Bram Stoker's Dracula comparison *PIX* - Page 7

I can see more detail(minimal) in the 29:47 timestamp on my display, including a word to the left of the lamp. Maybe it's there on the screencap, and my monitor is not resolving it. It's still nowhere close to the DVD though.

Can you grab a screenshot when the buggy approaches the castle? Around 11:45 in? Dave's pics showed basically non existent shadow detail, but I see a decent amount of dark detail in that scene. I thought I recall him saying those pics he took were very close to what he was seeing.

I actually think most every blu-ray screen cap you guys have posted looks better. The SB-DVD version looks wildy over-saturated and unnatural.

I agree about that. But I think Xylon tries to show, that the lettering seen in the DVD is "abscent" on the BD.
I assume this can't be Coppolas intention.

I find it funny how some of you are actually trying to justify that the BD is better. Assuming Xylon's procedure is correct, every BD image looks underexposed. Don't kid yourself: the BD is not "creepier" this way. Yes, it does have more detail and is sharper but so what? If it was the other way around, you guys would just say "I can't believe I survived with the DVD all this time. I couldn't even see their faces. And the colors just pop off the BD!!!"

I'm sure Gary will give it a good go

Xylon, thanks so much for the hard work.

What you're seeing is exactly what I've been seeing on my set-up at those time-stamps. And that confirms it to me that there is definitely something wrong with this transfer no matter what anyone tries to make me believe...

Also, thanks again Dave. I was always trying to give the release the benefit of the doubt, but you were right all along. Cheers.

Perhaps the black levels on the BR are slightly off. If you have a system that doesn't clip below black information, try turning the brightness up slightly. I'd be curious to hear if the diary writing just becomes noticeable. If so, FFC was probably pushing the scene to the darkest level possible, and then the movie was encoded slightly too dark (which does happen; look at how different DVD THX calibrations can be from disc to disc; they're meant only for the movie that's with them). If still no difference, forget I said anything.

I disagree. I just stumbled across this thread today, and in the first 3 pages every cap looks better to me on the BD version. However, the last two pages are a completely different monster. These are unacceptable.

Brandon

I can't believe there were people defending this transfer. Took me about 2 seconds to realize they had ****ed up the black levels.

Well, it's not hard to imagine why some people would stick to their guns. When you have a an expert like Robert Harris and even a rep from Coppola's company saying that this is how Dracula was always meant to look like it can be very easy to jump on that bandwagon. Of course the !@#$ hits the fan when actual screenshots come out (ie Traffic HD-DVD).

Thanks, Xylon!

I was just trying to back myself up, not be a know it all pain. My screenshots were literally just a digital camera pointed at my screen but my eyes knew something looked wonky.

You know, I have had a PS3 since last year, Dracula is one of my fave films of all times. I was so stoked for this release and even defended it when the first reviews came in when I hadn't seen it yet until I got my copy.
Then I was crucified over at BD.com and banned, was told my "calibration" was "off", that I had "an agenda", that I was "anti-blu" etc, etc. when all I did was point out and try to explain and defend my observations.
The screenshot comparison here of the "writing" hopefully backs me up once and for all. I had no agenda, I love the film and truly think the BD looks wrong in several spots. New color timing? Ok, even if a bit revisionist... But black levels so crappy that much of the image is now gone? Why build the amazing sets with all the detail in the first place? The entire "Harker wandering through the castle scene" is a murky, flat, soft mess where it wasn't before.

Here are xylon's shots made a bit smaller...





Just IMHO, the BD looks unnatural, processed, digital, flat and just bad.

I have a light cannon of a PJ, a mits hc3000 and turning up the "brightness" here, even all the way does not reveal the writing, it's just gone.
And what was confirmed was that a "REP" from Zoetrope relayed Coppolla's wishes for the tranfer to the people doing it. AFAIK, he himself was NOT there and didn't "personally" supervise it.

What would the cinematographer think of these alterations? All that effort to carefully light that beatifully detailed set only to have it crushed to empty black 15 years later. Thanks, Francis.

Yeah, you probably have to use print screen to get a capture when using Haali Renderer. Oh well.

Seeing the unaltered raw image it's obvious that there's nothing in the shadows. No writing overlay, no wall detail, nothing. It's one big black blob around poor Keanu. Bogus.


That was a near monochromatic image though. The differences show up in the colors. I'm not sure how bt.709 material reacts to being outputted as bt.601 but dvds outputted as bt.709 have the red/orange issue:

i finally got around to watching the BD version last night....

the part that bothered me the most was that it seemed excessibly SOFT. and the black levels definitely seemed clipped.


oleus

Very nice comparison pics! Unfortunately the blu-ray looks a little too dark to my taste!

They really screwed up the shadow detail didn't they? Winona's hair is a mess of black shapes instead of detailed hair. Just godawful.


Coppola to colorist thru e-mail:

FFC: "You know, my movie is a little too colorful and bright. Can you make it darker and scarier?"

colorist: "I think we can do that..."

::turns down brightness, cranks down color saturation, adds green tint::

You going to upset Gary

I must admit I am disappointed by the PQ of this BD.
This release was reportedly QCed by Coppola himself.
I guess that is where the buck stops.

Hiya oink! (buffy says "WOOF!")

Actually the most they said officially was "a representative from zoetrope" relayed Mr. Coppolla's wishes re: the new transfer to the Sony guys doing the new transfer" Nowhere did they say that he himself supervised it or even watched it. In the commentary recorded over a year before the release, the new transfer hadn't been done yet. In the commentary, Coppolla also confirmed that he hadn't seen the film in years. The film saved his and zoetrope's financial booties so I think he looks back on it more as a job than some of his other more personal films.

As much as I love this film in never ceases to amaze me how hideous Lucy's wedding dress is.