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kal
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kal
Forum Administrator
Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 18114
Location: Ottawa, Canada
TV/Projector: JVC DLA-NZ7
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 4:50 pm Post subject: |
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Gladiator Blu-ray Details
Director Ridley Scott’s triumphant Gladiator is an unparalleled combination of vivid action and extraordinary storytelling that earned five Oscars® including Best Picture and is also on Amazon.com’s top 10 list of most anticipated Blu-ray titles. The Blu-ray presentation will include both the original theatrical version of the film as well as the extended version in 1080p High Definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, as well as English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Korean subtitles. The two-disc set also will feature over four hours of bonus material including, but not limited to, the following:
• Audio Commentary—Two separate commentaries accompany the original theatrical version and extended version of the film.
• The Scrolls of Knowledge—The original trivia track has been newly enhanced with focus points allowing viewers to access a series of new behind-the-scenes featurettes exploring key scenes and how they relate to the historical accuracy depicted in the film. The extended version of the film also includes a deleted scene marker.
• Visions From Elysium: Topic Marker—Viewers can tag moments of interest throughout either version of the film, allowing them to create “shopping lists” of topics to learn more about. Thanks to the Blu-ray player’s memory, the topics will automatically be loaded when Disc 2 is inserted, giving viewers immediate access to featurettes and galleries of interest.
• Strength And Honor: Creating The World of Gladiator—The definitive documentary on the origin, production and impact of the Oscar®-winning classic. The documentary includes an all-new Enhanced Viewing Mode allowing viewers access to additional interviews and behind-the-scenes material.
• The Making of Gladiator—HBO First Look special.
• Gladiator Games: The Roman Bloodsport—Learning Channel special.
• Hans Zimmer: Scoring Gladiator—An exploration of the rousing soundtrack.
• My Gladiator Journal—Personal diary of the young actor who played Lucius.
• Image & Design—Featurettes and galleries covering the production design, storyboards, costumes and more.
• Abandoned Sequences & Deleted Scenes
• VFX Explorations: Germania & Rome—Shot deconstruction with the visual effects artists.
To order see: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000NU2CY4/ref=nosim/curtpalmecrtp-20
Kal
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overclkr
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 4227
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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Please tell me this will be 2:35/40 aspect........... 
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kal
Forum Administrator
Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 18114
Location: Ottawa, Canada
TV/Projector: JVC DLA-NZ7
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| Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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A heads up on Gladiator on Blu-ray as it ships today (Sept 1):
It would seem that the studio has botched the transfer on this one. If you follow discussions around the 'net you'll read that the few new extended scenes look absolutely great but that the rest of the movie (99% of it) is not anywhere up to the standards that most people would expect. It's a overly soft picture (too much digital noise reduction applied) and has some edge enhancement.
If you already bought it then there'll hopefully be a recall/exchange by the studio. If you bought from Amazon.com through the links above simply refuse the shipment and it'll go back for free and you'll be refunded everything including shipping. I wrote Amazon.com to ask them how I can refuse shipment since I'm in Canada and stuff just gets put in my mail box. They told me I couldn't and that shipping back would be too expensive so they simply refunded me everything and told me to keep the disc when I arrives or donate it to library or school or something. Talk about great customer support!
