Saving Private Ryan is an epic 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward, it follows Tom Hanks as Captain John H. Miller and several men (Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies) as they search for paratrooper Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), who is the last surviving brother of three fallen servicemen.

quite satisfying AQ, very detailed. nicely done. To be honest, I couldn't get quite as enthusiastic about the PQ.

a classic film

pharsyde, in the DVD there was one scene near the beginning of SPR (after the landing) where the flames on some burning objects seemed as if they were out of focus, sort of like double images. At the time TPTB made the claim that this was deliberate. I had trouble believing them. It sounded like they were just trying to excuse some bad photography. I was wondering if this artifact has been corrected on the new BD?

Avatar has to be one of the best looking movies I have ever
seen my cheap Blu ray player display, with a decent storyline
but amazing graphics and colors that puts your mind into an
illusion. This movie pops out of my TV, some nice eye candy
if you want to show your HDTV. I also have casino, and although
it's a great movie, the picture stinks. It would barely be noticable
from a SD DVD and the whole movie is widescreen at 2:35:1
which annoys me a lot. Another good movie is Godfather, great
picture and story, but nothing beats Avatar in PQ. 1 thing that's
stupid is why did they include an SD version of Avatar? When
I will never even watch that.

@ reidw

yes ... a little quirk there on the BR. I can't recall re: the DVD. I will check it out in more detail upon my return (compare). am pressed for time recently, outa the province after the weekend for awhile.

noticed firmware updates for my machine as well, which i will get to.

Since most of you know what these films are about here's my PQ/AQ observations only on the following BDs I've viewed recently:

1. African Queen - Amazing remaster of old classic. Fantastic colours and detail. Three-strip technicolor was a wonder. I doubt if it looked this good in 1939. Sound is mono but has been cleaned up superbly.
2. The Natural - Less stellar PQ than African Queen but still better than a DVD for colour, clarity, sense of depth. AQ is very good. I especially like the sound of the crack of the bats. Very realistic
3. Apollo 13 - Saw details in scenes that I had not noticed on the DVD. Colours were terrific. Liftoff sequence is as good as I remember it when I first saw it at the theatre. Just awesome. Sound of course is also top notch. Horner's score matches triumphant mood of the film perfectly. Liftoff sound shook the room.
4. Pearl Harbor - Always have felt this film has been unfairly rated because of the two principals, B&B. PQ is sharp, clear, colours stunning. Closeups amazing for the facial details. Attack scene nearly blew off the roof of my media room. I'd recommend this BD to anyone looking for a good demo movie.
5. Out of Africa - I was ready for a disappointment after reading some very early reviews. After watching it I have to wonder if the critics were given bad review copies. This film is gorgeous. Again I saw details I've never noticed on my DVD. No noticeable artifacts. A good movie to demonstrate to people the sense of depth HD adds to the image. Some of the African vistas are just breathtaking (I've been to many of the places where the film was shot so I know what they really look like). AQ is front heavy but the surrounds are used for the wonderful music and for quite a few convincing discrete sound effects.

Next up: Hurt Locker, Doctor Zhivago, Spartacus (end of month)

pharsyde, in the DVD there was one scene near the beginning of SPR (after the landing) where the flames on some burning objects seemed as if they were out of focus, sort of like double images. At the time TPTB made the claim that this was deliberate. I had trouble believing them. It sounded like they were just trying to excuse some bad photography. I was wondering if this artifact has been corrected on the new BD?

Yes, I can confirm this is still there and apparently intentional (lens flare). I notice it after the D-day landing battle and again after the final battle scene.
I find it annoying, but the transfer looks great otherwise!

Sorry to hear this. I never understood why the cinemaphotographer wanted the fires to flare like that. It just doesn't look right to me. But thank you for the information.

It just doesn't look right to me. But thank you for the information.

YW and I agree, the effect is lost on me. Fortunetly it is only in a very small portion of the film.

