Films (Almost Entirely Surround)

[timothyemerson]

Coming Soon from Universal the second Native UHD4K wave of Hitchcock Titles




This batch is expected to include Saboteur (1942), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Marnie (1964), The Trouble with Harry (1955), To Catch a Thief (1955), and Family Plot (1976). Remastering on all on all of them is apparently complete. Note that To Catch a Thief is a Paramount title here in the States, so expect it to come from them on their own schedule. The others would seem likely to be released as an Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection: Volume 2 box set by Universal here in the States, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Awesome, Shadow of a Doubt is my favourite Hitchcock!

 

[timothyemerson]

Did the George V Higgins double-feature last night:

Killing Them Softly (2012) BD:
1. Really good DTS-MA 5.1 discrete surround mix on this (rain, water dripping, other atmospheric elements). Fidelity is great. A few deep lows. Gun fire sounds good.
2. Superb performances all around. A really good gritty crime drama with plenty of style, subtext/political parallels and great characters.
3. Cheap Region A BD here: https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Them...644009509&sprefix=klling+them+,aps,281&sr=8-1
4. According to IMDB, it's the second and most recent adaptation of a George V Higgins novel after...

The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) BD:
1. Dual mono but superb in all respects (story, characters, acting, direction, all tip-top). Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle - excellent.
I have this one: Amazon.com but this one's probably got the same transfer: https://www.amazon.com/Friends-Eddi...+friends+of+eddie+coyleblu+ray,aps,245&sr=8-1

 

[4-earredwonder]

It has been confirmed that HBO's brilliant series EUPHORIA has been renewed for a Season THREE

https://decider.com/2022/02/04/euphoria-renewed-season-3/

 

[4-earredwonder]

Streaming tonight [8:00 PM EST] on HBO/HBO MAX Guillermo del Toro's torrid remake of NIGHTMARE ALLEY considered one of Del Toro's finest creations!

https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...dley-cooper-cate-blanchett-guillermo-del-toro

 

[Marplot]

The Hobbit 4k, this is the cheapest I have seen; $50 USD with coupon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KQBYM1...olid=3HVIL66KOI37O&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
A great deal other than then you have to watch it again.

 

[4-earredwonder]

The Hobbit 4k, this is the cheapest I have seen; $50 USD with coupon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KQBYM1...olid=3HVIL66KOI37O&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
A great deal other than then you have to watch it again.

To BUY or NOT to buy? I have the spectacular 3D versions and regarding this newly remastered UHD4K set, a number of posters on blu ray.com have noted there are FREEZING issues on two of the extended UHD4K discs. Wonder if they have yet been resolved???????

Otherwise, a great price Marplot!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Coming in Late 2022 from Kino Lorber in Native UHD4K struck from the original camera negative, Bryan Singer's THE USUAL SUSPECTS [HDR10/Dolby Vision]

Kino Lorber has revealed that it plans to release on 4K Blu-ray Bryan Singer's thriller The Usual Suspects(1995), starring Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, and Kevin Spacey. The release is expected to arrive on the market later this year.

Kino Lorber have also confirmed that the upcoming release will be sourced from an exclusive new 4K master struck from the original camera negative, and will feature an HDR/Dolby Vision grade.

Description: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," says con man Kint (Kevin Spacey), drawing a comparison to the most enigmatic criminal of all time, Keyser Soze. Kint attempts to convince the feds that the mythic crime lord not only exists, but is also responsible for drawing Kint and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro Harbor - leaving few survivors.

 

[bookofsaturdays]

To BUY or NOT to buy? I have the spectacular 3D versions and regarding this newly remastered UHD4K set, a number of posters on blu ray.com have noted there are FREEZING issues on two of the extended UHD4K discs. Wonder if they have yet been resolved???????

Otherwise, a great price Marplot!

I own the massive 4K box set, I watched the Hobbit films recently and I do recall one instance where my disc froze (can’t remember which one), but it corrected itself in a few seconds and was fine from that point on. The 4K’s look great to me and I actually really enjoy the Hobbit movies for what they are, they’re entertaining enough for me.

 

[windhoek]

Finally watched another cracker after a few duds (Troy, The Terrible Amazing Spiderman 1 & 2): Black Swan (2010) with Natalie Portman in the form of her life. I've seen it once before on a fairly small TV with crappy built-in speakers so I already knew it was a decent film. But when I watched it last night on my OLED TV with sound running through my Tannoys, it was a completely different and utterly amazing viewing experience that left me in no doubt as to the quality of the film. Natalie Portman was so believable at believing she was the Black Swan, and the music was just excellent as well. It's crazy but I feel as though I could easily watch it all over again right now. Just brilliant from start to finish. Thoroughly recommended!

 

[bookofsaturdays]

Black Swan is quite an amazing experience, great use of surrounds as well. If you haven’t seen it I’d absolutely recommend ‘The Wrestler’ starring Mickey Rourke. It’s the same director so of course it has a similar style. 10/10 film for me.

