Gladiator Blu-ray sneak review preview....

[mcjwalters]

I have to agree with the only other blogger to speak the truth... this is a poor movie.

It was a very sorry unoriginal, poor acted movie with average special effects but I would say that the sound track was good.

I have the same problem with the Matrix, I have watched it a few times and still have the same feeling. I cannot see why people see these two movies as being so great.

If this version has a new script, new actors and slighlty original concept then I will give it a try but some how I doubt it.

 

[Anonymous]

mcjwalters:I have to agree with the only other blogger to speak the truth... this is a poor movie.

It was a very sorry unoriginal, poor acted movie with average special effects but I would say that the sound track was good.

I have the same problem with the Matrix, I have watched it a few times and still have the same feeling. I cannot see why people see these two movies as being so great.

If this version has a new script, new actors and slighlty original concept then I will give it a try but some how I doubt it.
Couldn't disagree more with you, but that is what all us are here for opinions so fair enough. I've just got my copy this morning so will have a quick watch tonight a tell you all what it's like on my ps3 slim.

 

[Anonymous]

Paulthefilmfan:mcjwalters:I have to agree with the only other blogger to speak the truth... this is a poor movie. It was a very sorry unoriginal, poor acted movie with average special effects but I would say that the sound track was good. I have the same problem with the Matrix, I have watched it a few times and still have the same feeling. I cannot see why people see these two movies as being so great. If this version has a new script, new actors and slighlty original concept then I will give it a try but some how I doubt it.

Couldn't disagree more with you, but that is what all us are here for opinions so fair enough. I've just got my copy this morning so will have a quick watch tonight a tell you all what it's like on my ps3 slim.

Let us know if this version looks like film without DNR or EE.I really hope that the uk version is very film like ,because i really did not like the US version,which looked very processed .If different then i will buy the uk version and get rid of my US version.

 

[professorhat]

Paulthefilmfan:mcjwalters:I have to agree with the only other blogger to speak the truth... this is a poor movie.

It was a very sorry unoriginal, poor acted movie with average special effects but I would say that the sound track was good.

I have the same problem with the Matrix, I have watched it a few times and still have the same feeling. I cannot see why people see these two movies as being so great.

If this version has a new script, new actors and slighlty original concept then I will give it a try but some how I doubt it.

Couldn't disagree more with you, but that is what all us are here for opinions so fair enough. I've just got my copy this morning so will have a quick watch tonight a tell you all what it's like on my ps3 slim.

Who did you order from Paul? Still no sign for me so I assume it must be on some sort of Royal Mail holdup to ensure it only arrives on the release date (which is Monday).

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Clare,

Thanks for posting the review and the response to my previous post.

It's amazing the level of discussion that this disc is getting on the web, as a journalist at What HiFi do you have any contact with Universal Pictures? It seems like an ideal opportunity to ask them about the issue and get to the bottom of which master was used. It would be interesting to hear what they have to say about the issue, as I can see that this disc is going to become the AV equivalent of Marmite.

 

[Clare Newsome]

We deal with Universal's PR, so I can find out more (just as we did with EIV re their infuriating non-1080p Blu-ray releases), but I would reserve any judgement until you've seen the UK version.

Yes, there are areas - as we say in the review - where the CGI and bloopers (eg poor green-screen work) haven't been optimised, but these are fleeting moments in a @3 hour film, and I do feel some people are obsessing about this -most of them without even having seen the film!

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:

We deal with Universal's PR, so I can find out more (just as we did with EIV re their infuriating non-1080p Blu-ray releases), but I would reserve any judgement until you've seen the UK version.

Yes, there are areas - as we say in the review - where the CGI and bloopers (eg poor green-screen work) haven't been optimised, but these are fleeting moments in a @3 hour film, and I do feel some people are obsessing about this -most of them without even having seen the film!

Hi , would like to know if you have seen the US and UK side by side.After viewing the US version it is an average transfer at best ,but your review of the Uk version sounded like it was film like with grain and hd detail.If it is the same transfer then we will differ on the view of the PQ, but i hoping that the uk is filter and dnr free.

