I don't see anyone talking about this disc and I am curious if I am the only one who bought it. I would like to know anyone else's opinion that made this purchase.

i did!

have you watched it yet? what did you think?

Blind bought it should come in tomorrow.

I purchased it today. Have not had a chance to watch it as my wife are to busy watching hockey like all good Canadian boys and girls. :)

I watched it tonight but I want to reserve my opinion until more people have a chance to watch it. I am curious to hear other people's take on this release.

I watched it yesterday and PQ was better in my HT in comparison to the theatre in which I saw the movie in its premiere.

Blind bought as well haven't had the chance to watch yet. I watched hollywoodland today and that was good. BAs acting was a little iffy but a great movie

Well, just finished watching and wow. Great PQ, audio was good (i have the 360 addon so that was a surprise), the movie itself is...........interesting. Compared to the first two movies by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros and 21 grams), babel is not as good in my opinion. It is well done and is oozing with dramatic and amazing scenes (japanese girl in disco and the final montage of all the storyline endings comes to mind). It is just too damn depressing. Babel is a great netflix rent, I honestly don't know when I will ever want to sit throught the 2+ hours again.

RENT IT, THEN DECIDE.


and is it just me or did the whole japanese story seem out of place and not needed...

i bought 1 of the 3 copies my best buy had this morning right after they opened.

i liked it...really good movie.

i saw it once this morning then i just saw about half of it when my mother wanted to watch.

i'm happy with my purchase.

#18 for me.
#19 will be beside you in time next week.

I sure wanted to get it in HD DVD but thought I should rent it first. I did. Good movie, very good but it's really, really unsettling. Not sure if I want to own it or not. Can't imagine anyone I know coming over and wanting to see that. Don't get me wrong, it's a high quality film but a difficult one to see.

I bought it. Probably won't watch it till this weekend though.

I sure wanted to get it in HD DVD but thought I should rent it first. I did. Good movie, very good but it's really, really unsettling. Not sure if I want to own it or not. Can't imagine anyone I know coming over and wanting to see that. Don't get me wrong, it's a high quality film but a difficult one to see.

yes it is a sad subject ..a lot of finger pointing at many of our social issues...picture quality was excellent ..not very impressed with the audio ..not enough surround effects..it's hard to enjoy a movie like babel...but it did hold my attention

I bought it. the PQ was not all that good IMO. I know I'm sure that's how the director wanted it to look, but there was a lot of digital noise in the morocco scenes.

It was an interesting movie. It was a blind buy for me.

Also, I was suprised it was 1.78:1. It's almost odd to watch movies that fill my entire screen now.

-Steve

blind buy, but it was worth it, since I cant rent this tittle where I am. PQ and AQ are a 7.5. Lots of scenes with noise/grain (or what ever you want to call it), but im on the side who says "why do I wan to see that?". Movie is an 8. Ill probably watch it again, but will likely take it to my local buy, sell trade shop.

I bought it still waiting to get it, Still have to watch Hollywoodland and The Departed before this one might be a bit before I et to sit down and watch it.

I watched most of it tonight (Netflix rental). PQ was excellent. Sure I could see all that 'stuff' that was probably inherent in the movie. It was still a very sharp transfer. Just too long to watch all of it after my daughter went to bed. My wife couldn't take more than 45 minutes...she was bothered by the subject and knew she couldn't take much more.

Well, just finished watching and wow. Great PQ, audio was good (i have the 360 addon so that was a surprise), the movie itself is...........interesting. Compared to the first two movies by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros and 21 grams), babel is not as good in my opinion. It is well done and is oozing with dramatic and amazing scenes (japanese girl in disco and the final montage of all the storyline endings comes to mind). It is just too damn depressing. Babel is a great netflix rent, I honestly don't know when I will ever want to sit throught the 2+ hours again.

RENT IT, THEN DECIDE.


and is it just me or did the whole japanese story seem out of place and not needed...

yeah, i should've rented. it's more of a one watch movie.

