Gladiator Blu-Ray botched/Braveheart Blu-Ray AWESOME!

[Eric W.]

Believe me: I'm VERY disappointed to have to post this.

I had dismissed this as mostly more FUD and Internet chatter but apparently not.

I'll let the following from what I deem a very credible source speak for itself. I will not be buying the Gladiator BD until the coast is cleared or something else happens.

You'll know what I mean after you read this:


On the other hand, I'm really excited about getting Braveheart on BD at long last and especially since they really did that one right.



For reference, I'm going to post Bill Hunt's entire Two Cents column from the Digital Bits on this subject because he makes some points that bear repeating over and over in certain circles:


"MY TWO CENTS - 8/28/09 - by Digital Bits editor Bill Hunt"

Okay... so, I've seen Gladiator and Braveheart on Blu-ray this afternoon. I should let you know that I tried to get the discs from Paramount directly. They're usually very helpful and responsive in such situations, but they genuinely don't seem to have them available to send them out until early next week, for whatever reason. Given the controversy around the Net regarding the Gladiator transfer, however, I still wanted to be able to see the discs today myself - rather than comment on all this screenshot silliness - to make my own judgments and report here in time for you all to have fair warning prior to street date (9/1 - this coming Tuesday). It's your money, and you want to spend it wisely. You need information in order to do that.

Let me first comment on the whole issue of screenshots. Judging a disc based on a few screenshots is, I think, silly.

A screenshot represents 1/24 of a second of film. For a 2-hour film, that just 1/172,800th of the total visual information. You just can't properly judge a transfer based upon that little information. Screenshots CAN be illustrative of various kinds of image-related problems. But you really have to see the image in full motion to judge the complete context and impact of anything you see in a single frame grab. There's also the problem of potential alterations or artifacts that result from the frame-grabbing process itself, not to mention any changes resulting from image compression/editing software used by the poster - no matter how well intentioned - to present the frame-grab online. Finally, I've seen enough deliberately Photoshop doctored frame-grabs posted in discussion forums in my day that I just don't trust them. Ultimately, the only real way to judge these things properly is with your own eyes, first-hand, in context, in full motion, presented on proper equipment. Period.



That being the case, an exhaustive search of retailers and rentailers in my area turned up a "mom and pop" rental shop nearby that had both Blu-ray titles available for rent prior to street date. I was able to pick up the discs this morning, and I've since gone through the transfers in some detail. I'm not going to talk about the extras - I'll do that in more detail next week, and I can tell you with confidence that the extras on both discs are absolutely first-rate. No complaints there whatsoever. As for the A/V quality, however, here's my two cents...


Upon first glance, and as expected, the HD presentation quality of Gladiator isn't as bad as some online would have you believe. Color and contrast is fine at all times. The problem is with the level of detail. The vast majority of the film has a slightly digital-looking quality to it, and there's clear edge-enhancement "haloing" visible. The extended edition scenes, however, look fine - no halos, no digital patina - they're very natural looking. If the whole film looked like the extended scenes, we wouldn't be having this conversation.


What it looks like to me (though it's impossible to be sure, obviously), is that someone at Universal (keep in mind, it's Universal that controls the Gladiator assets for DreamWorks - not Paramount), decided to re-use the original digital master of the HD transfer done back in 2000 for the very first DVD release.

Now, that transfer was state of the art for its day, and it was approved by director Ridley Scott, but obviously it's a far cry from the quality of new HD transfers done today, in 2009. One of the biggest problems is that until fairly recently, video mastering engineers were still applying edge-enhancement to their digital masters knowing that they were going to be used ultimately for standard-definition DVD release, and also analog VHS and laserdisc.

