Dante's Peak was delivered today and boy I couldn't wait to pop it in! Going into this film I was expecting something on the level of "Daylight" whereas some scenes would shine, but most would be filled with grain and noise. Alas, here are my thoughts:

Picture 4/5
First off, let me say that I am very familiar with the standard DVD counterpart of Dante's Peak. I have seen the standard DVD several times and already had in mind which scenes were plagued with macroblocking. I am happy to report, that these scenes, namely the opening scene and most of the darker volcanic scenes, were all problem free! In fact, I found the image produced on this HD DVD to be a substantial upgrade. Comparing it to other recent HD DVD catalog titles, Dante's Peak has to be one of the best non-remastered discs Universal has put out in a long time.

The image itself is very clean. Noise is almost non-existent, except in a few random effects shots. For a film that is 10+ years old, the print is surprisingly clean, with only a few specs and pops that roll by here-and-there. Colors, detail, and contrast are all vast upgrades from the standard DVD. Shadow detail was also very good, with hardly any problems with black crush.

In fact, the only reason why the picture quality didn't get a higher rating from me, is the fact that there has been some slight edge enhancement, which while never distracting, is noticable in some of the early outdoor scenes. The image is always 3D-looking, even after the volcano erupts.

I would be willing to predict that High Def Digest will give the picture quality a 3 1/2. I think it is very deserving of a solid 4 stars considering the fact that this film has not been re-mastered. When it comes to these older catalog titles being released, people too often compare them to "Pirates" or "The Matrix" when they should be compared with their standard DVD counterparts. And with that said, this transfer truly shines, and if you are a big enough fan of the movie that you were thinking about buying it but were afraid to, I say that I could not be happier with this purchase.

Audio 3.5/5
While the picture was such a vast improvement, I don't think I can say the same for the audio. This track is certainly an improvement over the DTS and Dolby tracks on previous versions, however, the DD+ track was not everything I had hoped. Dialog is crisp and clean and I noticed it sounding fuller and less "tinny" than that of "Daylight." The overall mix is a little front-heavy until the action scenes kick in. Bass response was tight, however I wish it was a little more powerful. Overall, considering the age of the film and its sound design, one can't complain too much.

I am looking forward to seeing what others think of this title, and I will certainly post some screenshots as soon as I can. :cool:

Since you are not a professional reviewer, shouldn't you change your title to preview instead of review?

Sweet, I have this one pre-ordered. I hope you're right about the sound being an improvement - I've loved my DTS version over the years.

Since you are not a professional reviewer, shouldn't you change your title to preview instead of review?

What the hell? That doesn't make any sense. Anybody can review something. You don't have to be a professional. To preview something is to see only a part or to only get a general idea of something.

Since you are not a professional reviewer, shouldn't you change your title to preview instead of review?
Looking at the information he provided, I would put as much stock in Macro's review as I would in the review provided by many of these so called "professional" reviewers. These are all just opinions based on observation.

Furthermore, you have to remember that many of these "professional" reviewers are just normal people using average gear. Hell, your average AVS member has equipment that is better than the equipment used by some of these "professional" reviewers.

Since you are not a professional reviewer, shouldn't you change your title to preview instead of review?

changed :) hope u are happy ;)

Looking at the information he provided, I would put as much stock in Macro's review as I would in the review provided by many of these so called "professional" reviewers. These are all just opinions based on observation.

Furthermore, you have to remember that many of these "professional" reviewers are just normal people using average gear. Hell, your average AVS member has equipment that is better than the equipment used by some of these "professional" reviewers.


Thank you, I forgot to list my gear,

Toshiba 62mx196 DLP (1080p)
Toshiba HD A1
YAMAHA RX-V1700
Athena Audition series speakers(7.1)

A very good and neat review.
As expected it looks like the HD DVD owners of DP are going to get only a marginal improvement in PQ over the broadcast version. The movie goes damn interesting until the volcano erupts.

Review is perfectly fine. WHO is to say who is and who isn't a "professional" ??? Lighten up!!!

changed :) hope u are happy ;)

Why would you do that?

thank you for the review,i will buy this one.

When i saw your other thread i ran out and found a copy locally :D
Glad i did now, thanks for the review & pay no heed to the dumb **** 5thdanDUNGmaster ;)

Thanks for the review. Now i feel safe to add this one to my collection.

guess I'll be keeping my DTS laserdisc - which is jawdropping in terms of it's LOUDNESS and intensity.

