Army of Darkness HD-DVD question
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Bruce Campbell invented the internet...and pants.
Posts: 899
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Army of Darkness HD-DVD question
Hello all. I was wondering if anyone had any info on the 10/10 release of Army of Darkness? My question concerns the quality. Is the transfer struck from the same print as my 6 R1 Universal/Anchor Bay releases or is it going to be from the VASTLY superior R3 print? Seing as how this is set to be a combo disc, if the R3 print is used, everyone with only a SD dvd player could get the best picture possible also along with the HD copy. Any info would be appreciated.
#2
DVD Talk Reviewer/ Admin
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Greenville, South Cackalack
Posts: 28,827
Received 1,882 Likes
on
1,238 Posts
Presumably it's the same transfer that was used for the high-def presentation on Universal HD. It's the theatrical cut, and this disc doesn't include any extras.
It's not a transfer from Anchor Bay, for sure: the theatrical cut is 1.66:1 on Anchor Bay's DVD but the usual 1.85:1-ish on Universal HD. I'm not sure if it's the same transfer from Universal's ancient DVD or if it's more newly struck, but it looked awfully nice to my eyes.
It's not a transfer from Anchor Bay, for sure: the theatrical cut is 1.66:1 on Anchor Bay's DVD but the usual 1.85:1-ish on Universal HD. I'm not sure if it's the same transfer from Universal's ancient DVD or if it's more newly struck, but it looked awfully nice to my eyes.
#4
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by bboisvert
Isn't the R3 print of the director's cut? The HD DVD is of the theatrical version.
#5
DVD Talk Reviewer/ Admin
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Greenville, South Cackalack
Posts: 28,827
Received 1,882 Likes
on
1,238 Posts
Virtually everyone prefers the director's cut, but going against the grain, I lean more towards the leaner theatrical version. Gotta have my "good...bad...I'm the guy with the gun", and I'm a huge fan of the campier ending.
#6
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Adam Tyner
Virtually everyone prefers the director's cut, but going against the grain, I lean more towards the leaner theatrical version. Gotta have my "good...bad...I'm the guy with the gun", and I'm a huge fan of the campier ending.
I still own (and enjoy) the director's cut for what it is. But when I'm popping it on to watch randomly, I almost always go with the theatrical.
#8
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Bruce Campbell invented the internet...and pants.
Posts: 899
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Adam Tyner
Presumably it's the same transfer that was used for the high-def presentation on Universal HD. It's the theatrical cut, and this disc doesn't include any extras.
It's not a transfer from Anchor Bay, for sure: the theatrical cut is 1.66:1 on Anchor Bay's DVD but the usual 1.85:1-ish on Universal HD. I'm not sure if it's the same transfer from Universal's ancient DVD or if it's more newly struck, but it looked awfully nice to my eyes.
It's not a transfer from Anchor Bay, for sure: the theatrical cut is 1.66:1 on Anchor Bay's DVD but the usual 1.85:1-ish on Universal HD. I'm not sure if it's the same transfer from Universal's ancient DVD or if it's more newly struck, but it looked awfully nice to my eyes.
#9
DVD Talk Legend
I know someone on AVS claimed they got their hands on a copy of this last week but I can't find the thread now. Anyway, I can't wait to see this as I have never viewed the Universal HD cut before.
AVS thread
BTW, I'm sure your username stands for Army of Darkness, but did you know it was also the original name for HD-dvd? C'mon and join the team.
"Short for Advanced Optical Disc, Blu-ray’s competing HD-DVD technology format. AOD and Blu-ray are similar in that they both use 405nm-wavelength blue-violet laser technology, in contrast to the 650nm-wavelength red laser technology used in traditional DVD formats. However, while Blu-ray has a storage capacity of 27GB on a single-layer disc, AOD has a storage capacity of 20GB on a single-layer disc.
AOD was developed jointly by Toshiba and NEC."
AVS thread
BTW, I'm sure your username stands for Army of Darkness, but did you know it was also the original name for HD-dvd? C'mon and join the team.
"Short for Advanced Optical Disc, Blu-ray’s competing HD-DVD technology format. AOD and Blu-ray are similar in that they both use 405nm-wavelength blue-violet laser technology, in contrast to the 650nm-wavelength red laser technology used in traditional DVD formats. However, while Blu-ray has a storage capacity of 27GB on a single-layer disc, AOD has a storage capacity of 20GB on a single-layer disc.
