[Matt_Stevens]

Duel layer with a widescreen and useless pan & scan version. Bit rate is much too low to handle the image, so compression artifacts are frequent and annoying and the EE is God awful. Someone had the dial cranked to a zillion. I'm glad I rented.


Outstanding documentary though. And the 5.1 remix was OK.

 

[Hank527]

yeh I bought it Matt I watch the fullscreen version since its matted anyway on a 32" Sony Wega. Anything else makes it look god awful. This is one flick clammoring for DVHS. I hate the new transfer worse than the polygram one.

 

[Dean Roddey]

I bought it. I figured it wasn't going to get another shot any time soon. I held off on the first one because it was really bad. This one isn't great, but its such a high desirability flick that I figured it was worth a buy.

 

[Frank J Manrique]

Originally posted by Hank527:


"I watch the fullscreen version since its matted anyway on a 32" Sony Wega. Anything else makes it look god awful. This is one flick clamoring for DVHS. I hate the new transfer worse than the polygram one."

________________________________________


I am pretty sure TUS D) was shot in scope anomorphic, thus a "full frame" version will by necessity be panned and scanned (ugh! ); it wouldn't be matted. The possible exception would be if the flick was shot in Super-35, in which case something aking to The Abyss (matted to 1:85:1) could be a possibility, but TUS would more like True Lies (also shot in Super-35 although theatrical prints had an slight "squeeze" to produce a scope effect) since its theatrical showings were in scope anomorphic.


I do agree the new version is far from stellar looking.

Because of the seeming unending re-issuing of the same movie tittles -most of which doesn't really improve upon previous offerings- I am beginning to loathe them Hollywoodhackers a lot!


I also agree this movie should be put on D-VHS; is one of my favorite "modern" crime/action thrillers...


-THTS

 

[Matt_Stevens]

MGM's insistence on including a cropped version cripples their releases with low bit rates and EE to make up for the softness.

 

[Marc Alexander]

So, is this version worse than the old non-anamorphic? I already sold my old version, but haven't opened the new one yet.

 

[David600]

damn! I hate this trend by MGM to put both versions on the same side !! scandalous ( and the 1GB extra from the dvd 14 changes nothing ! ).


I have the laserdisc, with an excellent uncooked down PCM track and won't get the dvd. I'd prefer laserdisc video noise over digital, EE looking transfer.


TUS is a jewel of thriller !


Kobayashi

 

[Hank527]

Usual suspects was shot in super-35 and matted.

 

[David600]

Matt


I think I will get the region 2 and make an exception to my R1 habits


the R2 is a twin discs ( DVD 9, dual layers) and all supplements are on disc 2. disc one has only the movie and 2 DD5.1 tracks, with a commentary.


I don't know Ottman's soundtrack too well to be bothered that much with pal speedup. but if MGM had done it right, I sure would have picked itè but 2x 128minutes (!!) on one side of a DVD 14 is way too much !

 

[Frank J Manrique]

Damn! TUS was indeed shot in Super35...


Actually, I would have preferred seeing a 1:85:1 wide-screen version than scope since more needed vertical lines of rez would be used, increasing apparent definition. This is another case were a scope-wannabe feature shouldn't have been used for the video transfer. However, the full frame version should display the format's full resolution...


-THTS

 

[Flexx]

Quote:

Originally posted by Frank J Manrique Originally posted by Hank527: I am pretty sure TUS D) was shot in scope anomorphic, thus a "full frame" version will by necessity be panned and scanned (ugh! ) -THTS

TUS was shot Super35, but some scenes with Chaz and Spacey in the office had a defect in filming, so they had to be blown up and re-framed. As a result some scenes are much more cropped in the pan & scan than is usually the case for a Super35 film.


BTW - maybe it's just me, but the new special edition dvd looks great on my 92 inch screen and is a substantial upgrade in image quality when compared to the old non-anamorphic Polygram dvd (which I also owned).


Cheers,

Flexx


Visit The CineFlexx
http://members.aol.com/beautymarkstudio/Home.html

 

[MikeM]

Quote:

Originally posted by Flexx TUS was shot Super35, but some scenes with Chaz and Spacey in the office had a defect in filming, so they had to be blown up and re-framed. As a result some scenes are much more cropped in the pan & scan than is usually the case for a Super35 film. BTW - maybe it's just me, but the new special edition dvd looks great on my 92 inch screen and is a substantial upgrade in image quality when compared to the old non-anamorphic Polygram dvd (which I also owned). Cheers, Flexx Visit The CineFlexx http://members.aol.com/beautymarkstudio/Home.html

Flexx:


You are absolutely correct. As I've said 100 times on here over the past two years, there's really no point in someone moaning about artifacts since the visibility of such is not only dependent on the mastering process, but equally if not more so on the delivery system. There's hardly any two people on this whole forum that deliver their images in identical fashion, using identical equipment, so it's useless for someone to stand up and declare how bad or good a disk looks as if it's uniformly that way across the board-- it ain't. I saw TSU new version on a 9" crt with a souped up HTPC and the image looked great -- much much better than the previous release. It is not EE hell. Maybe on Matt's system it is, and that's no reflection on how good or not good his system is, but only to point out what he's seeing may not be what everyone else sees.