Since you are not a professional reviewer, shouldn't you change your title to preview instead of review?


meow!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since you are not a professional reviewer, shouldn't you change your title to preview instead of review?

Ummm, no

From dictionary.com:

Review:
1. a critical article or report, as in a periodical, on a book, play, recital, or the like; critique; evaluation.

Preview:

1. an earlier or previous view.
2. an advance showing of a motion picture, play, etc., before its public opening.
3. an advance showing of brief scenes in a motion picture, television show, etc., for purposes of advertisement.
4. anything that gives an advance idea or impression of something to come.
–verb (used with object)
5. to view or show beforehand or in advance.

guess I'll be keeping my DTS laserdisc - which is jawdropping in terms of it's LOUDNESS and intensity.

u will be missing out , I haven't seen the laserdisc but this HD DVD has much better color and detail than anything on dvd, i use to watch this on my Oppo and the blocking was kinda rough. I am very familiar with the DTS DVD and this is a upgrade just not as much as the PQ in my opinion, really hoping we can get another view point on this title soon :D

No, this is a Dante's Peak preview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFDlwXs307Q

No, this is a Dante's Peak preview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFDlwXs307Q

No, that is the Dante's Peak trailer. :cool:

From Personal knowledge, in order to review a Product, you must be a Professional which means you must follow the “PP” rule. That stands for “Paid” and “Published.” Perhaps, that is not well understood. If you are Paid for a review and it is Published in some way, then, Possibly, you are a “reviewer. If not, your are Probably not a reviewer and you could be Prosecuted and Possibly end up in Prison. Just my Personal opinion.

BTW, this is a title on my list and I’m very interested in these opinions.

From Personal knowledge, in order to review a Product, you must be a Professional which means you must follow the “PP” rule. That stands for “Paid” and “Published.” Perhaps, that is not well understood. If you are Paid for a review and it is Published in some way, then, Possibly, you are a “reviewer. If not, your are Probably not a reviewer and you could be Prosecuted and Possibly end up in Prison. Just my Personal opinion.
Ric, I'm going to go with my best judgment and assume you're not serious. If so, your wit is about as dry as a week-old banana bathing in hot, Mexican sun.

anyone feel like talking about this disc ?????

it concerns me that the OP sees edge enhancement on a 46" display. not a good sign. anyone out there viewing this on something bigger ?

anyone feel like talking about this disc ?????

it concerns me that the OP sees edge enhancement on a 46" display. not a good sign. anyone out there viewing this on something bigger ?



62" here FYI I am not a OP, the edge enhancement isn't that severe and there are no artifacts that i can see as a result of it other than some outdoor shots look a little "edgy" this movie never looked better.

OP (original poster). isn't that you ?

i got 46" from your equipment list in your profile - "Toshiba 46HM95 DLP"

thanks for confirming your thoughts.

Dante's Peak was delivered today and boy I couldn't wait to pop it in! Going into this film I was expecting something on the level of "Daylight" whereas some scenes would shine, but most would be filled with grain and noise. Alas, here are my thoughts:

Picture 4/5
First off, let me say that I am very familiar with the standard DVD counterpart of Dante's Peak. I have seen the standard DVD several times and already had in mind which scenes were plagued with macroblocking. I am happy to report, that these scenes, namely the opening scene and most of the darker volcanic scenes, were all problem free! In fact, I found the image produced on this HD DVD to be a substantial upgrade. Comparing it to other recent HD DVD catalog titles, Dante's Peak has to be one of the best non-remastered discs Universal has put out in a long time.

The image itself is very clean. Noise is almost non-existent, except in a few random effects shots. For a film that is 10+ years old, the print is surprisingly clean, with only a few specs and pops that roll by here-and-there. Colors, detail, and contrast are all vast upgrades from the standard DVD. Shadow detail was also very good, with hardly any problems with black crush.

In fact, the only reason why the picture quality didn't get a higher rating from me, is the fact that there has been some slight edge enhancement, which while never distracting, is noticable in some of the early outdoor scenes. The image is always 3D-looking, even after the volcano erupts.

