Just saw the review on High-Def Digest

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/fog1980_fr.html

One of my favourites. Anybody get this one and give their opinion? MGM is the distributor which otherwise wouldn't come to HD DVD. This may be the first import I get.

my review over at the Home Theater Forum will be up later as well, my comments will be there :)

it does have a pitch issue(which he doesn't state), about half as bad as normal pal pitch though, less than a semitone

Xploited is the place to get this ;)

-Gary

I am on it! Thanks! :)

Just saw the review on High-Def Digest

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/fog1980_fr.html
I'll agree it's a great movie. But according to the review - not a whole lot better than the SD DVD version. But only you can decide if the extra $$ this import will cost you is worth it over the SD DVD version.

Does anyone know how good The Graduate is? I may buy both... :)

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=258071

-Gary

Thanks Gary! I will order both now!!! ;)

Bracke is worthelss as a reviewer. I would trust that Garys review will be much more accurate.

I never noticed the pitch issue at all (and I usually sensitive to it)-
also, The old MGM disc is riddled with artifacting, line twitter, ringing, you name it. It looks like a mess quite often on a big screen. The HD DVD isn't perfect (it also has some aliasing/line twitter/moire in a few spots) but it is a world removed from the poor job MGM did with the original release. About the only good thing it had going for it was that it was in its proper AR.
Beyond that it was a mess. For someone to say that they could barely detect an improvment to me in this case, is astounding.

Graduate is stunning for sure ;)

-Gary

Done. I am excited because my Wife has never seen The Graduate... :)

i agree with conclusion of the review.

not on the top of my stack of imports.

Odd, I think he edited his review. Because when I read it earlier in the day, he mentioned the Pitch issue, though he mentioned that if you weren't familiar with the movie, you might not catch the pitch issue as easily as other movies.

Not sure why it's omitted now.

I gotta admit this is my least favorite of Carpenter's classics. I've always found it meandering with good actors that don't seem to have their hearts in it with a very underwhelming climax.

my review over at the Home Theater Forum will be up later as well, my comments will be there :)

it does have a pitch issue(which he doesn't state), about half as bad as normal pal pitch though, less than a semitone

Xploited is the place to get this ;)

-Gary


Ok, I'll look for this Gary.

Bracke is worthelss as a reviewer. I would trust that Garys review will be much more accurate.

I never noticed the pitch issue at all (and I usually sensitive to it)-
also, The old MGM disc is riddled with artifacting, line twitter, ringing, you name it. It looks like a mess quite often on a big screen. The HD DVD isn't perfect (it also has some aliasing/line twitter/moire in a few spots) but it is a world removed from the poor job MGM did with the original release. About the only good thing it had going for it was that it was in its proper AR.
Beyond that it was a mess.

I have the sd version still. Haven't sold it. Not bad looking on the XA2 at all but I agree some obvious issues. Sounds good. Thanks for that. Now I'll see what Gary says.

I compared the euro-HD DVD audio to US Special Edition DVD. At times there seems to be a very slight pitch issue, at other times not. Very odd. For example, telephone ringing and church bells play at the same pitch in both versions.

About PQ... honestly, I can't understand how anyone could give this more than one star (out of five) and that's only for the effort of showing up. It's quite simply terrible. I'd rather watch the Special Edition DVD than the HD DVD, to be honest.

dude, the SD DVD is so much worse, mushy as hell and just horrible

-Gary

I have to wonder if we're talking about the same release - and that applies to both the DVD and the HD DVD. I viewed both on a calibrated 55-inch Sony SXRD with a Tosh XE1, sitting at a distance of four feet (somewhat close, agreed), and the HD DVD looks like a very bad DVD upscaled and plonked on a HD disc for the hell of it. I should have some free time this weekend; I'll see if I can grab some screencaps of both.

I'll be watching these on my 120.5" screen so even of there is 10% improvement it will be worth it! :)

As the HD DVD looked pretty damn horrible on a 55" screen, I can't even bear to think what it would be like on my 190" screen...

Or on my outdoor 240" (20 foot) widescreen! :eek:

I still love my LD copy of "The Fog" but my wife thinks I'm nuts ;)

Any copy of The Fog is fun (except the SD dvd version)... :D

Ok, well now we have a huge difference in opinion. The sd version was "soft" in a number of scenes. May well be how it was filmed. But I don't remember any problems with the print. I don't remember any, at least obvious posterization even though there was plenty of situations one might have expected it with the layered fog. In other words, nothing that stood out as runing the image. Certainly not a top tiered sd by any stretch of the imagination but not something objectionable either. Anway, Gary hurry with your review! And by the way Gary, agree completely on your review of Smokey and The Bandit.

This is by far the worst HD-DVD I own. It really exemplifies the worst of Studio Canal's 3 most common problems. The whites are blown out, the colors are way over-saturated, and of course the audio pitch issue (although I personally didn't notice this, but I can believe it.)

