Sense and Sensibility from Twilight Time (1 Viewer)

[JohnRice]

I just wanted to post that Twilight Time has Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility on sale for half price ($15.00) through the end of the month. I just received mine, gave it a quick look, and it's a significant visual upgrade from the UK release, which strikes me as very grainy. I got the impression the audio is also a noticeable improvement from what I recall on the UK version, which I just watched a couple weeks ago.

 

[benbess]

Yes. And it's an excellent movie in every way with great replay value imho.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, I remember the year it was up for the Best Picture Oscar, I was VERY torn between it and Apollo 13, both of which I felt were magnificent. One day I was pulling for one and the next day for the other, though I suspect I would have been happy with either of them winning. Of course, Braveheart won the award.

 

[JohnRice]

Yes. And it's an excellent movie in every way with great replay value imho.

I do a double feature every year or two with Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice. They are both great, and very different approaches to the material. S&S is definitely the more loyal adaptation, but I think Jane Austen would probably love how P&P was done as well. S&S always comes first in the double feature, because it works much better to finish with the spectacle of P&P. I did it the other way one year, and S&S was just too polite to follow P&P.

 

[RMajidi]

I just wanted to post that Twilight Time has Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility on sale for half price ($15.00) through the end of the month. I just received mine, gave it a quick look, and it's a significant visual upgrade from the UK release, which strikes me as very grainy. I got the impression the audio is also a noticeable improvement from what I recall on the UK version, which I just watched a couple weeks ago.

Thanks for this post, John.

Could you (or others here) please confirm whether the TT Blu is definitely from a different master to the UK release?

Other reviews I’ve read suggest it might be the same master, but with brightness dialled up or with a different encode.

If it is a newer master, then I’d like to upgrade from my serviceable UK Sony Blu - especially at this sale price.

Astonishing adapted script by Emma Thompson, with production, direction and performances to match. I agree with Matt that it was a rich year with both this and Apollo 13 to dazzle us as timeless gems.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I have the UK release, but not the Twilight Time version.

Sense and Sensibility was my second favorite release of that year, only behind Michael Mann's Heat. The films couldn't be much more different but both have been revisited many times over the years. S&S features what might be my favorite Emma Thompson performance.

- Walter.

 

[JohnRice]

I have no way of determining if it's a different master, but I did just watch the UK a couple weeks ago, and immediately was disappointed by how it looked. Dark, a little muddy and most of all grainy. The TT is significantly different looking. It is noticeably more bright and saturated, but it's a wonderful, soft, pastel saturation. Those could be from the same master, but it just looks to me like the TT is from an earlier generation film source due to the grain difference. Once scene, when Willoughby first appears, is still very grainy and flat.

Personally, I don't think it matters if it's a different master, though I think it is, because it is a significant improvement.

 

[JohnRice]

I did some A/B comparison between the TT and UK releases, and it's safe to say they are significantly different. Still, I admit it's possible they are from the same transfer, but I say, without a doubt, it does NOT matter one bit. The TT release is a significant improvement in every conceivable way. The UK is flat and dark, which exaggerates the appearance of grain. I still suspect they are different transfers, but I wouldn't bet on it. Again, it just doesn't matter. I think there are only two scenes that aren't a significant improvement. Those are the two extremely overcast, rainy ones, where it looks to me that the original film was simply underexposed. So, the two releases are just two different options of not very good in those scenes. Skin tones on the TT are infinitely improved. Where everyone tends to look pink and sunburned on the UK, skin is neutral on the TT. The TT does tend to push the whites a bit at times. I expect they will tend to blow out on LCDs and TVs that aren't calibrated properly. On my plasma, they go right up to the line sometimes.

I'm telling you, if you have the UK release, it's worth the upgrade.

 

[RMajidi]

I appreciate the follow-up - thanks John. As it’s a favourite in our household, I’ll go ahead and double-dip.