Wow. Now I see why it took you a while to put this review up. I'm smiling to myself knowing that there's somebody else out there who loves this movie. This is a film that I saw as a rabid 14-year-old fan of the books. I was disappointed at first that Lynch didn't follow the book's storyline as well as hoped. Then I saw the film a second time, and really began to appreciate it as an entity separate from the book...and I loved it.

I ordered it a few days ago, and can't wait to watch it in HD glory! Thanks for the review, Josh!

I picked up Dune today based of Josh's review, and I'm glad I did. Nice work, Josh. :up:

Well, it certainly sounds like it would have been interesting, I'll give it that. Man, if Dune fans hate Lynch's film for adding the Weirding Modules, just imagine the reaction after Jodorowsky played through with his Paul & Jessica incest angle. :)

Costumes by Moebius, and Salvador Dali as Baron Harkonnen? Yeah, it would've been a trip all right.


I wish there was more information available about Ridley Scott's plans for the movie, but it wasn't well documented.

Wasn't Dali slated to play the Emperor?

Ok Josh Z, you win. I'm going to buy Dune.

Sci-Fi is my weak spot in film and there arent many Sci-Fi films that I see that I dont like even a little bit. Dune has always been one of my favorite sci-fi movies and I never understood the huge backlash against it. I saw the films before reading the books so maybe that had something to do with it. Anyways I agree with your review, this is a great HD-DVD release with a much improved transfer.

Dune was actually the film that got me into collecting Press Kits & Lobby Cards as I had one given to me back in the day and thought they were really cool. I have been collecting them ever since. So I am right with you guys on this one. Naysayers can take a hike, Dune is great Sci-Fi to the core and its a great movie plain and simple.

PS...

Was he? I've forgotten. I thought he was playing the Baron.

Either way...

So, anyone pick up THE DESCENT yet? I have my PS3 rebates, and the Descent is one of them...never saw the movie, but reviews seem positive.

The Descent is definitely one of the scariest films released in the last several years. It'll likely remain high on my top 10 list. I own the BD. For a low budget film, the video looks great. The dark cave sequences still have quite a bit of detail. Grain is present during some of those scenes. I didn't listen to the PCM audio, but the DD track was very good. There's plenty of surround noises.

Please watch the unrated version with the original ending first!!!!

Just have to put in another "Holy Crap" for Ant Bully. I wish all HD/BD disks looked this good. Amazing Transfer, Amazing Detail.

Is there anything else different in the unrated version other than the ending, before I even bother with the rated version? I had only seen the what I believe is the unrated version via the UK disk and not the theatrical cut. IMDB indicates nothing else different.

Regardless this is definitely a great, gory horror flick. Even better if you're claustrophobic!

No. I think the ending is the only difference. I'm claustrophobic, so I enjoyed it more. Setting the film in a cave was a brilliant choice.

If someone has seen neither cut, I would 100% recommend to watch the unrated first. I didn't have that choice when I saw it in theaters since the US got the trimmed version. The film is so much better with the original ending. But do check out the rated ending. Definitely changes the feel of the movie.

OK, thanks. Wasn't sure if I could trust the IMDB info. Luckily, I had only seen the unrated version. I did check out the rated version ending was your current typical U.S. horror crap. It's funny that they changed from the UK ending because we can't "handle it" over here, menawhile we all go and flock to see the Hostels and Saws as if they are true spirit-lifting films :rolleyes:

As Mr. Cinema said, if you haven't seen the movie yet, just stick with the unrated version.

Yeah, I believe LionsGate insisted they alter the ending, yet they have no problem releasing the Saw movies in their original form.

I would like to thank all the Great HD DVD reviews that I have based my purchases
on..I have yet to be dissapointed so Thanks to Adam,and crew.
I have a question though..Why haven't you guy's reviewed: The Eagles
live from Melbourne in HD? This one beautifully shot concert film,with just awesome
digital surround..WHAT GIVES?

Rhino hasn't sent us review copies of any of their HD DVDs, unfortunately.

Thanks for the kind words about the reviews!

Hey Josh, we're "And Co."! ;)

I love the movie, but it definately isnt one of the titles you pull out to show off Bluray. The low budget nature is VERY evident. Im sure its the best quality we will see though.

I listened to the 6.1 PCM and it was great.

