so the anchor bay release thread was getting a little crowded with multiple conversations about the other releases and thought this title deserved it's own thread.

I watched it today and was very impressed. I had diminished expectations for this film considering the age/budget. I did some a/b's with one of my sd dvd copies and the differences were dramatically apparent when going back and forth in terms of PQ. The PCM track was nice but not nearly the upgrade the PQ seemed to have. I know several have mentioned the mono track is the only track that's "uncensored" but despite my vast zombie nerd knowledge I don't know which lines they are referring to. I know I heard a number of "F's" on the PCM track IE "I'll have to lay off the F'in booze cuz soon there won't be any F'in booze F'in left". So I know THAT wasn't a TV version of that line. I'd love someone to fill us in on exactly what the differences are.


Overall a must own for fans. The films has never looked or sounded this good and it added significant pleasure on watching this film once again for the 50th time.

Glad to hear the PQ is great on this AB release as well. The early reviews of these discs make them sound absolutely fantastic. I can't wait to receive my discs next week.

I'd love someone to fill us in on exactly what the differences are.This may not be a complete list:

0:09:15 - "It's crazy" provided by a different voice
0:09:35 - "****" to "Right"
0:58:48 - Gunshot is partially missing
1:01:33 - "It's the Spic" provided by a different voice
1:11:20 - "Oh, Jesus" to "I can't look"
1:20:30 - "Jesus" to "Stuck"

I can't wait for this and Dawn. Both latest SD releases of the movies had very good PQ.

larry

My review:

Day of the Dead

Video (MPEG-4 AVC): 6.5/10
Audio (Dolby 2.0 192KBps): 4/10 (in terms of being unedited: 10/10)

Hmmm...don't wanna say this, but again like their Dawn of the Dead BD, the color is better than their DVD but the detail is essentially the same between the two (in direct comparison). This "gauzy overlay" over the image isn't as bad as Dawn, but there is no reason it looks as soft as it does. One thing I really noticed was how fake the real quarry rock looks on this transfer, it looks like foam. Ugh. The only time the transfer rises above mediocrity is the beginning in the sun, the rest features little fine detail and depth for the most part. If this is really the best the film can look, that's pretty disappointing. Though I doubt we're seeing an untouched transfer. At least Anchor Bay's "digital ruination knob" seemed to have been temporary broken in the case of Halloween. The split mono track features the unedited dialogue unlike the Dolby and PCM remixes.

------

Halloween seems to be far better in terms of PQ than AB's other three. With Dawn, Day, and Evil Dead 2 I feel like I bought the DVDs over again. :o

My review:

Day of the Dead

Video (MPEG-4 AVC): 6.5/10
Audio (Dolby 2.0 192KBps): 4/10 (in terms of being unedited: 10/10)

Hmmm...don't wanna say this, but again like their Dawn of the Dead BD, the color is better than their DVD but the detail is essentially the same between the two (in direct comparison). This "gauzy overlay" over the image isn't as bad as Dawn, but there is no reason it looks as soft as it does. One thing I really noticed was how fake the real quarry rock looks on this transfer, it looks like foam. Ugh. The only time the transfer rises above mediocrity is the beginning in the sun, the rest features little fine detail and depth for the most part. If this is really the best the film can look, that's pretty disappointing. Though I doubt we're seeing an untouched transfer. At least Anchor Bay's "digital ruination knob" seemed to have been temporary broken in the case of Halloween. The split mono track features the unedited dialogue unlike the Dolby and PCM remixes.

------

Halloween seems to be far better in terms of PQ than AB's other three. With Dawn, Day, and Evil Dead 2 I feel like I bought the DVDs over again. :o
Sorry to do this man but I gotta question either your setup or your eyesight.

In particular at this very moment I'm doing some A/B's with Dawn of the Dead.

I'm using a PS3 for BR and an XA2 playing the theatrical cut from the Ultimate boxset. Now the SD version looks great played through the Xa2 - and I doubt you are seeing the SD version any better on your setup. (HLS6187w calibrated by avical). Go to chapter 14 where Gaylen Ross is patching up Scott reinger while he is proped up against the boxes sitting on a green blanket. Now compare the text/detail on the boxes, like the lighht bulb boxes sitting next to the trash can. Look cosely at that orange extension cord wound up. Seriously if you can A/B just this shot alone and not see a large jump in detail, it's either your eyes or your setup. There's a very large jump in clarity that can not be denied. I really need to get a camera and a tripod and stop crying for Xylon to save the day.

I think with a lot of these older releases you can't really appreciate them in HD with out doing a direct A/B comparison with their DVD counterparts.

(HLS6187w calibrated by avical). Go to chapter 14 where Gaylen Ross is

awesome, I have the same display - calibrated by Eliab!

I have really been looking forward to the anchor bay movies and going by your review it will look great! cant wait!

Day of the Dead looked awesome to me. So did Halloween. Have yet to watch Dawn or Evil yet.

I just got DAY and I was very impressed :D
It looked just as good as I had hoped for from the beginning.
Sure it has that a bit soft lowbudget 80:s look but that´s to be expected ;)
It REALLY is a noticable upgrade over the DVD and sure as hell worth the money.

I give the PQ: 4 gore drenched Zombies out of 5.
It´s not razor sharp, but it still deserves the 4 because of the nice transfer ;)

When it comes to the sound I just sampled the 5.1 and PCM tracks, but they just feel to flat and gimmicky as ALL of Anchor Bay:s "Mono to 5.1" remixes. Never liked any of them , so the problem with the censored 5.1 tracks doesn´t bother me since the Mono track sound much better to my ears ;)

I´ll give the AQ: 3 gore drenched zombies out of 5

So is this blu-ray release of Day of the Dead, exactly the same as the previous 2 disc special edition DVD?

But with better image quality?

And is the censored 5.1 mix on the BR also censored on the DVD?

So is this blu-ray release of Day of the Dead, exactly the same as the previous 2 disc special edition DVD?All of the extras from the DVD are carried over.

Differences...? A "Fast Film Facts" subtitle stream, English SDH subtitles, and an uncensored mono track. High-def video and PCM audio too, of course.

And is the censored 5.1 mix on the BR also censored on the DVD?Yes, although an uncensored mono track is on the Blu-ray release.

I wrote a review (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=30624) this weekend, if you're interested. (One for Dawn (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=30623) as well.)

Did anyone do a picture compaison ever then between the dvd and Blu Ray? been looking for a good one for ages, never found it or one for Dawn for that matter.