Question guys...someone said in another message board/forum that we won't be seeing a Spielberg movie on HD-DVD because, I guess, Spielberg doesn't jump onto new formats quickly.

First off...does he even have any say in what movie of his gets released on what format? And has anyone heard if this is true? I would love to see Jurassic Park in high def.

I havent seen the movie on HD yet but those scenes shot in Canyonlands and Arches National Park in Utah were stunning in SD. I have been waiting to see those shots in HD for a long time and Ihave no doubt that they will stand right up to some of the highest clarity scenes shot on HD so far. They are perfect showoff shots for the HD formats. I actually forgot this was being released this week. Have been busy with some photo jobs and have just been out of the HD game the last few weeks. Time to get caught up again :-)

PS..

Spielberg also acts as Producer on most of his own films, and he pulls quite a lot of weight in Hollywood. If he asked Universal not to release Jurassic Park until there's a higher market penetration for the format (as he did with the DVD release), they'd comply.

^^Oh I see...but I don't understand the advantage or reasoning behind it? Is it because releasing, say, Jurassic Park right now won't sell as many copies as it would 2 years from now when more people have HD-DVD players? Is it just all about money in his wallet, or is it something else?

I think it is just money.

Speculation follows:

It could be different with a format war going on, though. If Universal wants to release something BIG like this to help promote HD DVD, they could release an essentially bare bones version now. That way, when market penetration hits the desired level, they could release the better version with all the extras (maybe even HD extras?).

I think that's what they did with King Kong. We know there will be the extended version coming to HD DVD eventually (probably a 2-disc set with loads of extras).

I don't know how much pull Spielberg has in all this, but the situation is different this time. When DVD came out, there was really no format war to speak of (not counting DIVX) so it was a lot easier to wait for market penetration. I would have to assume Universal really wants to promote HD DVD since they're the only exclusive studio.

On the other hand, Univeral knows which format is selling right now. If they aren't worried at all about Blu-ray, they might not see the urgency to release these kind of ultra-high-profile titles.

Who knows what shape these masters are in? It could be that they need to remaster some of them for a top quality HD release. If that is true, they may need the higher market penetration to justify the production cost of even a bare bones release...

Here's another vote for 'The Hulk'!

I (for one) LOVE that movie and I'm not ashamed to say it in public.

It's like a TECHNICOLOR SHOTGUN BLAST IN THE HEAD!!!

-THEEK!

the hulk isn't bad.
i've never seen the movie before.
i started watching yesterday, and i'm somewhat impressed.
however, WTC was a more realistic beautiful.
and that's what i would rather go for.

In regards to WTC, I thought the movie was OK, however, the transfer is phenomenal. Sharp as can be in the dark scenes (as long as your monitor can display black details) and during the well-lit scenes too. Anyone watching this can tell instantly it's a high-def movie.

World Trade Center
Batman Begins
King Kong

(Those are the only ones I've watched.)

When I first read your comment about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire HD DVD I assumed that the extra cost was due to international shipping. But £26.99 (=US$52.65) plus international shipping? Yikes! I don't understand why prices are so high at Amazon.co.uk versus prices here (how much of that is refundable VAT?). They sure seem to be getting the shaft over there:

Batman Begins £25.99
V for Vendetta £18.99
King Kong £20.99
Superman Returns £20.99
Superman: the Movie £19.49
Serenity £20.99

It must be very expensive to be an early adopter in the UK.

However, I'm glad to hear that the PQ and AQ for the HD DVD of Harry Potter 4 are so good!

I only have 3 titles so I don't have much to judge...

King Kong looks great of course.


Excalibur looks awesome! I was really surprised, it looks like a 'new' movie.

Goodfellas looked pretty impressive at times, but I wasn't as impressed as I was with Excalibur.

Who said anything about Amazon.uk?
I got mine here . $36.95 plus $5 for priority shipping. The more titles you order, the better deal that $5 shipping charge becomes.

King Kong - looks great but going to sell my copy.
MI: 3 - Some fuzzy parts, but overall it has that pop.
Corpse Bride - Probably the best one but animated movies don't impress me as much as live action.
Last Samurai - Scenery is wonderful, way better transfer than sd
Batman Begins - Not much difference to DVD.

Is that a comment to the DVD counterpart or a negative remark towards the HD DVD?

It depends on your point of view, is the glass half full or half empty? Batman Begins didn't have that pop like the other titles I mentioned. It's clearer but is it worth the upgrage? No.

And don't forget Jennifer Connelly in HD.

This is a minority opinion. Batman Begins is a demo worthy HD transfer. Just check out any review on the net and the comments on this board. It's got plenty of pop, and considering it's such a dark movie, the transfer doesn't lose any detail. I noticed the difference immediately when I viewed the movie in HD for the first time.

I've never gotten the "Batman Begins is excessively soft!" opinion that's constantly being spouted off at AVS either.

I'm very new to the HD game, but I've seen King Kong/Batman and was absolutely blown away...

Personally, Pitch Black was incredible in HD in my opinion. The lighting from the different suns, the alien things , I don't know. I really liked that movie for some reason, and in HD it was even better.

That's a bit more reasonable. Thanks!

While Harry Potter 4 will surely get a US release in the near future, I am going to hope that some of my favorites that are controlled by BD only studios, will get foreign releases on HD DVD.

Dark Water is available on Blu-ray. It's a much more tolerable movie than Hulk.

I didn't care for either movie, but I think that the Hulk is much more HD-friendly if only for the CG Hulk scenes.

We just yesterday bought (among other discs), and last night watched that, 'Chicago / Earth, Wind & Fire Live at the Greek Theatre' HD DVD disc, and with regards to Superior Talent, Clarity, and overall disc Quality, it blew my mind and knocked my teeth clean out my mouth! &

-THEEK!

Not nearly enough people give this transfer the credit it deserves. Pitch Black is hands down one of the best pictures on HD-DVD yet. The scenes with the blue sun present are staggering. Its in my top 5 hands down.

I would say these 5 in no particular order

King Kong
Pitch Black
Ant Bully
Batman Begins (Because it was such a dark film & was still incredible)
V For Vendetta

I could easily go on and on and easily replace a few of those with a couple others. Its very hard picking the 5 best pictures in HD-DVD as there are so many now that are pretty staggering compared to SD. If this topic wasnt refering to the clarity factor I would easily have Sleepy Hollow in there for best transfers.


PS...

Digest has their review up. Looks like you're assessment is on the money.