2100 replies to this topic

[yorac]

Hi all and welcome to the DTV Blu ray review thread, the idea being that we are reviewing PQ and AQ more so than the actual movie, that said there is no harm including some thoughts especially in relation to newer releases.

Please remember when reviewing to include the disc region for reference also, that said here goes,

A

Argo

The Amazing Spiderman

Airport

Avengers

American Graffiti

A Separation

The Artist

Alice in Wonderland

Airplane (Flying High)

Afro Samurai - Resurrection

Antichrist

The Adjustment Bureau

AVP Requiem

The American

A Walk in the Clouds

The Ant Bully

Animal Kingdom

Alien Resurrection

Alien 3

Aliens

Alien

The A Team

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Awake

Alchemy Live - Dire Straits

Armageddon

Avatar

Apollo 13

An Education

Amelia

Angels and Demons

Amelie

Air Force One

A`River runs through It

A Bugs Life

Apocalypto

Anaconda

American History X

Assault on Precinct 13

Australia

Austin Powers - Goldmember

Austin Powers - The Spy who Shagged me

Austen Powers - International Man of Mystery

Appaloosa

The Aviator

Alexander Revisited

Akira

American Psycho

Almost Famous

B

Brave 3D

Bolt 3D

Battleship

The Big Country

Bridesmaids

Buffy - The Vampire Slayer

The Bridge on the River Kwai

The Boys are Back

Blues Brother

Blowout

Black Lightning

Black Swan

Battle Los Angeles

Before the Devil Knows your Dead

Blood Diamond

Billy Joel:Live at Shea Stadium - The Concert

Buried

Bad Lieutenant

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Beetlejuice

Basic Instinct

Back to the Future

The Book of Eli

Bridget Jones - Edge of Reason

Brothers

Boogie Nights

Beneath Hill 60

The Bounty Hunter

Big

Battle for Terra

Butterfly Effect

Bourne Ultimatum

Bourne Supremacy

Bourne Identity

The Boys from Brazil

Braveheart

Battlestar Galactica - The Plan

Bridget Jones Diary

Blue Thunder

Blade - Dutch release

Bolt

Butterfly on a Wheel

Body of Lies

Big Trouble in Little China

Brotherhood of the Wolf

The Bank Job

Body Heat

Band of Brothers

Babylon A.D.

Batman

Batman Returns

Batman Forever

Big Fish

Black Hawk Down

Bridge to Terabithia

Batman Begins

Batman Begins Collectors Edition

Black Sheep

C

Chasing Mavericks

Cafe De Flore

Catch me if you Can

Cape Fear (remake)

City of Life and Death

Conviction

Clueless

Cowbays and Aliens

City of Life and Death

Captain America

Carlos

Crazy Stupid Love

Children of Men

Chicken Run

Chicago Earth Wind and Fire - Live at the Greek

Country Strong

Corpse Bride

Charlie St Cloud

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Cairo Time

Cube

City of War - The story of John Rabe

Crank 2 - Crank High Voltage

Carlito's Way

Clash of the Titans

Crazy Heart

Chocolate

Collateral

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Cutthroat Island

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Che - Part I

Che - Part II

Cool Hand Luke

Contact

Cass

Coraline

The Cell

Curse of the Golden Flower

Confessions of a Shopaholic

CE3K

Changeling

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Company

Crash

City of Embers

Cold Mountain

The Chronicles of Riddick - D/C

Cruel Intentions

Cinderalla Man

Chicago

Casino Royale

Catch and Release

Coyote Ugly

Crimson Tide

Chris Botti Live

Cars

CE3K

Clear and Present Danger

Crank

Cloverfield

Cliff Hanger

Celine Dion: A New Day

CJ7

The Chronicles of Narnia - Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Chronicles of Narnia - Lion, Witch, Wardrobe - Prince Caspian

