mike01

I personally think it looks great and am wondering if the poster even read the review from dvdbeaver, 10/10

The Infidel

Picture issues and neat toys aside, put me down as another person disappointed there wasn't a feature on Heath or any commentary whatsoever. The featurettes in this release are really, really disappointing. Someone please tell me what the purpose is of including IMAX scenes when (I'm certain) none of us own IMAX screens in our homes. Does that strike anyone else as completely pointless? The intended display screen is several stories tall, and I'm watching these in all their 50" glory. Whoopie!

xage

WB, still a success in continuing their Bestbuy Exclusive Boxsets

Tarantino

Although I was disappointed in the lack of Heath material, I was interested in seeing the IMAX stuff.

= J

ReduxGuy

The picture is, for a lack of better words, grotesque. Some scenes look incredibly clean while others look like they belong on transfers from DVDs dating back to 1997. Whoever thought sabotaging standard-def DVD prints to make Blu-Ray look a billion times better (not to mention denying the majority of people the features you made exclusive to the Blu-Ray just to make some more dough) should be shot multiple times.

And they didn't even include ALL of the IMAX scenes.

All wide/zooming shots of Gotham and Hong Kong were in IMAX.

And the whole scene after was in IMAX - starting from the Joker hanging his head out the back of the cop cruiser to Alfred finishing reading Rachel's letter.

And my last complaint - the sound is AMAZING, but I'm surprised the Joker theme went down an audible notch or two. In the theater (and even on the bootleg YouTube videos), you could FEEL the theme building up. Now, it's comaparble to a whimper.

If I had been in charge of designing the TDK DVD, I would have created a work of art.

Juicy.Fruit84

I Would agree, I'm glad i finally have it added to my collection (as a steelbook non the less). But still felt a lot was missing. This was the biggest film of the year. This would have to be one of the rare times i hope there's another release

ReduxGuy

Those are awesome. Now, I'm disappointed because I'm reminded how I didn't get the Joker card at BB.

Boba Fett

Funny you should mention certain shots on Blu-Ray not changing aspect ratio; the digital copy, actually does change aspect ratio in the spots you mentioned.

TheKing

I wound up deciding it was time, and I made The Dark Knight my very first Blu-ray purchase. I don't own a player or a PS3, but the difference in price between the DVD 2-disc and Blu-ray ended up being $1, so I took the plunge. I'll get a player at some point, and the digital copy can tide me over until then.

It's the first time I've gotten any use out of a digital copy, and I must say thta it looks better than I expected. It even expands for the IMAX scenes, a nice surprise.

Panda Phil

This.

To me the two short featurettes they did include just screamed 'Preview of the full length 'Making of' feature. Available next year'.

DocBrass

glad I'm not the only one. this was my first blu-ray purchase also. still no player. looking at getting a PS3 around Christmas. Glad I'm jumped on the blu-ray version to get all the IMAX scenes. after seeing the movie twice - once in IMAX and once in standard, seeing the IMAX version again will be worth it.

Its interesting reading some of the comments about quality. from seeing the movie in both versions, you can tell some of the grainyness was intentional to make it feel more gritty. and the opening scenes of the bank robbery, there is that hum/white noise, it just adds to the build up of the arrival of the Joker.

cinemaphile

For pretty much the entire 1990's, I was manager of a Suncoast Motion Picture Company. I and my staff (most by their own volition and a few because they were told to) always made it our personal mission to "convert" people to the world of Widescreen. First with the very few VHS that were released, then with the niche format of laserdisc, and upon DVD's launch in 1997 we were finally able to reach the masses. It was an obsession. We were like Widescreen Missionaries. We had print examples, we kept certain films cued up on both formats to demonstrate the difference, and of course we always featured the WS versions while giving the FS versions inferior placement. Any time someone went to buy a film that had both versions available, we'd start into our pitch.

I couldn't even begin to estimate how many people we converted to WS. It always felt good to open someone's eyes, and often to even convince them to go buy a dvd player just so they could enjoy movies the way they were intended!

Willh51

So not relevant to the topic...but I always liked browsing and talking to the employees in that store. What a blast from the past.

On a serious note, I skimmed through some of the movie and think it looks pretty good. I like the shifting ratio and the IMAX scenes look fantastic. The disc may not be perfect but I think that some of the criticism has been a little ridiculous.

It may have been stated earlier but I read somewhere Nolan nixed a Ledger tribute to avoid capitalizing on his death, since his performance really speaks for itself.

cinemaphile

Wasn't trying to hijack the thread or anything. It WAS on topic with the board conversation... just not the original thread topic. The post I quoted, along with another earlier in the thread was discussing other customers they've encountered and some of the ignorant views of widescreen.

The Infidel

Funny, since Heath's death played such a large factor in this movie's subsequent success at the box office. I'd say they already capitalized pretty darn well, whether they intended to or not.

starman9000

He was saying his own post is not relevant to the topic, not yours.

cinemaphile

oh! i get it now. sorry!

Willh51

Haha yeah sorry that was worded weird, definitely not knocking your post, though.

kefrank

I think the affect that his death had on the box office has been overstated. His death certainly contributed somewhat to the box office success, but I can't see it being anything more than a minor factor. His performance as the Joker and the overall quality of the movie is what had people talking and coming back more than once.

The Infidel

I don't think it was overstated at all. The fact that the subject has been stated so much reflects the effect completely. Great performance, given. Great movie, given. But so many people were wanting to see this movie to see Heath's Final Performance that I really believe they doubled what the movie would have made, on that fact alone.

IMHO, the omission of a special feature dedicated to Heath and his performance is a blatant disregarding of just how well he helped stuff their wallets. Like I said, they may have not intended on capitalizing on his death, but they did nonetheless.

cinemaphile

His death had almost nothing to do with the box office success. It was his performance. Far bigger, better, and more popular actors have had films come out after their deaths, and it didn't boost box office. Peope don't flock to see something based on a death, and it most certainly doesn't double anything.

p.s. It's not even "Heath's Final Performance". He will still be seen in most of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, with only certain fantasy sections of it having him replaced with Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law.

The Infidel

Well, that's your opinion, and I have mine. I do dare to say, though, that a lot of people might agree with me.

I called it Heath's Final Performance, and capitalized it as such, facesciously, because that's what a lot of people out there were thinking of this as. I'm fully aware of the upcoming movie.

Mr. Salty

They may have profited from Ledger's death, but they didn't capitalize on it. You can't unintentionally capitalize on something; capitalizing requires active intent.

OldBoy

i don't know know why people are so surprised at the lack of commentary or special features. i know this did a helluva lot more than "Batman Begins", but that was a success beyond all expectations. BB had next to nothing in terms of girth as well and no commentary and no double dip release that included more special features. this release seems pretty much in-line with its' predecessor. would i have liked more, hell yes, did i get more, no. but, i got the movie and that is what i can't wait to freggin see!

kefrank

I think there are very few people that would agree with your assertion that Heath Ledger's untimely death caused the box office returns for the Dark Knight to double. That's absolutely ludicrous. Heath Ledger was only a mildly popular actor prior to the Dark Knight, so very few people were flocking to the theaters just to see his final movie. It was the performance itself and the hype surrounding it (which started before his death) that had people flocking to the theaters, not to mention the almost universally-positive reviews of the film. His death just amplified the hype by a few degrees.