Bram Stoker's Dracula comparison *PIX* - Page 5

It just seems to me that when titles are revisited they're treated to cheap digital filters, instead of a painstaking scene-by-scene treatment like when they're made.

Yeah, but didn't you read that statement issued by one of Coppola's people? They spent over a year tweaking this title. And Robert Harris said this is what FFC has always intended Dracula to look. Stop laughing, this is serious.

if Robert Harris said that then there is no arguement from my viewpoint

I was thrilled with this release, the last 20 mins of the film are breathtaking, it is insulting to say this is anywhere near to a SD DVD

-Gary

So where's the detail? Everything we've seen so far has been below minimum 720p HD.

???

All the screenshots provided by Xylon are 1920X1080. Did I miss something?

They're all HD in terms of size but what I meant was the detail level is low, like the film was telecined using a low quality scanner. Just look at the shot of Drac crawling down the wall. Besides the obvious color timing difference is there any detail in the BRD shot that the SD dvd doesn't have? The BRD's shadows are also clipped to black. Totally unacceptable. The film deserves a better release than this (PQ wise).

no it doesn't

you should see this release on a good high-end CRT setup

-Gary

True, nothing beats a CRT, but that won't make the now green flames in the torch the right color again!

Gary, not too long ago you were saying Spartacus "looked darn good". So if you think Spartacus looks darn good and this release of Dracula impresses you then I don't know what to say. Either your CRT setup isn't very revealing or your viewing distance is in the next state.

To give you credit though you did say that Traffic looked like crap so maybe slightly above that is where you draw the line between garbage and decent PQ.

Spartacus IS amazing as is Dracula, ask Robert Harris about Spartacus, he knows a thing or 2 about it

you want some garbage PQ? watch Crank

-Gary

I gotcha Dave, I am only speaking as to the quality of the image, not any changes, I understand where people are coming from with that

-Gary

Spartacus is amazing? We're talking about PQ right? It looks like upconverted roadkill.

I think you're pulling our legs.

Has Robert Harris commented on the HD DVD of Spartacus? I thought his silence about it was indicative of a poor quality product. I sold that HD DVD because I thought Mr. Harris wasn't impressed with the video transfer.

Which is really surprising because Harris even gave a pass to FMJ, one of the worst jaggy-infested 1080i discs in existance. So if RAH raved about FMJ but didn't even bother to give Spartacus a passing grade what does that tell you?

here is Roberts view on Dracula:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d.php?t=262992

I thought Harris said somewhere that Spartacus looked the best it could, he didn't comment on the HD-DVD release

and for the record it is just cool to trash FMJ, it was not a bad release IMHO, the only negative thing was a few jaggies, not even in the same league as LW II

-Gary

I care a bit about the original intentions of the director but after comparing the Superbit and the Blu-Ray I would have to choose the Superbit version. The scene with the girl holding the baby looks amazing on the SB version(especially her eyes) and the scene with Dracula on the castle wall with the green torch seems out of whack to me.

I hear ya. I for one had more issues with the color changes (although some of them work) and the flatter pic than the actual detail.

Can someone please tell me what is so special about this movie?

I have tried to watch it twice now in my life (once a long long time back ago on SD) and tonight on BD from Blockbuster Online.

I heard nothing but people loving this movie but tonight I shut it off at 46 minutes. I looked at the counter and it said I still had about 1:20 left in the movie to go and I could not stomach another minute of this.

I am a big fan of horror/monster films but this film just utterly blew in the 46 minutes i watched (my opinion only). Not even Monica Belucci could save it for me in HD. And speaking HD...there was absolutely no pop in this transfer at all...probably the worst looking title I watched as of yet on a HD platform.

Am I viewing the right movie here? Or am I just in the wrong?

Again my opinion only. Just trying to figure out why I do not like it and if it gets any better than the 46 minutes I watched.

It's kind of interesting to see these color changes. Dracula Redux with modern digital color technology. I can just imagine Coppola sitting there with the colorist saying "they didn't think my movie was scary. Well, I'll show them scary! Desaturate the colors! Make it darker! No, darker than that! Make that flame green!".

Re: Xylon's pics in post #139.

The Blu-ray pic is easily superior in this comparison. Much better color (superbit DVD is way too red/orange tinted), a lot more detail (look at the dresses), and no visible compression artifacts, while there's quite a lot of macroblocking on the DVD.

It is indeed not for everyone. If you didn't like it by the 46 minute mark I would honestly say you probably won't like the rest.

Gotcha! Thanks! I'll be returning this to BB.

Well I have been following this Dracula issue for some time now, and after the "Dracula climbing down the wall pix was posted" here is my view on the whole issue;

The 3 HD versions have the same color timing and it is way off compared to the DVD versions and the 35mm version, witch I just saw again at a private screening here in Denmark!

Detail vise the 3 HD versions almost look the same and that also goes for their black levels.

When you put that info together, then it certainly looks like the 3 HD versions was taken from the EXACT same master

And if that is the case then, then the master would be a bit old, would it not ?

And then again, that would make the info about this being a whole new transfer with all new color corrections wrong, would it not ?

Well I am, especially after seeing the 35mm print again, even though it was a bit worn, very disappointed with the way Dracula looks on Blu-Ray

And I think it is a shame that Zoetrope and Sony does not pay more attention to the Blu-Ray's that they release, and try to pass old HD broadcast masters to us consumers as brand new High Deff releases

Hi Denner!

The HD version I saw on cable over a year ago was reportedly an older transfer and looked to me just like the superbit color and brightness wise but with more detail.
Others here have seen that master and confirmed that that's how it looked. I think this new one was done in the last year. They are a bit different as the new BD does not have burned in subtitles and the old one, (as seen in the docs.) does.

Ok, my conclusions / suggestions was made from the HD broadcast screengrabs taken by XYLON, I have not seen the different HD broadcasts floating around.

I have the Blu-Ray and I think it looks awful, compared to the 35mm I just saw, completely different color tiing.

But the color timing on XYLONS HD broadcast and the Blu-Ray looks the same, do the versions XYLON is using have burned in subtitles ?

+1, much more detailed to me. I compared each picture by looking at his armor, the added detail is easiest to see there.

However, I hate the coloring. I just don't see how this is what was intended, if this is what was intended then he could have easily shot it this way in the first place. The Picture in the theater had a lot more color (over the top), and at the time THAT was what was intended. I think FCC caved to the critics that didn't like the coloring of the film. I think that's all this is, FCC second guessing himself, and what's worse is that the job appears to have been done poorly as evidenced by the green torch.

This movie actually did not go over well at the box office. The critics gave it mediocre reviews and so did movie goers at the time.

Nowadays it could be a cult classic, that sometimes happens, but I always thought the film was just "ok", my wife liked it...

To me this movie is a love story and not something thats gonna scare you. It just happens to be with Dracula and it has a dark atmosphere which i like. Dont watch this thinking is a horror movie.