Also out today is Braveheart: From all I've read this one looks fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
Here's a quote on the issue from thedigitalbits.com:
| Quote: | Upon first glance, and as expected, the HD presentation quality of Gladiator isn't as bad as some online would have you believe. Color and contrast is fine at all times. The problem is with the level of detail. The vast majority of the film has a slightly digital-looking quality to it, and there's clear edge-enhancement "haloing" visible. The extended edition scenes, however, look fine - no halos, no digital patina - they're very natural looking. If the whole film looked like the extended scenes, we wouldn't be having this conversation. What it looks like to me (though it's impossible to be sure, obviously), is that someone at Universal (keep in mind, it's Universal that controls the Gladiator assets for DreamWorks - not Paramount), decided to re-use the original digital master of the HD transfer done back in 2000 for the very first DVD release. Now, that transfer was state of the art for its day, and it was approved by director Ridley Scott, but obviously it's a far cry from the quality of new HD transfers done today, in 2009. One of the biggest problems is that until fairly recently, video mastering engineers were still applying edge-enhancement to their digital masters knowing that they were going to be used ultimately for standard-definition DVD release, and also analog VHS and laserdisc. It took the mastering community a long time to break the habit. In this Gladiator transfer, you can see it in the image. It's also clear that the 2000 digital master has been digitally-filtered to reduce the haloing and other artifacts - the signs of DNR are not hard to miss. That's in contrast to the extended edition scenes, which were transferred in HD in 2005 and so look much better. They're still not quite up to today's standards, but they look far superior to the rest of the film and there's no edge-enhancement or obvious filtering visible. The footage simply looks natural - as it should. There's been some talk of DNR being so excessive that - for example - arrows and fireballs disappear from one frame to the next. This IS an issue, but the fact is that when you watch the image in full motion it's not something you really notice. The arrow or fireball is highly visible in one frame, less so in the next, more so in the third, etc. You still detect the object in motion, so you don't go, "Oh my god, that fireball just disappeared!" The image just looks generally digital and lacking in fine detail. Overall, I would grade the A/V quality of the Gladiator Blu-ray thusly:
Gladiator
Video: 15.5 (theatrical footage)/17 (extended scenes)
Audio: 18
Let me be clear: Gladiator on Blu-ray is quite watchable - especially if you have a smaller screen. On the comparative grading scale we use for Blu-ray, the very best DVD video and audio quality would be graded a 10. So it's definitely an improvement over the previous DVD releases. The problem is, the best Blu-rays - most high-quality titles on the format these days - score in the 18-19 range. So while this disc is watchable, that's just not good enough, either for the format as a whole or for most fans and enthusiasts.
And here's the bigger problem: Gladiator streets on the same day as Braveheart, both as part of Paramount's new premium "Sapphire" series of Blu-ray releases. I doubt there are very many Blu-ray fans who would ideally, all other considerations aside, pick up one of these titles but not the other. So most Blu-ray fans are going to buy both discs, and be somewhat disappointed by Gladiator. Then they're going to pop in Braveheart. And they're going to forget all about Gladiator for a couple hours... then be doubly disappointed by it when they compare the two discs.
The video and audio quality of Braveheart on Blu-ray is... in a word... breathtaking. The colors are lush and accurate. Contrast is spot-on perfect. And the detail visible in the image is just wonderful. The quick flit of arrows, the glint of individual links of chainmail armor, the subtle textures of leather and cloth... it's all just delightful. By the time Wallace and his men ride onto the field of battle at Stirling, and you see the crumbled blues of the war paint on their faces, you will be absolutely won over by this presentation. I've simply never seen the film looking this good before. Not once, even in theatres. It's just perfectly nuanced and natural looking - absolutely first-rate for a catalog title of this relatively recent vintage. If you're a fan, it's COMPLETELY pleasing, such that you'll have a strong emotional response to the quality as you watch. And that's EXACTLY as it should be. Here's how I would grade Braveheart on Blu-ray:
Braveheart
Video: 18.5
Audio: 18.5
I MIGHT even go as high as 19 on the video end - I need to watch the disc some more. The practical upshot of all this, is that I have copies of both Gladiator and Braveheart on Blu-ray sitting in my home theater right now. Having looked at both discs... I have no desire whatsoever to watch Gladiator. But I can't WAIT to watch Braveheart, from start to finish. In fact, as soon as I finish writing this and post it on The Bits, that's EXACTLY what I'm going to do. I don't know who at Universal was responsible (for DreamWorks) for signing off on (and delivering to Paramount) the Gladiator HD master. They should be embarrassed -- though I'm WILLING to entertain the idea that this was some kind of simple oversight or mistake. I know for a fact that mistakes like this CAN and DO happen, though it's still absolutely no excuse. Braveheart, on the other hand, is just spectacular. A big hats off from me to everyone and anyone responsible (I suspect especially at Icon) for that HD master. |
More info on Braveheart here:
https://www.curtpalme.com/forum_archived/viewtopic.php@t=16509.html
Kal
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My basement/HT/bar/brewery build 2.0
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kal
Forum Administrator
Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 18114
Location: Ottawa, Canada
TV/Projector: JVC DLA-NZ7
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| Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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'Gladiator (Remastered)' Rumored for Blu-ray
Rumors are circulating that a remastered Blu-ray of 'Gladiator' may be on the way to coincide with Ridley Scott's 'Robin Hood' hitting theatres in May.
Paramount released the Blu-ray back in September as part of their Sapphire Series, in which the public expressed major disappointment with the quality of the high-definition video transfer.
Websites have been reporting that a 'Gladiator (Remastered)' edition may be in the works for a re-release on Blu-ray in May.
No word from Paramount yet if this rumor is true, but redos have happened before most recently with Disney's reissue of a remastered 'Gangs of New York.'
Stay tuned!
Kal
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