I watched 'Babel' last night. It was a blind buy and I'm happy I did it.
PQ was excellent as far as I can judge from my 720p projector. As sharp as it gets on my setup and a very consistent look. I can't comment on the AQ with my 360 Add on but it was Ok for me.
The movie itself was more than a pleasant surprise to me. Very dense and gripping storytelling. I've never seen '21 grams' but compared to 'Amores Perros' I found it to be a little more accessible for a general audience. Even my wife, who has usually problems with tough stories, was sitting through the whole movie.
Concerning the part in Japan to be out of place: probably, since no direct connection to the shooting, but I cared too much for the girl that I would complain.
What a great film. Nothing to watch too often but if you do it catches your attention.

I rented it since my mother told me I probably wouldn't watch it more than once.

i bought it yesterday.

I got it from Best Buy for $21.99 yesterday thanks to Fry's online print out. :)

I rented it since my mother told me I probably wouldn't watch it more than once.
you still listen to your mother ;)

I got it but haven't watched it yet.

Well, just finished watching and wow. Great PQ, audio was good (i have the 360 addon so that was a surprise), the movie itself is...........interesting. Compared to the first two movies by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros and 21 grams), babel is not as good in my opinion. It is well done and is oozing with dramatic and amazing scenes (japanese girl in disco and the final montage of all the storyline endings comes to mind). It is just too damn depressing. Babel is a great netflix rent, I honestly don't know when I will ever want to sit throught the 2+ hours again.

RENT IT, THEN DECIDE.


and is it just me or did the whole japanese story seem out of place and not needed...

Yeah I rented it as it did'nt look like I'd watch it again and I was amazed as it actually shipped from Netflix tuesday ! The Prestige is a title I'd like to have, I watched it last night, what a great Film.

Well this is the first HD DVD purchase that I have regretted making. After watching it I was left wanting my $28 and 2 hours of my life back. The price was high for a disc with no extras, DD+, and not even a combo disc.

The movie was attempting to be edgy and intriguing but really was just ridiculous. Throw a Crash-esque scattered plot line in with some bleeding heart social issues and then a dash of unecessary sexual taboo and this is what you get.

I bought it. Great film, and a beautiful transfer.

Anyone notice it is AVCMPEG4? I thought paramount was using VC1....

Still looked very good. better than the AVC on the HD DVD demo disc for sure.

i have not watched it yet. bought it yesterday, along with surround sound lol cant wait to watch it now just adds to the movie experience

Well this is the first HD DVD purchase that I have regretted making. After watching it I was left wanting my $28 and 2 hours of my life back. The price was high for a disc with no extras, DD+, and not even a combo disc.

The movie was attempting to be edgy and intriguing but really was just ridiculous. Throw a Crash-esque scattered plot line in with some bleeding heart social issues and then a dash of unecessary sexual taboo and this is what you get.

Let Me guess watch alot of Fox News Do ya?

I watched the first 30 minutes of it last night. Solid AVC transfer, from what i've seen so far also a very interesting film.

It was a blind buy for me too.... I was there picking up Black Rain, and some BD discs.... and saw this so I grabbed it. Haven't watched it yet.

Let Me guess watch alot of Fox News Do ya?

Let me guess, you were educated in the liberal school system?

See how this snowballs? I don't think you want to drag politics into this forum...

Didn't buy after seeing it in the theater. I wasn't a big fan of the movie at all ... too loosely tied together ... it appeared to be trying too hard. Amazing acting, costumes and cinematography .. just a weak plot and poor development.

The lady loved the movie ... as she loves the director .. so it just turned into a big argument causer... :D

Let Me guess watch alot of Fox News Do ya?

no actually. Im not sure how my opinion on the movie brought you to that conclusion.

I've seen this movie, but wouldn't buy it on any format. Once was enough.

Cheers,

Grant

Let Me guess watch alot of Fox News Do ya?

i'm not sure that is fair to say. i'm not quite as harsh as he is on it, but I do see, to an extent, where he is coming from with his critisms (well not the DD+part since it does have DD+ and i'm not a fan of combo discs), and I am anything but a FOX 'news' type of guy....

i thought both crash and 21 grams were better.

acting in babel was very good though.

wouldn't say it's a bad film, but it just didn't quite come together for me, wish i had just rented, something just felt off and hollow about it to me and occasionally for some reason, almost phony a few moments here and there. normally i might even go for this sort of thing more than The Departed sort of film, but I thought The Departed was noticeably better. anyway, everyone has their own opinions.