The US version is not the worse film i've seen but nearly all review sites giving the US version average to low scores are spot in my book.3.out 5 and 6 or 7 out of 10 for the pq.Check out the added scenes which would give you indication of how this high profile release should have looked on blu ray.

Also alot of people think that grain free films are the best to look at and would'nt know dnr if it ran up to them and hit them in the face.As one person who as saw on the uk version said it look great but in a few scenes i saw a bit of of grain but not enough to spoil my viewing and could'nt figure out what the fuss is all about.Trust me the reason why this has divided so many is because so many are divided in the first place to whats makes a good picture.

This is why i look at reviews because most reviewers judge the PQ in terms of what is replicated from the big screen onto blu and in terms of Gladiator on the silver screen this had a fine layer of grain all way through with some parts a bit heavier and i thought this would be one film which would still look like film and not video when it finally gets released onto blu ray.

 

[gbhsi1]

It's a brilliant film! Clare, would you know if Solaris will ever be released on blu-ray?

 

[Anonymous]

Lambechop:

Hi Clare,

Thanks for posting the review and the response to my previous post.

It's amazing the level of discussion that this disc is getting on the web, as a journalist at What HiFi do you have any contact with Universal Pictures? It seems like an ideal opportunity to ask them about the issue and get to the bottom of which master was used. It would be interesting to hear what they have to say about the issue, as I can see that this disc is going to become the AV equivalent of Marmite.

It as been confirmed that they are from the same master,but the question should be if they are the same transfer.When Universal give Paramount the transfer Paramount might have add more filtering like the scratch removel ,the DNR and the EE.Whats need to be known is, have Universal given the Uk a natural Gladiator or have all the problems been there already on the transfer before they gave it to Paramount.

 

[Clare Newsome]

It's the age-old remastering problem: one person's idea of a flaw is another's cherished authenticity.

I think Lowry showed how well it could be done with the early Bond films, and (judging by their Sky debut) the Indiana Jones movies. But then I know some purists were horrified that anything could be changed.

We'll see the same with the Beatles remasters this week, no doubt (in fact the rows have already broken out online about them....)

Re the US/UK releases differing - it's possible:it wouldn't be the first time that different distributors have chosen to rlease discs of varying quality, as those of us with large collections of superior R1 DVDs appreciate!

 

[Andrew Everard]

Clare Newsome:We'll see the same with the Beatles remasters this week, no doubt (in fact the rows have already broken out online about them....)

What you mean despite all the remastering work you can still hear Ringo?

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:Paulthefilmfan:mcjwalters:I have to agree with the only other blogger to speak the truth... this is a poor movie.

It was a very sorry unoriginal, poor acted movie with average special effects but I would say that the sound track was good.

I have the same problem with the Matrix, I have watched it a few times and still have the same feeling. I cannot see why people see these two movies as being so great.

If this version has a new script, new actors and slighlty original concept then I will give it a try but some how I doubt it.

Couldn't disagree more with you, but that is what all us are here for opinions so fair enough. I've just got my copy this morning so will have a quick watch tonight a tell you all what it's like on my ps3 slim.

Who did you order from Paul? Still no sign for me so I assume it must be on some sort of Royal Mail holdup to ensure it only arrives on the release date (which is Monday).

Hi Prof, I ordered mine from 'play' in the end, was gonna go go amazon with you you lot but have had good luck with the first mentioned site over the years, hope you get yours by end of monday cos i hate pre-orders that don't turn up on time whrn you have ordered them months in advance.
I seen some of the movie the other night and it was definately a noticable improvement over the dvd version (enough to warrant buying it again). The sound was probably the best thing about it for me, it was so much better and sounds awesome when they are fighting in the arena with the chariots.
I did notice that the animated bits ie. 'The colliseum', stood out more in a bad way, compared with the dvd version, but overall it's worth it. Oh, and the ps3 slim is better with bitstreaming the sound over hdmi than the pcm i used to use with the old one, i found that it is a very noticible difference especially when i tried the 'dark knight' out on blu-ray with the 'bat bike' going through the mall sounded quality.

