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**mrllxp** · 11-12-2008, 09:53 AM

Extremely disappointing? Wow, I definitely would not go that far. Are the US and UK versions the same master and encode? Sure they went a bit heavy with the EE which is disappointing at times but overall I thought it was certainly passable. Do you have the sharpness too high on your display? Also, what extras did you feel were missing? I didn't look too deep into the extras but there seem to be a good amount of them.

I believe the UK and US versions are the exact same encode, and my sharpness definitely isn't too high. The reason i'm 'extremely' disappointed, rather than a little let down, is because this film should have been the ultimate demo material for blu-ray. It's a brand new 2008 film, filmed using all the latest technology and a decent budget, doesn't use any drastic artistic directions, raked in a ****-tonne of money, and was extremely anticipated for its home video release so success was a given. From the moment the IMAX scene opened up i could tell something was wrong, and then when it showed the joker waiting for the car it immediately confirmed to me that they had used EE even on the IMAX scenes. The IMAX scenes do look good, but the Prologue on BB shows me that they could have looked so much better if they were just left alone. The 35mm scenes are the main culprit here, everything just looks too digital and not very film-like, and it's not just a case of going from IMAX to 35mm causing the poor look. I watched I Am Legend tonight, which i always thought looked a little too soft when i bought it earlier this year, but it was a revelation going back to something that wasn't trying to tear my eyes out.

I compare the look of over-processed, edge enhanced films like TDK to the fatigue you experience when listening to a lot of todays music. Everything is mastered or mixed way too hot, causing you to want to turn the volume down after 10 minutes as your ears just can't take it. I call it viewing fatigue for TDK, and just hope that the films inevitable high sales doesn't cause an onslaught of all other studios doing the same thing. Music may be lost to the loudness war, but we can still save blu-ray while it's in it's early stages if we don't accept this over-enhanced look to be ok.

As for the extras, the focus points were quite interesting, but it could have done with a proper 'making of' and a commentry track (although i understand Nolan doesn't like doing them). There must be more Ledger material out there as well, like interviews etc. Unfortunately, the UK version doesn't have BD Live. If i had known this when i was ordering, i would have bought the more expensive US version from Movietyme and waited a few more days for it.

11-12-2008, 09:53 AM	#15
mrllxp Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 447 Senior Member	Extremely disappointing? Wow, I definitely would not go that far. Are the US and UK versions the same master and encode? Sure they went a bit heavy with the EE which is disappointing at times but overall I thought it was certainly passable. Do you have the sharpness too high on your display? Also, what extras did you feel were missing? I didn't look too deep into the extras but there seem to be a good amount of them. I believe the UK and US versions are the exact same encode, and my sharpness definitely isn't too high. The reason i'm 'extremely' disappointed, rather than a little let down, is because this film should have been the ultimate demo material for blu-ray. It's a brand new 2008 film, filmed using all the latest technology and a decent budget, doesn't use any drastic artistic directions, raked in a ***-tonne of money, and was extremely anticipated for its home video release so success was a given. From the moment the IMAX scene opened up i could tell something was wrong, and then when it showed the joker waiting for the car it immediately confirmed to me that they had used EE even on the IMAX scenes. The IMAX scenes do look good, but the Prologue on BB shows me that they could have looked so much better if they were just left alone. The 35mm scenes are the main culprit here, everything just looks too digital and not very film-like, and it's not just a case of going from IMAX to 35mm causing the poor look. I watched I Am Legend* tonight, which i always thought looked a little too soft when i bought it earlier this year, but it was a revelation going back to something that wasn't trying to tear my eyes out. I compare the look of over-processed, edge enhanced films like TDK to the fatigue you experience when listening to a lot of todays music. Everything is mastered or mixed way too hot, causing you to want to turn the volume down after 10 minutes as your ears just can't take it. I call it viewing fatigue for TDK, and just hope that the films inevitable high sales doesn't cause an onslaught of all other studios doing the same thing. Music may be lost to the loudness war, but we can still save blu-ray while it's in it's early stages if we don't accept this over-enhanced look to be ok. As for the extras, the focus points were quite interesting, but it could have done with a proper 'making of' and a commentry track (although i understand Nolan doesn't like doing them). There must be more Ledger material out there as well, like interviews etc. Unfortunately, the UK version doesn't have BD Live. If i had known this when i was ordering, i would have bought the more expensive US version from Movietyme and waited a few more days for it.
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