I watched it last night with the wife, we both thought it was a very compelling movie.

Tonight over dinner talked about the parallels and how the 3 sub-plots were intertwined. We even looked up the word "Babel", best correlation was the confusion surrounding deferent languages and communication difficulties.

I may even consider a purchase. Helps to put everyday problems in perspective.

I did have some stutters and skips in playback in the first 5 to 10 min. and again about 3/4 the way thru. The disk was pristine "NOT A MARK". At least none I could see. Netflix says if you have problems - to wash with mild soapy water or "GLASS CLEANER". Wow, I thought window cleaner was very undesirable.

Anyway, great movie and will recommend to all over 16.

Steve

I have it.....

Just got done watching it. I also had a few playback issues a couple of skips. The audio was out of sync at one spot. Other wise played great.


I liked the movie but would have liked to see more about each story. Although at the same time the movie ended quicker then I thought yet it was fairly long..

Some of it was predictible but almost all movies have that...

I am GLAD I netflixed this one! It was OK but nothing more. I found it way to predictable. And yes it was trying to hard to be Crash... ;)

Glad / sad :( to hear that others had similar playback issues.

Guess it was not just my A1 acting up. I have the new software and have had no problems with the past 6 or so HD disks from Netflix.

Steve

I liked the movie but would have liked to see more about each story. Although at the same time the movie ended quicker then I thought yet it was fairly long..

Some of it was predictible but almost all movies have that...


Agreed. It had three (two) great storylines there were never fully developed ... yet long enough to get you interested.

Somehow ...in someones mind ... they were magically tied together with a piece of dental floss and called a movie.

It ended up being a poorly integrated compilation of three (well two, as I think the mute girl scenes were pointless) good movies.

Well, just finished watching and wow. Great PQ, audio was good (i have the 360 addon so that was a surprise), the movie itself is...........interesting. Compared to the first two movies by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros and 21 grams), babel is not as good in my opinion. It is well done and is oozing with dramatic and amazing scenes (japanese girl in disco and the final montage of all the storyline endings comes to mind). It is just too damn depressing. Babel is a great netflix rent, I honestly don't know when I will ever want to sit throught the 2+ hours again.

RENT IT, THEN DECIDE.


and is it just me or did the whole japanese story seem out of place and not needed...

without the japanese story there wouldnt have been a story, maybe you should see the movie again and see where the trail starts

According to Wikipedia it was shot in Super 16, along with "The Last King of Scotland", "Saw", The Devil's Rejects", " The Queen" etc. This seems to be the trend for a lot of feature films today.

According to Wikipedia it was shot in Super 16, along with "The Last King of Scotland", "Saw", The Devil's Rejects", " The Queen" etc. This seems to be the trend for a lot of feature films today.
The Morocco segments are 16mm, so the pronounced grain in these is certainly intentional and natural. The Mexico/US segments were shot in 35mm (Super 35, according to IMDB, despite the aspect ratio being 1.85:1 - it's entirely possible, I suppose, although Super35 tends to be used for 2.35:1 films), while the Tokyo segments were shot in 35mm anamorphic Panavision (and then presumably cropped to 1.85:1). As a result, the Japanese segments are the most grain-free (highest "resolution" of film). Personally I liked the difference in film stocks for the different strands of the storyline.

I laughed during the movie because that family had some of the worst luck I've ever seen, even for a movie family their luck was rotten. It was well shot, acted and directed, but I didn't think it was effective as a statement on societal issues.

I am GLAD I netflixed this one! It was OK but nothing more. I found it way to predictable. And yes it was trying to hard to be Crash... ;)

Well, there are some (including me) who would argue "Crash" tried to hard to be "Amores Perros" or "21 Grams" - previous films by Bable's Director. Intertwining stories is his "trademark".

I just watched Bable last night, and for me it was one of my best purchases on HD DVD. Tremendous story, and everything worked perfectly for me. Maybe not a "Top Tier" PQ, but very good considering its comparatively modest budget and 16/35 mm photography. I gave the movie 9 out of 10 stars on IMDB.

Well, there are some (including me) who would argue "Crash" tried to hard to be "Amores Perros" or "21 Grams" - previous films by Bable's Director. Intertwining stories is his "trademark".
So true.

