Star Wars On Blu-Ray

[Khonsu70]

I just watched TPM, I would have to agree with that review. Very disappointing picture quality. Not much of an upgrade from the DVD, well not as much as the OT.

So far I have only been amazed by ANH visually.
Empire is sharp but the color is very patchy.

These really do feel like dated transfers. Still glad to have them and enjoying the set, but quite disappointed as well.
4 down, 2 to go..

??? I don't get this feedback at all - TMP looks a million times better on blu than on dvd. Every detail of the elaborate costuming pops, the scenery looks crisp, you get a better feel of the overall composition of certain shots. You can say what you want about the plot, dialogue, and acting (and justly so), but Lucas and company went to obvious pains to make a beautiful looking film, and that really shines through on blu. The addition of CG Yoda is also much appreciated, that terrible puppet was about as subtle as Grover from Sesame Street, whereas CG Yoda actually acts. What a difference! This was the most fun I've had watching TPM. Now, if only Lucas could bring himself to trim out the fart and poop jokes, and re-insert a couple of the deleted scenes from the DVDs, we'd really be on the right track...

 

[The Josh]

I thought TPM looked pretty damn awesome last night. Almost all of the CGI looked really quite real I thought.

 

[jye4ever]

Additional Changes mixed in with the stuff we know already:

'Episode IV: A New Hope'

The underside of Luke's Speeder actually looks good.

Escape pod lid is now black instead of blue.

Death Star explosion has been color corrected and actually looks much better. It doesn't have the bright blue ring around it anymore.

We've spent so much time talking about the asinine changes that have been made to the original trilogy that we've failed to mention some of the visual changes that actually helped. I really like the color fix on the Death Star explosion. It doesn't look so amateurish anymore. The glowing blue noisy border is all but gone, replaced with a clearer, cleaner explosion.


'Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'

A few scenes have undergone color correction. Cold bluish hues have been replaced with warmer ones. This is especially noticeable when Chewy is searching for the droids.

When Obi-Wan appears it's more visible this time around.

Hoth's snow looks less blue, and has taken on a whiter more natural look, which is a big improvement actually.

The color timing changing on the snow, even though it's slight, makes a big difference when it comes to seeing the speeders against the background. It's actually one of the unsung, enjoyable changes to these Blu-ray editions.


'Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'

Jabba's Palace door has been replaced with a much larger CGI one.

Han Solo's carbonite thawing is now CGI. This is one of the dumber changes. As it stands now, the thawing looks silly. Light surrounds Hans and shoots out from his face, hand, and body. It's almost as cheesy as an angel awaking from slumber.

A CGI Dug has been added to the steps of Jabba's Palace for no discernible reason at all.

When R2 has his freakout, a whole load of gadgets have been added to the picture, more steam coming from inside, and the leaking has been digitally erased. Pretty poorly I might add.

Okay, now we're back into the "Why in the world did they do that," area. Why they felt like they needed to add in even more wacky things popping in and out of R2-D2 when he has his freakout at around the 2:14:40 mark is beyond me. Why they felt like crudely erasing the liquid coming out of him is crazy. That scene looks like an amateur went to work with a crappy version of Photoshop. It really does.
I'm also not a huge fan of the new CGI Han Solo carbonite thaw. It's really tacky especially at the end where he never used to have any light surrounding him. Now it's bursting forth from all sides. It looks really cheesy and unnecessary. To make matters worse, the new radiant light is chock-full of ugly, unsightly banding.

 

[CelticPredator]

??? I don't get this feedback at all - TMP looks a million times better on blu than on dvd. Every detail of the elaborate costuming pops, the scenery looks crisp, you get a better feel of the overall composition of certain shots. You can say what you want about the plot, dialogue, and acting (and justly so), but Lucas and company went to obvious pains to make a beautiful looking film, and that really shines through on blu. The addition of CG Yoda is also much appreciated, that terrible puppet was about as subtle as Grover from Sesame Street, whereas CG Yoda actually acts. What a difference! This was the most fun I've had watching TPM. Now, if only Lucas could bring himself to trim out the fart and poop jokes, and re-insert a couple of the deleted scenes from the DVDs, we'd really be on the right track...

DNR makes people made. It may be crisp, but it's detailless, and dull.

If i'm getting HD, I want to see every single nasty pore on Jake Loyd's face.

 

[darthviper107]

It's still better than any home release I've seen--Even the HD version on TV was pretty terrible, like extreme amounts of noise and jitter, this was a big improvement on that.

 

[jrice73]

Picked up my Blu-Ray boxset Friday and I watched a little bit of The Phantom Menace last night but due to time constraints couldn't watch the whole thing. It did look absolutely gorgeous and even though I find this to be the weakest film of the six (just like a lot of you), I honestly cannot wait to sit through the whole film after seeing a few snippets. I haven't said that about TPM since before I saw it back in 1999. Crazy.

 

[jrice73]

I thought TPM looked pretty damn awesome last night. Almost all of the CGI looked really quite real I thought.

I totally agree.

 

[Sachiel]

A CGI Dug has been added to the steps of Jabba's Palace for no discernible reason at all.

 

[Rorywan]

Interesting that everyone seems split on the picture quality of these releases. I wonder has it anything to do with the screen size everyone is watching at?

To see true 1080p PQ you need to be watching on a screen 50" and over.
Anything smaller than that will look great but not give a true impression of the full HD transfer.

For example if I stick TPM on my Sony 40" HD screen it looks great, and has a certain amount of HD "pop". But put it on a 50" and it's nowhere near as impressive and the DNR becomes much more apparent.

