Saturday, July 17, 2010

At my signal, unleash detail

1:27 PM / Blu-ray / Comments12 Comments

Blu-ray

It looks as if the GLADIATOR BD tale of woe is finally coming to an end. Screen captures have materialised of the 10th Anniversary Edition released in the Netherlands, and it seems fair to say that the previous, substandard release has well and truly had its backside handed to it. Several comparative captures of the old and new versions have been posted at Dutch forum dvd.nl by user Freaky, and while they are not exact frame matches, the differences are blatantly apparent: gone is the softness, ringing, grain reduction and DVNR artefacts. Actually, I'd go as far as to say that the new release looks stunning enough to potentially hold its own against BRAVEHEART, which, when released on the same day as the previous release by the same studio, absolutely decimated its younger counterpart.

A couple of crops for your viewing pleasure (follow the link above for the full images):

Gladiator

Gladiator

(It's worth pointing out that the colour palette differs in some instances, with the new version looking a little more saturated. I can't claim with any certainty to know which one - if either - is "correct", but in any event the clear improvements to every aspect of the film with the new edition make it the one to go for regardless. Please also ignore the artefacting in the second new capture - it came from a heavily compressed JPEG source. I included it to illustrate the absence of DVNR artefacts.)

This is vindication for all those of us who stamped our feet and complained about the previous release, who did what we could to spread the word, who refused to listen to the naysayers who claimed this film would never look any better (including one supposed industry insider who shall remain nameless who told us to stop complaining and either sit further away from our screens or find a new hobby).

Now I just need to find somewhere that's stocking the damn thing.

Updated Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 01:32 PM: More captures of the new edition have appeared at the AV Science Forum.

 
12 Comments

1. Johan said:

the new edition looks really really good, not just compared to the old :)

(Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 3:15 PM)

2. Will Dearborn said:

Wahoooooooooo! Good on you Universal.

Your second to last paragraph says it all.

(Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 3:15 PM)

3. Will Dearborn said:

Would it be okay if I used your "old/new" graphic images on my own blog?

(Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 3:17 PM)

4. Author Profile Page Michael said:

Will:

Sure, go ahead, although they're not my captures - they come from here originally.

(Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 3:20 PM)

5. FoxyMulder said:

I think the whole world is getting this 10th anniversary edition in September, so not long to wait.

(Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 8:30 PM)

6. Author Profile Page Michael said:

Foxymulder:

Patience was never one of my strong points...

(Posted on Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 12:00 AM)

7. Christopher D. Jacobson said:

Looks fantastic. Anybody know where I can order this from the US?

(Posted on Monday, July 19, 2010 at 10:31 PM)

8. David S.H. said:

While it is an improvement, I wouldn't label it the definitive copy. Guess if I had to choose I'd go with the new one. But toning down the colour on my TV every time a watched it would get annoying

(Posted on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 1:57 AM)

9. Christopher D. Jacobson said:

I think the colors look great. This may be like the BD for "Bram Stoker's Dracula" where the colors are more accurate to the actual film, while all previous home video releases are murky and dull.

(Posted on Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 4:42 AM)

10. Author Profile Page Michael said:

They rescanned the original negative, which would have necessitated redoing the colour timing from scratch (as with SE7EN, MINORITY REPORT and the GODFATHER films). I agree with Chris, though - just because the previous releases (all derived from the same master) had a particular look doesn't mean it was correct. Assuming Ridley Scott was involved in the creation of the new master, the move to digital colour timing probably gave him a greater opportunity to get exactly the sort of look her wanted.

(Posted on Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 7:43 PM)

11. Christopher D. Jacobson said:

According to the article linked below, this new transfer will be finding its way to the US, and Paramount is setting up an exchange program. Hope it's all true.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa182.html#072010

(Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 6:46 AM)

12. Christopher D. Jacobson said:

Also, I showed my brother some screenshots from the new BD. Upon the first screengrab I showed him, which was of the old transfer, not only did he mention the horrible lack of detail, but noted how the coloring in the night scene was all wrong, distinctly remembering the coloring in the film (which he said had two main color schemes: a kind of blueish one for night scenes, and I believe he said a more yellowish one for daytime scenes—I could be misremembering on the latter color, though).

I then showed him screengrabs from the new transfer, and he said the coloring is just how he remembered it from when he saw it in the theater.

For what it's worth...

(Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 10:15 AM)

 
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