Please somehow ... someway logically convince me that the mute girls story was even remotely tied into the movie ... and no ... the fact that the random gun used in a hunting trip 50 years ago doesn't count, that was weak. That was a pathetic attempt to add to the movie ... and it simply didn't at all

without the japanese story there wouldnt have been a story, maybe you should see the movie again and see where the trail starts


So then there probably should have been a fifth story explaining what happened to the paraplegic wife of the guy who sold the rifle to the japanese hunter and how she was mentally distressed and wanted another child but here husband didn't...................BLABLABLABLABLA.

If the main shooting from the moroccon kids didn't affect it, it shouldnt have been in the movie, japanese story = filler, good filler, but filler no less.


edit: and an excuse to see some a hairy monster.................

An extremely pretentious film, but quite sharp PQ.

An extremely pretentious film, but quite sharp PQ.

I don't think there was anything pretentious about the film at all.

I think it is extremely well directed, well photographed and filled with great acting. The drama builds and sustains throughout the entire 2 hours but also makes a legitimate social commentary. Definately not the typical bullcrap hollywood fluff movie that seems to be celebrated around here and if viewed with an open mind can be quite entertaining.

Well directed - sure
Great acting - check
excellent photography - yup

sutsained drama - negative ghostrider ... too many stories ... too much failed connections ... and not enough development or story to any of them. They all just ended at once and the movie was over. The only one that had any real feeling of closure/resolution was the maid .. and even that was left open ended.

legitimate social commentary - so we are supposed to love it because of its atypical coverage of current events .... yay ... hold me .. it was emotional. For anyone that doesn't live in front of one news channel and has ever visitied a south pacific state ... not a bit of this was "shocking" or daring commentary. Illegals are everywhere, 3rd world countries don't have hospitals, and our government is slow to act. C'mon ... it was nothing new ... just different and well acted.

Please somehow ... someway logically convince me that the mute girls story was even remotely tied into the movie ... and no ... the fact that the random gun used in a hunting trip 50 years ago doesn't count, that was weak. That was a pathetic attempt to add to the movie ... and it simply didn't at all


The mute girl was sort of a metofor of the entire movie. Which is why they told her story rather then her fathers...

I would have liked to have seen more of her story. Same as the brad pit storyline

I don't think that was what the movie was about at all. There was a greater theme than simply where the stories took place.

3 stories is not "too many." First of all they were all interrelated and eventually tied together but played out as there own independent story to communicate the common theme. Some people may prefer a single straight forward story and there's a huge library of movies that fulfill that desire.

Its not a story about atypical news events, because frankly, delving into the minds and lives of fictional characters is not news. There is internal and external conflict in each major character in the film and that is how the drama is sustained.

For those who can only see the surface, I suppose it is "nothing new."

The mute girl was sort of a metofor of the entire movie. Which is why they told her story rather then her fathers...

I would have liked to have seen more of her story. Same as the brad pit storyline

A metaphor would be defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects. Its a storytelling device that forces the reader or in this case, viewer to think about what the author is trying to communicate.

Again, there are many many simple, straight forward movies that require none of this.

Great movie either way. May have to watch it again.
Was their a commantary track on this.? Or was it pretty bare bones?

Great movie either way. May have to watch it again.
Was their a commantary track on this.? Or was it pretty bare bones?
The only extra is the trailer, which is at least HD.

Well directed - sure
Great acting - check
excellent photography - yup

sutsained drama - negative ghostrider ... too many stories ... too much failed connections ... and not enough development or story to any of them. They all just ended at once and the movie was over. The only one that had any real feeling of closure/resolution was the maid .. and even that was left open ended.

legitimate social commentary - so we are supposed to love it because of its atypical coverage of current events .... yay ... hold me .. it was emotional. For anyone that doesn't live in front of one news channel and has ever visitied a south pacific state ... not a bit of this was "shocking" or daring commentary. Illegals are everywhere, 3rd world countries don't have hospitals, and our government is slow to act. C'mon ... it was nothing new ... just different and well acted.

agreed with all your comments although I'm not sure it was even all that different at this point in the time and perhaps in the end the directing failed, not sure if it was the writers of directing that made it not quite work for me as well as i might have hoped.

the pretentious comment from someone else may have been a tad too strong, but i do think there was a touch of something close to that at times, just felt a bit too artifically programmed and obviously plotted with too much in you face intent that pretended to be subtle and deeper than it perhaps was. i mean i didn't think it was terrible, just merely very ok.