I would be willing to predict that High Def Digest will give the picture quality a 3 1/2. I think it is very deserving of a solid 4 stars considering the fact that this film has not been re-mastered. When it comes to these older catalog titles being released, people too often compare them to "Pirates" or "The Matrix" when they should be compared with their standard DVD counterparts. And with that said, this transfer truly shines, and if you are a big enough fan of the movie that you were thinking about buying it but were afraid to, I say that I could not be happier with this purchase.

Audio 3.5/5
While the picture was such a vast improvement, I don't think I can say the same for the audio. This track is certainly an improvement over the DTS and Dolby tracks on previous versions, however, the DD+ track was not everything I had hoped. Dialog is crisp and clean and I noticed it sounding fuller and less "tinny" than that of "Daylight." The overall mix is a little front-heavy until the action scenes kick in. Bass response was tight, however I wish it was a little more powerful. Overall, considering the age of the film and its sound design, one can't complain too much.

I am looking forward to seeing what others think of this title, and I will certainly post some screenshots as soon as I can. :cool:



HD Video Quality 4 out of 5

HD Audio Quality 4 out of 5


Dante's Peak Review (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/dantespeak.html)

I really enjoyed this movie :)

I am really happy High def Digest felt the same way i did about this transfer, it really looks great! :D

Looking forward to seeing this by the weekend. I will be very interested in the PQ. I was one of the camera operators on this movie, so I got to see something a little unique by today's standards; we watched projected dailes for the first couple of weeks of production up in Idaho. The dailies are the most pristine version of a Super 35 film possible because they are first generation, unlike the final anamorphic release prints. So the dailes we watched were spherical rather than anamorphic.

I must tell you that many of the day exterior scenes done in Idaho looked quite contrasty and a bit grainy. For some reason (probably consistency of look), the DP chose to shoot the top Kodak 500 speed film of the time for the day exteriors as well as the interiors and nights. This was rather unusual at the time. Typically, a finer grained film rated at 80 ASA is used for day exteriors. So in the daylight, we were always packed down with ND filters (usually behind the lens) on this show. Part of the reason for the contrast was because there was not a lot of effort to fill the shadows in many scenes due to the fluid nature of the camera work; it just becomes very difficult to position lighting tools so that they are not in the shot. The early scene when Pierce, Linda, the kids, and Grandma are parked on the dirt road above the hot springs is a specific example I remember seeing in dailies that was very contrasty. This scene (as were many) was shot via Steadicam which moved around quite a bit. The narrow rural road didn't leave us much room to bounce much sunlight into the shadows. The high early afternoon sun was just too strong with that film stock to overcome the contrast. It will be interesting to see if they are able to improve this in the transfer to HD. If so, it represents an improvement over what the native medium was able to deliver. Enough tech trivia :rolleyes:

The reviewer at HD Digest made quite a fuss over the "science" of the movie being poor. My only beef with this was in two scenes: the scene late in the movie where the hero's pickup successfully drives over active lava; and the lake crossing. We all realized this was preposterous. Otherwise, there was a surprising effort to keep many things "accurate." There really was a reknowned volcanologist present who even I was able to chat with on the set. You may notice that the opening eruption scene in the title sequence looks very different from that of Dante's Peak. They are two different types of volcano; true to their geographic locations. The one in the title sequence has dark ash, while ash from Dante's Peak is gray. (The title sequence ash was done using peat moss under rain towers [horribly messy], and the other done with cellulose insulation). Geologists look at this movie kind of like fighter pilots look at Top Gun; a bit of Hollywood hokey, but above average technical accuracy.

Earlier I mentioned the contrast due to how we sometimes found it difficult to impossible to provide lighting. Here is bit of amusing trivia that demonstrates that. The scene is where Pierce and his boss, Paul (Charlie Hallahan), return from the helicopter rescue of the team member injured while on the crater survey, and the two face off. This was shot as a three camera set-up. The shot opens with the Steadicam shot of the awaiting ambulance, then pans to the landing helicopter. Myself and the other camera operator and our camera assistants are hiding behind the ambulance to stay out of the opening fame. As soon as the Steadicam pans to the helicopter, we all charge out from behind the ambulance, hand-held Panaflexes (about 40 pounds) on our shoulders, roll our cameras and run to take positions to each get over the shoulder coverage of Pierce and Charlie while the Steadicam is still shooting the wider 50/50 (profile) two-shot. It was quite the circus. :D As you might imagine, it was impossible to provide any additional lighting whatsover, so you get what mother nature gives you on that one.

