moviePig wrote:
On May 12, 1:13 am, Alric Knebel <al... at (no spam) cableone.net> wrote:
Charlie Foxtrot wrote:
On Sun, 11 May 2008 12:57:02 -0700 (PDT), MFalc1 <mfa... at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:
As was discussed on the HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE site (http://hollywood-
elsewhere.com),
SPEED RACER will probably be used as a sales tool for Blu-Ray and HD
TV sets later this year.
LOL! I took my son to see Speed Racer tonight and his mom came along
after a Mothers' Day dinner. He loved it because he's a tween boy.
We loved it because we got every minute detail that was pulled from
one of the original cartoon episodes.
She said she enjoyed it but wouldn't want to sit through it again.
I said, "I can't wait to see it, truly, put my Blu-Ray player and
hi-def tv to the test."
Foxtrot
All brightly colored things like cartoons and animation are not really
good tests. Those things always look clearer, and make a TV look better
than it is. It's not TESTING it at all. The test would be if a scene
has shades of light. Those splashy colors are going to look lovely, but
they would anyway, anywhere.
Here's what I think would put the Blu-Ray player and HDTV to the test:
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES.
Maybe you'd want something where film grain was never involved...
like, say, REVENGE OF THE SITH.
I never saw REVENGE OF THE SITH, so I can't pick up what you really
mean. But I think the fair test would be one that showed the film grain
exactly, so that the full intent of the cinematographer is experienced.
I saw U TURN in the theater, and Oliver Stone made good use of
different film stock (as he did in several other films). I liked the
story, with its town of quirky people, but it was made more interesting
with the changes in texture. When it came out on VHS, I watched it at
home but felt nothing. Those changes in texture had definitely enhanced
the theater experience, but with the diminished resolution, all that was
lost. I was made aware of just how much is diminished through these
older TVs. The opulence of THE AGE OF INNOCENCE was a character in that
film, and I went home and told a couple of friends and relatives about
it, how great a movie it was. I was very gushy. When it came out on
VHS, it didn't have the impact it had on me in the theater. All the
fine performances were of course intact, but I did sorely miss those
sumptuous visual extras. The dream sequence in THE EXORCIST was another
memorable and effective use of grainy film stock (the sound, too).
I'm going to finally be getting one of those HDTVs (and Blu Ray) no
later than the end of next month. Actually, we could go out and do it
today if we settled for less than what we want. If when I get it home
and set this thing up, and it doesn't capture the detail I'm describing,
I'm going to consider it a colossal waste of money. The 36" SD TV I'm
using now has a wonderful picture, but it has the shortcomings of SD.
Yet it was still good enough that when I watched THE ASSASSINATION OF
JESSE JAMES a couple of months ago, even then I was flabbergasted. When
I see it again on HD and Blu Ray, I expect to become ONE with color and
light.