I don't think that was what the movie was about at all. There was a greater theme than simply where the stories took place.

3 stories is not "too many." First of all they were all interrelated and eventually tied together but played out as there own independent story to communicate the common theme. Some people may prefer a single straight forward story and there's a huge library of movies that fulfill that desire.

Its not a story about atypical news events, because frankly, delving into the minds and lives of fictional characters is not news. There is internal and external conflict in each major character in the film and that is how the drama is sustained.

For those who can only see the surface, I suppose it is "nothing new."

this is hardkly the first intertwined story movie. and, for the record, I don't mind those at all, this one, for me, just didn't quite make it all work though.
anyway, enough of my comments.

I never said it was the first movie to intertwine stories....

but I think this one was extremely well done.

I don't see anyone talking about this disc and I am curious if I am the only one who bought it. I would like to know anyone else's opinion that made this purchase.
Bought it today at Walmart for $26 bucks.

My wife and I saw this in the theater in December and we both loved it. I loved the music and picked up the soundtrack right after watching it.

Picked up the HD-DVD yesterday, haven't watched it through yet. But I did check out a few scenes and they looked great. Actually I just got my player (add-on for the 360) yesterday, so I was checking out a bunch of different HD-DVDs. In Babel, the detail in the wide shot in the gymnasium blew me away.

Can't wait to watch it again, although I have other things I need to watch (including Catch a Fire and For Your Consideration from Netflix).

I just watched this last night. I thought the movie was good. The only thing I was disappointed in was the lack of extra features, since basically there were none. I just checked to see if the regular DVD had any extras and it appears it does not either. I assume since it was nominated for several and won a Oscar, they plan on releasing one of those dandy "deluxe editions" in the future...

Depressing movie.

Depressing movie.

I kept reading comments like this which made me hesitate to watch this wonderful film. I would not categorize this as a depressing movie at all, in fact most of the subplots ended in a positive manner. There were many cases in the movie where something terribly tragic could have occurred, but in all but maybe a single case, it didn't.

Didn't buy after seeing it in the theater. I wasn't a big fan of the movie at all ... too loosely tied together ... it appeared to be trying too hard. Amazing acting, costumes and cinematography .. just a weak plot and poor development.

The lady loved the movie ... as she loves the director .. so it just turned into a big argument causer... :D


well put. i loved crash and 21 grams, but this movie definately tried too hard and i didnt like it at all. imo, its one of the most overrated movies i have ever seen.

I kept reading comments like this which made me hesitate to watch this wonderful film. I would not categorize this as a depressing movie at all, in fact most of the subplots ended in a positive manner. There were many cases in the movie where something terribly tragic could have occurred, but in all but maybe a single case, it didn't.

I agree 100%. I thought if it wanted an Oscar it needed more tragedy. Was ok, as mentioned it tried imo a little bit too hard, but a beautiful movie to watch and good acting. Not bad and for me definitely not a buy, a definite one time only watcher.

I rented it and have no desire to buy it. Decent PQ, but just not the kind of movie I want to watch again. Just not enough 'meat' at the end.

Just came in today.
But I wound up buying mine in BD.
$4.50 deal from gameznflix.com price screwup.

We watched it from Netflix on Saturday. Great movie, Great story telling, good transfer. I don't buy depressing movies.

Yes, I own it. Thought it was great, and good to see untampered with video.

Don't ask me why, but I was thinking Crash meets Traffic in this one. Not sure why Traffic, but for some reason I did! Loved both of them, but hated Babel.

Definitely Crash for the story, but Traffic...maybe because of Mexico! :p

I'll be selling my first HD-DVD on ebay. I'll never watch this again.

I found the Mexican nanny humorous when she broke down when being deported as she lived in the states for 20 years illegally. Like she just couldn't re-cross the next day and do it again for another 20?

I found the Mexican nanny humorous when she broke down when being deported as she lived in the states for 20 years illegally. Like she just couldn't re-cross the next day and do it again for another 20?

