Most Film-like Transfers? - Page 2

Don't see that anyone mentioned it, but other than some minor compression issues and a couple shots with some digital weirdness going on, the new French Connection disc looks very much like a nice 35mm print of a early-mid 70s film to my eyes, comparable to Taxi Driver.

MOONSTRUCK is a very filmic blu ray. I was amazed by this on blu ray. The restoration and transfer completely restore this film while leaving it looking extremely film like. There is plenty of 'evidence' while watching MOONSTRUCK on blu ray that it was shot on film, such as periodic specks and consistent film grain throughout. The MOONSTRUCK blu ray also just feels very much like film while watching it.

Which version of The French Connection on blu ray are you speaking of??? There are 2 versions... one that the director did heavy color tint changes to that the cinematographer disowned and the other version where the cinematographer went in and put the coloring back to how it was actually filmed.


btw, Taxi Driver is the most incredible blu ray ever!!

I reecently watched the remastered versions of Patton and Gladiator. Both might have just a hair of EE, but very impressive, overall.

Surprisingly "ID"; it's a soft transfer [it lOOks MPEG 2 too me/although its MPEG 4] that adds too the film-like lOOk.
It's got that not-futzed-with therefore non-digital rendition.
Pleasant presentation & cheap now.
vvv "new"

PSYCHO 50th Anniversary. Very film like, and a completely amazing restoration and transfer of the film.

Psycho has some heavy edge enhancement at times.

Psycho is like Back To The Future in black and white (which is to its benefit, since they cant give it those ugly video colors). A very Universally looking disc, though one of their better ones. It looks very little like a nice B&W print, at least from where I'm sittin'.
Edited by 42041 - 1/29/13 at 10:38pm

I thought the Moonstruck Blu-ray was supposed to be mediocre at best. Am I wrong?

Well it is very film like through most of the movie, and that is for sure, and I thought that was the point of this thread.
Edited by cinemasoul - 2/2/13 at 8:40pm

OK, seems like every time I mention a BD that I think is very film like it gets bashed down by someone telling me that I am oh so wrong. Well, I just watched one that is the most film like blu ray that I have seen since I started watching blu rays and if it gets bashed down for not being film like then I give up. The movie is SLEEPER (Woody Allen) It is extremely film like throughout, and it looks GREAT!! It is the most FILM-like transfers that I've seen yet. I don't think it gets much better than this for proper film-like transfer on blu ray.
Edited by cinemasoul - 2/2/13 at 6:50pm

Moonstruck and other bargain MGM/UA Blu-ray titles like Rain Man, A Fish Called Wanda, Four Weddings and a Funeral, When Harry Met Sally, etc. that were pumped out during the MGM financial crisis seem to be from older, outdated sources. While perhaps not processed to within an inch of their lives like most Universal and Paramount catalog titles, these classics deserved so much better: restoration from the original camera negatives, new 4k transfers, etc. etc. That did not occur here, which is a shame.

Isn't this supposed to be about the most 'film' looking blu rays? Moonstruck looks very much like film I'M TELLING YOU. Watch it again...it may not be 'eye candy' compared to some newer movies but you can really see the film with Moonstruck on blu ray. It even 'crackles and pops' like film. Yes there are a few moments here and there where you can tell it was manipulated but overall, more than not, Moonstruck is VERY FILM LIKE in how it looks on blu ray. I know, I just watched it on my plasma.


However... SLEEPER is hands down the most film like blu ray I've seen yet.

Thanks for the list of films that you think match Moonstruck... It makes me wanna run out and get all the ones you just mentioned... I mean, if they look as film like as Moonstruck does on blu ray, then that is a good thing... I don't care about eye candy, I just want it to be film like. I haven't seen those ones you are talking about but if they are being compared to Moonstruck, then it sounds like those earlier titles weren't digitally manipulated as much as the newer blu rays in general are (ex:Predator The Ultimate Barbie Edition) I wanna see those earlier blu rays you mentioned to see for myself.


Then again, we could be looking at it in two completely different ways... but to me, Moonstruck looks VERY much like film.



Would you like to list a few of these 'nerwer' blu rays that are more FILM LIKE than Moonstruck? I would like to see you list of blu rays that you think are the most film like transfers to blu ray.... You say the newer blu rays are better and MORE FILM LIKE... please, list them... I'd like some examples of what you consider more film like than the Monnstruck BD.
Edited by cinemasoul - 2/2/13 at 9:29pm

This will depend on what you're defining as "film-like." If film-like to you means that the movie looks like a typical theatrical dupe print several generations removed from the negative, some of these old transfers may look very film-like to you. The ideal that most of us strive for is to match the quality of what's actually on the original film negative as closely as possible.

What? What kind of tv are you watching the Moonstruck BD on? Or did you actually watch it? IT LOOKS LIKE FILM!!
Did you actually watch the Moonstruck BD or are you just taking a stance in what you think the BD of Moonstruck 'probably' looks like?

