I just Watched the Pianist

I want this, but I keep thinking Universal will release it in the US.

Fantastic film, very moving at times. I really hope it does get released in the US. The DVD version I have right now looks like it was converted from PAL -> NTSC, so the HD DVD will be a considerable improvement.

I gave up on amazon france and got the UK version from xploited

The PAL DVD transfer of The Pianist I'd rank as sublime so it was going to be hard to see a dramatic improvement with The HD-DVD version. Ok I'm happy with The PIanist as it looks very good on HD-DVD and there are no forced subtitles

At the scene at 2hrs 17 min when the captured nazis are sitting down behind the fence there was edge enhancement on the left side of the roof.

The Pianist HD-DVD is a very good transfer, and of course a very important film.

The price of importing these european tiltes is a real pisser though!!

I ordered this via the regular overseas mail postage on jan 24 and got it yesterday Feb 3.

It plays fine, the story is intense and of course difficult content to tell. It won quite a few awards. I would recommend it, the quality of how the story is told is what sets any film apart and this one is well told.

I would have to add, its great to view, but no, it does NOT look like an HD-DVD transfer. It DOES look more like a very good dvd transfer or the next step up to borderline HD-DVD.

The picture has nice clarity but NOT the 3d depth or clarity I would expect. However, this is one of the few movies, that I think the story and quality of the telling is good enough I would still have bought the HD-DVD version.

I guess if the regular dvd version was not a good transfer this is a step up, but I would be curious why they could not do better as its a recent film.

I would also like to add, I had never seen this movie so my reasons for buying the disc might be a bit different in that for my first viewing I wanted the best image quality for sale. I do of course remember seeing the publicity at the time that it had won a huge number of awards.

very good huh ?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=773766

excellent. another disc where everyone has a different opinion on how it looks. isn't this fun ? how much easier it is now to decide whether to buy this or not !

I agree that I thought it looked like crap. Perhaps it has something to do with me using my 360 to play it with. Maybe it just doesn't do H.264 as well as it does VC1.

I have been wondering about picking this one up as well..

I wouldn´t hesitate, this HD DVD film is simply the best i´ve seen for years. PQ is 9/10 and SQ 10/10.

No wonder it got 3 Oscar´s and several other prices.

I have it and I just want to say one thing: as far as PQ and SQ are concerned, it's NOT crap.

AAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHH !!! MAKE IT STOP !!!!!!

it's crap.
no it's not. it's very good.
it looks like upcoverted DVD.
no, it looks like high def.
1/10
no, 9/10

it's enough to drive someone to drink ... more !

can we throw some screen sizes and watching distances into the mix ... i'm sure you're not all watching on 32" screens from 12 feet away, but you never can tell ...

Where can I buy this? Ebay has one for like $40+ shipping, which is ridiculous. Anyone know of retailers that import?

Whats the DTS-HD sound track like?

I can buy this tomorrow from HMV in England for £19.99.

But I only want it for the DTS-HD sound track. Sounds like a good film though?

Is it the same depressing theam as Shindlers list?

Sound review please.

xploitedcinema.com

I ordered mine from Amazon France, which btw appears to have quite a few hd-dvds not available in the U.S.

On a 90-inch screen from about 9 feet away, it looked very good. It has it's share of problems though and I wouldn't rate the PQ higher than an 8/10. The picture seemed to get progressively softer as I watched it and noise/grain was also a little intrusive. I also happened to get the Japanese version and there weren't any English subtitles so I was lost in all the Polish/German-speaking scenes. Is the European version the same way?

Link to HMV and info on the film here.:

http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayP...;-1&sku=587197

I guess they ship to North America, as well as us here in good old Europe.