Well yeah but i'd assume she's lose her home and all her posessions etc would be seized by the authorities :(

Exactly .. as much as I disliked the movie .. I thought she was pretty good. She literally lost everything she had (not that she didn't have it coming) ... but she portrayed her loss well.

I like how we were suppose to feel sorry for her when she basically kidnapped these people's kids and almost gets them killed when she is suppose to be taking care of them.

Ummm .. how about no

.. she took them to Mexico to a party ... she is basically their second mom dude ... wake up. The only reason there was a problem was b/c she was an irresponsible slut of a guardian ... that .. and her drunk moron of a son

Jim (dislikes the movie a lot, but realizes that this was no kidnapping)

Maybe you need to wake up. She was suppose the be taking care of them not smuggling them in and out of the country. You do realize that even a kids parents can be charged with kidnapping their own child if they take them away out of state or anywhere when they are not suppose to.

Anyone notice in the opening shots of the Japanese segment - all squeezed ratio until they enter the street where they stop or exit?

Anyone notice in the opening shots of the Japanese segment - all squeezed ratio until they enter the street where they stop or exit?
I don't think it's the ratio that's squeezed, but the Japanese segments were shot in anamorphic Panavision (2.35:1) and then cropped down to 1.85:1. After watching the Morocco and Mexico sequences, which were shot "flat", the look of the Japanese segments initially feels a bit weird. It's a subconscious thing, I guess, to highlight the difference in the way the character perceives the world, but it's quite effective in my opinion. Throughout the Japanese scenes, if you look at any backgrounds that are out of focus, you can see that the glow of lights is distorted: a stretched oval rather than a perfect circle.

I was very disapointed in the film. Let me preface my criticism by saying I am no prude. Sex and viloence is fine by me as long as it is in the context of the film. I thought the Japanese connection was flimsy, and served no purpose other than to get the girl out of her clothes as mush as possible. I say girl because in the story I think she was suposed to be 15 or 16. Even while hugging dad in the final scene, she had to be butt naked.
Don't forget the quick scene of the young boy masturbating in the first few scenes. Sure to provide titilation for those interested in young children out there. He could have been doing lots of other things but no, this is art. Gotta get the kid jerking off. The fact that we watch these things and don't react is a little disturbing to me. I guess it's becoming the norm.
Perhaps I am getting old, but what passes for "art" these days is, imo, little more than providing a little something to draw in a wider audience and sell more tickets.
I then, am a sucker.

What follows is IMHO. I respect others opinions that have been expressed - I'm not saying you are wrong, just presenting how I see it. Although it is a bit late in this thread, for those who haven't seen the movie, warning: SPOILER details may be ahead...

This movie didn't push the boundaries of nudity or masturbation. Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, anyone? Carrie? In all cases, it helped the overall story - although some folks react to those facets more strongly than others. With Babel, I didn't feel that I got some sort of erotic thrill, it explained how screwed up and self-centered the boy was and how the girl felt invisible/ignored even when naked to the world.

The main characters in the film all had something at least slightly screwed up in themselves. This is the common thread. The four stories are inter-related in different ways - so strongly in one case that everyone here has described the movie as having three (or two) sub-plots. But the Moroccan family's story is somewhat separated from the American couple's story - only the bullet and the country really link them. And I like how the Japanese girl's story is not heavily intertwined with the rest: it doesn't feel as contrived.

I really liked the movie. The Departed probably did deserve the Oscar, but Babel was a close second. I hope the folks who voted for the Departed didn't do so just because it had more graphic violence.

shinksma

I was very disapointed in the film. Let me preface my criticism by saying I am no prude. Sex and viloence is fine by me as long as it is in the context of the film. I thought the Japanese connection was flimsy, and served no purpose other than to get the girl out of her clothes as mush as possible. I say girl because in the story I think she was suposed to be 15 or 16. Even while hugging dad in the final scene, she had to be butt naked.
Don't forget the quick scene of the young boy masturbating in the first few scenes. Sure to provide titilation for those interested in young children out there. He could have been doing lots of other things but no, this is art. Gotta get the kid jerking off. The fact that we watch these things and don't react is a little disturbing to me. I guess it's becoming the norm.
Perhaps I am getting old, but what passes for "art" these days is, imo, little more than providing a little something to draw in a wider audience and sell more tickets.
I then, am a sucker.
I'm more concerned about the fact that people get so uptight about sex but don't have a problem with the sight of two young kids playing with a gun. :rolleyes:

I'd rather see a young kid shoot someone than masturbate.

