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pixelthis
03-22-2011, 11:36 AM
When Movie Gallery cratered I got the "final cut" of Blade Runner on Blu for four bucks.
BEST money I have ever spent. Finally watched it SUN night.
TALK about a "reference disc"! What they have done with this classic is nothing short of amazing. Didn't think a movie could look and sound this great, especially one almost thirty years old.
This is a must have for any serious movie collector. Get this, crank the system, and
have a story for the police.:1:

Woochifer
03-22-2011, 08:17 PM
Yup, easily one of the best Blu-ray titles out there. It was the first Blu-ray I bought -- spent $30 on the five-disc set, but it's well worth it, considering that it includes all four theatrical versions of the movie, plus the rare workprint edit (which I saw back in 1991, when it went into very limited release -- the first time that Blade Runner was ever publicly screened without the narration and the happy ending).

Showcases what the format is capable of, and does it the right way. Warner did an expensive frame-by-frame restoration, and did not excessively scrub the image with noise reduction. The detail that they retained preserves the organic look from what I saw during 70mm film screenings of Blade Runner.

Blade Runner shows how everyone how to do it, but not everybody has followed Warner's lead. All too often, Blu-ray releases excessively filter out the film grain, which makes it look like bad digital projection. If it was originally shot on film and the cinematographer opted for a grainy look, that should be preserved.

atomicAdam
03-22-2011, 08:28 PM
Fantastic movie - unfortunately I don't have a bluray or tv.

Pix next time I'm in your neck of the woods, wait do I really want to be there?, I'll bring over some tube amps and we can watch it together!

SlumpBuster
03-23-2011, 06:28 AM
I never really liked Blade Runner, in large part because it was impossible to watch on VHS. I gave up on it twenty years ago. It was so dark on my cheap TV and VCR that there were entire scenes that I couldn't even tell what was going on. I may have to give it another try.

So far my BD benchmark has been the new Beauty and the Beast release. It is stunning. That disk also had the 1080p DTS trailer for Tangled that looks and sounds just outrageous. (I have kids, so this is what I watch :D)

winston
03-23-2011, 06:58 AM
I'ave watched it once its been too long to remember "but I'll take Pix & Wooch recommendation on the new "final cut Blu-ray version" I should be able to find it at a good price, then I'll see what my (jamo's) can do with it

pixelthis
03-23-2011, 12:31 PM
Fantastic movie - unfortunately I don't have a bluray or tv.

Pix next time I'm in your neck of the woods, wait do I really want to be there?, I'll bring over some tube amps and we can watch it together!

COME on over, but leave the tubes at the house, my gear is up to date.
Only "tube" I have has toothpaste in it.:1:

pixelthis
03-23-2011, 12:39 PM
I never really liked Blade Runner, in large part because it was impossible to watch on VHS. I gave up on it twenty years ago. It was so dark on my cheap TV and VCR that there were entire scenes that I couldn't even tell what was going on. I may have to give it another try.

So far my BD benchmark has been the new Beauty and the Beast release. It is stunning. That disk also had the 1080p DTS trailer for Tangled that looks and sounds just outrageous. (I have kids, so this is what I watch :D)

ANYTHING is impossible to watch on VHS.
One of the things about the BLU edition is the grain spoken about. This is especially
true in several scenes with the detail on FORD'S jacket. Amazing, really.
AND NOT SLAMMING your choice of benchmark, but it should be something
challenging, MOST animation is really incredible in HD, especially Blu, which
has the only 1080p source on the planet, save a few sat choices.
Kinda hard for animation to look bad with the right display.:1:

recoveryone
03-23-2011, 01:43 PM
A very classic Scfi flick the VHS Director cut I have has looked great over the years, I'm sure the Blu would be an eye opener

Woochifer
03-23-2011, 01:54 PM
I never really liked Blade Runner, in large part because it was impossible to watch on VHS. I gave up on it twenty years ago. It was so dark on my cheap TV and VCR that there were entire scenes that I couldn't even tell what was going on. I may have to give it another try.

A very classic Scfi flick the VHS Director cut I have has looked great over the years, I'm sure the Blu would be an eye opener

The VHS version doesn't even come close. I'm definitely biased because I've seen 70mm presentations of Blade Runner on the big screen multiple times over the years. To me, that's how the movie is supposed to look. And the Blade Runner Blu-ray presentation comes frighteningly close to capturing all of the organic looking detail and nuance that I saw on those 70mm film prints.