I hope it is still a good ride for all :)

Looking forward to seeing this by the weekend. I will be very interested in the PQ. I was one of the camera operators on this movie, so I got to see something a little unique by today's standards; we watched projected dailes for the first couple of weeks of production up in Idaho. The dailies are the most pristine version of a Super 35 film possible because they are first generation, unlike the final anamorphic release prints. So the dailes we watched were spherical rather than anamorphic.

I must tell you that many of the day exterior scenes done in Idaho looked quite contrasty and a bit grainy. For some reason (probably consistency of look), the DP chose to shoot the top Kodak 500 speed film of the time for the day exteriors as well as the interiors and nights. This was rather unusual at the time. Typically, a finer grained film rated at 80 ASA is used for day exteriors. So in the daylight, we were always packed down with ND filters (usually behind the lens) on this show. Part of the reason for the contrast was because there was not a lot of effort to fill the shadows in many scenes due to the fluid nature of the camera work; it just becomes very difficult to position lighting tools so that they are not in the shot. The early scene when Pierce, Linda, the kids, and Grandma are parked on the dirt road above the hot springs is a specific example I remember seeing in dailies that was very contrasty. This scene (as were many) was shot via Steadicam which moved around quite a bit. The narrow rural road didn't leave us much room to bounce much sunlight into the shadows. The high early afternoon sun was just too strong with that film stock to overcome the contrast. It will be interesting to see if they are able to improve this in the transfer to HD. If so, it represents an improvement over what the native medium was able to deliver. Enough tech trivia :rolleyes:

The reviewer at HD Digest made quite a fuss over the "science" of the movie being poor. My only beef with this was in two scenes: the scene late in the movie where the hero's pickup successfully drives over active lava; and the lake crossing. We all realized this was preposterous. Otherwise, there was a surprising effort to keep many things "accurate." There really was a reknowned volcanologist present who even I was able to chat with on the set. You may notice that the opening eruption scene in the title sequence looks very different from that of Dante's Peak. They are two different types of volcano; true to their geographic locations. The one in the title sequence has dark ash, while ash from Dante's Peak is gray. (The title sequence ash was done using peat moss under rain towers [horribly messy], and the other done with cellulose insulation). Geologists look at this movie kind of like fighter pilots look at Top Gun; a bit of Hollywood hokey, but above average technical accuracy.

Earlier I mentioned the contrast due to how we sometimes found it difficult to impossible to provide lighting. Here is bit of amusing trivia that demonstrates that. The scene is where Pierce and his boss, Paul (Charlie Hallahan), return from the helicopter rescue of the team member injured while on the crater survey, and the two face off. This was shot as a three camera set-up. The shot opens with the Steadicam shot of the awaiting ambulance, then pans to the landing helicopter. Myself and the other camera operator and our camera assistants are hiding behind the ambulance to stay out of the opening fame. As soon as the Steadicam pans to the helicopter, we all charge out from behind the ambulance, hand-held Panaflexes (about 40 pounds) on our shoulders, roll our cameras and run to take positions to each get over the shoulder coverage of Pierce and Charlie while the Steadicam is still shooting the wider 50/50 (profile) two-shot. It was quite the circus. :D As you might imagine, it was impossible to privide any additional lighting whatsover, so you get what mother nature gives you on that one.

I hope it is still a good ride for all :)
I wish we had more of this at AVS :)
Many thanks CamMan, i'll have to watch this again now lol

Always liked this movie (living in WA state and old enough to be around during St. Helens initial eruption accounts for this), own the DTS edition, and hope this one packs as much in the sound as that SD DVD. Nice to read some behind the scenes too. Thanks, CamMan!

From Personal knowledge, in order to review a Product, you must be a Professional which means you must follow the “PP” rule. That stands for “Paid” and “Published.” Perhaps, that is not well understood. If you are Paid for a review and it is Published in some way, then, Possibly, you are a “reviewer. If not, your are Probably not a reviewer and you could be Prosecuted and Possibly end up in Prison. Just my Personal opinion.
Alright Macroblocker, listen up: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you . . . . :eek: ;)

Yeah, I'm sure the Feds scour this forum to see who is a proper reviewer and who isn't. Dozens of arrests have already taken place already, one would assume.