I'd rather see a young kid shoot someone than masturbate.
Lovely.

Honestly did the masturbation part really add anything to the movie? It left me wondering why even put that in. The parts where they were shooting the gun added to the story. He accidentally shot the lady in the beginning and then the shoot out with the authorities was a climax.

I'm more concerned about the fact that people get so uptight about sex but don't have a problem with the sight of two young kids playing with a gun. :rolleyes:

Good point and I agree 100%. I just don't care for adoloscent sex. Not my thing, and knowing the 15 year old is being played by an 18 year old does not make it more appealing. If that's uptight then I guess you are right.

It reminded me Magnolia where there were, I believe, nine intertwined stories at once with the connections gradually becoming apparent. The picture quality I thought was excellent. The only Oscar it won was for best Original Score.

I'd rather see a young kid shoot someone than masturbate.
This made my day! LOL :D

We just watched this last night (all 15 of my regular "theater" guests). Mixed reviews on the film's content. Some people thought the four stories were too contrived and others liked the message both the "failure to communicate is universal" message and the "there are stupid people in every culture" message.

There was however universal agreement that the PQ of this transfer was no better than the average SD DVD and for $30 I would skip the HD DVD version and go buy the SD DVD version.

John

There was however universal agreement that the PQ of this transfer was no better than the average SD DVD and for $30 I would skip the HD DVD version and go buy the SD DVD version.

John
I'm surprised to hear that. I think it's a beautiful transfer, streets ahead of any SD DVD I've ever seen. It looks extremely faithful to the source materials - the Moroccan scenes are grainy, the Japanese scenes are smooth, and so on.

I'd rather see a young kid shoot someone than masturbate.

Well, in this case, it looks like you got your cake and ate it too.

:eek:


:p

I'm surprised to hear that. I think it's a beautiful transfer, streets ahead of any SD DVD I've ever seen. It looks extremely faithful to the source materials - the Moroccan scenes are grainy, the Japanese scenes are smooth, and so on.

I agree, I think some people just look for that Discovery HD channel look on films and don't realize there is the artistic side (regardless of high definition or not), and that is style and is to give the movie a certain feel. I seriously doubt this movie looks anything close to it's SD DVD version, but I view my movies on a 106 inch screen.

-Ben

Guns are evil.
America overreats to everything as a terrorist attack
American tourists are fat and arrogant
Mexican immigrants are misunderstood and abused in the U.S.

There ya go... Typical Hollywood shovelware..

Only it wasn't made by an American and it didn't come from Hollywood...

"Typical Hollywood shovelware" I would assume to be "Big Mama's House" or "Hitch" or "X-Men"...

I rented this from Netflix. It sat on my coffee table for about 5 days. Normally when I get a movie it is watched that evening but with Babel (even though I had heard and read it was a good movie) I wasn't motivated to watch. Normally films with subtitles are not my thing. Boy was I surprised when I watched it last night. The film caught my attention right away. I couldn't even tell you how long this movie was because I wasn't bored for a moment.

Came into work this morning and have been talking up this film. I already have one co-worker who just signed up with Netflix who will rent this movie because she was intrigued with the summary of the film.

After viewing this film I have no questions about why it was up for Best Picture.

I'm surprised to hear that. I think it's a beautiful transfer, streets ahead of any SD DVD I've ever seen. It looks extremely faithful to the source materials - the Moroccan scenes are grainy, the Japanese scenes are smooth, and so on.

I was one of the fifteen that liked the movie, but it wasn't worth $30. Lately the HD DVD movies I have been buying have been averaging $30 and aren't that great looking compared to some of the earlier ones I bought like Phantom of the Opera, Aeon Flux, and MI 3. And not all of those were/are $30 either.

For $30 I expect more, but lately I don't feel I am getting more. It seems that the industry is getting lazy.