Gary, before you put up your review, be sure to compare the scene where the kid finds the sign on the beach with the SD DVD. You'll see the blown-out whites really losing a lot of detail in the waves and the sky.

Most Studio Canal titles I've seen look over-saturated. It's really depressing to read all the reviews of their titles that always seem to state how the colors look better and stronger in the SC version, if sometimes a little over-saturated with bleeding reds. IT'S BECAUSE THE WHOLE THING IS OVER-SATURATED. Like how audio that is only louder seems to be a bit better. "Wow, the color really pops in the Studio Canal release". IT'S BECAUSE IT'S OVER-SATURATED-IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE THAT. Somebody at Studio Canal just likes to notch up the color saturation in a lot of releases. Anyways, The Fog is the worst of the lot. They really jammed up the color, and it looks terrible. I'd say before watching, turn the saturation way down on your display.

Pictures gentlemen. Pictures talk and bulls*** walks, we want pictures! ;)

Most Studio Canal titles I've seen look over-saturated. It's really depressing to read all the reviews of their titles that always seem to state how the colors look better and stronger in the SC version, if sometimes a little over-saturated with bleeding reds. IT'S BECAUSE THE WHOLE THING IS OVER-SATURATED. Like how audio that is only louder seems to be a bit better. "Wow, the color really pops in the Studio Canal release". IT'S BECAUSE IT'S OVER-SATURATED-IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE THAT. Somebody at Studio Canal just likes to notch up the color saturation in a lot of releases. Anyways, The Fog is the worst of the lot. They really jammed up the color, and it looks terrible. I'd say before watching, turn the saturation way down on your display.
I totally agree. Have you by any chance compared SC's Total Recall to Lionsgate's BD release? Same thing. Check out the scene in the beginning of the movie, when Arnie and Sharon mess around on the bed, and there's quite a static shot of them from the side. On SC's release both have orange skin. Luckily most of the movie doesn't look quite as bad as that, though.

It is pretty hard to judge pic Q from a camera....

Does anyone know how good The Graduate is? I may buy both... :)

Just received The Graduate HD DVD from Amazon.FR on Friday. I studied this film thoroughly in college. It's always been a favorite of mine, however, the last time I saw it was on a crappy 4x3 VHS print on a 32" XBR and this was quite some time ago. I think I had "Graduate" burn out and was waiting for a super-duper special edition on DVD that never happened. Got tired of the triple-dipping on so many titles. Got tired of waiting and ordered this. First of all, I really thought the Terminator 2 HD DVD looked very good, which prompted me to order this other Studio Canal release. The promo trailer looked impressive and reviews seemed favorable.

Secondly, the Graduate disc, although well-packed, secured and still in its cellophane,(as it should be, since it's "new") was ridiculously scratched in different directions on the bottom, like someone slid it across a room or was playing bocce ball. It also had a fingerprint on the glossy art side of the disc, which is a rarity for me with any disc, although I do get 1 in 10 discs that are minimally scratched . I was really worried, but it played flawlessly!

Picture-wise, I thought it met my expectations, and colors and sharpness looked impressive on my 50" SXRD.

Because of all the discussion regarding "pitch" issues, I was completely paranoid about the soundtrack. If I didn't know, I probably wouldn't have noticed. But I suppose the truth is key to getting quality in the future. Since Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft have relatively deep voices, I didn't notice any pitch change there. The songs sounded natural to me, as I had remembered them. When Katherine Ross screams... several times, it sounded "normal"... to me.

The only time I had a question pop in my mind was when Ben's father(William Daniels - the voice of KITT from Knightrider... heh heh) speaks. Since he already sounds a little high pitched in general when he speaks, it was hard to tell whether he sounded "true" or not.

In the end, I'm glad I bought it, because the picture IS beautiful, but I will be having second thoughts about purchasing any more imports from SC until this pitch problem is non-existant with other releases.

We watched it last week and we really enjoyed it. This movie is a masterpiece... :)

If only we all had a Mrs. Robison in our lives growing up... :eek:

Good review on the PQ here:

Video:
The Studio Canal engineers do a good job retaining most of the film's 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio, and the video quality is far better than MGM's rather soft, blurred image. However, since the movie was something of a low-budget affair, and the story is set mostly at night, it's very dark most of the time, and the HD reproduction tends to emphasizes the inevitable grain that comes with nighttime shooting. Colors in broad daylight are excellent, though, and close-ups, especially, are finely detailed. Hues are rich, deep, and vibrant, although maybe too intense in some scenes for ultimate reality, noticeable in facial tones, mainly, that are sometimes too reddish. This could be a condition of the original print as well, as Carpenter uses a variety of weird lighting techniques in the film. Aside from the grain inherent in the original print and a couple of instances of minor moiré effects, the screen is exceptionally clean and sharp. Indoor set shots are near perfect, and the coastal photography is beautiful.

http://www.dvdtown.com/reviews/fog-the/4893/2

I agree with the review... :)