Technical Review Wanted: "The Player"
07-23-01, 07:56 AM
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Technical Review Wanted: "The Player"
Looking for comments regard PQ and SQ of the New Line Platinum Series Disc. I've got the Criterion LD, but want to replace it on DVD as a Columbia House fufillment selection. Thanks in advance.
07-23-01, 01:15 PM
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picture and sound are fine, not great
Haven't watched it in awhile, but I recall the pic and sound being good, not great.
This was an early New Line title, and pic and sound quality reflect that - I don't think many producers had a good handle on DVD yet at the time. Plus, this is a dark, indie-looking film anyway, so even the best transfer probably wouldn't look outstanding. I think the main issue is that it's single layer, with the entire (2+ hours) film compressed on one side and some extras on the other. Despite the single layer, the transfer looks good but not great - no smearing or digital blurriness that I can recall. It's anamorphic 1.85:1. I have a 4x3 TV without anamorphic, so I'm sure it looks more 3D and detailed in 16x9.
There's a commentary track with Altman that's unfortunately not good. Flip side extras are lots of deleted scenes (very good), a list of cameos, and some other stuff that I can't remember right now. I don't know how these extras compare to the Criterion LD.
Sound is DD5.1 but it's more like 2.0, which is OK for a dialog-driven movie like this. Dialog is clear, and the music sounds really good.
Bottom-line: It's well worth owning - great movie and some good extras, but you already own it. If you can watch DVDs in anamorphic video, then it's probably worth getting even though you already have LD. Otherwise, maybe not. There are lots of good CH fulfillments out there, IMO, so your $20 might be better spent on something else.
Hope this helps.
This was an early New Line title, and pic and sound quality reflect that - I don't think many producers had a good handle on DVD yet at the time. Plus, this is a dark, indie-looking film anyway, so even the best transfer probably wouldn't look outstanding. I think the main issue is that it's single layer, with the entire (2+ hours) film compressed on one side and some extras on the other. Despite the single layer, the transfer looks good but not great - no smearing or digital blurriness that I can recall. It's anamorphic 1.85:1. I have a 4x3 TV without anamorphic, so I'm sure it looks more 3D and detailed in 16x9.
There's a commentary track with Altman that's unfortunately not good. Flip side extras are lots of deleted scenes (very good), a list of cameos, and some other stuff that I can't remember right now. I don't know how these extras compare to the Criterion LD.
Sound is DD5.1 but it's more like 2.0, which is OK for a dialog-driven movie like this. Dialog is clear, and the music sounds really good.
Bottom-line: It's well worth owning - great movie and some good extras, but you already own it. If you can watch DVDs in anamorphic video, then it's probably worth getting even though you already have LD. Otherwise, maybe not. There are lots of good CH fulfillments out there, IMO, so your $20 might be better spent on something else.
Hope this helps.
