What Blu-Ray did you watch last night?

[Steve Lee]

last night we watched an episode of Only fools and horses ( Stage Fright ), we haven't seen this for many years.
For those of you who may have never seen this, Del is the main character and in this episode he is given a sum of money to provide the cabaret act for a local gangsters mother's birthday celebrations.
He ends up bribing his partner to perform, and teams her up with Tony Angelino the singing dustman ( bin collector).
The only problem is as it turns out Tony can't pronounce his R's.

Even after all the years since this was first broadcasted, it never fails to put a smile on your face, due to its wonderful script writing.

[Graham Ritchie]

Watched the blu-ray of the 1996 movie "Brassed Off" and enjoyed it excellent story and cast highly recommend this one

Out and about a few days ago came across this DVD in the $2 pile at my favorite record and everything else store, so watched it last night The Paper Brigade is really a nice easy going movie that until the other day never heard of it. I will have to show this one to Steven I am sure he can relate to it when he used to deliver papers long ago. He would be gone for hours, later I found out "why" he new a lot of people and dogs on his run, so must let him watch it

[Graham Ritchie]

Saturday night at the movies with this one from Imprint. I bought it new a couple of weeks ago, but only got round to watching it tonight. Its been a long long time since I last watched this movie, most likely on TV, and always thought of it as a OK movie but nothing really spectacular.

Well tonight by OK views from the past went right out the window, not only have "Imprint" done a first class job on the image transfer, but also a impressive DTS 5:1 sound mix as well. I would give "Imprint" full marks for this one, tonight I really enjoyed watching it using the Epson. This release is certainly one I would highly recommend adding to your next shopping list, but be in quick as they seem to do limited runs.

PS I understand that all Imprint titles are region free, that's a big plus for those in other countries.

[Graham Ritchie]

Last night I watched Belle and Sebastian on blu-ray, tonight again with everyone here this time another screening of the movie. The response was very positive. Its a nice film with some of the best scenery you can think of beautifully captured on film. The transfer to blu-ray is one of the best I have come across. Belle and Sebastian is a film for all the family to enjoy. The English sub-titles are not as shown in the release trailer, they do move of the bottom into the black if you are using a video projector this is pity as I like all sub-titles to remain in the image area itself.

However I must add that switching of the French language along the English sub-titles you can go for English dubbing which in this case is really very good, so that's the option I would go far, as mentioned the image quality of the mountains is impressive, the color, the detail this is certainly right at the top of the list as one of the best transfers I have seen

To sum up I highly recommend this blu-ray and if you have a VP to take advantage of it you might be surprised as to how good it actually is

[Douglas Meltzer]

Graham's 3D posts got me to watching the Blu-ray 3D disc of the 1961 film The Mask. Shot on a low budget, there are only three sequences (about 15 minutes total) that are in 3D, however they are creatively done and pretty memorable.



I'm including shots of the earlier anaglyph DVD release since that came with a replica of the glasses that were handed out in the theater. When a character in the film puts on an ancient tribal mask and starts seeing hallucinations, the audience was instructed to put their 3-D glasses on ("Put the mask on, now!").

An excellent restoration by 3-D Film Archive accompanied by very interesting special features.

[Graham Ritchie]

Hi Ed, The 3D disc was available in many countries except for the US, its a region "B" which is a pity, at present I don't think the 3D version in particular is still available for sale. When I worked at the cinema we dealt with "Madman" for 35mm film prints, they were always good to deal with and had quite a range of product. Even these days when I see the name "Madmen" on DVD or blu-ray the discs get my attention.

On the 3D side of things I have certainly enjoyed screening 3D discs every so often

[Ed Gordon]

Doug, I have had good luck finding movies to stream just googling "stream movie name", but there are websites like https://www.justwatch.com/ that list were movies can be found to stream.

Graham, you were lucky to find the movie in 3D. You saw a different movie than I did. Here is a clip from YouTube reviewing the 3D.

3D Review: The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013) - The best 3D movie no one ever talks about

[Douglas Meltzer]

Ed,

Thank you for pointing out that this film is on YouTube. I haven't yet come across a T.S. Spivet 3D Blu-Ray that will work with US players.

[Graham Ritchie]

Only once was the mf word used I think it would have been better left out. The visuals in 3D though are pretty amazing, there is one scene which made me smile and that was when T.S is stopping a train by climbing up to the light, and with a "red" marker pen changes the color from go to "red" stop. The music that goes with this film is outstanding and flows well as the train is winding its way across country. The photography of the country side shown in 3D is very impressive. It also covers, as stated by T.S mother in the film, the tragic results of children being unsupervised with a loaded firearm, so the story is also getting that point across as well to the viewer. I think its a very well crafted film, the cast are excellent as with the direction.