D

The Dark Knight Rises

Dave

Drive

Defiance

Demolition Man

Donnie Darko

Drive Angry

Deliverance

Dead Man Walking

Despicable Me

The Departed

Dragon Hunters

The Deep Blue Sea

Days of Glory/Indigenes

Deep Impact

Dirty Dancing

Defiance

District 9

Dark Blue

Downfall

Daredevil - Directors cut

Drag me to Hell

Dead Snow

Duplicity

Dr Who - Planet of the Dead

The Devils Own

Dances with Wolves

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Dan in Real Life

Die Another Day

Death Race

Death Proof

The Day after Tomorrow

The Devil wears Prada

Die Hard

Die Hard 2 - Die Harder

Die Hard with a Vengance

Doomsday

Dark City

Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City

Deception

Dr No

Dark Knight

Don't Mess with the Zohan

The Descent


E

The Eagles - Farewell one Tour

End of Watch

Empire of the Sun

Eight Below

Evangalion 1.11

The Eagle has Landed

Elf

Enemy at the Gates

Earth - The Biography

Erin Brockovich

Escape from New York

Event Horizon

The Enforcer

Edward Scissorhands

Enchanted

Enemy of the State


F

Flight

The Fugitive

The Firm

Friends with Benefits

Fat Girl

Fast Five

Fair Game

The Fighter

Friday

Fantastic 4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer

Flags of our Fathers

Funny People

Franklyn

Fight Club

Forrest Gump Sapphire Series

Frost/Nixon

Final Fantasy - Advent Children - Complete

Fast & Furious 4 - New Model - Original Parts

Friday the 13th -Extended Killer Cut

Flight of the Phoenix

Forbidden Kingdom

Fearless

Firefly

Falling Down

Fast & Furious - Tokyo Drift

2fast 2furious

The Fast & the Furious

The Fifth Element

The Fall

The Fly - The Rock

From Russia with Love

G

Goldfinger

Grosse Point Blank

Grand Canyon Adventure River at Risk

The Green Lantern

The Good The Bad The Weird

Good Will Hunting

The Green Hornet

Grown Ups

The Ghost

Gladiator - Remastered

Green Zone

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Gamer

Godzilla

Gavan and Stacey - Series 1 - 3

Gattaca

Galaxy Quest

G.I. Joe - Rise of the Cobra

Gone Baby Gone

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Gladiator

Green Day - Bullet in a Bible

Generation Kill

The Goonies

Ghostbusters

Genghis Khan: To the ends of the Earth and the Sae

Ghosts of Mars

Golden Compass

Godfather Part 1

The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Part III

H

High Fidelity

The Hunger Games

High Road to China

Hook

Hanna

Happy Gilmore

Hiddem

Hereafter

Hitch

The Hills have Eyes

How to Train your Dragon

Heartbreaker - L'arnacoeur

The Host

Hellraiser

Hot Tub Time Machine

The Hurt Locker

Hero

Highlander

Howards End

The Hangover

How the West was Won

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Hot Fuzz

Heat

Heroes Season 2

Henry Poole was here

A History of Violence

Heathers

Hidalgo

The Hulk (2008)

How to lose friends and Alienate People

House of Flying Daggers

Hellboy II

The Hunt for Red October

Hancock

Horton hears a Who

I

I Robot 3D

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Iron Lady

In Time

Incendies

Imax Deep Sea 3D

Ichi

The Incredibles

Inception

Iron Man 2

Invictus (Taiwan release)

In the Loop

IP Man 2

IP Man

Inglourious Basterds

Ice Age II

Ice Age

The International

Immortal

Inkheart

Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Interview with the Vampire

In Bruges

The Island

The Illusionist - Italian Release

The Invisible

I,Robot

Independence Day

I am Legend

In the Line of Fire

Iron Man

J

Jaws

JFK

John Carter

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D

Jurassic Park Trilogy

Jane Eyre

Jumanji

Judge Dredd

Just Friends

Julie and Julia

Juno

Jack Johnson in Concert

Jerry Maguire

Jewel of the Nile

Jane Austen's Book Club

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Jewel: The Essential Songbook

John Mayer: Where the Light is

Jumper

K

King of New York

Kingdom of Heaven

Knight and Day

Killers

Kick Ass

The Karate Kid

K19 - The Widowmaker

The Killers - Live from Albert Hall

Keane Live

Knowing

Kung fu Panda

King Kong (better audio)

The King of New York

King Arthur Directors Cut

Kill Bill 1 and 2

L

Lawrence of Arabia

Legends of the Fall

Legends of the Guardian 3D

The Lion King - French release

Limitless

Legally Blonde

The Loved Ones

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Extended Editions

Lost Bladesman

The Last Starfighter

Lord of War

Le Cercle Rouge

Lethal Weapon 4

Lethal Weapon 3

Lethal Weapon/Lethal Weapon 2

The Last of the Mohicans

Life - BBC

The Lovely Bones

Law Abiding Citizen

The Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring *TE

The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers *TE

The Lord of the Rings - Return of the King *TE

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Layer Cake

La Vie En Rose

Love Actually

Lost in Space

Lakeview Terrace

Linkin Park Road to Revolution

Leaving Las Vegas

The Librarian

Let the right one In

The Last Emperor (Criterion)

LA Confidential

The Last Samurai

Life of Brian

Legends of Jazz with Ramsay Lewis

Lust, Caution

Legends Live at Montreaux

Leon the Professional

Edited by yorac, 09 April 2013 - 04:12 PM.

[dazbug]

One line reviews are that exciting to read.  just a thought.