 

[Sliced Bread]

mcjwalters:I have to agree with the only other blogger to speak the truth... this is a poor movie.

It was a very sorry unoriginal, poor acted movie with average special effects but I would say that the sound track was good.

I have the same problem with the Matrix, I have watched it a few times and still have the same feeling. I cannot see why people see these two movies as being so great.

If this version has a new script, new actors and slighlty original concept then I will give it a try but some how I doubt it.

YES...I'm not alone

You sir, are a man of impeccable taste!

PS: I also felt the Matrix was ribbish.

 

[professorhat]

Okay, it arrived this morning and I've just taken an opportunity to look at the first battle scene and am certainly not at all unhappy with what I've seen. It's basically (and unsurprisingly I might add) just as Clare describes - not hyper real but a definite step up from the DVD. I didn't notice any evidence of the horrendous DNR which has apparently been applied - if it has been used, it doesn't detract from this scene at all. I ran a comparison with the same scene on the DVD and the picture is so much better on the Blu-Ray - colours have improved and the level of detail is very much improved - those who say it's the same or even worse than the upscaled DVD need their eyes checked I think.

As to some of the posts made on Amazon concerning the arrows fired at the beginning of the film "flickering in and out of existence", I certainly couldn't see any evidence of this (and I sat quite close to the screen). Maybe the person who posted this paused the film and went through it frame by frame to get this report - something I'm not willing to do I'm afraid. There's certainly no evidence I could see of it at normal speed and also, if it is true, this probably indicates more what's wrong with the person who did this than anything with the actual film...

Incidentally, the review for the US version of this has just been posted on the Hi-Def digest and it got 3.5 out of 5 for picture quality - some might consider that a low score, but it actually means just above average. Also, if you actually read the Video review on the site, it's mostly very positive on the transfer in general, the main complaint just being a lack of consistency (and not actually between the standard and extended scenes as some have said). The sound receives a full 5 stars as well.

All in all, I'm very much looking forward to watching this again in Hi-Def.

 

[Anonymous]

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, who stole my post!!!, was it something I said????

 

[Anonymous]

It's a shockingly average video transfer with many errors that could and should have been avoided. I've seen some people calling it 10/10 (mental), others 4/10 (also a bit excessive). The truth is probably somewhere in between. Big time ball dropping for such a high profile release, and it was bound to incur the wrath of the rabid dogs over at AVS.

 

[Anonymous]

Dear Clare,

Any feedback from Universal?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Not yet, but these things are painfully slow - usually having to be punted Stateside and back several times before we get a definitive answer. Will keep you updated. In the meantime, enjoy - it's really nowhere near as bad as the slating reviews would have you believe...

 

[Anonymous]

Not nearly as bad really is not good enough when the movie studio new this would be such an anticipated release. If Braveheart can have such a clean and unspoilt transfer then why shouldnt this?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Have you watched both UK Blu-rays of those movies?

 

[Anonymous]

There is no great mystery about this. Universal supplied the master to DreamWorks/Paramount. The two transfers are identical, flaws and all.

 

[Anonymous]

Iv got Gladiator yes and wasnt very impressed. Braveheart i dont own but im sure most reviews about it are correct.

 

[Anonymous]

They are. As is usual the majority are correct in both instances. Anyone calling Gladiator 10/10 basically doesn't have a clue.

 

[Anonymous]

bought and watched this last night - have been waiting ages for it to come out!

Sound was again truly awesome all the way through, the opening battle in Germania should be a demo for anyones system, the sound of the fire balls striking the trees and exploding was scary!!!

Picture quality thought was a little naff in parts, dont know really whether it was my tv that was at fault or the work done to the original film? I have a Bravia 52W3000 with the film being played by a 2500bt through a Yam 1900 amp.

Still more than pleased with it though and shall be watching it again and again today!

But anyone got any thoughts on the picture issue?