 

[timothyemerson]

Black Swan is quite an amazing experience, great use of surrounds as well. If you haven’t seen it I’d absolutely recommend ‘The Wrestler’ starring Mickey Rourke. It’s the same director so of course it has a similar style. 10/10 film for me.

Yep, The Wrestler was a goodie. The Fountain and mother! are my favourites of Darren's flicks. mother! has constant, discrete surround action throughout.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Yep, The Wrestler was a goodie. The Fountain and mother! are my favourites of Darren's flicks. mother! has constant, discrete surround action throughout.

LOVE The Fountain ...such an overlooked GEM!

 

[timothyemerson]

LOVE The Fountain ...such an overlooked GEM!

Indeed! One of my many favourite flicks. Dismissed as pretentious by many but one heck of a tightly-edited gem. Hope we get a 4K release with a new scan one day soon.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Indeed! One of my many favourite flicks. Dismissed as pretentious by many but one heck of a tightly-edited gem. Hope we get a 4K release with a new scan one day soon.

One could only wish for a NATIVE UHD4K remaster of THE FOUNTAIN. Maybe SOMEDAY!

 

[bookofsaturdays]

Yep, The Wrestler was a goodie. The Fountain and mother! are my favourites of Darren's flicks. mother! has constant, discrete surround action throughout.

Haven’t seen the Fountain yet, I think I’ve seen every Aronofsky film except that one and Noah. I’ve seen mother! multiple times and loved it but that was before I got my surround setup. I bet that middle section has lots of potential for discrete goodness… I’ll have to revisit it!

 

[timothyemerson]

Haven’t seen the Fountain yet, I think I’ve seen every Aronofsky film except that one and Noah. I’ve seen mother! multiple times and loved it but that was before I got my surround setup. I bet that middle section has lots of potential for discrete goodness… I’ll have to revisit it!

I don't want to get your expectations up but The Fountain rules. Hope you dig it when you check it out.

I always forget about Noah - I was pleased when the credits rolled!

Yes, plenty of discrete surround action throughout mother! As the camera moves around the house, sounds pan correspondingly around all channels. It's a great surround mix.

 

[timothyemerson]

Cold War (2018) BD:
1. A decent DTS-MA 5.1 mix with pretty constant use of the surround channels throughout.
2. Music scenes are great. Fidelity is excellent. Some pretty low lows too.
3. Superb cinematography. Pretty much every shot is like a well-composed painting. Joanna Kulig's got a face that'd stop traffic. Wow.
4. Great story/acting/characters/direction.
5. Nice and short too. Only around 85 minutes.
6. CC release here (I have the Madman Region B release): Amazon.com: Cold War (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] : Pawlikowski, Pawel, Kulig, Joanna, Kot, Tomasz, Szyc, Borys, Kulesza, Agata, Kahn, Cedric, Balibar, Jeanne, Woronowicz, Adam, Ferency, Adam, Sivak, Drazen, Sobin, Slavko: Movies & TV

 

[4-earredwonder]

Well, QQ FILM BUFFS, it's that time of the year when the Academy Awards are announced and even though a lot of us consider it a political event, here goes:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/oscars-2022-the-complete-list-of-academy-awards-nominees.html

 

[4-earredwonder]

Yep, The Wrestler was a goodie. The Fountain and mother! are my favourites of Darren's flicks. mother! has constant, discrete surround action throughout.

Regarding MOTHER ...didn't realize it was actually shot in 16mm [with special effects sequences filmed in 35mm]. My quandry: purchase it in regular BD~V or splurge for the UPSCALED UHD4K?

 

[timothyemerson]

Regarding MOTHER ...didn't realize it was actually shot in 16mm [with special effects sequences filmed in 35mm]. My quandry: purchase it in regular BD~V or splurge for the UPSCALED UHD4K?

Yes, according to the extras on The Fountain and other Darren flicks, he prefers 16mm. You'd hardly know though. Just shows to go that a decent image is mostly down to using decent lenses.

I have multiple picture settings on my TV depending on what player I'm using, whether it's streaming, BD or 4K, whether Criterion have cranked up the black levels to detail-obscuring levels + whatever adjustments I think whatever I'm watching needs at the time, etc. If I flick between the 4K of mother! on my Sony X800 on the Custom picture setting (adjusted from the factory settings to how I like it) with the BD on my el cheapo Laser player on the Cinema Home picture setting (adjusted from the factory settings to how I like it also), it's really pretty difficult to tell the difference.

As you'll well know though, the benefit of many 4K's (given that most are upscaled 2K) is the addition of HDR which should result in better highlights. After doing several 4K/BD comparisons such as this, I'm usually inclined to just get the 4K - provided the price isn't silly. Hope you can pick it up on sale!