Looking forward to seeing this by the weekend. I will be very interested in the PQ. I was one of the camera operators on this movie, so I got to see something a little unique by today's standards; we watched projected dailes for the first couple of weeks of production up in Idaho. The dailies are the most pristine version of a Super 35 film possible because they are first generation, unlike the final anamorphic release prints. So the dailes we watched were spherical rather than anamorphic.

I must tell you that many of the day exterior scenes done in Idaho looked quite contrasty and a bit grainy. For some reason (probably consistency of look), the DP chose to shoot the top Kodak 500 speed film of the time for the day exteriors as well as the interiors and nights. This was rather unusual at the time. Typically, a finer grained film rated at 80 ASA is used for day exteriors. So in the daylight, we were always packed down with ND filters (usually behind the lens) on this show. Part of the reason for the contrast was because there was not a lot of effort to fill the shadows in many scenes due to the fluid nature of the camera work; it just becomes very difficult to position lighting tools so that they are not in the shot. The early scene when Pierce, Linda, the kids, and Grandma are parked on the dirt road above the hot springs is a specific example I remember seeing in dailies that was very contrasty. This scene (as were many) was shot via Steadicam which moved around quite a bit. The narrow rural road didn't leave us much room to bounce much sunlight into the shadows. The high early afternoon sun was just too strong with that film stock to overcome the contrast. It will be interesting to see if they are able to improve this in the transfer to HD. If so, it represents an improvement over what the native medium was able to deliver. Enough tech trivia :rolleyes:

The reviewer at HD Digest made quite a fuss over the "science" of the movie being poor. My only beef with this was in two scenes: the scene late in the movie where the hero's pickup successfully drives over active lava; and the lake crossing. We all realized this was preposterous. Otherwise, there was a surprising effort to keep many things "accurate." There really was a reknowned volcanologist present who even I was able to chat with on the set. You may notice that the opening eruption scene in the title sequence looks very different from that of Dante's Peak. They are two different types of volcano; true to their geographic locations. The one in the title sequence has dark ash, while ash from Dante's Peak is gray. (The title sequence ash was done using peat moss under rain towers [horribly messy], and the other done with cellulose insulation). Geologists look at this movie kind of like fighter pilots look at Top Gun; a bit of Hollywood hokey, but above average technical accuracy.

Earlier I mentioned the contrast due to how we sometimes found it difficult to impossible to provide lighting. Here is bit of amusing trivia that demonstrates that. The scene is where Pierce and his boss, Paul (Charlie Hallahan), return from the helicopter rescue of the team member injured while on the crater survey, and the two face off. This was shot as a three camera set-up. The shot opens with the Steadicam shot of the awaiting ambulance, then pans to the landing helicopter. Myself and the other camera operator and our camera assistants are hiding behind the ambulance to stay out of the opening fame. As soon as the Steadicam pans to the helicopter, we all charge out from behind the ambulance, hand-held Panaflexes (about 40 pounds) on our shoulders, roll our cameras and run to take positions to each get over the shoulder coverage of Pierce and Charlie while the Steadicam is still shooting the wider 50/50 (profile) two-shot. It was quite the circus. :D As you might imagine, it was impossible to provide any additional lighting whatsover, so you get what mother nature gives you on that one.

I hope it is still a good ride for all :)

Great post Cam Man. I look forward to seeing this movie again.

BTW I hope that you’re still enjoying your RS1. I know I am. :)

Great post Cam Man. I look forward to seeing this movie again. Thanks, mate. We're deciding about whether to have a little DP party. The kids were young, but the family came up to Idaho to visit for a week or so during that shoot. So they met Pierce, Linda, and the rest of the gang. The kids were at that age when volcanos are a big deal in elementary school science, so it made quite the impression on them. Of course, they were big P. Brosnan fans after that as well. I think our 4 year old daughter made me take her to see that three times while it was in theaters. She still knows all the characters' names, etc. Maybe she will have a little DP party to share with her friends.
BTW I hope that you’re still enjoying your RS1. I know I am. Lord yes, I love that thing. Family and friends are the same. Glad to hear you are enjoying it, too.

