The review for Clerks II is up at High Def Digest:

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/clerksii.html

Normally, I wouldn't consider a review a big deal. But apparently the Weinstein Co. quietly added a Dolby TrueHD track. I may be wrong, but I think it's their first. Sure, a Kevin Smith film doesn't have an exciting soundtrack, but I am glad nonetheless. I cannot wait to pick this up!

Hmmm. There seems to be a discrepency between the grade the video got and what the review states. I think a reviewers perspective on video grading should have nothing to do with the directors perogative. Had he not listened to the audio commentary I think his grade on the video would have been lower, but because the directors said it was meant to look that way it recieved a 4.

Well, what you're referring to is a PQ tier irrespective of the way the movie is supposed to look, while their video quality rating is obviously related to director's intent. So, if all you care about is how pretty something is irrespective of how it's supposed to look then it's probably a three or three and a half according to the review. If you're concerned with having movies as close to possible to how they're intended then you give it a four and note that it's not really that amazing of a picture as they did here.

Ultimately, you can't please anyone. That's why it's nice to have reviews and then our own PQ tier thread.

At the same token if we went by what the director intended most movies would be 5 stars in video quality, as well as movie content.

Personally I think PQ should be something that the reviewer gives a score on based on what he sees and thinks. If it looks like a 3 then it should get a 3 regardless of anything else.

I realize that people have a different oppinion on this subject but thats mine. Its a shame because I love Kevin Smith and this movie. I bought the special best buy mooby meal box, and I thought about buying the HD-DVD but I probably won't now.

I don't know, but I watched this last night (snagged an early copy at a store here in NYC) and kept thinking how amazing the transfer was. Even though it was a low-budget movie, it still looks utterly fantastic on my 42" Sony plasma - MUCH better than I expected it to look.

I don't know, but I watched this last night (snagged an early copy at a store here in NYC) and kept thinking how amazing the transfer was. Even though it was a low-budget movie, it still looks utterly fantastic on my 42" Sony plasma - MUCH better than I expected it to look.

Good to hear.

I like this movie...with reservations. I'm sorry but the donkey scene was NOT funny. It was just disgusting and felt completely seperate from the tone of the film.

Also, Smith finally moves the camera, but does so in a nausea-inducing circle of death. Could have done without that.

Very excited to see the 90 minute making-of including inside baseball with the Weinstiens.

Good to hear.

I like this movie...with reservations. I'm sorry but the donkey scene was NOT funny. It was just disgusting and felt completely seperate from the tone of the film.

Also, Smith finally moves the camera, but does so in a nausea-inducing circle of death. Could have done without that.

Very excited to see the 90 minute making-of including inside baseball with the Weinstiens.


The Circle of Death! Glad I am not the only one to get nauseous watching that scene. Clerks II coming on HD-DVD is one of the reasons I jumped in early so I am looking forward to it. Thanks for the review link

Good to hear.

I like this movie...with reservations. I'm sorry but the donkey scene was NOT funny. It was just disgusting and felt completely seperate from the tone of the film.

Also, Smith finally moves the camera, but does so in a nausea-inducing circle of death. Could have done without that.

Very excited to see the 90 minute making-of including inside baseball with the Weinstiens.


Okay so your talking about movie that goes into deep thought about the viability and use of @$$ to mouth, comparing an enlarged cl!t to a penis, getting mayo in the cuter, Pillow Pants the Vagina troll and so on, and you think the Donkey scene was out of place?

don't forget the racist comments. :D

Okay so your talking about movie that goes into deep thought about the viability and use of @$$ to mouth, comparing an enlarged cl!t to a penis, getting mayo in the cuter, Pillow Pants the Vagina troll and so on, and you think the Donkey scene was out of place?

Talking about things and doing them.....VERY different things.

don't forget the racist comments. :D

Porch Monkey 4 Life.......Don't worry I am taking it back.

don't forget the racist comments. :D

You should hear what my grandma calls me! :D

Kevin Smith is just plain HILARIOUS! This movie is TRULY a "guy film". It is offensive, uncomforable to watch around "strangers", and I just LOVE IT! The funny thing about the "donkey scene" is how you just KNOW that it is going to be bad, and then he takes it to a whole other level of bad. Only the "naked wrestling" scene from Borat, or perhaps the "fake horse vagina" segment of Jackass 2 were more offensive scenes. Last year was a real winner for "daring" comedy... :)

Lee

this is what bothers me: "a quick compare between the HD DVD and the standard-def release didn't reveal much of an upgrade".

fine, it looks the way the director intended it to look. but if the pq is almost the same as the standard def version, then i don't see why i should spend the extra money. a dolby true hd track doesn't mean much to me in a movie like this.

this is what bothers me: "a quick compare between the HD DVD and the standard-def release didn't reveal much of an upgrade".The more reviews come out of HDDigest, the more all over the board they are. Ok, so they say it isn't much of an upgrade from the SD-DVD version... does that mean the SD-DVD version is a really good transfer? I'm confused, they gave it 4 stars for picture quality. They also gave Pearl Harbor 4 stars for PQ and it is being regarded as the best transfer to Blu-Ray yet?
I am still interested in HDDigests reviews and what they have to say, but I take it with a grain of salt and do not regard it as reference at all.

I bought this a while ago (on the 2nd of January) and just now had a chance to watch it. I think the PQ is great. Comparing the Clerks II SD-DVD at 480p to Clerks II HD-DVD at 1080i, I notice a huge difference.

Pearl Harbour is full of macro blocking, does this have compression artefacts?

Pearl Harbour is full of macro blocking, does this have compression artefacts?


