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  • Film & TV Moderators: ghostfreak

Blu-ray

E

EJ

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 10, 2002
Messages
698
Doesn't look like this thread has been done before.

Now that we're entering an age where high definition media will be the norm, i've fairly suddenly become particularly interested in the best picture quality home technology currently has to offer. I'm sure i'm not the only one, so i'm looking for a list of titles to sought after.

The thought for this thread was spawned from the "new(ish) Sci-Fi" thread so I don't derail it. In it, I stated how i've just upgraded from a 48cm CRT to a 55" LCD, so along with an incoming blu-ray player, it's a HUGE step up for me and i'm excited.

I've done a bit of Googling on this, which led me to my first buys of...

Blade Runner: Final Cut
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Planet Earth

I think i'll add Baraka and Ratatouille to the list shortly.

Experiences?
 
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I haven't seen that many bluray movies, but those are the ones that stood out for me. I've seen Ratatouille, too. As far as picture and sound go, I'd say it was as good as those above.
 
Haven't actually seen Up, and glad to hear Dark City looks good, that's a favourite of mine. I'll add both to the list.
 
the dark knight is exceptional since it maintains the full imax aspect ratio and clarity for those shots done with an imax camera.

i don't buy blu-rays (only own one: kung fu hustle) but constantly rent them through quickflix.
 
Quickflix was my plan of attack too, but after buying a blu-ray burner and then realising my motherboard or whatever can't handle blu-ray playback, I was left hanging to wait for when I bought my new TV and blu-ray player. So, just waiting for Samsung to hurry up and i'll be back on track.
 
The Baraka blu-ray is astonishingly good - easily the best I've seen. Older, visually striking movies like 2001 and Blade Runner seem to benefit the most. The Godfather films are terrific - in the original, you can spot the corduroy on Michael's jacket as he's talking about killing Sollozzo. Heat also looked terrific. 80's movies like The Terminator seem to benefit the least, though they still look better. The Fly is a great one to have - watch Jeff Goldblum pull out his fingernails IN GLORIOUS HI-DEF!

However, I have found some of the blu-ray audio to be quite overbearing. In The French Connection, the sound effects were so loud in the mix that I switched back to the mono track.
 
blu-ray is the reason i bought a ps3. i use it for that purpose more than gaming.
 
^I too have been desperately awaiting Lawrence of Arabia on blu-ray. And I'm super stoked for Apocalypse Now. I'll probably splurge for the three-disc edition cause I love Hearts of Darkness almost as much as I like the proper film.
 
Yeah, i'll definitely be in the 3 disc gizmo. The artwork on it is cool too. Love Hearts of Darkness, and will be very happy to upgrade my format from VHS, especially since I don't have a working VCR anymore.

Also, just picked up...

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Got a gold sticker stuck on the front (no, not "Made in China"), makes it sound pretty confident in itself:

BARAKA: THE BEST BLU-RAY EVER MADE

"Baraka is Blu-Ray at its best. The depth, clarity and colour reproduction of the film are incredible." BLU-RAY.COM

"Quite possibly the most stunning picture I've ever seen on an HDTV." DVD EMPIRE

"Baraka by itself is sufficient reason to acquire a Blu-Ray player." ROGER EBERT

"The Baraka blu-ray is astonishingly good - easily the best I've seen." SILVERWHEEL
 
Got my player yesterday.

Have watched Blade Runner in full. The richness and detail of the picture exceeded my high expectations. It leaves the Final Cut DVD for dead.

Watched the first disc of Planet Earth. Some of it was clearly shot with inferior cameras, but the most obvious were short intercutting shots. Most of it is drop dead gorgeous. I think I have to skip to the forests and oceans disc next, but i've heard the caves one is one of the best. Looking like a wonderful box set.

Baraka does indeed have a better picture than Planet Earth, which makes some shots simply jaw-dropping. I love the richness of colour in the shots of Kathmandu shortly after dawn. A real kind of soulful image that whets the appetite for my penciled in trip there early next year. Somewhere I don't recognise, perhaps in Africa, of such a crisp image of a flood plain, reflecting a lightly clouded sky, dappled with striking, bright green foliage. This is the epitome of what i've imagined blu-ray to be all about. Retailers should run Baraka on all of their top of the line displays.

My passage out of the dark ages is already a highly rewarding one.
 
I've added a few more blu-rays to the library, including Up, Ratatouille and The Dark Knight.

Up came with both the blu-ray and DVD discs, so I got to compare the difference with immediacy. Firstly, upon watching the first few minutes of the blu-ray, I realised I hadn't actually seen an animated film at the cinemas since possibly Toy Story. Even then, i'm not sure if I did see it at the cinemas, in which case the last would've been in the days of The Lion King, Aladdin, etc. Everything more recent were on VHS or DVD, which brings me to my point. I've been missing out on a HUGE amount of detail and clarity in these animation films. On the DVD, I am looking at a fine pebbled pathway that is blurred as if out of focus. On blu-ray, i'm looking at an almost realistic, textured and detailed surface.

In short, it's..."a whole new world! (don't you dare close your eyes)" [/Aladdin]

Up is a fantastic film, by the way, probably my favourite animated.

Ratatouille was pretty good as well. As far as it's picture goes, it's also flawless, and scenes like the kitchen scenes with a busy assortment of shiny copper cookware, or scenes in the rain with realistic looking wet fur are a joy to behold.

The Dark Knight has pretty good picture for the majority of it's duration, but the IMAX scenes are unbelievable. On my 55" screen the difference in quality is very noticable. I reckon it looks as good as Baraka, or any difference is not enough for my eyes to discern. Truly stunning quality that I can't see being beat until we move past 1080p.

Any other titles I now own were not bought for picture quality (Life of Brian, Galapagos - although this one is pretty good). I've just ordered The Wizard of Oz from overseas as I can't find the single disc edition locally and i'm not paying $80+ for the 3 disc set. Also keen to get the first two Godfathers soon.

Great suggestions so far, the best I now own were from this thread. Cheers.
 
Been a while.

With the recent strength of the Aussie Dollar, i'm buying almost purely from Amazon now, at an average price of around $10 each. Awesome.

Some of the most impressive titles since my last post have been some old films, which all happen to be musicals. For their age, The Wizard of Oz (70 years), South Pacific (50 years) and The Sound of Music (45 years) are stunning. In particular, the Todd-AO titles, the latter 2 of the 3 (along with Baraka), have benefitted from blu-ray immensely (or blu-ray has benefitted from those titles?). 70mm film in general has been responsible for some of blu-rays best transfers. I seriously can't wait for Lawrence of Arabia.

I did end up getting the two Godfather movies, which look great.

And a personal favourite of mine, Picnic at Hanging Rock, is massively improved from DVD.

Oh yeah! Apocalypse Now is fuggin fantastic!
 
dammit, now i want a blu-ray player for my upcoming new imac. the resolution on that screen will be better than my lcd tv!
 
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