I do admit that there are a couple of times in there where it gets some digital weirdness going on, but only in a 2 or 3 really quick parts... the rest and as a whole, the Moonstruck BD looks like film on my plasma.

Oh and YES....A 'typical' original release movie theater film 'print' is more than film-like, it is actual FILM... so YES I consider a 'typical' original theatrical release of a film 'print' to be more than just film-like... I consider it to be FILM because that is what it is, and that is a straight up fact. Now if a BD can reproduce it to look like an original movie theater theatrical released film 'print', then YES ineedy Ally Sheedy, I consider that to be 'film-like'


Now since the fact that a 'typical theatrical film print' is actually FILM and this thread is about BDs that are 'film like' and states nothing about having to be specifically most 'film-negative like' then maybe you should start a new thread titled just that.. most film-negative-like transfers... then your arguments about a film-like BD not being film-negative-like enough would have more merit. But 'film-like' means that it looks 'like film' and something doesn't have to necessarily have to look like a film negative to look like film and be 'film-like'. If dust is in there then that does not make it less film like, it just makes it less film negative like...which would be an entirely different thread topic... that maybe you would consider starting up so as not to have confusing disagreements about an entirely different and 'more specific' topic than what this thread was intended for. Most Film-like Transfers
Edited by cinemasoul - 2/3/13 at 4:47pm

Most film prints aren't very good. They're mass-produced quickly and cheaply.
My idea of a great blu-ray is one that looks like a great print, not just any print. Blu-ray can only hope to approach this standard.

The fact remains... film prints ARE FILM, no matter if you think they look 'good' or 'great' or what have you, the fact is that film prints are FILM... and if a BD looks like a film print then it is FILM-LIKE.. good bad or ugly.

The topic of this thread is MOST FILM-LIKE TRANSFERS not whether you think it looks 'great' or not.. just FILM-LIKE... and again film prints are film.

Please consider opening a separate thread topic for more specific criteria.

An 8mm print of Ben-Hur might look film-like but that don't make it worth praiseworthy...
I haven't seen the films being discussed, but it's perfectly reasonable for the poster you responded to to qualify your recommendation of a transfer that might be film-like yet still be very mediocre.

Straight up fact: Film like is film like, and that is the topic of this thread, nothing more.

Great. Start your own HT forum you can enforce the thread topics as you see fit. But as I see it, discussing the other merits/lack thereof of the transfers brought up in this thread is perfectly on-topic.

Still, no matter how you want to put it, the fact remains FILM LIKE means that it is FILM LIKE even if it doesn't look 'great' to your eyes. There are PLENTY of other threads that are more suited for more specific criteria, but this thread is for most FILM LIKE transfers not most clean pristine film negative only film transfers. I think this thread is getting way off topic of most FILM-LIKE transfers. It doesn't say 'best' film-like transfers... it simply says MOST film like transfers. Arguing about what is the 'best' film transfers is much different than discussing the most film-like transfers. There is another thread on here called Best Catalog Film Transfers... I think that thread is correctly suited for discussing what the BEST ones are, but this thread should be for the ones that look most like film, whether that looks 'great' to you or not.

I see people talking about how the older BDs that I mention in here that are film like are not film like, and that newer BD transfers of films are more film like and this and that but it's funny how I don't see people actually mentioning many of those titles by name. Why are people not listing BDs that they think are film like in here? I hear people saying how this one or that one isn't so film-like and that they have seen many way more film-like BDs but for some strange reason no one is listing them. hmmmmm.... come on guys... put it out on the table... let's hear all the ones that are more film-like than Moonstruck or Sleeper.

So far besides the ones that I have mentioned in here, I've only see a very few even mentioned so far... lets pick it up and start shooting off more TITLES in here.

I mean for example: it's easy to sit there when someone mentions a title such as Edward Scissorhands and say all the negative things about it and how it's not film-like compared to so many other BDs you have seen, but it seems like such a difficult or perhaps impossible task to actually speak up about what those supposedly more film like titles actually are...seems like everyone goes mum when it comes to spitting out actual titles. What are these supposed mystery titles that are so 'film like' that they put Moonstruck, Edward Scissorhands and Sleeper to shame and make them look 'video like' in comparison? Iif there are all of these BDs out there of catalog titles that are so much more film like then why are you not saying what they all are so that they can be directly compared. I mean if it is truly the case that the ones I have mentioned are way less film like than so many of these newer transfers you have been seeing lately, then WHY oh WHY isn't this thread filled with many MANY more titles of film-like transfers???????


hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
Edited by cinemasoul - 2/3/13 at 10:44pm

Easy Rider

And there you have the problem with these threads.

That's it?? just Easy Rider?? That's the only title you got to put out there?????? Just one?? Why not list every single one you can think of?????