As far as I know? No. I have always had a problem with DVD and apparently its been an issue on BLu-Ray movies which leads me to believe that it is a very basic issue with the age old Mpeg-2 code or the decoders on the players.

well, i'm buyin it on standard def tomorrow.

with the way ces is goin, i'm afraid i'm backing off hi def movies for a while.

I cannot wait to see this movie. Sounds great from the review!

I knew the HD-DVD was coming out but I had to buy the SD DVD. No everybody has the same sense of humor as Kevin Smith. I'm glad I do. :) The donkey scene was hilarious. What is even funnier is the behind-the-scenes/making-of commentary and shooting of the donkey scene.

larry

As far as I know? No. I have always had a problem with DVD and apparently its been an issue on BLu-Ray movies which leads me to believe that it is a very basic issue with the age old Mpeg-2 code or the decoders on the players.
Yeah, macroblocking occurs with mpeg-2 when the data stream is too low.

Anyone else watch this disk yet? I found it early at Best Buy today and spun it tonight.

Mine had what I can only presume to be a not so graceful layer change at about 1:03:00 when the donkey car is pulling up to Mooby's. It froze for a second then continued on, although the first time it happened the audio actually stopped playing after. I ran it back a couple times with both english tracks selected and it would pause the same way every time but the audio stayed. Just wonering if it's my disk or all of them. This about the 8th HD-DVD I've watched and I dont' remember seeing a layer change pause on any other disk.

This was my first time seeing the film and I really enjoyed it. Lots of laugh out loud stuff. God damn Dawson is hot.

Anyway, regarding the HiDef review, I agree 4 out of 5 would not be accurate if not for the "director's intent" caveat. I'd like to see something like an asterisk next to that rating so one can understand the review. I thought it looked pretty nice for the style though but certainly not something to run out and replace your SD with if you already have it.

On a similar note, I also picked up Lucky # Slevin and watched that as well. Again, it was my first time seeing the film so I can't speak to how it looked theatrically, but I was not really bowled over by the visuals. Some shots were nice and sharp but most didn't look too much better than HD cable to me. I think 3.5/5 would be fair for PQ. Liked the film though so I'll probably keep it.

I've pre-ordered this movie and it kinda pisses me off since they're double dipping on me(I already bought the SD-DVD version)

I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan and my wife thinks I'm crazy since she says that the way Kevin shot the movie then desaturated the colors for every scene except the dance just doesn't lend itself to HD-DVD. She's right but I bought it anyway and can't say why aside from being a fan and wanting the best presentation possible.

I think this is the complete opposite of a double-dip. This was announced the same time as the DVD version and even though it got delayed for a bit (which pissed me off) no one ever made the assumption it wasn't coming relatively soon after the DVD.

I've pre-ordered this movie and it kinda pisses me off since they're double dipping on me(I already bought the SD-DVD version)

Well, no one forced you to buy that. We had heard that the HD DVD was coming before the DVD was released. It's not like the surprise double dips on DVD where you have no idea the new edition is coming.

Although, I could see the person who doesn't pay attention to release dates getting upset. Someone could have seen no HD version back in November, assumed it wasn't being released in HD, and bought the DVD. Now, he'd be pissed to see the HD version on the shelf.

Just got to watch all the way through again (to form my final opinion). Really good transfer, i'd say mid-to-low tier 1. I did have 2 skips (might be layer change, not sure) but I didn't have to stop the player.

Loved the TrueHD soundtrack on it! Also the extra disc has bonus features in HD!! The documentary is really good too, especially in HD.

Sam

Just got to watch all the way through again (to form my final opinion). Really good transfer, i'd say mid-to-low tier 1. I did have 2 skips (might be layer change, not sure) but I didn't have to stop the player.

Loved the TrueHD soundtrack on it! Also the extra disc has bonus features in HD!! The documentary is really good too, especially in HD.

Sam

DO you remember what scenes it skipped at?

Anyone else watch this disk yet? I found it early at Best Buy today and spun it tonight.

Mine had what I can only presume to be a not so graceful layer change at about 1:03:00 when the donkey car is pulling up to Mooby's. It froze for a second then continued on, although the first time it happened the audio actually stopped playing after. I ran it back a couple times with both english tracks selected and it would pause the same way every time but the audio stayed. Just wonering if it's my disk or all of them. This about the 8th HD-DVD I've watched and I dont' remember seeing a layer change pause on any other disk.

I just watched the disc tonight and had the same pause. I re-cued it a couple times with the same result. I haven't had layer changes with other discs, but I would assume this is what it is. Otherwise, no problems.

The more reviews come out of HDDigest, the more all over the board they are. Ok, so they say it isn't much of an upgrade from the SD-DVD version... does that mean the SD-DVD version is a really good transfer? I'm confused, they gave it 4 stars for picture quality. They also gave Pearl Harbor 4 stars for PQ and it is being regarded as the best transfer to Blu-Ray yet?
I am still interested in HDDigests reviews and what they have to say, but I take it with a grain of salt and do not regard it as reference at all.

Personally I CANNOT STAND the film reviews on that sight. I always skip to the section for the PQ. The reviewer there seems to have a strange taste in movies that just doesn't fit with anything coming out on HD-DVD. I mean, how can you NOT enjoy mafia movies like Goodfellas?? I tried to read reviews there for movies that I love, and there was always a negative comment on either the movie itself, or its genre. To each his/her own I guess, but I just feel like that site has the opposite taste of my own.

No skips for me.

I was disappointed that some of the deleted scenes seemed like upconverted DVD scenes instead of from the source. I thought they were all going to be from the source. I guess not.

I did see my name clear as day now on the HD-DVD version.

Also for anybody that is bitching about the desaturation and grain that Kevin put there himself, what do you think about the intensely colorful dance sequence where he takes the filters away?