AOD was developed jointly by Toshiba and NEC."
#10
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by DthRdrX
I know someone on AVS claimed they got their hands on a copy of this last week but I can't find the thread now.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2&page=1&pp=30
#12
DVD Talk Reviewer/ Admin
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Greenville, South Cackalack
Posts: 28,827
Received 1,882 Likes
on
1,238 Posts
Originally Posted by AOD
Seeing as how it's going to be a combo disc, which of the two are you saying looked good to your eyes, the SD or HD DVD side?
I'll be tackling the HD DVD as soon as Universal starts shipping out copies to reviewers.
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Detroit
Posts: 516
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Adam Tyner
Virtually everyone prefers the director's cut, but going against the grain, I lean more towards the leaner theatrical version. Gotta have my "good...bad...I'm the guy with the gun", and I'm a huge fan of the campier ending.
Agreed I also liked the theatrical release ending better. I didnt not like the director's cut ending but really do prefer the original. Cant wait to get my hands on this one.
PS..
#15
Banned by request
I prefer the "guy with the gun line" about a million times more than the "I'm not that good" line, but I do prefer the downer ending. While the campy ending is more fun, Ash screwing himself the way he does in the downer ending fits much better with the overall tone of the series.
#16
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Bruce Campbell invented the internet...and pants.
Posts: 899
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by DthRdrX
I know someone on AVS claimed they got their hands on a copy of this last week but I can't find the thread now. Anyway, I can't wait to see this as I have never viewed the Universal HD cut before.
AVS thread
BTW, I'm sure your username stands for Army of Darkness, but did you know it was also the original name for HD-dvd? C'mon and join the team.
"Short for Advanced Optical Disc, Blu-ray’s competing HD-DVD technology format. AOD and Blu-ray are similar in that they both use 405nm-wavelength blue-violet laser technology, in contrast to the 650nm-wavelength red laser technology used in traditional DVD formats. However, while Blu-ray has a storage capacity of 27GB on a single-layer disc, AOD has a storage capacity of 20GB on a single-layer disc.
AOD was developed jointly by Toshiba and NEC."
AVS thread
BTW, I'm sure your username stands for Army of Darkness, but did you know it was also the original name for HD-dvd? C'mon and join the team.
"Short for Advanced Optical Disc, Blu-ray’s competing HD-DVD technology format. AOD and Blu-ray are similar in that they both use 405nm-wavelength blue-violet laser technology, in contrast to the 650nm-wavelength red laser technology used in traditional DVD formats. However, while Blu-ray has a storage capacity of 27GB on a single-layer disc, AOD has a storage capacity of 20GB on a single-layer disc.
AOD was developed jointly by Toshiba and NEC."
#17
DVD Talk Reviewer/ Admin
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Greenville, South Cackalack
Posts: 28,827
Received 1,882 Likes
on
1,238 Posts
I don't have the original Universal release or the R3 MGM disc, but I do have the two Anchor Bay ones, and I'll definitely compare it with those.
#18
DVD Talk Legend
I prefer the international cut, which has most of the extended scenes of the director's cut, but with the better lines like "I'm the one with the gun," bit.
#19
DVD Talk Reviewer
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 506
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I picked this up last night along with Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The picture looks a lot better than I was expecting. It's very detailed and film-like. This is the shorter theatrical cut, the same version that was on the Universal DVD. The menus on these discs are relatively boring - just the Universal logo and the title of the film in the corner (they remind me of the generic menus some early DVD releases had). Still, the movies themselves look and sound terrific (Fast Times also looks surprisingly sharp).
#20
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Ralph Jenkins
The menus on these discs are relatively boring - just the Universal logo and the title of the film in the corner (they remind me of the generic menus some early DVD releases had).
#21
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by Josh Z
Universal switched to this generic menu style some time back. All of their releases use it now.
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 541
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by bboisvert
So you're the other guy! Yeah, I'm with you. I prefer the pacing of the theatrical better, the funnier 'gun' line, and the campy ending. We're definitely in the minority though.
I still own (and enjoy) the director's cut for what it is. But when I'm popping it on to watch randomly, I almost always go with the theatrical.
I still own (and enjoy) the director's cut for what it is. But when I'm popping it on to watch randomly, I almost always go with the theatrical.
#24
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Bruce Campbell invented the internet...and pants.
Posts: 899
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's set to be released in two days and some individuals have the retail discs in their hands. Any thorough reviews/comparisons yet? (hint hint Adam?)