John

I was one of the fifteen that liked the movie, but it wasn't worth $30. Lately the HD DVD movies I have been buying have been averaging $30 and aren't that great looking compared to some of the earlier ones I bought like Phantom of the Opera, Aeon Flux, and MI 3. And not all of those were/are $30 either.

For $30 I expect more, but lately I don't feel I am getting more. It seems that the industry is getting lazy.

John
In that case, I'd suggest that perhaps you're expecting something you can't reasonably expect to get. Babel is never going to look like Aeon Flux or MI3 - these are glossy, big budget blockbusters, whereas Babel is going for a look that is completely different. I'm not sure how what it is that makes you think Babel is evidence of the industry being lazy, because it looks exactly as it should. On the contrary, I'd say that whoever encoded that disc really knew his stuff and did a great job with some rather difficult material.

In that case, I'd suggest that perhaps you're expecting something you can't reasonably expect to get. Babel is never going to look like Aeon Flux or MI3 - these are glossy, big budget blockbusters, whereas Babel is going for a look that is completely different. I'm not sure how what it is that makes you think Babel is evidence of the industry being lazy, because it looks exactly as it should. On the contrary, I'd say that whoever encoded that disc really knew his stuff and did a great job with some rather difficult material.

Why then do older movies like The Searchers look spectacular on HD DVD? The film was made in 1956.

John

Why then do older movies like The Searchers look spectacular on HD DVD?

John
Babel DOES look spectacular in my opinion. It just has a different look from the average silky smooth, high-tech action blockbuster. Age has very little to do with it.

Because unless there has been damage to the original, film has much more resolution than video.

Babel DOES look spectacular in my opinion. It just has a different look from the average silky smooth, high-tech action blockbuster. Age has very little to do with it.

The Searchers was not a "high tech action blockbuster"

Maybe all fifteen of us who review these titles are seeing differences because of the projector and 120 inch screen. To us it seems like the transfer is the problem.
So far the consensus among us is that Phantom of the Opera looked the best.

John

Because unless there has been damage to the original, film has much more resolution than video.

We aren't watching "film". We are watching a digital recreation of the film or HD video footage. It seems to me that therein lies the problem with some of the movies. There is no consistent pattern that we can see here. And again, we haven't seen any of these on a relatively small screen. They have all been projected onto a 120 inch screen so that may explain the disagreement here.

John

Well it looked great and very film-like on my 100" screen. The desert scenes were intentionally grainy. Look at the transfer of the old film North by Northwest on DVD. It looked great in part because the original film was in great shape.

Well it looked great and very film-like on my 100" screen. The desert scenes were intentionally grainy. Look at the transfer of the old film North by Northwest on DVD. It looked great in part because the original film was in great shape.

It wasn't the grainyness. I just thought the overall picture quality could have been better and lately I feel that the movies are averaging $30 for no good reason and for that kind of money I expect more.

Remember when the threads on this forum were about genuine excitement over the next release and how it just trumped the last one in terms of PQ and for around $20-$25 to boot?

Those type of threads seem to be gone now.

John

It wasn't the grainyness. I just thought the overall picture quality could have been better and lately I feel that the movies are averaging $30 for no good reason and for that kind of money I expect more.

John
Well, can you be more specific? What was wrong with the picture quality?

Well, can you be more specific? What was wrong with the picture quality?

The sharpness and color saturation aren't consistent and the depth of field seems to be lacking in shots where it seems evident that it was in the original film.

And please read the comments I added to that post.

John

EDIT: Have to go shovel a foot of snow. Back later.

The sharpness and color saturation aren't consistent and the depth of field seems to be lacking in shots where it seems evident that it was in the original film.
Sounds to me as if you're talking about "flaws" (debatable) in the film itself, not the disc.

Some directors go for extreme contrast and saturated colors (Casino Royale, Domino, Syriana, Traffic, Chronicles of Riddick, etc.), while others go for bleaker, blander color palettes (Brick, Babel, 12 Monkeys, Munich, etc.). That is an artistic choice, not a fault of "lazy" technicians.

Also, sharpness starts with the DoP and on-location filming. Much of the time the cameraman is focusing th camera manually.

But I for one found Babel's HD picture to be beautiful, and what I remember seeing in the theater. The picture was sharp with lots of detail and texture, film grain in certain places, and a purposeful color palette.