Matty-O

Tombstone at www.digitalbits.com and Tron at www.dvdfile.com

Matt Stevens

Well, looks like a great DVD, but that the work-print I saw years back (20 minutes longer than the theatrical) will never see the light of day. Too bad, because it would rank among the best Westerns of all time, in my opinion.

I AM happy we get to see the scenes from the laserdisc inserted into the film. But damn, there was a lot more that could have been included and all of it was incredible stuff.

d2cheer

It ALREADY DOES rank as one of the best Westerns of all time! IMHO of course!


With or without the new footage Tombstone is great. Whether or not it is better now with the new footage I will have to judge for myself.

jonathan.e

Hmmmm:

this new transfer is waaaay too sharp, showing the grossest amount of edge enhancement I've seen in recent memory. This DVD is a real black eye for the folks at THX, who have apparently approved this new transfer in spite of the fact that nearly every scene contains an obscene amount of hard white "halos" on virtually every horizontal and vertical line or "edge" in the picture. I was constantly distracted by the presence of these artifacts, which are the worst I have seen yet on any DVD. How can THX possibly find this outrageous amount of edge enhancement artifacts acceptable? I actually feel sorry for Buena Vista, who has probably paid THX a lot of money to help them produce what is a seriously flawed video transfer.

THX once again $howing why they’re happy to certify even VHS.

Decker

Yeah, I saw that notice this morning as well. I'm confused about why he is noticing so much more EE than the other reviews.

Here's what they said at TDB: Let's start with the video. The new anamorphic widescreen video is a vast improvement over the old disc, mastered from a digital, high-definition transfer. It's not perfect and it isn't reference quality, but if you've had to suffer with the old disc, you'll be thrilled with this. There's a hair too much edge enhancement and the print is occasionally a little soft. But it's far smoother and more natural looking, with a greater sense of depth and much deeper blacks. The colors are lush and accurate without bleed, and this print is definitely cleaner. You'll barely notice film grain and there's hardly a spec of dust or dirt to be seen. I'll wager a digital dirt removal pass was done in addition to using a newer print.

Here's DVD Shrine's opinion: One of the many things the new edition does improve is the video rating. Tombstone: VISTA now has a brand new, THX approved picture presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The rating should speak for itself: it’s nothing short of brilliant.
Some sort of digital cleaning must have been done on the print, because the layer of dirt that plagued the original DVD release is completely gone, resulting in an incredibly clear picture with razor sharp definition. Bright colors, such as those used in the vibrantly picturesque frontier sunset in chapter twenty or the softer pinks for the same effect in chapter twenty-four, absolutely leap off the screen without a blip of pixelation, color smear or over-saturation. Darker tones are equally eye-popping, with perfect black depth and shadow delineation creating meticulously detailed nighttime exteriors (as in chapter twenty). The dark color distinction is easily noticeable when Wyatt finally starts hunting The Cowboys: compare the color of his clothes to the night sky behind him as he shows Ike the badge. In the original DVD version, this scene is ambiguously colored, just half a step away from making Wyatt a floating face against a black backdrop. The only real problems I noticed were minor, at best. There are only a few instances of digital artifacting, and even those are not likely to distract anyone not looking for them.

So I don't know what to make of DVD File's opinion. They see the worst EE ever, and the others don't really even notice it. Hmmm....

Adboy151

Moving to the DVD Reviews forum.

- C

darkside

I was really expecting more out of this set. I thought for sure we would see all the cut scenes and the DVD is even missing one from the Laserdisc. I will just stick with my Laserdisc of this one.

uteotw

I watched it this weekend and barely noticed the edge enhancement at all. I also never owned the LD version, so I am not comparing it to that. I am comparing it to the old DVD release,which was not good at all. This is a great movie, well done on a 2-DVD set, including DTS sound, one disc dedicated only to extras, crystal clear picture and superb packaging. I have no complaints.

MrVette99

I had no complaints with the first release. But I was able to sell it and am looking forward to picking up this Vista Series.

I'm you're Huckleberry

uteotw

Well, wait until you hear the DTS sound and listen to the commentary and watch the extras. Then I'm confident you'll find the first release PALES in comparison. You'll LOVE it!

MrVette99

I've thought for sometime that there's enough action/sounds to really bolster the audio presentation of this favorite film.

I now find myself in a difficult spot. I've been talking about this DVD release for sometime, that my girlfriend bought me a $25 Best Buy coupon Sunday. It has to be fully understood by her that it will be spent on this Tombstone rerelease. Do I tear into it Tuesday night or wait for her. If I wait for her, I might have to till Sunday. Damn, that's a lot of waiting. Maybe, I could play dumb.

BTW, the city that I live in is adjacent to Newhall, the residence of William S. Hart, who is mentioned as one of the attendents to Wyatt Earps funeral at the end of the movie. That's FYI.

D-Ball

Watch it Tuesday night and play dumb on Sunday. No need to torture yourself. And You're a daisy if you do.

uteotw

I agree. How can you possibly wait until Sunday? I mean, she bought it for you because she wants you to be happy, right? I'm SURE she'd want you to use it TODAY!

MrVette99

Were it only so simple. She's evil, a woman -- she probably bought it to test me. It'll be the case of: Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

But really, I've been to busy to get to it. I want to be at my best when I watch it. Last night I missed most of Predator cause I kept falling a sleep. And I started the film rolling before 7.

uteotw

Yes, GREAT point. Just wanted to let you know you are not alone...

Geofferson

Watched Tombstone last night. Great movie and a great disc. Tonight I'll hopefully be able to watch the extras.

DavidH

In regards to Tombstone, I only find the edge enhancement noticable while looking for it (I have a 61", ISF calibrated, RPTV). I really didn't find it distracting while watching the movie. The transfer is very good and the DTS track is great. Vista came through on this.