What did you watch today?

[Jim_Mcdonaugh]

U-571 [UK Blu] 9/10
A Time To Kill [Blu USA] 8/10
Name Of Rose [UK Blu] 9.5/10

[Vincent_Bouche]

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (UK Blu)
I like the first part, until they get inside the factory, but really not fond of the remaining, with the Oompa-Loompa songs - 6/10

The Pacific (French Blu)
Rewatching this series with BR quality was a real enlightment, greatest war series ever ? - 9/10

[Chris_Xa]

Firefox - Extended Cut

Did you watch this on blu (didn't know the extended was available yet)?

The Pacific (French Blu) Rewatching this series with BR quality was a real enlightment, greatest war series ever ? - 9/10

For a series set in combat, I found BAND OF BROTHERS better than PACIFIC. But depends what you want from a war series. I think MASH is probably the best of such...
* Never watched CHINA BEACH, CHANGI and DAD'S ARMY, so I don't know how they compare...
* SHARPE is on par with PACIFIC.
* The following do not quite count for the stated reasons, as well as not being set in actual combat: ALLO ALLO (life at the cafe during occupation), FOYLE'S WAR and RED CAP (police series), but as series I liked them better than PACIFIC. STRIKE BACK, LAST RESORT, HOMELAND are more espionage/tactical action than war.
* Could not even think of any other regular TV series set in war, so looked up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:M ... ion_series (which contain many doco series, that don't quite fit this conversation). There are more there than I've watched (documentaries aside).

[Ain_Uussaar]

Firefox - Extended Cut

Did you watch this on blu (didn't know the extended was available yet)?

The Pacific (French Blu) Rewatching this series with BR quality was a real enlightment, greatest war series ever ? - 9/10

For a series set in combat, I found BAND OF BROTHERS better than PACIFIC. But depends what you want from a war series. I think MASH is probably the best of such...
* Never watched CHINA BEACH, CHANGI and DAD'S ARMY, so I don't know how they compare...
* SHARPE is on par with PACIFIC.
* The following do not quite count for the stated reasons, as well as not being set in actual combat: ALLO ALLO (life at the cafe during occupation), FOYLE'S WAR and RED CAP (police series), but as series I liked them better than PACIFIC. STRIKE BACK, LAST RESORT, HOMELAND are more espionage/tactical action than war.
* Could not even think of any other regular TV series set in war, so looked up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:M ... ion_series (which contain many doco series, that don't quite fit this conversation). There are more there than I've watched (documentaries aside).

Yes. The US Blu is region free and has the extended cut (136:21). I got the 2-pack with Heartbreak Ridge.

+ I too found Band Of Brothers to be better.

[Chris_Xa]

Yes. The US Blu is region free and has the extended cut (136:21). I got the 2-pack with Heartbreak Ridge.

Excellent - will add it to my shopping list, but first an important question: Is the visual/audio quality for both much improved over the DVDs, or similar; is it worth the upgrade? Looking at both http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleic ... reak_ridge and http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleic ... ltiID=1240 , there don't seem much improved: HEARTBREAK looks upscaled, and except for the edge-enhancement correction on FIREFOX (and a minor upscale), it looks not much better either. Of course these are static images, and I don't know if the audio is much improved. What did you think about these aspects, when you watched it/them?

Ben-Hur [Blu] 4/10 but only for scale, the acting and script are piss poor. But picture restoration is 10/10 - simply stunning, didn't expect such quality. The sound is Ok.

Is that the US/UK 3disk Blu ( http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/f ... ?fid=19302 ), with the 3rd blu disk having the Chuck Heston documentary? If so, how did you find that documentary - interesting, worth watching more than once, or EPK/forgettable? Can't decide if it's worth the extra $ for the 3rd disk, or save and get the cheaper 2disk blu (as I don't know how good that 3rd disk doco is)...

On an unrelated matter (since there's a lot/mostly Europeans here), and to all who read this, who do you think will win this year's Eurovision (ie, which do you consider the best song)?

[Jim_Mcdonaugh]

Is that the US/UK 3disk Blu ( http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/f ... ?fid=19302 ), with the 3rd blu disk having the Chuck Heston documentary? If so, how did you find that documentary - interesting, worth watching more than once, or EPK/forgettable? Can't decide if it's worth the extra $ for the 3rd disk, or save and get the cheaper 2disk blu (as I don't know how good that 3rd disk doco is)...

Yap, that's the one. Haven't watched that docu as I never watch any extras (don't see any point).

Also watched Enders' Game today. 1/10 simply awful. The whole movie made no sense to me...

[Ain_Uussaar]

Yes. The US Blu is region free and has the extended cut (136:21). I got the 2-pack with Heartbreak Ridge.

Excellent - will add it to my shopping list, but first an important question: Is the visual/audio quality for both much improved over the DVDs, or similar; is it worth the upgrade? Looking at both http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleic ... reak_ridge and http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleic ... ltiID=1240 , there don't seem much improved: HEARTBREAK looks upscaled, and except for the edge-enhancement correction on FIREFOX (and a minor upscale), it looks not much better either. Of course these are static images, and I don't know if the audio is much improved. What did you think about these aspects, when you watched it/them?