[MarkH]

hey yorac,
I put the idea forward to the mods months ago and despite interest from forum members, a request to have a subforum dedicated to reviews was ignored. Shame, as having reviews in one location would certainly makeit easier for people to comment, read up on, or get important info on a title. Some of my reviews which I created as backup evidence for the mods to create a separate subforum:-

http://www.dtvforum....topic=56222&hl=
http://www.dtvforum....topic=56275&hl=

In fact, it stemmed from a thread you created many moons ago yorac!
http://www.dtvforum....showtopic=56153

[Kazz]

Would be a good idea.

Hopefully the mods will pick up on it.  

[Ken Tripp]

yorac, on Jun 3 2008, 10:11 PM, said:

Hi guys just wanted to see if their is any interest in having our own disc reviews here rather than having to search via other web sites, the idea being that we are reviewing PQ and AQ more so than the actual movie, that said there is no harm including some thoughts especially in relation to newer releases.

Another source of reviews is always good and not dismissing the idea in any way, but...

http://bluray.highde...om/reviews.html

and

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/

and (if you've paid the money)

http://www.widescreenreview.com/

all do a very good job of reviewing disks in detail including rating and commenting on the Video and Audio quality.

[yorac]

dazbug, on Jun 4 2008, 12:22 AM, said:

One line reviews are that exciting to read.  just a thought.

Thanks for the reply Daz, what I am trying to suggest/create here is a convenient stop whereby you can see what PQ and SQ are like very quickly, if you then want further info you can go to the sites which gives a full review, one thing I hate is for instance going to DVD town and having to scroll to the second page to get ratings.

Will post some thoughts on Chronicles of Narnia later today....

[AK Anthony]

thanks for the thoughts yorac re. 'i, robot'

As you and maybe some others might be aware, i'm all for the idea and have even done a handful of reviews already for my blog (with many more in the draft column). Albeit they tend to be long ones that look at the film as well (perhaps because i enjoy assessing that), so i don't tend to post them up in the threads really because i don't think many would read them. Saying that, i would like to see the idea develop and gain support.

The HD media boom has certainly taken off over the recent months (around these forums at least), so i would think there would be as much interest now as ever before.

[yorac]

Crimson Tide

Region A

PQ: 4.5/5 - Given the age of this film it is an absolutely fantastic picture transfer

AQ: 4.5 - This is a largely dialogue driven movie but using the uncompressed track it certainly delivers in all the right places

The movie itself is a solid thriller with what would nowadays be classed as an ensemble cast, however many of the actors in this have reached much greater heights since, Hackman and Washington standout, but the support cast deliver some superb performances also

[yorac]

yorac, on Jun 3 2008, 10:11 PM, said:

Movie: I, Robot (no Aus release date known)

Region: A

PQ: 4.8 out of 5, the PQ on this movie is pretty much reference and one of the reasons we watch Hi Def, a lot of studios should take notice because this is how a HD transfer should look

AQ: 5, put simply the soundtrack is awesome and never disappoints, I particularly like the scene at 1hr 22 mins as this will let you know your whole system is working

The movie, I'm a huge Will Smith fan so this was a no brainer for me, it certainly isn't anywhere near his best work but has enough twists to keep you interested, minimum even if your not a fan worth a look

[The D-Train]

good idea mate, im in.  

[AK Anthony]

Independence Day Review      

Full review here

For the purposes of the format of this thread;

PQ = 4 = "the transfer is solid, but it’s not amongst the top echelon of quality available."
SQ = 4.5 = "first-rate demo scenes to certainly put your Home Theatre through its paces....an incredible mix of dynamic prowess"

Edited by the_wonderchild, 07 June 2008 - 04:01 PM.

[yorac]

Nicely done mate and for those unsure this is the Theatrical Cut of ID4

[AK Anthony]

cheers Yorac ; also have 4 other reviews already done but need to re-read before displaying them as entries and not drafts.

Edited by the_wonderchild, 07 June 2008 - 04:15 PM.

[The D-Train]

Rambo

US release: Region Free

PQ: 4/5 - A sold transfer without being spectacular.  Some grain in dark scenes and can be hazey (perhaps intentional).  Having said that some of the daylight wide shots are spectacular.

AQ: 5/5 - A powerful and legendary music score.  The last battle is demo material with allsorts of weapons from flamethrowers and rocket launchers to .50 cal machine guns and sniper rifle.  This is a DTS HD MA 7.1 soundtrack and it shines.

The movie itself is a must for all Rambo fans.  The one liners from parts 2 and 3 are virtually gone as it links back with first blood and the dark, disturbed character that is John Rambo.  The fighting is brutal but thats what war is.  Although only about 80 mins in length I felt the movie was entertaining and rounded out the Rambo series well with John doing what Trautman always said he must do, come full circle.

[yorac]

Thanks D post 1 updated

[phreek]

Seems that other *cough* less important things like *cough* plot are secondary in the quest for the blu-ray dream of high resolution sharp pictures... a sensory wank so to speak....

