The Fifth Element: Sony remaster vs Gaumont remaster Comparison - Page 7

Does the Japanese one have blown out highlights like the Gaumont re-master?

It's amazing just how dark and drab it looks. I remember it being very bright and bold in theaters. The Gaumont release looks more accurate.

Is there a list of releases that use the Gaumont transfer? I noticed Fox is releasing one in the UK this month. I wonder which transfer they will use.

It might be old and a little too dark but it has so much better detail and no soft surfaces. Sharpness is overall better on US, you can almost read the text on the missile. The remaster is clearly too bright and have blown lights everywhere. Though it would be interesting to see a newer US remaster with brighter colors and a bit more brightness but keep the detail/contrast.

I would assume that's just due to different studio logos at the beginning.

Not sure on that mate.

I own the US disc too, and whilst its watchable, to me it looks a bit "digital". Regarding the extra detail / grain. Is it possible that what you are seeing is the sharpened grain (I presume the master was artificially sharpened). The grain is a fair bit clumpier and bigger than the Gaumont remaster. Whilst the grain is less prominent on the Gaumont, it looks finer to me.

That was my thinking also

Yep, nut the curtain behind Milla in the hotelroom ist blown out in the new release.

The Sony version looks much better to me, the Gaumont version loses too much detail.

Compare this shot from the Sony:
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/9294/25afe.png

With the Gaumont version:
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/4599/25b.png

The Gaumont version her eyes are blurry, and her face looks too smooth. As for color the Sony version looks more natural to me.

Sony:
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/5804/18ae.png

Gaumont:
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/5937/18b.png

Look at how blurry the multipass is on the Gaumont version.

There's zero detail loss. Don't confuse sharpness with detail. Two totally different things.


I totally disagree. Look at the light reflection on her nose. Her skin looks oily to me on the Sony screenshot, and more natural on the Gaumont. And in the Sony screenshot it looks like she should better wash her hair. In the Gaumont version her hair looks natural and fine. Her eyes are not "blurry" in the Gaumont shot, they are artificially sharpened in the Sony shot. To me, the Gaumont shot looks natural, and the Sony shot looks digital / overprocessed.


It's less blurry on the Sony shot because it's sharpened. You can't read the small fonts in either shot.

Look at Milla's iris in your multipass screenshots and compare them to these 2 photos:

http://www.celebs101.com/gallery/Mil...a_Jovovich.jpg
http://wallpapers-diq.org/wallpapers...Supermodel.jpg

You should notice that the border of Milla's iris is much darker in the Sony shot compared to the Gaumont shot. The 2 photos linked above show that the Gaumont shot is nearer to true nature. The dark iris border in the Sony shot is caused by ringing which is caused by the artificial sharpening / edge enhancement.

In the 2 photos you'll also see that Milla doesn't have big blotches on her face, like the Sony shot suggests. Thanks to makeup her skin is very soft and even, like in the Gaumont shots. Just compare the screenshots to the photos and you should see that Gaumont is more natural, although a bit softer (since it's not artificially sharpened, like Sony is).

sony transfer just got owned by real pics

Sony left, Gaumont right.

I'll have to disagree, this does not bode well for the Gaumont release yet the Sony has its own issues. A nice medium of the two would probably be more satisfying for all.

I do prefer the Sony release to the blown-out Gaumont.

Best Regards
KvE

Yeah, the Gaumont transfer does have blown highlights, which is a disadvantage. And some people may not like the color balance. Still, to my eyes the Gaumont transfer looks significantly better overall. Especially in motion.

Maybe in an alternate universe.

This comes out in the UK on June 6th.. Released by Fox Pathe. I have high hopes for this release. Hopefully not locked as indicated.

The Sony version looks so very, very 'edgy' (for want of a better word), and those caps of Milla's face say it all. There's no extra detail there, just exaggerated sharpness. The colour looks soooo much better than the drab Sony transfer.

They both look unnatural.

I've just got the Fox release to compare it with the Sony disc. As others have said it looks slightly more natural than the Sony disc in some respects, but I'm not a fan of the contrast/colours. Having said that, has anyone in this thread pointed out that the old region 2 DVD Special Edition looked exactly the same? All this talk about it being revisionism etc., well if it is it started in 2003...

Heh. I remember how blown-out the old UK DVD looked, and the Gaumont Blu does appear to be very similar. I could never stomach that DVD because it was just too harsh; the 'boosted' look plus the usual DVD foibles of compression artefacts and edge halos did not make for comfortable viewing. But without those DVD drawbacks, I really dig the 'new' transfer.

Oh God, like a Nam flashback, I've just remembered that Pathe UK DVD.

It had more shimmer than a gay pride festival.

I finally imported the French Gaumont release and am watching it right now. Gone is the harsh digital look of the US release and present in a very filmlike appearance that calls to mind the way it look projected in theaters. A lovely transfer all around! So happy I imported this release of the film. Couldn't be happier.

Would the UK release not be cheaper?

I doubt either master comes from an OCN source. I'd love to see a new 4k remaster.

According to the image above, the UK release is region locked - but then again, I haven't seen any confirmation on that, as region listings on the box are not always accurate. Is the French release region locked?

Fifth Element, The
US - AVC, LPCM/Dolby TrueHD 5.1, fewer extras
DE - VC-1, DTS-HD HR 6.1, more extras (Region free)
UK - AVC, DTS-HD MA 5.1, director approved transfer, extras (Region B locked)
FR - AVC, DTS-HD HR 5.1, director approved transfer, no English subs (Region free)


The UK release is most definately Region B locked. I have 3 copies of this movie on BD now.
Gaumont
UK - B Locked - Mainly have for extras
JP - A Locked - First Gaumont edition

Sony
Remaster..

Sorry, but I think this is a very inappropriate term.

They call it "flare", not "shimmer" in a gay pride parade...and it looks fabulous...

Ah, I have the US remaster and the UK

I don't remember my retinas being scorched in the theater.

Please.

The transfer looks amazing - vibrant, dynamic, and rich just as this movie should look. None of the ugly digital noise and artifacts on the U.S. release. And despite the French release "only" have a DTS-HD HR English track, it seems to sound more dynamic than what I remember the U.S. release sounding. I watched the U.S. disc many times and I don't remember the surround channels being as active as they are on the French disc.

The UK disc has been confirmed as region locked I believe, otherwise I would have imported that one. The French disc is region free.
Edited by QuiGonJosh - 9/7/12 at 5:18pm

It is better than the US disc 100% but not one of the older Besson movies had blown out hot whites originally

Please yourself. I do actually own the UK disc, so carry on.