UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - True Lies -- in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[JoshZ]

I recently watched True Lies via streaming not knowing this 4K release was actually going to happen. It looked so much better than the DVD. So I’m very much looking forward to this new release.

The copy that was available on streaming last year prior to the 4K announcement did not come from the same source as this disc. It was sourced from an older HD master that originated with the D-VHS release in 2003. That version has now been removed from circulation.

The new disc copy (and more recent digital streaming versions) are from a new 4K remaster enhanced with AI tools to remove all the grain and futz around with the image, for better or worse.

 

[madfloyd]

I've seen the recent digital version (projected) and it was abysmal. Very waxy to the point of distraction. I'm very surprised to hear the disc version is getting a positive reaction.

 

[madfloyd]

The copy that was available on streaming last year prior to the 4K announcement did not come from the same source as this disc. It was sourced from an older HD master that originated with the D-VHS release in 2003. That version has now been removed from circulation.

The new disc copy (and more recent digital streaming versions) are from a new 4K remaster enhanced with AI tools to remove all the grain and futz around with the image, for better or worse.

The digital release was just 3 months ago. I find it hard to believe that was a different master than the disc.

 

[JoshZ]

The digital release was just 3 months ago. I find it hard to believe that was a different master than the disc.

I said, "The copy that was available on streaming last year prior to the 4K announcement." I watched the movie on multiple streaming platforms for a comparison article in May of last year. None of them had been remastered at that time.

All of those were withdrawn after the 4K announcement and the new 4K digital release later in the year.

 

[Konstantinos]

I know this isn't the thread for it, but I just browsed a bit my newly purchased 4K Arrow release of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and it looks magnificent with wonderful grain, that isn't obtrusive.. If only these new Cameron releases looked like this. I would pay even $100 for each one. Oh well...
I think when you change the look of the film so much, it would be respectful to the film itself and to many film aficionados to offer the "grainy" version too. It's a pity when some - even bad - films get wonderful 4k restorations, and these great popular films don't!

 

[JohnRice]

OMG folks. If reading Mr. Harris' two sentence explanation of the image is too much work...

Yes, that's directed at certain individuals, but I'll refrain from calling them out by name.

 

[ahollis]

I think I’ll wait until I have my discs in hand to make a personal opinion on their look. Until then I will give Mr. Harris’ thoughts credence.

 

[Robert Harris]

Error

 

[jayembee]

"Old data. Pay it no mind."

 

[Dave H]

I've not seen this movie since the original DVD release. Looking forward to it.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Can’t wait!!!!!

 

[Keith Cobby]

Having read a few reviews now, including Bill Hunt's less than stellar grading, what puzzles me is why by this time Cameron wasn't using a large negative format.

 

[JoshZ]

Having read a few reviews now, including Bill Hunt's less than stellar grading, what puzzles me is why by this time Cameron wasn't using a large negative format.

Cameron liked the Super 35 format because it allowed him to reformat his movies for pan & scan on video (then still 4:3 at the time) by opening mattes off the top and bottom rather than just cropping off the sides. James Cameron has had a longstanding hatred of letterboxing on home video. He prefers the movie image to fill the screen, whatever that screen shape happens to be.

What he really wants is his movies to be as large as possible. Until IMAX got into the business of playing Hollywood feature films, the best premium theaters with the largest screens typically had "scope" 2.35:1 screens. So, that's the aspect ratio he shot for theatrically, but using Super 35 to give him the flexibility to open mattes for pan & scan. He didn't like anamorphic lenses (or 65mm) because they'd force him to crop the home video transfers.

By the time he made Avatar and IMAX was an option, Cameron switched fully to digital and adopted a new approach of shooting for every conceivable aspect ratio all at once.

 

[madfloyd]

What he really wants is his movies to be as large as possible.

Ironically these new transfers are not suitable for large screens.

 

[Kyle_D]

He didn't like anamorphic lenses (or 65mm) because they'd force him to crop the home video transfers.

He also had a personal animosity toward anamorphic stemming from his experience as DP for the matte paintings on Escape for New York. Apparently, matching the matte photography to the anamorphic lens distortion in the live action photography made Cameron’s life miserable. He swore off anamorphic after that experience, and it’s the main reason T1 and Aliens were shot 1.85:1.

 

[Ignacio]

James Cameron only used 65mm (and 3-D) for the Universal Studios attraction "Terminator 2: Battle Across Time" back in 1996, but then it wasn't supposed to be released on video.

He didn't like anamorphic, which provided at the time the biggest negative area for regular 35mm formats, but also didn't like grain either, which was a concern when using his preferred Super 35 format, since it used a (roughly) 40% less negative area for the blow-up to 35mm anamorphic and involved, of course, an optical blow-up rather than an contact print.

That's why he asked his DPs after "ALIENS" to give him very dense negatives shooting the slowest stock suitable for the scene or overexposing high-speed stocks and print them down, to mitigate the grain, so his Super 35 shows looked great by the late 80's or 90's standards. "True Lies" included.

 

[bobclampett]

Pre-ordered months in advance from Amazon.ca and just received an email they don't know when they'll be able to ship. Noticed its not even shown on their website in the USA and Canada to order anymore. Retailers habitually under estimate the demand for physical media. Ditto for The Abyss and Aliens.

 

[Wes Candela]

I believe Jamie Lee Curtis, the co-star of TRUE LIES also says, "I looked it up", in A FISH CALLED WANDA.

You're right. I just rewatched 3 weeks ago, because I feel it deserves a rewatch every 2 to 3 years based on Kevin Klein's performance… His Oscar winning performance… Alone.

"Now let me correct you on a couple of things Otto:
Aristotle...was not Belgian.
The central message of Buddhism, is not "every man for himself".
And the London Underground is not a political movement.

Those are all mistakes Otto, I looked them up."

"A Fish Called Wanda", 1988

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

Not a professional reviewer by any means, but my wife and I watched this last night (she hadn't seen it before) and I kept waiting for this steaming POS most internet voice seem to have about the transfer.

In the beginning, it didn't look so bad. But every now and then, some scenes looked really waxy and took me out of the movie a little bit. But I had to remind myself that this is still better than the DVD (and the LaserDisc I own).

All in all, I was pleased. As a whole, I felt the transfer looked good, and the soundscape was great. It's nice to finally have this on a better format than DVD/LD. (On an aside, looking at my DVD Profiler entry, I added this disc in April of 2001 which is when I purchased DVD Profiler, so it feels like a lifetime ago.)

Also, Jamie Lee Curtis looked damn good in 4k on my tv.

 

[lark144]

You're right. I just rewatched 3 weeks ago, because I feel it deserves a rewatch every 2 to 3 years based on Kevin Klein's performance… His Oscar winning performance… Alone.

"Now let me correct you on a couple of things Otto:
Aristotle...was not Belgian.
The central message of Buddhism, is not "every man for himself".
And the London Underground is not a political movement.

Those are all mistakes Otto, I looked them up."

"A Fish Called Wanda", 1988

Not to divert the thread, but I believe Portia was part of that as well.