BR:FC DVD Reviews

DVDBeaver comparison here.

Gary brings up a good point: "I'm only through two [commentaries] at present (Scott's and Producer/writer) and I found them enjoyable but would also have preferred an academic-type look at the film."

I know it seems silly to complain about the lack of a commentary on a release with four of them, but BR has had such a rich academic life (see the NYFF video on the official site) that a solid, Criterion-type critical analysis would also have been nice.

DVDBeaver comparison here.

i refuse to think the FC looks so bad. i watched it on theater 3 times (tomorrow the 4th) and it couldn't be more different than those caps

Personally, I do think it's greener than it was in the theater (and I've seen it in three different theaters now), but these things are difficult to judge in isolation. (I can only hope my 17 years as a graphic artist has trained my eye well enough--hey, I did notice the new title font immediately!)

Waiting for the DVD...

DVDBeaver comparison here.

i refuse to think the FC looks so bad. i watched it on theater 3 times (tomorrow the 4th) and it couldn't be more different than those caps

Well, just remember what Charles said about computer screencaps.

Relax folks the FC DVD looks just fine. The HD DVD looks even finer though, it just pops out of the screen. Gorgeous.

I'm still waiting to wake up though. I mean, 5-disc BR sets, the 3-disc Vangelis music. Got to be dreaming, right? I DEFINITELY dreamed up the Dangerous Days doc it was just too much, too good to be true, absolutely jaw-dropping.

What's next? Ridley announcing he's got the perfect Blade Runner 2 script?

Well, just remember what Charles said about computer screencaps.

Except that I've been referring to DVDBeaver for years and have always found them to be indicative of what I see on my projector. (Though video monitors/TVs sometimes seem a bit brighter than computer screens.)

I'm not keeping in mind anything, but will judge for myself on the 18th!

The more I think about it, it would be nice if Charles could explain why Ridley wanted darker and greener timing, rather than just telling us that Ridley approved it, period. I know Charles put superhuman effort into the release but it seems like Warner could have tweaked the timing at the last minute? (They've done it before--look at their two-disc Citizen Kane, which Welles scholars have pointed out is too bright in some scenes, like the early silhouette shots.)

Relax folks the FC DVD looks just fine.

Are you saying all the screen captures we've been seeing aren't accurate?

Relax folks the FC DVD looks just fine.

Are you saying all the screen captures we've been seeing aren't accurate?

Well, that's what I've been saying. But I guess you don't believe me.

Well the FC looks a little different to how previous versions have looked like on video (VHS, DVD) but it certainly doesn't look any worse so really it's nothing to get concerned about. The picture quality is so superior now detail-wise that you really won't complain.

I dare say Charles was expecting a little flack over this -you don't alter a cherished 25-year old classic without upsetting some fans. This isn't really helped by the screengrabs on the internet. Yeah they caused some concern for me when I saw them, but having now seen the FC on DVD and HD-DVD, well seeiing really is believing.[/i]

The Final Cut really is quite amazing. The picture quality is breath-taking.

Top: HDNet Transfer (director's cut)
Bottom: Final Cut HD-DVD


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Hi-def is cleary the way to go here, but of course that won't be most of us. In any case, the resolution and clarity of the FC is obviously superior in any format...it's the warmth that concerns me.

Charles--I am always more than willing to believe you!!! I'm just confused by the consistency of sites that are posting the same greenish color schemes, some of which I've depended on for years. But I will happily eat my concerns on the 18th.

I also want to emphasize that I totally respect Scott's creative vision and his right to tweak the FC however he likes...if he wants more green, then that's the way it should be. But your comments make me think if it is more green, it's not intentional--that's what worries me.

In any case, I won't say anything more on this subject until I have the disc in hand...sorry if I've seemed to have overlooked your comments, Charles, that wasn't my intention.

of course we do believe you Charles, how could we not? one thing is sure now, we won't believe those darn screeencaps anymore.

even though those in the link posted by Sam above give pretty much a clue of the amazing work you've done. its's incredible how much of a picture was lost (in time like... )

you know, i went for the FC at theater 4 times, bringing different peoples each time along with me, and any time i had them reading your name onto the poster credits, and i was like "that's the man! you'll see what a hell of an amazing work he's done". they're not into movies and geeking at all, but they know who Charles de Lauzirika is, now.

also thanks to Scott and WB for choosing a BR super fan to handle the work. the fact that you've got your own BR shrine at your office tells a lot about the quality and passion that have been put in the FC and the UCE box. we could easily say that waiting and struggling for 25 years was worth 1000%, as we were expecting the sole, useless 35 minutes bonus disk (until we knew they choosen Mr.de Lauzirika). that said, i think we got to put up the Charles de Lauzirika Fans Club, seriously

Charles--I am always more than willing to believe you!!! I'm just confused by the consistency of sites that are posting the same greenish color schemes, some of which I've depended on for years. But I will happily eat my concerns on the 18th.

I also want to emphasize that I totally respect Scott's creative vision and his right to tweak the FC however he likes...if he wants more green, then that's the way it should be. But your comments make me think if it is more green, it's not intentional--that's what worries me.

In any case, I won't say anything more on this subject until I have the disc in hand...sorry if I've seemed to have overlooked your comments, Charles, that wasn't my intention.

Regarding the green...

You can pretty much ignore every single framegrab you come across. When viewing The Final Cut on a properly calibrated monitor or projection system, it should look like it did in theaters. If you look at it on a computer, it will probably look too green. Different colorspace.

The moral of the story: Don't watch movies on your computer if you want to recreate the theatrical experience.

Most projectors are calibrated to a computer's colorspace.

You might have to do a little tweaking to lower the green and bring up the red.

My projector has various settings--video, computer, RGB, etc--and its color balance works just fine for the other 300+ DVDs in my collection.

I already know what Charles wrote, deleted. I didn't just click on a website and gasp, "Oh my God--it's green!" I'm a consultant for a major DVD label in the UK, and I have researched this subject a lot; for years I have spent quite a bit of time comparing the same titles across regions to judge the best transfer--there's a real art to getting the transfer right, regardless of the quality of the source. I'm not speaking out of my ass, here.

I only skimmed the Bits' lengthy review (at a certain point of blow-by-blow description, I just prefer to watch the DVD), but I wanted to highlight this comment because I haven't heard anyone here mention it:

"The only thing that's not included on this disc that was originally advertised in Warner's press release are the various image galleries (including a Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Cover Gallery, The Art of Blade Runner, a Unit Photography Gallery and a Marketing & Merchandise Gallery). These unfortunately had to be dropped because of disc space concerns. However, I'm told that there's talk that these may be made available online at Warner's official website for the release at some point in the future."

Woo-hoo! This is very exciting, and I'm glad to see that Charles and company are thinking about making some of the extra content that couldn't fit available to us in this way...