100" front projection, 720 ...

i'd give this 3/5 for video.

a bit disappointed with this one. has that kind of reheated old HD master look to it. it's not terrible, but suffers in the detail department. close ups/medium shots don't come out too badly, but those fine details that really make HD what it is are missing. i don't want blurry, clumpy trees !!!

having seen how well catalog titles from this period CAN look (born on the 4th of july, crimson tide, donnie brasco, apollo 13 etc), this one looks a little bit sad. granted those films are all different styles, and it's always difficult to say how close a transfer is to how it is supposed to look, but gut instinct tells me, this isn't as good as it could have looked. i'd bet money on it.

i just can't agree with 4/5 for video at all (born of the 4th is much more deserving i think) or with superlatives like "breathtaking" which i heard used. that one's a real head stratcher !

what a shame universal didn't care enough to remaster this one. it would have been a corker.

so another kick in nuts to HD-DVD. at least for me. universal, please try to care about your films ... just a little bit more !

100" front projection, 720 ...

i'd give this 3/5 for video.

a bit disappointed with this one. has that kind of reheated old HD master look to it. it's not terrible, but suffers in the detail department. close ups/medium shots don't come out too badly, but those fine details that really make HD what it is are missing. i don't want blurry, clumpy trees !!!

having seen how well catalog titles from this period CAN look (born on the 4th of july, crimson tide, donnie brasco, apollo 13 etc), this one looks a little bit sad. granted those films are all different styles, and it's always difficult to say how close a transfer is to how it is supposed to look, but gut instinct tells me, this isn't as good as it could have looked. i'd bet money on it.

i just can't agree with 4/5 for video at all (born of the 4th is much more deserving i think) or with superlatives like "breathtaking" which i heard used. that one's a real head stratcher !

what a shame universal didn't care enough to remaster this one. it would have been a corker.

so another kick in nuts to HD-DVD. at least for me. universal, please try to care about your films ... just a little bit more !
Utter dribble.

it's always difficult to say how close a transfer is to how it is supposed to look, but gut instinct tells me, this isn't as good as it could have looked. i'd bet money on it. With all due respect, :) I probably have the definitive eye on this title. When I have seen the film later this week, perhaps I can arbitrate your proposed wager ;) I'll be watching on a 118" wide CIH 2.35 system with a calibrated RS1/Lumagen, rendering 42 degrees horizontal viewing angle...and a good memory of the dailies. I won't be partial. If they have not served our work properly, I'll be the first to say so (and be a little pissed). I'll comment on it compared to those projected dailies. If it's great by comparison, I'll say so.

With all due respect, I probably have the definitive eye on this title. When I have seen the film later this week, perhaps I can arbitrate your proposed wager I'll be watching on a 118" wide CIH 2.35 system with a calibrated RS1/Lumagen, rendering 42 degrees horizontal viewing angle...and a good memory of the dailies. I won't be partial. If they have not served our work properly, I'll be the first to say so (and be a little pissed). I'll comment on it compared to those projected dailies. If it's great by comparison, I'll say so.

absolutely. given your history with this production, i'm VERY interested in your opinion. it would be nice to know that i'm blowing smoke and got it all wrong, believe me. i'd like to think universal is putting in a decent effort to represent people's work, but their recent history makes me a little nervous. so your perspective is greatly appreciated and anticipated.

Utter dribble.

your opinion ... i'm less interested in.

absolutely. given your history with this production, i'm VERY interested in your opinion. it would be nice to know that i'm blowing smoke and got it all wrong, believe me. i'd like to think universal is putting in a decent effort to represent people's work, but their recent history makes me a little nervous. so your perspective is greatly appreciated and anticipated.



your opinion ... i'm less interested in.
It was a statement of fact, you post was utter dribble ;)
Now be gone to the stupid list :)

It was a statement of fact, you post was utter dribble ;)
Now be gone to the stupid list :)

Ahem :cool:

drivel - To talk stupidly or childishly.

dribble - to fall or flow in drops or small quantities; trickle. (sports) to advance a ball or puck by bouncing it or giving it a series of short kicks or pushes.

Lol.

