Inhumans99

It took a bit longer than I expected (weather issues, my order being one of the last to be processed when they finally started receiving titles after the weather issues cleared up), and I even sent them a couple of emails, but I feel like I won the lottery after opening my package today...signed Fright Night, along with the five other titles I ordered to qualify for the signed film.

I do not even care that three of the tiles are now on sale...the signed Fright Night more than makes up for the extra $$$s I paid for those films.

eedoon

I found out about this when I already got the Blu-ray. It's like watching the movie on a DVD. Color and picture quality seems to be fine, but it looks like that they mastered the movie in 480p instead of 1080p, I can make out the pixels even from a distance. Fortunately the whole movie is shot in a relatively soft focus.

PhantomStranger

I can't say if this happened with Heaven & Earth, but there are rumors some studios will force you to sign the licensing agreement before they will let you see the current master/transfer.

Supposedly this happened to Shout Factory a couple of times.

LorenzoL

Any other titles that have questionable transfer that are on sale? Thanks!

rocket1312

I think Twilight Time only did Heaven and Earth because Oliver Stone personally requested they put out the title. I'm sure the master used was the only one available and no one was going to put up the cash to have it redone.

slop101

WooHOO! Richard III is finally available to pre-order. Been waiting on this bastard for a while.

Josh Z

I'm pretty sure it was originally a 1080i master that was badly deinterlaced. It has more detail than 480p, but the terrible jaggies along object edges give it that harsh pixelated look. Several early Blu-rays from Warner Bros. (Lethal Weapon 1 & 2, Enter the Dragon, etc.) had this problem.

Regardless, it's awful.

I see a certain prominent Blu-ray site giving this disc a very high rating for video. That says everything you need to know about that site.

Josh Z

If Titus is part of the sale, avoid that one.

Adam Tyner

The reviewer in question used to write for DVD Talk too. I like Jeffrey, but technical video critiques are not his strong suit. I mean...

(To be fair, I've missed the ball my fair share of times, particularly the LVR scanning issues with some of Blue Underground BDs. I have no idea what my eyes were seeing at the time, but I thought Django looked phenomenal once upon a time.)

I think it's fair to say that the overwhelming majority of people who write DVD and Blu-ray reviews have little-to-no-idea what they're talking about.

PatD

I recommended to Twilight Time to put out Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and Matinee (with John Goodman). They said they'd pass it along, but they said more likely they will be put out by their respective studios. (Um, when?)

Neil M.

I could see both of those titles being released by Scream Factory.

PatD

That would be sweet. Wonder if that'll happen. It seemed weird to release B&T 1 and not 2 on Blu ray.

Adam Tyner

...especially since Shout/Scream has licensed a bunch of titles from those studios (MGM for Bogus, Universal for Matinee). I absolutely agree that those both seem like very Shout Factory-friendly selections.

PhantomStranger

Even professionals in the industry are getting it wrong these days. Robert Harris gave a baffling response when someone confronted him over the crushed black level issues on Four Weddings and a Funeral, a Sony BD he gave a glowing review. He willfully ignored the problem when it was brought to his attention.

What's a shame is that reviewing has gotten more difficult now that Hollywood doesn't view physical home video as a growth market anymore. While the technology has gotten better than ever, most studios are doing the bare minimum to release their movies.

Josh Z

I believe the controversy in question was about My Best Friend's Wedding, not Four Weddings and a Funeral.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topi...blu-ray/page-2

rw2516

Twilight Time only does MGM/UA, Fox and Columbia titles. As someone stated Matinee is Universal.
I also believe, could be wrong, all titles were licensed at the get go. They are not repeatedly going back and licensing more titles, exception being the re-licensing of a few that sold out.
My predictions of what's coming:

Fox
The lost World(1960)
One Million Years B.C.
Fly II
Alien Nation
Emperor of the North
Bandolero!
100 Rifles
Warlock(the western)
Modesty Blaise
Caprice
Fathom
and just maybe..Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid with new transfer

Columbia
Marooned(1969)
Cat Ballou
MacKenna's Gold
Devil at 4 O'clock
They Came to Cordura
Breakout(Charles Bronson)
??Matt Helm?? Only if they have all 4 and release them all same time. If not them, Millcreek
MGM/UA
hard to say with Kino and Olive both releasing them in droves. Safe to say no AIP, Cannon or Orion. Probably post 1981 stuff.

zyzzle

Huge agreement there! Right on. I think most of the confusion is either

1. willful (ie, a "grass is always greener" issue, or "It's been released on Blu-ray, so it *has* to look better than the DVD." = self-fullfilling fantasies.

2. Reviewers having blinders over their eyes, or being actively paid off by the companies to 'soften' their reviews.

3. Huge variation in reviewers' equipment and / or the calibration of their viewing systems.

Mix 1, 2, and 3 together, and the reliability of BD reviews on the net is close to nil.

There's no go-to source of a reliable, honest (=harsh if necessary) review of a new disc to peruse before purchase. So, I've been burned far too many times, and I've become very cynical and jaded in regards to purchasing these days.

Adam Tyner

I think there are also a bunch of people who know the lingo but don't have the first idea how to apply it properly. Either they don't know and are bullshitting, or they think they know but...well, don't.

hanshotfirst1138

That's why we read yours .

bruceames

Don't be ridiculous. Heaven & Earth Blu-ray doesn't look that bad at all. Most sites gave it 4 stars for video, including this one. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this at the sale price.

eedoon

But actually it really is looks that bad. Even my significant other who knows nothing about technical picture quality made comment about why the picture looks pixellated. Its very unusual for a Blu-ray release.

bruceames

Come on now. If it were really "that bad" (comments like "should never have been released in that condition" or "just awful"), then all the major review sites would not have given it a 4 star video score.

I know it's been popular among some random internet posters to bash consensus opinion of reviewers whenever it doesn't fit their agenda, but really I would trust their (consensus) opinion any day over the random internet posters.

This movie is no different then the others that were released by Warner several years ago, like The Fugitive and Enter the Dragon. Yes it's 1080i and has jaggies, and it will bother some people if they sit too close. But Warner is not going to remaster this and getting it like this on Blu-ray is MUCH better than not getting it at all. It still looks pretty sharp.

Neil M.

I'm not suggesting this is a fact but I get the feeling that a lot of reviewers look at old dvd reviews and base their ratings on that instead of judging it based on the standard that the blu-ray format has established. For example, the Heaven & Earth dvd got pretty good reviews for it's video. It would look strange if the blu-ray got a lower score, yet the reviewer suggests that it's video is better than the dvd. I think some reviewers might not want to have to defend themselves so they give it the same score or higher.

Adam Tyner

To be fair, though:

It's hard for me to reconcile those statements. If the consensus is that it's a 4 star release, either (1) the standards are so dismally low that a 15 year old, 1080i, heavily aliased transfer deserves 4 out of 5 stars, meaning that four stars ultimately signify nothing, or (2) the consensus is wrong.

slop101

Anyone pre-ordering Zardoz? I've seen it once, and while I found it to be ridiculous, I wouldn't mind seeing it again. Wonder if the blu-ray will look good? Because of the movie, I would want it to look like a worn out VHS tape.