House of Flying Daggers -Re-master? - Page 2

It's a travesty that Sony still refuses to release this film UNCUT. The changes made to get a PG-13 badly hurt this film. It destroys the most crucial moment in the flick and I will never EVER pay for it in this stupid edited form.

My ****** SD-DVD import with full bit DTS will do me fine.

I agree......

and for this same reasons (colorful costumes, scenery), I am hoping that Bollywood movies will be made into HDM very soon also!

Even after all of the negative reviews, I couldn't resist the great J&R BD sale that included this title. I had misgivings, of course, but figured in the end I'd be out $10.99 at worse.

Boy, am I glad I purchased this.

I took a lot of time last night comparing this to my R3 Edko, and the Blu-ray release positively trounces the Edko in picture quality. It's not even a close call. The image is far superior.

Which is not to say it doesn't come up short compared to other BDs. The artifacts that are apparent (like the "interlaced" looking line shifts in the very first longshot of Mei) appear in both versions. But the image is otherwise greatly superior on the BD. I cannot stress this enough: there is simply no comparison.

I can't adequately compare the audio as I'm not set up for lossless. I think the full bitrate track on the Edko disc is superior to the lossy one on the BD, but not nearly as much as I was expecting. Hearing them back-to-back, however, gave me some pause about the Edko track - it didn't seem to prioritize and place the sounds quite as well as the BD track in some instances. I didn't spend a lot of time comparing audio as I'm unable to playback the lossless track on the BD, but the differences between the lossy BD track and the full bitrate Edko DTS track are more minor than I expected.

In short, perhaps a remaster could improve things considerably, but IMO the BD trounces the Edko disc in image quality and for that alone is worth a purchase. I'm disappointed that this is the edited version, as I'm among that cadre of viewers who finds the more graphic images to be both somewhat jarring in the context of this film, but also much more effective (particularly in the final scene). But this drawback seems to me to be greatly outweighed by the far superior image quality, making the BD version a much more satisfying viewing experience.

EDIT: I should add that I was watching these discs with the following equipment:
-Edko: upscaled to 1080i via HDMI from Oppo 981HD
-BD: output at 1080i via component from Panny BD-30 (so I wasn't even viewing the highest resolution this disc is capable of, suggesting it might look even better in comparison on your equipment).

EDIT2: I should also clarify that the comparison was with the remastered 2-disc Edko release (superior to their first release)

If it wasn't digitally altered to remove blood, I would grab it. Buy Sony, the scum sucking bastards that they are, have refused to release it the way it was seen in every other country in the world.

Don't hold back Matt, tell us how you really feel.

while, im still crossing my fingers on a remaster, i doubt we'll see it. Hopefully they can do something with Hero instead

I think that this will be a new remastered version with DTS-HD MA sound:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/i...0423295&sr=1-5

http://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Flying...0423295&sr=1-5

It's probably not remastered per-say. Another studio is releasing it. Chances are they have the same so-so master as Sony did for original release. The high amount of MPEG2 blocking in the original release added to the poor picture. This one could look better if the video is encoded better.

It's probably worth saying that UK versions (cinema/dvd) of this film appear to be cut. By the way, apart from the mentioned cut is UK version same as the uncut international version or is it US PG-13 version?

BBFC

This work was cut. The cut(s) were Compulsory. To obtain this category cuts of 0m 18s were required.


Cuts required to three instances of real animal cruelty (horses made to fall using techniques likely to result in serious injury). Cuts made in accordance with the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937.

The UK version was cut to remove animal cruelty. I.E: Horsefalls. It is no where near the level of butchery that Sony inflicted on the US release. It is rated '15' the equivalent of a US R-rating,(no digital blood removal in this version).I pre-ordered this as soon as it became available on Amazon.co.uk and only hope that Fox Pathe have an entirely different source material knocking around.

Don't forget there is the French version coming out at the end of Sept.

http://www.asianblurayguide.com/detail.php?discid=301
http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASI...fenheimth0c-21

Lets see if we get lucky and one of them outperforms the original release.

I actually like those covers better than the US release

I like the actual art work better, but that UK type treatment is a strange choice.

OK, the UK version is also cut, so screw that, but the French version "should" be uncut and if that is the case, should it have English subtitles we will FINALLY be OK.

The film will always look soft. That cannot be avoided. But if we can have it uncut then life will be grand.

i want chinese subs more than english

any idea if French bd's use the same thicker case as UK ones? i prefer the thin cases.

Does this movie even merit a Re-master???

I've never seen it, buy I've read comments that its a bad ripoff of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Its actually quite good.
J

I wonder if the Chinese or Japanese companies have a better transfer. My EDKO region 3 DVD has a decent picture and is uncut. Maybe when they release it on blu it might be the version to get.

What is the point of making a post like this?

Far from it....this is a great film.

Huh. I think I'll actually pick this one up when it's available on the cheap again. The Blu-ray is far from impressive but the DVD is just awful.

i did get it on the cheap, but would still suggest waiting for a remastered uncut version, which will warrant a double-dip for me.

Dude, I stopped asking myself that question a long time ago. I've since mastered the "smile and ignore" technique. You should try it!

See, the thing is, I've been waiting for that for years. And at this point, I just don't think it's going to happen. It's the same situation with Hero - whenever it's finally released on Blu-ray over here, I'll probably just accept whatever they bother to give us because there will never be a remastered uncut release.

And as compromised as these versions are, I could have watched both of those movies several times over in the past few years if I had purchased them instead of waiting for the "good" version to be released.

Not at all. CTHD was a ripoff of countless Hong Kong kung-fu films. Now, it was BETTER than 99.99% of the films that it ripped off, so that excuses it 100% in my book.

HOFD is a magnificent film, one that should be seen by anyone who enjoyed CTHD. There is some not that impressive CGI here and there, but all in all it's a wonderful film, one deserving better treatment. The cuts and alterations by the studio in an attmept to get a PG-13 are simply sickening.

I ******* HATE PG-13 and what it has done to the film industry!!!

"Don't hold back Matt, tell us how you really feel"......... ah I couldn't resist using Geoff's quote up on the top of this page.

Just yanking your chain Matt.

Who's going to spring for the French version of HOFD? As Matt has mentioned this film really deserves better if it is possible.

I'd consider it if it has English subs. Hate the cover, though.

I never knew there were uncut versions. I saw it in theaters and don't remember seeing any blood so I never wondered. What international DVD releases are completely uncut?

This review has a list of the cuts:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/15518...lying-daggers/

The Region 3 DVDs are uncut.