Just got finished watching Invincible on Blu-ray. Great film. The movie was shot with a "70s haze", but the stadium scenes are just incredible for A/V. Give it shot already.

Well i finally got my HD-A1 this past week when i went on a spending spree and got a nice new Sammy 56" DLP 1080P tv to go with the A1. Wife didn't like it but i waited 6 months to get it all. Anyways i've been picking up some HD's since about July so i had a nice collection alreay stocked up so heres a few quick reviews of the movies i've gotten through so far, keep in mind i don't know any of the fancy terms like "Banding":

Corpse Bride: This was the first choice that my wife picked out for us to watch. Absolutely Incredible picture quality! All the scenes were very clean and detailed. I think the best word might be "Crisp". There were plenty of moments where you could see elements of a 3D enviorment; eg. Butterfly scene, Dancing Skeletons, etc. Being able to see that kind of depth on the screen is awe inspiring to say the least. There were a few times that i caught myself not watching the movie but just admiring the quality i was seeing. Unfortunately, my i didn't my surround sound hooked up that day and could only listen through the TV's speakers so i can't give an accurate rating on the audio but from what i could tell it was at least decent.

This would be a Must Own for anyone that likes these types of movies. If you're not that interested in movies like the Corpse Bride then at least rent it for the impressive visuals. 9/10 for those scoring at home.

Serenity: I'm a huge fan of Firefly and i throughly enjoyed seeing Serenity in the theaters. When i threw this in i was a little worried. Being a big fan i was worried that the HD version wouldn't meet my expectations. Thankfully i was not disappointed. Is it perfect? Definately not. There were a few moments where scenes seemed too dark to me. And seemed to lack that "Crisp" feeling that i had with Corpse Bride. So is the whole movie like this? Good God No! All of the space battles were incredibly detailed. In those scenes you almost feel like you're watching it happen out your window. I did have the surround hooked up for this one and i must say i'm glad i did. While not a TrueHD titles, the surround sound was definately impressive enough. There were plenty of moments with very good sub action and i was quite satisfied with the quality and purity that the audio from HD titles put out. I'm no audiophile but it's apparent even to me that the audio sounds better here than with the DVD.

As for a rating for the HD-DVD i would give it 7/10. I will definately be checking this out again later once i fiddle around with my setting some more to see if i that changes those dark scenes any.

Small Bonus Review:

I got my HD-A1 at Best Buy as a open box item and even though i didn't get the manual or the HDMI cable i did get a nice little bonus besides a cheaper price and gift cards. They left the HD-DVD Demo disk inside which i thought was nice. Basically its just a disk loaded with about dozen or so trailers and some simulated comparison shots with SD. I'm not positive what kind of quality the disk is but it was nice getting to see the Trailers for Kong, Batman Begins, and others on the big screen. Some did look better than others, in fact the Corpse Bride trailer on it looked worse than the HD-DVD movie. That could just be the trailer or it could be the disk.

As a score, I wouldn't recommend paying money for it, but since it runs on a loop you could leave it on if you have a party or something and the disk runs for about an hour. Since i love trailers i'll score it 3/10.

More reviews to come once i get a chance to sit down and watch some more.

I made my wife review The Devil Wears Prada for me! :)

I thought the HD reviews here could use a female POV for a change.

Does anyone know the difference between the HD-DVD Black Rain from US vs. Japan release? It looks like the US version contains 1 HD-DVD disc while the Japanese version contains 2 HD-DVD discs.

Any information is appreciated.

Kudos to your wife for a well written review!

If my favorite, Pride and Prejudice (1995), ever makes it to HD DVD I hope that she will be willing to review it.

I'll pass along the message. She liked the recent Keira Knightely version but hasn't seen the 1995 miniseries. Wasn't that shot on video or 16mm, though? Doubtful we'll see in on HD DVD or Blu-ray.

Most P&P fans consider the 5 hour BBC/A&E 1995 production the definitive version of the book (I consider it the best screen adaptation of a novel ever done, but I am biased because it is my favorite book). It was shot on film in widescreen and in the current DVD set the color in the first half is a bit washed out and could use some work. But I think it would look glorious in HD if A&E would take the effort and expense to do it. A longshot, I know, but I keep hoping.

You know as well as anyone that a movie doesn't have to be a modern action flick to benefit from HD. P&P (1995) has very nice cinematography.