[Ed Gordon]

Graham,

I've never heard of this film. I'm a fan of director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and the trailer looks great, so I'm ordering it right now!

I watched The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet last night. It is available a YouTube and other services. I had never heard of it either. In looking at reviews I discovered why it became a mystery movie:

The Weinstein Company has done serious American filmgoers a signal disservice by not only delaying the release of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s latest film for two years, but finally dumping it onto a hundred screens with virtually no publicity—and then not in the 3D version that the inventive, perfectionist director so carefully crafted. “The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet,” based on Reif Larsen’s well-received 2009 novel “The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet,” may not be Jeunet’s best film—and some will argue that it’s not even a terribly good one overall. But despite its flaws—or perhaps more accurately idiosyncrasies—it’s a beautifully wrought example of the director’s impeccable style, and it certainly deserves better treatment than TWC has given it.

Later in the review the more detail is given on the delayed release:

Reports have flown that the reason “T.S. Spivet” languished so long on the shelf is that Jeunet used his contractual rights to prevent it from being reedited to make it more crowd-friendly—or kid-friendly—for American release But it’s hard to imagine that any sort of tweaking could have transformed it into something it’s not. It’s a typical Jeunet film, which means that it’s amazingly accomplished from a technical point of view but synthetic and emotionally remote, unsentimental even when concerned with sentimental subject matter—a truly personal effort that has to be taken on its own terms or not at all. The pity is that because of the shabby treatment it’s gotten from the Weinstein Company, not many people in this country will have the opportunity to sample it and decide whether it’s to their liking, and even those who do won’t be able to see it in the 3D form in which the director envisaged it, and which might have made for another “Hugo.” Shame on you, Harvey.

Source: https://www.oneguysopinion.com/the-y...us-t-s-spivet/

The trailer for the film (see Graham's post above) is deceptive. This is not a kids movie. It is rated for ages 16 and above. There are a few "F" bombs in the release I saw, and apparently in the UK some "MF" bombs were removed.

In spite of all the controversy, I enjoyed the film. The early parts of the the film reminded me Little Miss Sunshine with it's dysfunctional family and a highly motivated child. For me the film lost it's pace when it is revealed that cute little T.S. believes he is responsible for his older brother's death by firearms. The last part of the film attempts to explain how the death of T.J.'s older brother impacted the family, but fails. It all seems so schizophrenic.

I have to agree with the critic who said:

Like cross-breeding a chihuahua with a Jack Russell, the result may be doubly cute, but also doubly annoying.
Credit: Liam Lacey

Regardless, films buffs will definitely enjoy it, if for no other reason than trying to figure out how to make the final chapters of the story work. The best analogy I can come up with to explain my issues with the film would be a remake of The Wizard of OZ in which Dorothy comes home from OZ and wakes up in a hospital where the nurse tells her that her entire family died in the tornado. WTF?

[Ed Gordon]

All Loud on the Eastern Front: Peckinpah's Cross of Iron Revisited

Orson Welles described it as the greatest war film ever made and Quentin Tarantino acknowledged it as a key influence on his decision to make Inglorious Basterds. But to frame Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron in terms of influence wielded over successive generations of action film-makers (such as Tarantino, John Woo, Michael Mann, Park Chan-Wook and the like) would be to understate the power of this film. Peckinpah's unique ability to frame action is undeniable but action is not the core of the film. Tarantino may have been wowed by the visual artistry and technical brilliance on display, Welles' admiration was likely for the deeper themes and nuances.

Source: https://thequietus.com/articles/0640...-cross-of-iron

I watched the restored Bluray version of Cross of Iron last evening. The film is available on DVD, Bluray, UHD, and there are two 400' Super 8 Digests that were also released. Before the credits begin, a summary of the restoration is presented:

Trailer:

Plot summary:

Cross of Iron is Sam Peckinpah's only war film. Set during the final days of WW2, it follows a platoon of demoralized and exhausted soldiers, led by Corporal Steiner (James Coburn, Harry in Your Pocket!), as the German army is forced to retreat from the Russian front.

After a dangerous mission, Steiner meets his newly appointed commanding officer Captain Hauptmann Stransky (Maximilian Schell, A Bridge Too Far), an arrogant Prussian aristocrat, who dreams of winning the prestigious Cross of Iron. Convinced that the Third Reich is invincible, Stransky immediately questions Steiner's recent decision to relocate his men to safer ground. Shortly after, the Russians launch a surprise attack. Stransky acts like a coward, while Steiner is seriously wounded and many of his men killed.

