Originally Posted by Suprmallet

I don't know how on earth they could give this 4 stars and Halloween 1 star. I think Bracke completely underestimates just how gritty and worn down this film looks. It's soft as hell, especially around the edges of the frames (presumably due to the anamorphic lenses used to shoot the film), and there's no detail in shadow. Hell, there's not a lot of detail, period. Due to the optical effects used for the spaceships, they mostly look like a blob of color, with plenty of bleeding. This may be the best the film has ever looked, but that's not saying much at all. The sound mix is very limited by the original recordings, with the rears getting sporadic use. When they are used, it sounds forced and artificial.

Edit: Contrary to the opinion of the HDD review, there is nothing demo-worthy about this disc, but the scene with the mothership looks and sounds pretty good. Not demo good by any means, but cool nonetheless. I think Bracke's perception of the disc is colored by his clear love of the film, which I think is a highly overrated piece of work that shows Spielberg still learning what works and what doesn't in filmmaking and storytelling.

I'm not blaming Sony here, it's just that this movie really was never going to get much benefit from HD, not without completely changing the way it looks. The packaging is quite lavish, but I wouldn't pay $50 for this.

Originally Posted by applesandrice

Kinda like the differences between reviewers takes on Spider-Man's PQ. As I recall, dvdfile rated PQ on "The Last Starfighter" really high, too, while you and Bracke both gave it just 2 stars.

I suggest that the only way to properly settle this is through a cage match of some sort . . .