 

[Mando]

I, like the previous two posters, greatly appreciate the new SE version.


On my Skyworth -> 10ht -> 100" Grayhawk, it is a VERY nice picture....so, I will have to disagree with the original poster's analysis of this title. It is LIGHT years ahead of the older non-anamorphic version.


Off my soap box I come.

 

[David600]

what ? argh, the denial effect is alive and kicking. I've seen EE on tvs, rptv, crts, dlps, in component, HTPC, svhs etc.


I have not seen the region 1 version of TUS but will take the region 2 ( with pal speedup ) because it seems a little better and with 2 DVD 9 ( and the 2.35 transfer is alone on disc one ).


there is EE induced by our hardware but most of the time, the EE we see is unfortunately ENCODED on the dvds ( yuck ), voluntarily or not.


Bjoern, time to post some screenshots

 

[Matt_Stevens]

Excuse me, but SVM and EE are completely disabled on my TV. I only get halos/EE when it is on the DVD. I never said that this DVD was not better than the original. I simply said that it looked poor, had obvious EE and also artifacting. Since the film is shoved onto one layer, the bit rate is low and that, of course leads to artifacts.


MGM's MAD MAX looks better, with fewer artifacts and less EE.

 

[hob]

In your first post I seen word cripples, in your last post I seen word disabled, both fit me to a T. lol

 

[MikeM]

Quote:

Originally posted by Matt_Stevens Excuse me, but SVM and EE are completely disabled on my TV. I only get halos/EE when it is on the DVD. I never said that this DVD was not better than the original. I simply said that it looked poor, had obvious EE and also artifacting. Since the film is shoved onto one layer, the bit rate is low and that, of course leads to artifacts. MGM's MAD MAX looks better, with fewer artifacts and less EE.

Matt:


It doesn't matter how much you disabled whatever mechanisms you have on your tv or dvd player. What matters is the digital to analog and back again transformation of the signal that exacerbates the appearance of edge enhancement. If you had a setup using an HTPC or a dvd player with a digital out interface to a projection system that had a similar digital interface, you wouldn;t see what you are seeing to the degree you are seeing it. I know because I've been there and had to learn the hard way after spending $2500 on one of the most sophisticated dvd players on the market plus using a $20,000 Faroudja processor that produced exhorbitant outlining. But, for less than $2000, a well put together HTPC eliminated the lion's share of what I was seeing.


It's all in the delivery notwithstanding the real nightmare DVDs that I agree find their way out there, but the upgraded Usual Suspects is not one of them. Yes, it starts with the DVD and some are certainly worse than others, but depending on your delivery system, it might be negligible or very distracting and since everyone has different systems it does no good to pronounce to the world by titling this thread that Usual Suspects is too artifacty and has bloody EE as if it's a universal nightmare. That's all I was trying to say and I was not beiong critical of you or your equipment -- just stating a fact to put it into proper perspective.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

It has much more EE than numerous other titles. Remove the EE and the DVD improves greatly. Make it one version on two layers, and the DVD improves by leaps and bounds. That's simply the way it is. MGM cheated us to appease the pan & scam crowd.

 

[Mando]

Ultimately, MGM is in this business to make money.


With the SE of the Usual Suspects, I feel that MGM acquired a very fine balance of...


1. Satisifying, somewhat, the "tech heads" such as ourselves

2. Satisifying the "joe six pack" who doesn't care about widescreens or, for that matter, "extras."

3. Managed to keep all of these goodies on one DVD, there by reducing the overall cost of the package.


I would have liked to have seen a different DVD package altogether of a WS or PS. But, as noted before, we have to look at the source material. It is NOT a pristine, clean high budget movie. As such, there are some things that MGM can try to get way with and, I feel, worked.


Is it perfect? No. But, I feel, it is a great and fair comprise all the way around, considering the original film material.


Now...the studio who tries to do this with Spiderman, I WOULD be pissed about that.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

D-VHS/D-Theater. MGM needs to come aboard.