Sherlock Holmes was a darned good movie. Great picture and sound quality. Good acting as well. Definitely a must see.

I bought Avatar the day it was released and finally got to watch it this weekend. No doubt about it, the picture and audio quality are truly amazing. The story wasn't all that bad either. The only thing that bothered me was the stereotyped soldiers. Other than that, it was an incredible movie that my whole family enjoyed. Definitely a must see as well.

Sadly this is my first BD disappointment. PQ is only marginally better than the DVD which was already excellent. I guess there is a limit to the improvement possible. AQ is very good but again the DVD also had good sound. The quality of this disc only serves to bolster my belief that BD is never going to be a major medium for classic films. Or as I've said several times in other threads. DVD looked back on a 100 years of film history. Most collectors have all of the classic films they desire on DVD. What more can BD offer them? BD on the other hand looks forward and will succeed and/or fail on the strength of current releases, novel interactive features and maybe future technologies. That may disappoint the classic film fans but that's how things are (in my opinion anyway).

I thought that too. [edit: in general I mean, I haven't seen the Dr. Z BD] But I have to say those WB Technicolor "classic" BDs sure look great, definitely outdo the already-good DVDs.

There are a lot of movies from the 60s and 70s (especially) that IMO will never look that good. Film stock and filming methods (some "experimental" in the 70s) that just don't keep or translate well. Would require a full-on restoration job that very very few films get. I've been mostly unimpressed with 60s/70s BDs I've seen so far, should have stuck to the (upscaled) DVDs, which I am in fact impressed with because I didn't expect it.

IMHO Doctor Zhivago is my favourite BD release of 2010. Have yet to read a bad review. Nice booklet as well and music CD.

Zhivago is a WB BD. It just doesn't look much better to me that the DVD did. I don't think Warner put much extra work into getting it ready compared to say Gone With the Wind.

The real problem is that classic BDs just aren't selling that well. Even Gone With the Wind and the African Queen, both of which looked marvelous failed to generate a lot of sales. It has taken an Avatar (which I think is grossly overrated but that's another thread) for BD sales to take off. That has led me to rethink the viability of remastering classics for BD. It seems like a natural but it doesn't seem to be working. My explanation for this that most collectors have the films on DVD and don't think BD offers enough improvement to justify a new copy. Maybe I'm wrong but only time will tell.

Wow, PQ is stunning! Whether the cgi or real life characters this gives that perfect "looking through a window effect". AQ is also reference quality with extremely lively surrounds.
The story is well, nothing new as many have mentioned. But certainly entertaining.

The only thing that bothered me was the stereotyped soldiers

This did'nt bother me, as it what was explained in the film that these were mercenaries out for blood and $ only, not "real" soldiers.

Good PQ and decent AQ

A wonderfully stupid horror-comedy-buddy movie.

Regrettably it is compared to Shaun of the Dead because it is British. But I find it does not bring the same level of writing and will probably disappoint if that is what you are expecting. But going into it with an open mind, it delivers what it set out to be.

Cheers

Defendor - Seeking to avenge the death of his mother by the "Captain of Industry," Woody Harrelson transform himself into Defendor, a vigilante superhero who relies on his guile, marbles and lime juice to bring the bad guys to their knees. Sometimes.
You can't help but root for Defendor with Harrelson's earnest, darkly comic performance, in this low-budget, filmed-in-Hamilton movie that seeks to deconstruct the roots of the superhero persona. Could have been tightened up by about 20 minutes.
PQ is dark and grainy, likely an accurate depiction of the low-budget production. AQ is fine.

Watched Crash the other night, I really do loke this movie but the wife was so so.

Watched Crash the other night, I really do loke this movie but the wife was so so.
Which Crash (1996 or 2004 or the TV series based on the 2004 movie)?

It was the 2004 movie.

^ When you said your wife wasn't too crazy about it, it very easily *could* have been the '96 Crash. :) If it was out on BD, don't think it is.