Steiner wakes up in an unnamed hospital where he befriends a beautiful nurse, Eva (Senta Berger, Diabolically Yours). A few days later, with some of his wounds still bleeding, he heads back to the front. After he is greeted by his men, Steiner is shocked to discover that Stransky has fabricated a report indicating that he led a counterattack against the Russians, hoping that his 'act of bravery' would win him the Iron Cross. Outraged and disgusted, he decides to testify against Stransky.

Peckinpah's Cross of Iron is an unusual film. There are massive, frequently breathtaking battle scenes in it, but the focus of attention is on the ordinary man who must fight an enemy he does not know or understand but feels it is his duty to confront. It is raw and intense, quite moody at times, but also incredibly poetic.

The conflict between Steiner and Stransky occupies a major part of the story and represents a fascinating clash of ideas. Steiner is an honest and brave soldier who has come to realize what men like him sooner or later do, which is that in war there are no winners. The realization has made him a cynic, so now he simply fights to live, not because he believes in the Nazi cause. Stransky is a coward who wants to return home as a hero. Ironically, like Steiner, he does not believe in the Nazi cause, even though he is convinced that the Third Reich is invincible.

The men around Steiner are not believers either. They fight because they are proud patriots -- or at least they were before the war started. However, while being exterminated by their enemy, like Steiner, most have traded their patriotism for cynicism.

This rather unusual distinction Peckinpah makes in Cross of Iron -- that not all Germans who fought the war were Nazis -- is rarely witnessed in similar period films. Naturally, as the story progresses it becomes increasingly clear that the Germans and the Russians are fighting the same enemy.

Source: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Cross...339906/#Review

Steiner's Insubordination:

Steiner's Revenge:

The cast turn in fine nuanced performances and none of the characters are stereotypes. There are moments of revenge that are satisfying and expected, but other moments when the characters surprise you with their reactions. Peckinpah's message is given in the last frame of the film after the credits have rolled:

[Lee Mannering]

Great to see the thread is still very active :-)

Just wanted to put a mention up for WB Archive and the double Blu-Ray boxed set of Curse of Frankenstein 1957.
Up to press we had the very nice BRITISH YAY blu-ray, but this 2020 set is something else.

Inside the colourful box you will find 2 blu-ray discs. You get the open matte 1.37:1, 1.85:1 and 1.66:1 versions plus four fascinating documentaries and the HD trailer.

Prices vary between £20 to £28 Amazon.

We have projected the new 4K UHD True Lies, The Abyss and Aliens a number of times now very much enjoying them. Many of us campaigned just about everywhere we could to get True Lies officially out over the years and we now have it which brings much joy here.
The old Blu-Ray which was mastered from a Digital VHS recording has now been archived, but a good stop gap at the time.

[Osi Osgood]

I will always prefer a "hard copy" digital disc over a streaming service any day of the week, as, you're always at the whim of the service, whether it will be up this week or next week or not, and how much they'll charge. By owning the disc, YOU are in control. Mind you, I prefer good ole school over digital any day of the week!

[Ken Finch]

I agree with John Clancy. The difference only really becomes noticeable on a large screen. The digital projectors in cinemas are 2k or 4k depending on the size of the screen. One also has to consider the viewing distance and the type of display used on a flat screen tv. As to the sound quality, this depends on the sound system the sound from the disc is fed into and what system is available on the disc.

[Ed Gordon]

Ed, I watched the BluRay and the later Director's Cut; incl. the waves, which gives a more important meaning to the story.

I watched the 4k version of the movie on my 55" TV with the Dolby Atmos and the sound was fantastic. Then I read this:

But compare a good quality 4K stream with a 4K Blu-ray on a regular TV, and the difference can become difficult to spot. TV reviewer Vincent Teoh, of the YouTube channel HDTVTest, says he personally can’t tell the difference between a disc and a streaming service like Sony’s Bravia Core, which has a bitrate of up to 80Mbps.

“When you have a well-mastered movie that is streaming at a high bitrate from Apple TV or whatever, I think most consumers generally wouldn’t be able to tell the difference,” Teoh says. John Clancy, who runs the Movie Collector YouTube channel, argues you really need a projector and a large screen to get the best out of a 4K disc and that, at regular TV sizes, the differences between physical and streaming can be “a little academic.”

Source: https://www.theverge.com/24046669/4k...lity-collector

That, along with your recommendation to watch the Director's Cut indicates it's time for me to watch the Director's Cut with those extra 20 minutes on my 12 foot scope screen.