Listen.. it doesn't really matter I guess, as long as people are happy with their purchases. I love the set, but at the same time I can see areas for major improvement.
Maybe next time, we know we will be buying these again...

 

[IrishJedi]

The lightsabers, though advertised as fixed, are no where near fixed. I can't comprehend how this wasn't addressed. The scene with Luke igniting his father's lightsaber at Ben's home or on the Millennium Falcon would've taken someone at ILM 10 minutes to fix. They had years to fix this problem, more than enough time. I feel like writing Lucasfilm a letter, demanding my money back for their false advertisement and leading us to believe they spent time and much care on these, particularly ANH, because it's quite clear they did not. They can add a dug to Jabba's palace in ROTJ, but not fix obvious issues and address age old complaints?

:exactly

DNR makes people made. It may be crisp, but it's detailless, and dull.

If i'm getting HD, I want to see every single nasty pore on Jake Loyd's face.

Yep. Some people just don't know what HD really means, I guess.

 

[CelticPredator]

It's why I never bothered with the DNR'ed Predator Blu Ray. I'll stick to my grainy one.

 

[IrishJedi]

Yeah, DNR blows and actually compromises the original image greatly. It makes people look like wax and even organic objects look almost animated. The PREDATOR Blu-ray is a great example. Sounds like TPM is as well.

 

[Darth Waller]

Anyway, I think ANH will continue to be my least favorite Star Wars film, maybe only next to AOTC. I might enjoy it more if it's age wasn't staring me in the face during every shot. Its audio and video just doesn't mesh with the rest of the Saga, IMO, and it's extremely distracting to me.

I don't know if we can hang out together at CVI now.

You know I don't know if it's because you can see facial expressions and mannerisms better due to the clarity, but in watching ANH one thing that struck me that I don't think I ever realized watching this movie hundreds of time is what a good actor Alec Guiness was in the Obi-Wan role.

Even though he hated the dialog and didn't want to be remembered for that role, he nailed it! He and Peter Cushing brought something great for their roles.

It's why I never bothered with the DNR'ed Predator Blu Ray. I'll stick to my grainy one.

Same here.

 

[PsychoCenobite]

PsychoCenobite

 

[jye4ever]

 

[DinoLast]

Interesting that everyone seems split on the picture quality of these releases. I wonder has it anything to do with the screen size everyone is watching at?

To see true 1080p PQ you need to be watching on a screen 50" and over.
Anything smaller than that will look great but not give a true impression of the full HD transfer.

For example if I stick TPM on my Sony 40" HD screen it looks great, and has a certain amount of HD "pop". But put it on a 50" and it's nowhere near as impressive and the DNR becomes much more apparent.

Listen.. it doesn't really matter I guess, as long as people are happy with their purchases. I love the set, but at the same time I can see areas for major improvement.
Maybe next time, we know we will be buying these again...

A TV can be smaller than 50" to appreciate 1080p
It's more to do with distance from the set, so a 40"

480p resolution, you must sit: 12 feet
720p resolution, you must sit: 8 feet
1080p resolution, you must sit: 5 feet

For a 50"
480 would be 15 feet
720p - 10 feet
1080p - 7 feet

So yes a 50" is better because the further away you are the better, but you can still appreciate 1080p if you want to move the seats closer

 

[agen_kolar]

I don't know if we can hang out together at CVI now.

Oh, whatever.

I just really think the OT, particularly ANH, is showing its age and needs to be updated. For instance, the stock footage explosions on X-Wings, TIE fighters and the Death Star look dreadfully two-dimensional and ridiculous after watching the PT space battles. I think that and the lightsaber issue are my two big beefs. If George would fix those things, I think I'd be able to deal with everything else.

I could complain on and on...but I will abstain from angering any more of you.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

Yeah, DNR blows and actually compromises the original image greatly. It makes people look like wax and even organic objects look almost animated. The PREDATOR Blu-ray is a great example. Sounds like TPM is as well.

I'm glad I'm not the only person that has problems with the UH Predator Blu Ray. I got a lot of flak in that thread because I said the exact thing you just did.

~~Is it bad that I've only watched a little bit of Ep I and all of Empire so far?? I guess I should eventually watch the other ones sometime.

 

[Darth Madden]

The SE of Empire really pisses me off, especially the last half. That film was perfection.

New wampa scenes are useless and the 1997 Wampa looked nothing like the 1980 wampa! Look at the faces to compare.

Vader's "Bring my shuttle" line was much better than the new line he says.

The whole fast paced ending of Empire, including William's "hyperspace" music was butchered by having that ROTJ shuttle sequence added into it. Pointless, I think we know how Vader got back to his ship...

Fett's voice was a million times more cool in the 1980 version. Don't even get me started on the ANH changes...

The color timing is better in the original release. No strange and random color tints caused by the Lowry cleanup.

THANK GOD FOR HARMY'S HD VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY! It's the only version I watch now.

Don't forget removing one of the best lines in the movie... "You're lucky you don't taste very good."

 

[Deak Starkiller]

I'm glad I'm not the only person that has problems with the UH Predator Blu Ray. I got a lot of flak in that thread because I said the exact thing you just did.

~~Is it bad that I've only watched a little bit of Ep I and all of Empire so far?? I guess I should eventually watch the other ones sometime.

I haven't seen the TPM yet on BR, but I will say on Predator some scenes it's really noticeable and some scenes you can't tell at all. Both versions of Predator have their positives and negatives.