Anybody seen MOTEL CACTUS yet ?
10-12-02, 02:33 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Reseda, CA
Posts: 63
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Anybody seen MOTEL CACTUS yet ?
I want to get this Korean DVD, but just wondering is it any good ? Heard that the cinematographer is Christopher Doyle from Wong kar-wai's movies.
10-12-02, 10:33 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Alphaville! .:. Singapour
Posts: 284
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Anybody seen MOTEL CACTUS yet ?
Originally posted by Afandi
I want to get this Korean DVD, but just wondering is it any good ? Heard that the cinematographer is Christopher Doyle from Wong kar-wai's movies.
I want to get this Korean DVD, but just wondering is it any good ? Heard that the cinematographer is Christopher Doyle from Wong kar-wai's movies.
Yes, its Du Ke-Feng aka Chris Doyle....
.
10-13-02, 12:23 AM
#3
Cool New Member
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's a great film. I saw it Theatrially years ago when it made it's Film Festival tour. It deserves a wider audience
The transfer on the DVD is very good; but the encoding shows signs of being down by incompetant operators. The white level is set too high (white crush) and the black level too low (loss of shadow detail) the biggest disapoinment is the soundtrack. It is supposed to be Dolby Surround and that is how it is advertised on the Cover and that's how it was theatrically. The DVD has a scratchy Mono soundtrack; as if they encoded the wrong file--it sounds like an Optical Mono track like what you used to get in the bad old days when theaters often forgot to turn on the Dolby Decoder.
The technical flaws are not, however, bad enough to distract from the film; and otherwise the DVD does look good.
The transfer on the DVD is very good; but the encoding shows signs of being down by incompetant operators. The white level is set too high (white crush) and the black level too low (loss of shadow detail) the biggest disapoinment is the soundtrack. It is supposed to be Dolby Surround and that is how it is advertised on the Cover and that's how it was theatrically. The DVD has a scratchy Mono soundtrack; as if they encoded the wrong file--it sounds like an Optical Mono track like what you used to get in the bad old days when theaters often forgot to turn on the Dolby Decoder.
The technical flaws are not, however, bad enough to distract from the film; and otherwise the DVD does look good.
10-13-02, 06:08 AM
#4
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah - USA
Posts: 5,195
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
...ahh...
° "...the encoding shows signs of being down by incompetant operators...."
° "...white level is set too high (white crush) and the black level too low (loss of shadow detail)..."
° "...the biggest disapoinment is the soundtrack..."
° "...DVD has a scratchy Mono soundtrack..."
...if this were a R1 release from, say, WB or MGM or whomever, you would likely scream bloody murder about what, going by your description, appears to be a totally, hopelessly botched transfer...
...so how come you sum up your damning-with-(very)-faint-praise review thusly: "...The technical flaws are not, however, bad enough to distract from the film; and otherwise the DVD does look good."
...I mean, really now, which is it ?... good ?... bad ?... indifferent ?...
(signed) One Who Has Been Totally Put Off From Watching This DVD - Let Alone Buying It
. . .
. . .
° "...the encoding shows signs of being down by incompetant operators...."
° "...white level is set too high (white crush) and the black level too low (loss of shadow detail)..."
° "...the biggest disapoinment is the soundtrack..."
° "...DVD has a scratchy Mono soundtrack..."
...if this were a R1 release from, say, WB or MGM or whomever, you would likely scream bloody murder about what, going by your description, appears to be a totally, hopelessly botched transfer...
...so how come you sum up your damning-with-(very)-faint-praise review thusly: "...The technical flaws are not, however, bad enough to distract from the film; and otherwise the DVD does look good."
...I mean, really now, which is it ?... good ?... bad ?... indifferent ?...
(signed) One Who Has Been Totally Put Off From Watching This DVD - Let Alone Buying It
. . .
. . .
10-13-02, 11:04 AM
#5
Cool New Member
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally posted by Hendrik
....so how come you sum up your damning-with-(very)-faint-praise review thusly: "...The technical flaws are not, however, bad enough to distract from the film; and otherwise the DVD does look good."
...I mean, really now, which is it ?... good ?... bad ?... indifferent ?...
....so how come you sum up your damning-with-(very)-faint-praise review thusly: "...The technical flaws are not, however, bad enough to distract from the film; and otherwise the DVD does look good."
...I mean, really now, which is it ?... good ?... bad ?... indifferent ?...
The sound is annoying also, but it too is not a killer.
This DVD is far better than a Fox Lorber for example; and has more detail than a MGM, but is no Criterion.
Last edited by Purple X; 10-13-02 at 11:17 AM.
10-13-02, 11:15 AM
#6
Cool New Member
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This talk made me rewatch Motel Cactus. I would have that after a second viewing, the black detail is OK, but the white crush really is bad. Colour saturation is excellent (probably at the expense of white levels.)
10-13-02, 11:17 AM
#7
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah - USA
Posts: 5,195
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
...alright already... I'll take your word for it... have to assemble an order for several Korean discs anyway, so may as well add this title...
. . . . . .
. . .
. . .
Last edited by Hendrik; 10-13-02 at 11:25 AM.
