When did movies start being HD?

[admin_exported]

This may sound like a daft question to some, but having just gone to BluRay I will now buy all new movies in that format, but am wondering about which older movies are also worth replacing in my DVD collection with BluRay.

I fully intend to buy Star Wars 1-3 and the LOTR trilogy when they arrive, as they are just brilliant and must be in the best format available, aswell as some other recent blockbusters, but was there a point in movie history when they started using HD quality film, rendering BluRay release of older films pointless, or has it always been HD quality? With tv we know that old programs are no better than SD, so DVD will always suffice, but what about the big screen?

Would there be any point in buying the likes of the original Star Wars trilogy or Terminator, if they offer nothing more than the DVD versions?

 

[Anonymous]

As far as I know every movie captured on at least 35mm film would technically have a resolution that would exceed even Blu-Ray levels of detail. The issue of trying to populate a back catalogue is more about whether the Blu-Ray producers are willing to find a good enough print and go to the trouble of creating a Blu-ray edition for it.

Bearing in my that the 'trouble' we are talking can be considerable given how the original film medium degrades with usage and time.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Film has more or less always been HD, since the film stock resolution is way beyond what TVs can deliver - it has to be, given that the film was designed to be shown on a massive screen in the old days before multiplexes with poky little minemas.

Check out a good transfer of the likes of Gone With The Wind or The Wizard of Oz (both 1939), or even something like Buster Keaton's The General (1927) to see what I mean.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Andrew Everard:
Film has more or less always been HD, since the film stock resolution is way beyond what TVs can deliver - it has to be, given that the film was designed to be shown on a massive screen in the old days before multiplexes with poky little minemas.

Check out a good transfer of the likes of Gone With The Wind or The Wizard of Oz (both 1939), or even something like Buster Keaton's The General (1927) to see what I mean.

Very true. Wizard of Oz still looks amazing.

 

[Anonymous]

I sort of suspected as much on this, but wasn't sure, although I think eolder films will be a tad let down in the audio department at least!

One further thing though, is it just down to the quality of the projection equipment used in some cinemas that I find whenever I have seen a film on the big screen, the image is never as sharp and clean as the SD DVD image I have had for the last few years on my Tosh 36in CRT! And if it was meant for even bigger screens than we have now.....

 

[The_Lhc]

philnavigator:
I sort of suspected as much on this, but wasn't sure, although I think eolder films will be a tad let down in the audio department at least!

Not if they get remastered and remixed, like the Bond Films have been, even Dr. No is in 5.1 now!

 

[Clare Newsome]

philnavigator:
is it just down to the quality of the projection equipment used in some cinemas that I find whenever I have seen a film on the big screen, the image is never as sharp and clean as the SD DVD image I have had for the last few years on my Tosh 36in CRT! And if it was meant for even bigger screens than we have now.....

yes - I rarely go the cinema these days, and when I do (for the 'big' movies!) I stick to those with the latest-spec sound and vision kit: the quality of many multiplex screenings is woeful. I project at home (80in screen) and Blu-rays - even of old films - look (and sound) absolutely awesome.

 

[Clare Newsome]

the_lhc:philnavigator:
I sort of suspected as much on this, but wasn't sure, although I think eolder films will be a tad let down in the audio department at least!

Not if they get remastered and remixed, like the Bond Films have been, even Dr. No is in 5.1 now!

DTS HD 5.1, no less. More on the remastering of the Bond Blu-rays here

 

[Anonymous]

DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 no less

 

[The_Lhc]

DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 WITH NOBS ON!!!!! no less...

 

[Sliced Bread]

...and a cherry!

 

[Andrew Everard]

the_lhc:DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 WITH NOBS ON!!!!! no less...

No more, please...

 

[Anonymous]

I have Casablanca on HD-DVD and it's coming out on Blu soon, in, I assume, the same encode. It looks absolutely stunning, and has never looked better. The level of detail and the scale of greys are astounding. It is absolute black and white heaven. I've watched pristine 35mm prints of this in a previous life, and the disc is actually better to my eye, although obviously my screen size is smaller!
Film stock of this period (fine grain, nitrate, all that good stuff) really was HIGH definition, and the format shows it all off splendidly.
Check out The Searchers also (and North By NorthWest, when it comes out), both originally shot in VistaVision, which offer some of the highest definition available on a film frame and accurately fit a 16:9 screen. Zulu, was shot on 70mm and also looks amazing. Truly High Definition.

 

[Anonymous]

i would like to add to this this thread about the quality of the classic movies on bd,few weeks ago i got commando on bluray and must say i was amazed on how bad the quality the movie was,i would of said it was slightly better than vhs,so every thing depends on how much time and effort they put in to restoring the movies

 

[Anonymous]

Very true. Recently, I watched The Fugitive and Pan's Labyrinth on Bluray and couldn't believe how bad the ÿpicture quality of the Fugitive compared to the Pan's picture quality. The picture quality of Pan's Labyrinth was mesmerizing!

So , I am still, a little reluctant to pay the extra penny's for the rushedÿre - hash's ofÿold favorites on Bluray.

 

[Anonymous]

Quality is like a box of Chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.

It can only be as good as the original.

Some HD material is stunning, others are poor. Be it Blu, HD DVD, or Sky HD.

The same would apply to even DVD I would say.