TomOpus

Strange thing happened when I was at a 3D movie a week ago. They were showing the 3D trailers: "Put on your 3D glasses now." Top Gun and Jurassic Park were two of those trailers. Top Gun was NOT in 3D, which seemed odd since it's purpose was to get people interested in seeing it in 3D. I was disappointed since I was curious as to how it looked. Up on the IMAX screen it looked pretty grainy though.

Bluelitespecial

I just got back from the show. I must say very cool seeing it on the big screen, but it did have some flaws. First the good, the theater cranked up the volume really good, almost deafening. The 3D conversion help greatly with all of the flying, it gave it more of an added depth to the film. All of the arieal stuff was great on imax, but blown up the grain felt very distracting. I didnt like the remastered look of the film, it felt like it was just lightened. The opening scene with Cougar felt like it went from night time to daylight because of the new transfer. I actually like the original bluray transfer better. Overall it was a great time, even for the Top Gun haters here it would be worth seeing.

TomOpus

Bluelitespecial, not sure if you knew this but the "Great Balls of Fire" bar scene with the piano was filmed in San Diego at a place called Kansas City Barbeque.

Gonna see this Saturday morning.

Bluelitespecial

^^Yes I am aware of Kansas City Barbeque, I saw the clips of the place burning down on youtube. I would love to see San Diego someday, and visit the place.

TomOpus

I lived in San Diego for 20 years and love movie stuff so I had been there a few times prior to the fire. While it was closed during the remodel the owner flew staff to KC to get a feel for authentic bbq. I never made it back to see how it was compared to out here. I heard it's disappointing. But it's interesting to check it out if you're a fan of the movie.

Why So Blu?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vyN8VN4BSzM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Giles

is the IMAX 3D version recomposed to 1.78 or is it 2.35 "letterboxed" ?

Bluelitespecial

^^No, its still the same OAR.

Matthew Chmiel

I know Legend 3D talked about how the film was restored and scanned at 6K prior to the post-conversion, but I call bullshit. It honestly looked like the same source that was used for the current Blu-ray that was then smeared with DNR. Really poor image quality, but more importantly, a really piss-poor 3D post-conversion. For the entire two-hour running time, there was no scene that effectively used 3D.

My friends and I both commented that the volleyball scene was the film's best use of 3D.

However, it sounded amazing. By far, one of the loudest IMAX experiences I've ever heard.

Giles

even though it's a Tony Scott movie, you can tell it's a Jerry Bruckheimer production - the imagery is too fast to convey any dimensionality.

Matthew Chmiel

I would've taken a post-conversion that made everything look like a diorama. Legend 3D and Paramount couldn't have even bothered with that. There's simply no 3D at all.

TomOpus

Yes, the standout aspect of the presentation was the sound. Very nicely done.

The visual left a lot to be desired. First were several scenes of horrible grain. Most other scenes were fine. A few looked really good.

The 3D was also disappointing. I won't say it wasn't evident during the movie but it lacked depth. A few scenes used 3D well, most noticeable when the camera pushes toward Maverick as he sits in the cockpit. There's good depth with the front of the canopy in the foreground, Mav center and the back of the cockpit in the rear. But it shouldn't have been limited to a few scenes.

At least I got a cool mini-poster... lol

Bluelitespecial

Happy 30th anniversary to Top Gun, it opened on May 16th, 1986. Cinemark is showing the remastered version on May 22nd and 25th next week as part of their classic series. Might go watch it next Wednesday.
http://www.digitalbits.com/columns/h...g-top-gun-30th
http://www.cinemark.com/top-gun.aspx

TomOpus

Cool. Cinemark is probably the least expensive major theater out here too. $4.50 until 6pm.

Bluelitespecial

Showings are at 2pm on May 22nd, then 2pm and 7pm on May 25th at the Cinemark Merriam(Kansas). It says its the remastered version, I would like to see it since it wont be in 3d.

TomOpus

Phooey. It's only being shown in Kansas. I was hoping it would show over here. Oh well.

As a sidenote, the scene where they're all together singing Great Balls O Fire was filmed at a restaurant in San Diego called Kansas City Barbecue. It was also the location of the San Diego Otter meet.