If so many more of the 'newer' BDs of catalog titles are so much more film like than the older ones than the ones I mentioned... then why is there only a really small handfull even being mentioned in this thread. Yes, we've heard about Easy Rider and The French Connection, Ben Hur and Lawrence of Arabia... but is the very few that were mentioned really the only ones you can think of?

I'm not afraid to list the ones I think are film like...

Tommy

SLEEPER

Taxi Driver

Moonstruck

The Wrestler

Seven Samurai

Something Wild

Hustle and Flow

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Edward Scissorhands

Big Trouble in Little China

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid


Where is your full list?????
Edited by cinemasoul - 2/4/13 at 11:54am

That's the problem: I can think of hundreds of different blu-rays that look more or less like film. Listing them all would take a lot of typing, and they've been discussed at length in their respective threads/topics. A good majority of newer DI-based titles shot on film look like more-or-less filmlike, which probably encompasses several thousand different films. Most of them I haven't seen recently enough to remember exactly how good they look (since my standards have risen quite a lot since the early days of the format). And when no one here can agree on even the most basic stuff (such as Easy Rider being a wonderfully filmic transfer, or the inevitable teal-and-orange nonsense) what's the point?
Edited by 42041 - 2/4/13 at 12:10pm

+100000

Thanx for saving me having to make this post.

You know of thousands and you WONT list any of them other than Easy Rider because it's too much typing to list a few of them hmmmm....

They may have been discussed in separate threads...

What's the point? If there is no point then why even look in this thread or post here at all.

What's the point? The point is to gather all of the most film-like BD titles and list them all in one thread, instead of having them all in separate individual threads.
If you know of 'hundreds' of them but are too lazy to list some of them, then you are really not contributing here at all, but instead just nit picking at other people's suggestions.
If you know of 'hundreds' of them and refuse to list a bunch of them just because you think it is too much 'typing' then that is the same as you hording them and not wanting to share your knowledge of film like titles with this thread. If there are hundreds of these extremely filmic BDs out there and you 'KNOW' about them then it should be no problem for you to name like 10 or 20 of them without your pretty little fingers or brain getting numb from too much typing or thinking. If not then you are not contributing here at all and just taking up space in order to nit pick and argue with other people's suggestions.


oh btw... I hate the teal and orange thing too, I just didn't notice it when I watched Alien..but I'm not arguing that it wasn't teal and oranged. I don't think they should mess with the color tinting when restoring and transferring catalog titled to blu ray...it should be a crime.

Speaking of the teal and orange thing that you mentioned being 'inevitable' by you saying "the inevitable teal-and-orange nonsense" is that you saying that you know of hundreds of film-like titles if only they didn't have the inevitable teal and orange thing going on in them? Moonstruck doesn't have any of this so called "inevitable" teal and orange thing going on in it. If all of the ones you can think of have this inevitable teal and orange thing going on then they are not really so much film like as the ones I have mentioned that dont have the teal and orange thing going on.
Edited by cinemasoul - 2/4/13 at 2:04pm

Film-like is FILM-like
film prints are film - Not an opinion, but a fact.
Edited by cinemasoul - 2/4/13 at 1:52pm

I just watched a film-like BD: Harold and Maude.
Criterion discs from new 2k or 4K scans are usually film-like. So are Sony's discs from new scans. Other studios are more hit and miss (e.g. Universal...). Warner and Fox are usually preserving the film look too.

Well, if you insist... here's some off the top of my head, limiting myself to only ones I've seen recently enough to feel confident recommending them. Some might have fleeting EE or the very occasional DNR.
Wizard of Oz
Gone With The Wind
The Red Shoes
The African Queen
Casablanca (remastered disc)
Sweet Smell of Success
Night of the Hunter (iffy on this one, looks somewhat noisy to me)
White Christmas
The Egyptian
Lola Montes
Bridge on the River Kwai
Ben Hur
(the last 4 films unfortunately look like they're straining color out of very faded negatives)
South Pacific
Lawrence of Arabia
Jason and the Argonauts
Walkabout (overly soft)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Rocky Horror Picture Show
A Fistful of Dollars (the 4K restoration, only released in Italy)
If...
the aforementioned Easy Rider, Taxi Driver, and The French Connection (remastered)
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Evil Dead
Alien & Aliens (some Lowry tinkering going on but still a reasonable approximation of film)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (iffy on the colors)
Vigilante
Big Trouble in Little China
Say Anything
Wall Street (remastered)
Total Recall (remastered, somewhat iffy on the colors)
Showgirls
Jurassic Park 2 (good example of a filmlike transfer that is not very good)
Last of the Mohicans (like film in very dim projection)
Armageddon
Saving Private Ryan
The Thin Red Line
Braveheart (haven't seen it recently enough to be sure but it's worth mentioning)
Minority Report
AI
Moulin Rouge
I don't even know where to start with DI based films... Inglourious Basterds? No Country for Old Men?
Edited by 42041 - 2/4/13 at 3:57pm