Some titles being released are utter rubbish as films such that even if the picture was splendid... doesn't change the fact that it's a turd... you can't polish a turd remember...

Blu-ray releases probably realise that you can't polish a turd in terms of plot etc... but you can roll a turd in glitter... and that's what some of these blu-ray releases are like to me

[yorac]

phreek, on Jun 9 2008, 11:01 AM, said:

Seems that other *cough* less important things like *cough* plot are secondary in the quest for the blu-ray dream of high resolution sharp pictures... a sensory wank so to speak....

Some titles being released are utter rubbish as films such that even if the picture was splendid... doesn't change the fact that it's a turd... you can't polish a turd remember...

Blu-ray releases probably realise that you can't polish a turd in terms of plot etc... but you can roll a turd in glitter... and that's what some of these blu-ray releases are like to me

Don't know essentially why you would single out BR for this mate as it has been the case on all optical formats, i.e rubbish released, thus it is individual taste that defines what is and isn't a good movie, a classic example of a good movie IMO is Backdraft, it has the worst transfer on DVD I have ever seen, in fact many reviews state that the VHS transfer is better and they're not wrong, the transfer to HD DVD is outstanding not reference but outstanding none the less.

In any case as far as the forums go many here have made investments large and small to visually and sonically experience the current best available formats to watch and listen to their choices, the idea of this thread is to give users a quick guide as to what PQ and SQ is on a movie the might be interested in with a small input on the actual movie simply because many are not going to purchase if there is no improvement on what they may or may not currently own on other formats.

[phreek]

yorac, on Jun 9 2008, 11:24 AM, said:

Don't know essentially why you would single out BR for this mate as it has been the case on all optical formats, i.e rubbish released...

Probably because there's a dearth of material at the moment in Region B Aus and some of the releases are disappointing to say the least... that it wouldn't matter how good the PQ is on some of those films...

It will get better with time I'm sure.

[yorac]

phreek, on Jun 9 2008, 01:25 PM, said:

Probably because there's a dearth of material at the moment in Region B Aus and some of the releases are disappointing to say the least... that it wouldn't matter how good the PQ is on some of those films...

It will get better with time I'm sure.

Certainly agree about the dearth of titles and though it is better OS I still think it's got a long way to go also

[AK Anthony]

It's a given that the standard of film is rather bleak at the moment to say the least, but having said that, it is the present/upcoming ability for 'acceptance' of the format that should cater good films making their way to Blu-Ray (Star Wars, LOTR, Indiana Jones, etc). Several of the 'acclaimed' Oscar 'hits' are making their way out as well; of course, depends on your thoughts regarding their quality as a film.

As has been stated, however, there's slim pickings presently available from the 'cinema greats' category.

[AK Anthony]

Ronin Review (Region )

Full Detailed Review here; including Film aspect and deeper HD analysis

PQ = 4 = "Textures are full of vividness and close-up shots are a revelation for fine detail...surprisingly stable within the darker scenes...bit rate for the movie stays at below 20 for the most part"
[b]SQ = 4 = "lossless DTS HD-MA 5.1 track...There is a well spread mix of dynamics...Effects are well recorded and all ring of life...haphazard in presenting a fully surround, immersive atmosphere"

Edited by the_wonderchild, 12 June 2008 - 03:55 PM.

[yorac]

Updated

[yorac]

Master and Commander

Region A

PQ: 4/5 - A good though not brilliant transfer

AQ: 4/5 - This is again a largely dialogue driven movie it certainly delivers in the battle and storm scenes

just my two cents regarding PQ, I am of the firm belief and always have been that the film has been presented as the director intended both on sd dvd and now on BR, Peter Weir has never been one to tinker thus the presentation.

A great tale with strong performances and a good watch

Edited by yorac, 24 July 2009 - 01:43 PM.

[AK Anthony]

Good to hear somewhat similar thoughts re. Master and Commander Yorac.

As a sidenote, i'm just wondering if anyone knows 'fool-proof' methods for attaining screen shots of movies on a LCD panel (not PC monitor or projector)? I'm looking to include some shots for reviews (here and my mag), so if anyone knows, please PM me to avoid cluttering the topic, which i apoligize in advance for appearing to have done.

Edited by the_wonderchild, 29 June 2008 - 09:50 PM.

[MarkH]

the_wonderchild, on Jun 29 2008, 07:49 PM, said:

Good to hear somewhat similar thoughts re. Master and Commander Yorac.

As a sidenote, i'm just wondering if anyone knows 'fool-proof' methods for attaining screen shots of movies on a LCD panel (not PC monitor or projector)? I'm looking to include some shots for reviews (here and my mag), so if anyone knows, please PM me to avoid cluttering the topic, which i apoligize in advance for appearing to have done.

The onl advice I can give you is an tripod is essential. PM JohnA he takes some great shots and would have plenty of advice on the subject.