100" front projection, 720 ...

i'd give this 3/5 for video.

a bit disappointed with this one. has that kind of reheated old HD master look to it. it's not terrible, but suffers in the detail department. close ups/medium shots don't come out too badly, but those fine details that really make HD what it is are missing. i don't want blurry, clumpy trees !!!

having seen how well catalog titles from this period CAN look (born on the 4th of july, crimson tide, donnie brasco, apollo 13 etc), this one looks a little bit sad. granted those films are all different styles, and it's always difficult to say how close a transfer is to how it is supposed to look, but gut instinct tells me, this isn't as good as it could have looked. i'd bet money on it.

i just can't agree with 4/5 for video at all (born of the 4th is much more deserving i think) or with superlatives like "breathtaking" which i heard used. that one's a real head stratcher !

what a shame universal didn't care enough to remaster this one. it would have been a corker.

so another kick in nuts to HD-DVD. at least for me. universal, please try to care about your films ... just a little bit more !

Weren't all those titles remastered at one point or another? The word "breathtaking" is taken totally out of context. This title was breathtaking to me because it wasn't remastered. Watching this title directly after Daylight (same year, same type of big-budget disaster flick), there was such a dramatic difference in the presentations, that yes... Dante's Peak looked very breathtaking to me. But hell, everyone's a critic...

I'm still working up my review for HTF, but I'm going to be hard pressed to give the video quality on this anything less than a 5/5.... Looked absolutely great on my system and I was not a fan of this movie when I first saw it theatrically, but it's definitly grown on me and the sound system in my house is 10x better than the crappy 8plex I saw it in originally so it sounded awesome too.

I'm still working up my review for HTF, but I'm going to be hard pressed to give the video quality on this anything less than a 5/5.... Looked absolutely great on my system

Wow. 5 out of 5 you say. Can't wait to see it - I do enjoy this movie very much.

I think it looks fantastic. I agree that there are some scenes that are breathtaking. Some of the bright daylight shots of the mountains, lake, trees, etc..are just damn gorgeous. Universal delivers for the most part on this one. Meet Joe Black and now this. Starting to get confidence back in them again.

I think the audio is quite solid too. Very loud and lots of discrete channel effects even if it is a lil bit front loaded...def one of there better catalog titles. I'm impressed.

Universal did a good job on Billy Madison too.

My initial impression of this disc from skimming through various scenes is very good for the PQ. Fantastic color reproduction and the outdoor scenes are simply beautiful. My only disappointment is that the soundtrack isn't as loud as I remember my laserdisc version was. During the volcano's final explosion and the paraclastic cloud is taking out the town, the upper frequencies (like glass breaking, etc.) seems rather muffled and toned down, and this scene should have had more LFE use.

So my ratings from skimming would be 4/5 PQ and 3/5 SQ. Very happy I bought the disc, though!

NO B&Ms have this one! Might have to drive the 15+ miles to the local Fry's. Couldn't even find a copy of The Untouchables on either format! No wonder this "format war" is no more than a rock throwing contest when an avid buyer can't even buy the dang titles!

Yeah, I've used the Amazon and WB store route for probably 90% of my collection.

NO B&Ms have this one!
My local FYE has it, but for $30?!?!

Oh yeah, I got burned by them last Christmas getting a last second present...never again!

Okay gentleman, place your bets :D Here's my "insider review" of Dante's Peak.

Reviews tend to be based on some subjective ideal benchmark and relative to other titles. Due to my perspective, I have a different "benchmark." My comments will be of the HD-DVD in relation to how faithful it is to the original film as seen by me on the set, on dailies, and a new print at the premier of the movie.

PQ: 4.5/5
I was very pleasantly surprised by the picture quality. In many respects it is as good or better than the benchmark above (with the exception of a couple of scenes that are underexposed a bit, etc; see below in cons). Many shots popped at me with striking dejavu; I certainly had not seen them look so good since we did them 11 years ago.

Pros:

-The contrast issues I mentioned earlier in day exterior scenes are actually tamed extremely well; maybe better than the dailies of the original. Constrast throughout is very good with exceptions below in cons.

-Color is dead-on.

-Sharpness/resolution is exceptionally good...especially in close-ups. It is so good it is very revealing. Notice Pierce's close-up as he is meeting Grandma at the lake. The steadicam operator did that close-up and failed to notice the reflection in the sunglasses. You can clearly see a 6 x 6 bounce and the actors standing off camera for Pierce to play to. Oops :rolleyes: Texture of skin and depth in the eyes is superb in close-ups. Very nostalgic for me.

