Hi

After viewing this on my projector set up , I thought this review deserved its own topic. This is a review of "Battle OF Britain" Blu-Ray disc from Japan which arrived this morning from FOX/MGM.

I ordered this from PlayAsia and took just over a week to arrive to the UK with no import duty/tax. The disc is region A,and plays on my US Sony BDP-S1 . The Menu is in Japanese but as there are no extra's its not a problem.

Picture : The picture to me looks a nice step up from the standard def dvd,it looks like it should,the definition is improved, some of the daylight scenes look superb, colours are more vibrant but... the film grain is obviously more evident throughout the movie. The grain is most noticeable over some of the large blue sky shots,and the back projection shots can become a bit crude. There are parts of the print where restoration should have been done, but overall I am pleased with the quality.I now have watched this via the big screen,and the picture can become inconsistent, going from excellent to average. The opening credits for example have a slightly over-crushed appearance which is probably due to the process involved. The special effects sequence's are a bit soft, although the grain is somehow easier on the big screen as it becomes part of the recreation of the theatrical presentation.I found the picture quality to be very good and visual treat. The movie was shot in Panavision 2:35:1 and maintains the original aspect ratio.

Audio : The audio is either 5.1 DTS-HD MA English,or 5.1 DTS Japanese. I can only listen to core DTS track via hdmi/pcm ,and its not the type of soundtrack that has an obvious upgrade over standard dvd.It must be stated that its a big improvement over the first dvd,(which was mono)although it can become a bit overblown and uneven at times, a bit like the most recent release of 'The Good,The Bad And The Ugly.At most the original release would have been stereo I would have thought.


Subtitles : when the disc is played it defaults to Japanese which can easily be switched to off. Whats really good about this release is that the english subtitles are within the picture and are not burned in. If for instance english subtitle is selected, just the german speaking parts prompt the english subtitles.

Version : It's worth mentioning that the print used is the same as the more recent dvd release (the first ntsc region release used a different print with a totally different end title sequence)What it is does not contain are the commentary,and the alternative Sir William Walton score.


http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7954/img9422ri8.th.jpg (http://img254.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img9422ri8.jpg)

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9342/img9423xp7.th.jpg (http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img9423xp7.jpg)

This movie has relevance as a Messerschmitt 109 was shot down during the B.O.B about a half a mile from where I live.I shall keep the the dvd 2 disc for all the extra's.
Recommended - if you can live with the grain.

Equipment: Sony VW50 projector/Sony BDP-S1/Sony str3200/Quad 5.1 speakers.

Is this another MPEG-2 on a single layer BD-25 release? Also, are you saying it DOES have some extras?

That would be my question, too: BD 25 and MPEG 2???

cover says mpeg2
don't know about single or double layer

Is this another MPEG-2 on a single layer BD-25 release? Also, are you saying it DOES have some extras?

I think he's saying there are no extras.

No extra's apart from three trailers . Sorry but I don't know if it's single layer or not.

Why can we not get EXTRAS? I realize the movie is the main thing, but for all the talk about the amazing capacity of BD its potential continues to be untapped and squandered on lousy supplemental-free discs...especially when Special Editions with extras exist for movies like this one :(

Damn you Fox!

It seems that Fox views most catalog titles as something they have to release rather than something they want to release. Perhaps that's because catalog titles don't sell nearly as well as new releases, so they figure since they aren't going to make much money off them they might as well not put much effort into them. I really wish they would take note from studios like Warner and give decent catalog movies the treatment they deserve on disk. It's especially annoying when they release a 2 disc special edition on DVD and none of those extras are ported over to the Blu-ray. We might as well brace for the inevitable double dip.

Well to compensate for Fox's lack of extras on catalog releases I usually add the extra's disc from the standard DVD. For example, even though Man on Fire has zero extras on Blu-ray I have the second disc from the DVD Collector's Edition in the Blu-ray case. Although this is probably what Fox wants you to do so you buy the movie twice. Not to mention this method still doesn't give me the commentaries. :mad:

I guess I will end up doing the same for Battle of Britian since there is a two-disc version on standard DVD.

The reason Fox is is not offering us with extras can be two fold

1) Usual double dipping strategy.
2) They were already ready with these discs but just waited to put BD+.

I ordered the 2 disc combo with Bridge too Far (aka A Movie Too Long). They also had Ronin and a studio Ghibli.

I ordered the 2 disc combo with Bridge too Far (aka A Movie Too Long). They also had Ronin and a studio Ghibli.

CINERAMAX,

Thanks for the tip. I browsed the PlayAsia site a couple of days ago, and did not see this combo then.

I have ordered it as well. The invoice said it would ship in 5 to 15 days. Did yours say "in stock"?

Hi DN I believe mine said ship in 2 days, but nothing yet.

Looking at my order history from play-asia , I made a payment on the 26/01/2008 , and the disc shipped on 01/02/2008 arrived UK 09/02/2008.I will be interested to hear comments on 'A Bridge Too Far' in HD.
Geoffery Unsworth was the Cinematographer on that movie,and by the mid 1970's,he liked to use fog filter's(h&h)which tended to soften the image.

No extra's apart from three trailers . Sorry but I don't know if it's single layer or not.

Dual layer disc have two sets of bar codes on the inner ring of the playing surface of the disc. Single layer disc only has 1 bar code on the inner ring.

Dual layer disc have two sets of bar codes on the inner ring of the playing surface of the disc. Single layer disc only has 1 bar code on the inner ring.
From your description it looks like single layer,mind you, as stated above,its not having to fight with any extra's!