I dont have Firefox on DVD so cant compare. I bought them used trough Amazon so the price was good. Looking at your caps-a-holic links, to me both seem to be better and worth the upgrade.

[Chris_Xa]

I dont have Firefox on DVD so cant compare. I bought them used trough Amazon so the price was good. Looking at your caps-a-holic links, to me both seem to be better and worth the upgrade.

Did you feel/experience any problems with either FIREFOX or HEARTBRAK RIDGE whilst watching them (from an A/V quality standpoint)? And how did you find the audio on both: Did it feel frontal-mostly or was there plenty of surround activity?

[Vincent_Bouche]

Yes. The US Blu is region free and has the extended cut (136:21). I got the 2-pack with Heartbreak Ridge.

+ I too found Band Of Brothers to be better.

Also ordered the US two-pack recently (not received yet), but without being sure which version of Firefox was offered! Thanks for confirming that, updated the comparison.

Would have to watch it again, but not very enthusiastic after my first viewing of BoB a few years ago.

Snatch (US Blu)
Much more appreciated this movie after my second viewing, this is really entertaining, with many twists and great actors - 9/10

[Ain_Uussaar]

Yes. The US Blu is region free and has the extended cut (136:21). I got the 2-pack with Heartbreak Ridge.

+ I too found Band Of Brothers to be better.

Also ordered the US two-pack recently (not received yet), but without being sure which version of Firefox was offered! Thanks for confirming that, updated the comparison.

Would have to watch it again, but not very enthusiastic after my first viewing of BoB a few years ago.

Snatch (US Blu)
Much more appreciated this movie after my second viewing, this is really entertaining, with many twists and great actor - 9/10

Altho the comparison has Japanese subtitles listed I could not find them - not in the menu and not trough player menus during playback.

[Chris_Xa]

Yes. The US Blu is region free and has the extended cut (136:21). I got the 2-pack with Heartbreak Ridge.
+ I too found Band Of Brothers to be better.

Also ordered the US two-pack recently (not received yet), but without being sure which version of Firefox was offered! Thanks for confirming that, updated the comparison.

Can you add the caps-a-holic links, so people can make up their own minds on the blu v DVD video quality? Sculder seems impressed, but I'm not seeing much of a difference to upgrade - though I've no idea if the audio has improved any.

Would have to watch it again, but not very enthusiastic after my first viewing of BoB a few years ago.

Similarly was not impressed when I first came across it years ago, and only saw a few scenes before giving up on it. But after sitting through the whole thing later on, it impressed me enough to buy it.

Snatch (US Blu) Much more appreciated this movie after my second viewing, this is really entertaining, with many twists and great actors - 9/10

Agreed, 6.75/10: Enjoyed it much more the 2nd time around, because the first time had high expectations from LOCK STOCK. But the SNATCH extras were disappointing; the only decent material are the deleted scenes, which add to the film IMO (should have remained in the film).

Also watched Enders' Game today. 1/10 simply awful. The whole movie made no sense to me...

Have not seen it, but have heard others advise of script/plot issues. However am wary about watching it, as it's based on a series ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender%27s_ ... 8series%29 ): after being "burned" by the GOLDEN COMPASS film (not great but enjoyed it enough - but as there apparently will be no sequel I was upset to have only seen part of the story), don't wish to watch another film that will leave the film story incomplete. May wait a few years and see if/when there will be any sequel(s), before perhaps watching it. Could probably read the books instead, but as I have so little time I may not get around to them unfortunately.

[Vincent_Bouche]

Can you add the caps-a-holic links, so people can make up their own minds on the blu v DVD video quality? Sculder seems impressed, but I'm not seeing much of a difference to upgrade - though I've no idea if the audio has improved any.

I won't be able to, I don't have any BD-ROM player!

Would have to watch it again, but not very enthusiastic after my first viewing of BoB a few years ago.

Similarly was not impressed when I first came across it years ago, and only saw a few scenes before giving up on it. But after sitting through the whole thing later on, it impressed me enough to buy it.

I had directly bought it on Blu a few years ago and watched the whole show, but maybe I was expecting too much and got somewhat dissapointed because of it. I guess I'll try a second viewing "shortly", this would be interesting for a direct comparison with The Pacific.

Snatch (US Blu) Much more appreciated this movie after my second viewing, this is really entertaining, with many twists and great actors - 9/10

Agreed, 6.75/10: Enjoyed it much more the 2nd time around, because the first time had high expectations from LOCK STOCK. But the SNATCH extras were disappointing; the only decent material are the deleted scenes, which add to the film IMO (should have remained in the film).

Same for me : I had been disappointed because I had seen Lock, Stock shorly before and I found Snatch disappointing in comparison. Will have to rewatch Lock, Stock as well now...!

[Vincent_Bouche]

Altho the comparison has Japanese subtitles listed I could not find them - not in the menu and not trough player menus during playback.

