than the DNR'ed piece of trash that is the US Blu-ray." that's from a dvdforums reviewer i believe.

Yeah I've got the Scream Factory one, I wouldn't call it a piece of trash but there does appear to have been DNR used (presumably the master they were provided with, their Halloween II is grainy). I'd definitely recommend the Scream Factory release.

DVD Beaver compared it to the Italian one:

The Shout! Factory image quality is superior in every way - brighter colors (cooler flesh tones), sharper (full jump in contrast) and in the correct theatrical 2.35:1 aspect ratio (and frequently shows more information in the frame). It's dual-layered with a high bitrate - no contest. It may be a shade glossy but any manipulation is not egregious.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-ray_ ... lu-ray.htm

Blu-ray.com mentions DNR, but adds that

Grain does remain over the image, solidifying some fabulous detailing that reveals complex facial lines, fine textures on Nada's hiking gear, wear and tear on dirty and worn garments, stucco around the church, and brick and concrete in alleyways.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/They-Live ... 76/#Review

Hmm seem,s opinions vary wildly on this one....did you ever own the italian version Gas??
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p ... tcount=956

[Shingster]

On the basis of those DVDBeaver grabs then I'd prefer the Italian release. The Shout! disc has very clearly been filtered to buggery (DNR, sharpening, contrast) and at the very least is not "superior in every way", how very typical for DVDBeaver to not have a fucking clue what's staring them in the face!

[gasteropod]

did you ever own the italian version Gas??

Nope. But the Scream Factory is a nice package and the PQ is good enough for me, if you think it would bug you then just go for the Italian!

[saltysam]

did you ever own the italian version Gas??

Nope. But the Scream Factory is a nice package and the PQ is good enough for me, if you think it would bug you then just go for the Italian!

i actually have the Italian but hadn't got round to watching it,it's still sealed and was tempted to shift it on and buy the SF release...maybe not.

[Markgway]

Re. DVD Beaver comparison. Shout Factory looks better to me.

[luckystars]

Shout Factory is a bit better than the norm of just boosting contrast and a wipe of dvnr

Thing that would swing for me is the Italian disc doesn't have HD audio, and that's a bugbear of mine. No HD audio 9 times out of 10 means you'll want to upgrade later

[Shingster]

I guarantee none of you would be so quick to praise the Shout! release if you saw it projected up on a big screen, I have a few transfers like this in my collection and they look horrendous projected. It's a shame the Italian release has such poor framing and no lossless audio, because while it may appear a bit drab in comparison to the Shout! grabs, it is far, far closer to how this film should look.

Just look at these grabs: Italian, Shout!. DNR/contrast boosting doesn't get more obvious than that!

[gasteropod]

I guarantee none of you would be so quick to praise the Shout! release if you saw it projected up on a big screen

If we don't have projectors, that's pretty irrelevant really. It's not a DNR disaster like the Blu-ray of Dark City, it looks all right on HDTV's.

[Shingster]

And I suppose what an ignoramus doesn't know is irrelevant either, like the people who watch It's a Wonderful Life in colour because to their eyes it "looks better".

A poor transfer is a poor transfer regardless of the technology you view it on, just some technologies gloss over flaws whereas others magnify them. In the case of a LCD/Plasma you have things like grain and black level/softness that can be magnified, on a projector a "harsh" transfer with DNR on top like Shout's They Live looks poor, but just because you can't see the cracks in the wall gastero it doesn't mean they're not there. IMO the contrast tinkering & edge enhancements hurt the transfer worse than the DNR anyway.

[saltysam]

one of the screen grabs,the one with the close up of Roddy Piper is one of the worst cases of DNR ive ever seen.SF are claiming Univesral gave them the finished transfer.

[gasteropod]

SF are claiming Univesral gave them the finished transfer.

Well yeah it's similar to Universal's Blu-ray of The Thing - looks kinda good, but has had its grain removed.

[saltysam]

Italian for the win surely?

[Shingster]

Well yeah it's similar to Universal's Blu-ray of The Thing - looks kinda good, but has had its grain removed.

The Thing only suffers from DNR softness, the rest of the transfer looks pretty natural and not at all as harsh as They Live.

SF are claiming Univesral gave them the finished transfer.

If that's true we'll probably get the same transfer over here if it ever gets released!

[Markgway]

Just look at these grabs: Italian, Shout!. DNR/contrast boosting doesn't get more obvious than that!

Links don't work.

[Markgway]

You can see the foundation makeup on Roddy's face in this (SF) cap:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film4/blu-ray_ ... ray_04.jpg

I guess the manipulation makes the SF transfer look sharper, more vibrant and colourful, whereas the Italian looks drab by comparison (and I don't see any more detail on the Italian source). Obviously none of us, bar Shingster, would know how it looks on a projector/ultra large screen. It would appear then that neither transfer can be recommended, so fans have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

EDIT: Having looked at some of the caps in more detail I can see the contrast boosting and EE now. I suppose I shouldn't judge without checking out ALL the caps carefully.

More caps:
http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleiche/c ... 10#auswahl

[grim_tales]

North by Northwest and other older classics (Gone with the Wind, Maltese Falcon etc) coming 28th January in Steelbooks:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/North-Northwest ... 634&sr=8-2

Not sure whats different beyond the Steelbook and UV copy, but that original poster art is way cool

[saltysam]

North by Northwest and other older classics (Gone with the Wind, Maltese Falcon etc) coming 28th January in Steelbooks:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/North-Northwest ... 634&sr=8-2

Not sure whats different beyond the Steelbook and UV copy, but that original poster art is way cool

it looks nice but as i got this movie & 2 other Hitch classics for around a £1 more than this i'll pass.