I LOVE Love Actually. That'd be great to see...but I think it's a Fox title. Oh well. *yawn*

...then I'll make your day by telling you it's a Universal release. 'Cause it is.

YAY!

I'd have interest if Curtis put together an extended cut. The theatrical release just felt way too choppy and disjointed. Didn't he supposedly shoot a ridiculous amount of footage that wound up on the cutting room floor?

There isn't one movie that comes to mid as all of them have been extremely impressive. Ill throw some of the more memorable out there and why.

1. Batman Begins - Best Overall Transfer (Great Clarity and still a gritty feel). Awesome super-hero movie.

2. Aeon Flux - Best Transfer in terms of clarity, If you want to see how much detail is possible with HD then this is the title to show. so-so movie but great demo disc

3. Sleepy Hollow - One of the greatest improvements over the standard edition. Simply a stunning Tim Burton cross processed transfer. My favorite Tim Burton flick.

4. Pitch Black - Beautiful Transfer and another great example of cross processed HD. One of my Fav Sci Fi Movies.

5. Chronicles of Riddick - Another awesome transfer and a great example of what HD can do for heavy cgi sci-fi films. I am one of the few that really liked this flick. I am biased towards sci fi, always have been always will be.

6. U-571 - Great Transfer and absolutely stunning soundtrack. Some of the best surround sound I have ever heard. Pretty good Sub flick on top of it.

7. Good Night & Good Luck - Brilliant movie first and foremost. another stunning transfer that shows how amazing B&W can look in HD. simply an amazing release!

8. Bourne Supremacy - Great movie, great transfer and first movie released that really took advantage special features wise. This disc is an A+ end to end - movie, sound, extras, etc...


ill stop there as I could continue on and on. I have been blown away by HD-DVD and have gone from the stance that I will only replace certain SD DVD's to without a single doubt replacing every title that I can to HD-DVD. I am not sure how someone who loves movies cant name a single movie so far that they really like thats been released on either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray but I guess to each his own. For me I am going broke from buying HD-DVD movies and I cant get enough.

PS...

Yes, I guess to each his own.

Just a little comment on Batman Begins: I thought it was an average movie at best. Katie Holmes was a poor casting choice. Christian Bale's performance was mediocre. And the toys were just blah as well. Sure, it was much better than Batman & Robin (with Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Schwarzenegger) or Batman Forever (Kilmer, O'Donnell, Jim Carrey), but it wasn't nearly as good as the first Batman with Keaton, Nicholson, and Basinger.

Yes, they do, for shame!

Actually, I think Princess Bride is generally liked by many and cineophiles appreciate Roman Holiday, but Notting Hill (a favorite of mine also) regularly gets slammed at DVD Talk. As do some of my favorites, which I haven't mentioned on purpose.

I found out six years ago that I was out of step here when I mentioned a movie in a "worst" thread that turns out to be by a Director (Scorcese) who is worshipped at DVD Talk. A genre I won't touch is horror, which is widely popular (I have zero horror titles). And I despise "splatter movies", my term for those with gratuitous, graphic, violence (think: anything by Quentin Tarantino, and myriad others, including the aforementioned Scorcese).

So, I tend to limit comments to titles generally liked by many, as well as by me.
I agree with you on that, although I liked Batman Begins better than you did and am eagerly awaiting the HD DVD.

I'm also surprised that Curtis hasn't culled an extended cut... for television, considering the film has become a pereniel Christmas-time favourite in the UK

Yes, the washed out colors in the first half I would really like to see fixed. That may have happened in the new SE released a couple of weeks ago, but I don't want to buy it, in the hope that A&E really will release P&P (1995) on HD DVD.

My understanding is that the new SE has the exact same Disc #1 and 2, it just adds a 3rd disc (with the Austin biography, etc.) and new packaging.

Okay, help me out here. Since everyone's raving about Seabiscuit and Batman Begins, I'm gonna start with those to see what all the fuss is about. What else should I get? I need three movies to qualify for the 10% amazon discount.

Despite The Italian Job getting a mediocre review, I was gonna pick it up. Adam, your review says August 8, 2006 for the release date, but the Amazon link says that it's not yet released. ???

Italian Job is one of those Paramount movies that Amazon has had trouble getting in. I would suggest The Corpse Bride, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, The Searchers, or Grand Prix.

Welcome to the joys of Amazon for HD releases. We've been dealing with this frustration for months on various titles (mostly of the Paramount variety).

Are you looking for just amazing picture quality? Here's my list from another thread... any one of these would be a good choice:

Adventures of Robin Hood
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Serenity
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
The Searchers
Corpse Bride

Amazon was (and apparently still is) kind of quirky about some of the Paramount HD DVDs, but The Italian Job is definitely out.

As for another movie -- personally, I think The Searchers is an essential purchase, but you can't go wrong with any of the titles Brian listed above.

Thanks. The Searchers it is.

Like I said to each his own. What made Batman Begins so great wasnt necessarily the acting in general tho everone put in very solid perfomances. The thing I loved about Batman Begins is the fact that it took Batman out of the comic universe and put him in the real universe. Gotham was no longer a comic book fantasy like in Tim Burton's movies but a real live city. The batmobile wasny some crazy futuristic car but a military vehicle. Everything about the movie was real world and was a completly different take than the Tim Burton Comic book stlye. I loved the first Tim Burton Batman and he is my favorite director but to be fair they are very different interpretations of the same character and in my book they are about equal, I love them both.

All I can say is hopefully they dont let this series deciline into crap lilke the other series did.

PS..

My 4 best-looking discs thus far are:
CONSTANTINE (HD-DVD)
LAND OF THE DEAD (HD-DVD)
ULTRAVIOLET (24p HD Originated/Blu-Ray)
DINOSAUR (HD Originated/Blu-Ray)

corpse bride.

i'm a huge fan of disney/pixar as well, so its kind of a bummer we won't be seeing those (at least for a while, if ever)

My fav right now is The Last Samurai just due to the landscape scenes...But the only other HD-DVD Ive had a chance to watch was Batman Begins (havent had the chance to view my Corpse Bride, Willy Wonka, or Constantine yet) and Jarhead.

While checking out, I noticed that I already had the 10% off in my account, so I just bought Batman Begins & Seabisbuit. My cousin bought an HDTV a few months ago using my account, so I'm automatically eligible for the 10% for a year.

Now ... can I really wait until Thanksgiving to buy the A1/A2?

Once you receive the disc? i vote no.

I have a feeling the next time I post a sale, you'll jump.

[QUOTE=bboisvert]Well, there is such a wide variety of titles out now (different eras, genres, etc.) that it's hard to pick a 'favorite'.

However, The Adventures of Robin Hood leaps to mind. Fantastic (classic) film, great transfer, three HD looney tunes, and more extras than you shake a stick at.
QUOTE]


How does the "three HD looney tunes" look compared to the "DVD Looney Tunes"?

Maybe.

I'm really waiting for it to drop to $300. And I don't think that's too unreasonable for Black Friday.

Dude, you so won't make it that long. If you do, my hats off to you.

I picked up Phantom of the Opera and The Last Samurai on the first day of the launch and caved in to buying a player a few days later.

Not that it's the same thing but ... I have access to both HD DVD (A1) and BD (Sammy) players at work. As well as about 20 Plasma and LCD TVs that are 42" or bigger. Again, yeah, not the same as having a player at home.