So far my BD benchmark has been the new Beauty and the Beast release. It is stunning. That disk also had the 1080p DTS trailer for Tangled that looks and sounds just outrageous. (I have kids, so this is what I watch )

Yep, I got a kid as well, so that goes for both of us! Fortunately, the Disney animated BD releases are absolutely stellar in their picture and audio quality. The picture quality on The Princess and the Frog is about as good as it gets, and you could say the same for any of Disney's Pixar releases as well.

I thought Beauty and the Beast had a few flaws (http://forums.audioreview.com/showpost.php?p=344173&postcount=14), but still a top notch transfer. For that title and Disney's other classic animated releases, the Blu-ray will show any imperfections or inconsistencies in the original artwork and transfers. So, they're just doing the best with what they have.

pixelthis
03-25-2011, 11:07 AM
The VHS version doesn't even come close. I'm definitely biased because I've seen 70mm presentations of Blade Runner on the big screen multiple times over the years. To me, that's how the movie is supposed to look. And the Blade Runner Blu-ray presentation comes frighteningly close to capturing all of the organic looking detail and nuance that I saw on those 70mm film prints.



Yep, I got a kid as well, so that goes for both of us! Fortunately, the Disney animated BD releases are absolutely stellar in their picture and audio quality. The picture quality on The Princess and the Frog is about as good as it gets, and you could say the same for any of Disney's Pixar releases as well.

I thought Beauty and the Beast had a few flaws (http://forums.audioreview.com/showpost.php?p=344173&postcount=14), but still a top notch transfer. For that title and Disney's other classic animated releases, the Blu-ray will show any imperfections or inconsistencies in the original artwork and transfers. So, they're just doing the best with what they have.

I THOUGHT that all of their stuff(or at least the most important) was digitally remastered
before HD release.:1:

Woochifer
03-25-2011, 12:03 PM
I THOUGHT that all of their stuff(or at least the most important) was digitally remastered
before HD release.:1:

HD simply reveals flaws and imperfections that were obscured by DVD and VHS' lower resolution. Those flaws do nothing more than reflect the handmade craft of traditional animation. But, that's a trivial trade-off compared to all the other eye-popping details that the new HD transfers reveal.

Disney's remastering process redoes the transfer using newer higher resolution scanners, and does some additional color grading to get the images closer to the original paintings (or the original intent of the animators). Plenty of video masters that were good enough for DVD, do not hold up well for Blu-ray. Even if they are in HD resolution, the scanning and compression technology are far more advanced now than 10 years ago.

Just compare the Blu-ray for Star Trek II with III and IV (http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=30904). Trek II had a full restoration done along with a new HD master, while III and IV reused the same HD master produced for the original DVD releases. There's also the controversial Blu-ray release for Gladiator (http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=34746), which reused the HD transfer from 2001. Enthusiasts went ballistic when they compared this with the European release that used a brand new transfer. Both transfers were technically "HD" masters, but the picture quality was way different.

Very often, the HD masters produced for DVD transfers used a lot of noise reduction that blurred out the film grain and fine details. That was okay and necessary for DVDs because 1) the DVD's lower resolution would not show those fine details anyway; and 2) obscuring the film grain also reduces the potential for macroblocking and mosquito noise pixelation. But, with Blu-ray, you now have a format that can nearly replicate the complete look from a film print. The master source no longer needs to reduce the detail or blur out the film grain, because Blu-ray can capture all of that without compression artifacts or macroblocking showing up.

Tarheel_
03-27-2011, 08:29 AM
I never really liked Blade Runner, in large part because it was impossible to watch on VHS. I gave up on it twenty years ago. It was so dark on my cheap TV and VCR that there were entire scenes that I couldn't even tell what was going on. I may have to give it another try.

So far my BD benchmark has been the new Beauty and the Beast release. It is stunning. That disk also had the 1080p DTS trailer for Tangled that looks and sounds just outrageous. (I have kids, so this is what I watch :D)

I 2nd the BandB blu...incredible pic and sound. I'd list "Behind Enemy Lines" up there as the best blu ray movie i've seen. The audio is loud, clear and the dynamics are off the chart. This is my demo disc for blu...easily the best i have.

pixelthis
03-28-2011, 01:19 AM
one of the reasons I LOVE THIS RELEASE OF blade Runner is that the movie
survives the "curtain" of low res being ripped away. I remember the first time I saw
Wizard of OZ in high res, you could see the good witches clear plastic bubble.
And yes, that cut of TREK II was really great, I have it.
ANY real fan of the BLADE RUNNER MOVIE , btw, should check out the volkswagen
that was converted to one of the aircars. Its parked at MGM studios in Orlando,
amazing what a piece of junk it is, really.:1: