I bought the original DD version of Saving Private Ryan when it first came out. The dvd had some serious video problems. The fires throughout most of the movie bled from the top of the tv screen to the bottom. This occured mostly during a scene with a sustained fire like in the beginning.

When I heard about the WWII collection would contain the DTS version, I decided to "upgrade", thinking that I would be getting better audio and that this version would have fixed the video problems. Well the audio sounds fantastic but the video has the same exact problem.

Has anyone encountered this problem?

Forgive me if it's already been covered.

Thanks for the input.

This is totally intentional, watch the making-of featurettes and find out why.

The "problems" with the fires were not problems at all, but were always part of the movie. Just some stylistic choice Spielberg made. I remember the big dicussion about this back in 1999 when the first dvd was released.

Wow, I was just thinking the other day that it's been more than a year since I read a complaint about the fire streaks in "Saving Private Ryan."

I don't mean this as a slam, but do you really think a director of Steven Spielberg's caliber would allow one of his best movies be released to DVD with an image that bad unless it was intentional? Like he couldn't afford a new transfer?

Short and to the point:

Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski had the anti-glare coatings stripped off the lenses for some scenes and misaligned the shutter to simulate footage shot with a damaged camera.

Yeah it was all done to give it the look of WW2 news reels from the reporters that rushed the beach.

Same thing with that color treatment to the film.

All style choices.

You know now that I'm thinking about SPR, I've had this argument with a buddy over the origions of SPR.

I say it's based on a true story that the screenwriter uncovered. My pal believes it was compleatly made up.

But I still thing the story came out of the 50th aniversary D-Day celebration in San Diego. As I remember the screenwriters daughter asked what the re-enactment was all about and what started as a history lesson, became a movie idea, lead to research, uncoved the true story of a family that last all their sons to WW2, then he got the idea what if one of those kids were saved and etc.

Well whoose right?

Oh dear, not again. I guess with all the next geration of DVD owners, this is bound to happen and will continue to happen. You know it's funny; to this day I still don't understand how so many people interpret this as a video problem with the DVD.


Jeff

It is true that one family lost several brothers in a short period. It isn't true that there was a group sent out to get the last brother out. It is mentioned in several D-Day history books, including Ambrose's D-Day

Ambrose's book' Band of Brothers' mentions this happening to a family in Tonawanda, NY. It also happened to a family from Buffalo- and the ship named after them, the USS The Sullivans, is at Buffalo's naval park.

Ah, if only people watched the supplements on their DVDs, this whole thread wouldn't have to exist.

Oh no! For a moment I thought Universal has done it (screwed up another major release) again!

Well, that's the way to bet with Universal. Man, what happened to them. They used to be beautiful.