With much excitement I just picked up the "Grease" (1978) Widescreen DVD and rushed home to watch bits of it. I was greatly disappointed by the video and audio quality and the DVD overall!

I read DVDSavant's review of it here and I'd have to agree strongly with him/her on the audio quality of the DVD....most of the movie, it feels like you're listening to a mono recording in a sound studio. The sound is also very softly recorded and you'll find yourself pumping up the receiver's volume....I can't remember the last time I turned up my Denon 4800's volume to -11 for comfortable movie listening.

The Video quality is very mediocre as is the menu and extras.

The whole DVD reeks of a SE or Criterion version coming out in the near future!

At least now I won't be so anxious to receive the copy I ordered from Amazon via slow free media shipping. Drats I was really looking forward to finally owning this title but I guess I'll have to upgrade in two years and trade this one in.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...ht=grease+2004

Of course, I found the 2004 release thread after I came home and wrote the above...oh well...2004 to look forward to!

yeah the movie is a disapointment, the video quality has so many dropouts and the sound sounds just barely better than when I see it on TBS 32 times a week. Though the music does sound 100 times better.

One thing I noticed, is that they tried to fade out all references to Coke in the Frosty Palace, It's so apparant and annoying because the little box that hovers over Sandy and Tom kinda shimys and shakes, there are other places too that they block it out. Was that in the original release, or just done for the dvd?

I saw the VHS 20th anniversary version the other day, and it comes with a copy of the script. I wondered why they couldn't have included that with the DVD. After all, it's just this thin booklet that would probably fit in a keepc... oh, never mind.

I watched Grease last night but am not all that dissappointed. It's still the best way to watch this movie at home. The picture is much clearer than the 20th Anniversary laserdisc release (although it does show some grain) and the sound quality is fine as long as you turn up the volume a little bit.

I'm quite pleased and am looking forward to the SE in 2004.

BTW: The Coke ads have been "matted" out since the original release.

You mean like the suspects in COPS? That's pretty cheesy.

I had the laserdisc and it sounded and looked great.
So it looks like another case where the laserdisc is better than the dvd.

Well, that really all depends on how you are watching the DVD. I am seeing it on a 57" 16X9 toshiba with a progressive scan player. Since the DVD is enhanced for widescreen, there is no way in hell the laserdisc looks better. Now, if you are viewing it on a standard TV, the laserdisc might look better but I don't see how it could since the color saturation on DVD is much cleaner.

Not always. It depends on the quality of the comb filter in the LD player (if using S-video) or display (if using composite). With my LD-S9 player, I have a number of laserdiscs that exhibit richer color saturation than the comparitively flat DVDs.

I watched this yesterday. I was happy with the sound quality. The video was a disapointment though. I know this movie could look a lot better if Paramount actually put some effort into it. Though I'm glad to finally have this in my collection, I can't help but feel a little disappointed/cheated. At least I got it in a keep-case at Costco.

Would the DVD of this movie be considered a bare bones DVD?

Laser Disc??? Let it go man! Let it go!

my copy on BETA looks pretty tight.

Educate yourself.

Tragically ironic.

How so, exactly?

I love Grease and Grease 2 (when is that coming...I'm sure it'll be out but with no trailers or anything). But the DVD that just came out is kinda disappointing. All the hype out there in ads, the Paramount backlot party and such...that money could have been put into making a better product rather that re-hashing the laserdisc! What a missed opportunity.

By the way...the LD and DVD are close in picture, but the LD sounds much fuller. I found the DVD too quiet in the dialogue department.


"I want a C O O L...R I D E R!" (oops wrong flick! My bad!)

The LD and DVD look virtually identical. But the sound on the LD is better... actually, the more scenes I compare, the more I find the LD sound to be much better.

Why, exactly, should people "let it go"? I want the best looking and sounding version of a film. I don't care what format it is on -- I love the films, not the technology.

And, even if you don't care to go out a buy the LD for yourself... isn't the fact that the "new" DVD is worse than a 4-year-old release on a "dead" format relevant? Isn't that something that is good to know before you buy?

I'm going strickly on potential. Just because Paramount is lazy doesn't mean everyone should be rushing to Ebay to find a Laser Disc player. If done right, the DVD version would be miles ahead of any Laser Disc. I'll wait for the DVD to be done right....

What the devil kind of monitor are you using??? The LD and the DVD are NOT identical. If on a standard analog monitor, maybe. But watching the DVD in full anamorphic on a digital TV blows the LD away.

The only thing I agree with you on is the sound quality. The LD does have a slight edge.

Hmmm, you maybe right on what kind of t.v. , but the sound of the laserdisc is by far better.

What matters also is the work put into the product - Great monitor or not, Grease has not been well presented on DVD. A great monitor will only amplify the flaws in a mediocre picture.