The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

September 7th:

Forbidden Planet
Lost in Space
Mars Attacks!
THX 1138: Director's Cut

_________________
Jaws3dfan®
Follow me on Twitter

Which Lost In Space?

_________________
The wages of sin are royalties.

1998

_________________
Jaws3dfan®
Follow me on Twitter

In regards to older films...

As cool as that is I just can't help but wonder what exactly a blu-ray release will accomplish. Blu-ray always seemed like something made for digital media rather than old school film stock. I mean just what will a blu-ray remaster do that regular DVD hasn't already done with older films like FP? And moreso, will any flaws that are evident be even more glaring in this format?

_________________

Mecha, I've been wondering the same thing. Most of the films I watch are older, and I love the look of film. These older films looked great on my big screen projection TV, but now that it's dead, I'm looking at replacing it with an LCD flatscreen.

I hope I get close to the same effect with the newer technology. Not really sure I want to move to bluray. When my DVD player goes belly-up I'll probably buy a player, since they also play CD and DVD, and I'd probably rent some films on bluray, but I don't see the point in re-buying films I have on DVD if I like the look of the DVD.

I'd be interested to read opinions of those who have seen these older films on bluray.

Actually, with a well-mastered Blu-ray (no excessive noise reduction or edge enhancement) you'll find a picture that is much more film-like than you can receive from a plain DVD.

The new Warner releases of Gone with the Wind and Wizard of Oz look great and have all the grain structure, color range and contrast of a great film print... not what we are used to seeing in local multiplexes.

I have a large HD projection system in my home and am very familiar with the look of film (having projected and/or rejuvenated for several years) and Blu-ray can be far superior to DVD.

There are some poorly done Blu-rays out there (Patton, Near Dark, etc); but those are flaws in the mastering process of those particular films, not a fault of the format itself.

I have a couple good examples:

I got CUJO on Blu-Ray for Christmas and let me tell you I have see CUJO many times on HBO, VHS and DVD and the dog looks 20 times uglier in 1080i

Also I bought Friday the 13th (1980) on Blu-Ray and the picture is so clear that you can tell that Alice cheated while playing Monopoly because you can see the numbers one the dice

_________________
Jaws3dfan®
Follow me on Twitter

35mm film stock has an incredible amount of picture resolution. While it's true that modern film stocks have a tighter grain structure than older ones, you'd be surprised at how much detail can be pulled out of a well-preserved reel of film, regardless of age. Even a 1080p Blu-Ray can't show you all of the detail in a frame of 35mm film.

_________________
Jaws3dfan®
Follow me on Twitter

I was *stunned* when I watched "Sleeping Beauty" in Blu-Ray on a HD TV. If every classic film was restored with that level of care and detail, then I would be more than happy to switch my entire collection to BR.

I had the same experience with Blade Runner on Bluray. I thought, "how much better could it really be?" and I was amazed at how much better it really was.

_________________
Remember ... no matter where you go, there you are.