-Minimal film grain and noise with exceptions below. The anamorphic release prints of this movie were quite grainy. It seems improved on HD-DVD.

Cons:

-The lake-crossing sequence and some of the cave sequence is underexposed and gets a bit grainy/noisy and low on contrast. Not bad though. Of course this is not the fault of the transfer. The DP just dug a little too deep, and the process to dig it out has a price whether on film or HD.

-Some noticable dirt hits. Some are negative dirt (on the original negative) and some are print dirt hits. These are not frequent, but it is not quite like a new print.

-It seems like I see just a bit of edge enhancement on non-close-up shots.

-A peculiar video artifact that is relative to the display is occasionally noticable during the super bright lighting strike flashes. I see a split second of horizontal banding/lines. I noticed the strikes were all insanely powerful in my room. I always thought that the Lightning Strikes were too hot when we shot this movie. They almost never varied; just full-on 5+ stops over exposed. As a result, I've learned when I use these now on my shoots, to vary the intensity, saving the brightest for a ground zero lightning strike. Usually two stops over is plenty.

I was also very surprised about the sound quality. It was rip-roaring great! That title sequence eruption scared the bejeebers out of everybody. Many LFE hits turned on the display of the motion sensitive remote control on the seat next to me :eek: This is certainly far better than I heard it anywhere before.

Overall, I think Universal has done us proud. This was a very busy and big movie to make. Principle photography was June and July 1996 in and around Wallace, ID, and the in the L.A. area into October. Extensive miniature/model work continued at the Van Nuys airport until January or February 1997, as I remember. The camera department was strictly A-list personnel and the finest of everything from Panavision. But conditions were often demanding due to the mechanical (real) effects, and required quite the effort to delivery top quality work, which of course was the expectation of the bosses (Roger Donaldson and Andrzej Bartkowiak). I really couldn't be happier with how our work is preserved and presented here.

I'll leave it to everybody else to rate it on subjective benchmarks as compared to other titles.

Although the extras provide a lot of behind the scenes info, I would be glad to answer any questions you may have about the making of the film.

Cheers.

Hi Cam man,
What other HD DVD released movies have you been apart of?
Thanks for the review, i loved this movie and now will have to go see if i can see eny reflections in his glasses :D

Thanks for the detailed review of the transfer Cam Man. I hope this gets here soon, was supposed to be here on Friday but Amazon.com has been so inconsistent lately ugh. For some odd reason, this is one of my most anticipated titles on HD DVD ... very odd, yet interesting.

As I've posted before, can't find a copy in any local store so it's the online route I go. Thanks for the impressions from someone actually there during filming, Cam Man. Great, great stuff! This movie is incredible when you have the Buttkickers going, and I only hope my chair survives the HD DVD edition!

What other HD DVD released movies have you been apart of? To be honest, I don't really know. I did see that The Getaway is coming in September. That was an intresting shoot with Baldwin and Basinger. Shot Panavision 35 (anamorphic).

Some titles I've done that I'm waiting to see on HD are Twister, A Time to Kill, and Star Trek: First Contact...all Panavision 35.

To be honest, I don't really know. I did see that The Getaway is coming in September. That was an intresting shoot with Baldwin and Basinger. Shot Panavision 35 (anamorphic).

Some titles I've done that I'm waiting to see on HD are Twister, A Time to Kill, and Star Trek: First Contact...all Panavision 35.
I am really looking forward to your insight and comments on Twister. Watched it today, it could definitely benefit from a HD upgrade.

I'm a little perplexed by these highly positive comments about the video quality of Dante's Peak. I just don't see it. BTW, I really like the movie.

The best analogy I can make is "The Fugitive." It doesn't look bad, it just lacks a lot of detail and it completely lacks that WOW factor you see with a lot of good HD and BD masters. Close-ups look OK, but images at at distance always look fuzzy and poorly defined. Also, it occasionally looks very noisy.

Buy this if you really like the film, but don't buy it for picture quality. Solidly mediocre.

Sharp XV-Z20000 1080P DLP
Toshiba XA2
100" Stewart StudioTek screen

Upcoming Spanish HD DVD, vastly better cover art...

http://www.zonadvd.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10784