Maybe they can be seen/accessed only with a Japanese player. It looks like the Japanese BR also seems to be the longer cut, hence maybe it is the same disc as in the US.

[Chris_Xa]

I had directly bought it on Blu a few years ago and watched the whole show, but maybe I was expecting too much and got somewhat dissapointed because of it. I guess I'll try a second viewing "shortly", this would be interesting for a direct comparison with The Pacific.

Perhaps ...again (similarly to the SNATCH experience), I did not enjoy PACIFIC because of high expectations of having watched BoB first; ...and as I watched it on TV with the interrupting commercial breaks, may have also marred the experience somewhat (then again, that's how I watched BoB also).

Altho the comparison has Japanese subtitles listed I could not find them - not in the menu and not trough player menus during playback.

Maybe they can be seen/accessed only with a Japanese player. It looks like the Japanese BR also seems to be the longer cut, hence maybe it is the same disc as in the US.

Perhaps depends on which region player one may have (see the notes for http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/f ... id=26188#5 as an example). Also it's possible the Japanese is enabled only when/if you select a Japanese menu entry; remember it occured on a Rewind comparison I submitted, where certain subtitles only appeared/became enabled when selecting a non-english-language menu option.
Can't remember which film/submission it was; perhaps if there was (is?) a way to search comparisons for "Special thanks to Rewind user...<insert user name here>" , I may be able to track down the particular example.

PS. Vincent, doesn't http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Firefox-B ... 76/#Review mean there is a standalone blu US version?

[Jari_Kovalainen]

Some DVDs or Blu-rays can have subtitle "streams" added to the disc, but there are no real subtitles. Anything goes.

[Vincent_Bouche]

PS. Vincent, doesn't http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Firefox-B ... 76/#Review mean there is a standalone blu US version?

In several retailers I couldn't find anything except the two-disc set. Heartbreak Ridge seems avaialble on its own though.... strange !

[Ain_Uussaar]

Altho the comparison has Japanese subtitles listed I could not find them - not in the menu and not trough player menus during playback.

Maybe they can be seen/accessed only with a Japanese player. It looks like the Japanese BR also seems to be the longer cut, hence maybe it is the same disc as in the US.

But whats the point to hide subtitles like that ?

Altho the comparison has Japanese subtitles listed I could not find them - not in the menu and not trough player menus during playback.

Maybe they can be seen/accessed only with a Japanese player. It looks like the Japanese BR also seems to be the longer cut, hence maybe it is the same disc as in the US.

Perhaps depends on which region player one may have (see the notes for http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/f ... id=26188#5 as an example). Also it's possible the Japanese is enabled only when/if you select a Japanese menu entry; remember it occured on a Rewind comparison I submitted, where certain subtitles only appeared/became enabled when selecting a non-english-language menu option.
Can't remember which film/submission it was; perhaps if there was (is?) a way to search comparisons for "Special thanks to Rewind user...<insert user name here>" , I may be able to track down the particular example.

PS. Vincent, doesn't http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Firefox-B ... 76/#Review mean there is a standalone blu US version?

There is no country selection menu. On start -up you`ll be shown WB logo and then taken to main menu.

[Ain_Uussaar]

ATM (tv)
Death Race (dvd)

[Davy_Lee]

Yes. The US Blu is region free and has the extended cut (136:21). I got the 2-pack with Heartbreak Ridge.

I'm a bit confused. The 136-minute US dvd is listed as the theatrical cut http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/f ... ?fid=22453. Why is the 136-minute US blu-ray called the extended cut too? Any difference between them?

[Jari_Kovalainen]

Yes. The US Blu is region free and has the extended cut (136:21). I got the 2-pack with Heartbreak Ridge.

I'm a bit confused. The 136-minute US dvd is listed as the theatrical cut http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/f ... ?fid=22453. Why is the 136-minute US blu-ray called the extended cut too? Any difference between them?

You added link to Firefox? Firefox seems to have two versions (I honestly can't even remember anymore).

But whats the point to hide subtitles like that ?

IMO, if some subtitle stream is "added" to the DVD/BD disc but there's nothing, it's probably some authoring error (or similar). I guess it's also possible that some subtitle stream is added when you select certain menu (this actually happens quite often with the audio on the children/animation titles - you have to change the audio from the DVD/BD menu - you can't change it "on the fly").

With some films, you actually have to check the disc to be sure (not just use display). I added one title where the audio was "mastered" as "Dolby Digital 5.0" on the disc but it was clearly "Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo" when I listened the disc. So "2.0 stereo" was added to the comparison, with the note about "5.0".

As important as subtitles are for many people, they can be pain in the ass in the comparison point of view. I just added some Rocky sequels which have 27 different subtitles (AND only 3-4 listed on the back cover) and those subs are listed in their own language on the BD menu (Asian subs written in Asian letters). My PS3 just says "other" with many of those subtitles. It takes time to fully confirm these subs. Dubs are a bit easier, but with many 2.0 tracks you kinda have to confirm whether they're mono or stereo/surround.