It took the mastering community a long time to break the habit. In this Gladiator transfer, you can see it in the image. It's also clear that the 2000 digital master has been digitally-filtered to reduce the haloing and other artifacts - the signs of DNR are not hard to miss. That's in contrast to the extended edition scenes, which were transferred in HD in 2005 and so look much better. They're still not quite up to today's standards, but they look far superior to the rest of the film and there's no edge-enhancement or obvious filtering visible. The footage simply looks natural - as it should. There's been some talk of DNR being so excessive that - for example - arrows and fireballs disappear from one frame to the next. This IS an issue, but the fact is that when you watch the image in full motion it's not something you really notice. The arrow or fireball is highly visible in one frame, less so in the next, more so in the third, etc. You still detect the object in motion, so you don't go, "Oh my god, that fireball just disappeared!" The image just looks generally digital and lacking in fine detail. Overall, I would grade the A/V quality of the Gladiator Blu-ray thusly:

Gladiator
Video: 15.5 (theatrical footage)/17 (extended scenes)
Audio: 18



Let me be clear: Gladiator on Blu-ray is quite watchable - especially if you have a smaller screen. On the comparative grading scale we use for Blu-ray, the very best DVD video and audio quality would be graded a 10. So it's definitely an improvement over the previous DVD releases. The problem is, the best Blu-rays - most high-quality titles on the format these days - score in the 18-19 range. So while this disc is watchable, that's just not good enough, either for the format as a whole or for most fans and enthusiasts.

And here's the bigger problem: Gladiator streets on the same day as Braveheart, both as part of Paramount's new premium "Sapphire" series of Blu-ray releases. I doubt there are very many Blu-ray fans who would ideally, all other considerations aside, pick up one of these titles but not the other.

So most Blu-ray fans are going to buy both discs, and be somewhat disappointed by Gladiator. Then they're going to pop in Braveheart. And they're going to forget all about Gladiator for a couple hours... then be doubly disappointed by it when they compare the two discs.



The video and audio quality of Braveheart on Blu-ray is... in a word... breathtaking. The colors are lush and accurate. Contrast is spot-on perfect. And the detail visible in the image is just wonderful. The quick flit of arrows, the glint of individual links of chainmail armor, the subtle textures of leather and cloth... it's all just delightful. By the time Wallace and his men ride onto the field of battle at Stirling, and you see the crumbled blues of the war paint on their faces, you will be absolutely won over by this presentation. I've simply never seen the film looking this good before. Not once, even in theatres. It's just perfectly nuanced and natural looking - absolutely first-rate for a catalog title of this relatively recent vintage. If you're a fan, it's COMPLETELY pleasing, such that you'll have a strong emotional response to the quality as you watch. And that's EXACTLY as it should be. Here's how I would grade Braveheart on Blu-ray:

Braveheart
Video: 18.5
Audio: 18.5

I MIGHT even go as high as 19 on the video end - I need to watch the disc some more. The practical upshot of all this, is that I have copies of both Gladiator and Braveheart on Blu-ray sitting in my home theater right now. Having looked at both discs... I have no desire whatsoever to watch Gladiator. But I can't WAIT to watch Braveheart, from start to finish. In fact, as soon as I finish writing this and post it on The Bits, that's EXACTLY what I'm going to do.

I don't know who at Universal was responsible (for DreamWorks) for signing off on (and delivering to Paramount) the Gladiator HD master. They should be embarrassed -- though I'm WILLING to entertain the idea that this was some kind of simple oversight or mistake. I know for a fact that mistakes like this CAN and DO happen, though it's still absolutely no excuse. Braveheart, on the other hand, is just spectacular. A big hats off from me to everyone and anyone responsible (I suspect especially at Icon) for that HD master.



In the end, Paramount and Universal have a big decision to make. The uneven video quality of these two titles really damages the launch and reputation of Paramount's new Sapphire Series, and it should never have happened that way. But a "premium" label on the cover of a Blu-ray Disc means nothing if the disc doesn't deliver the quality it should. Somehow, Gladiator slipped through the cracks. Again, it's not terrible. But compared to Braveheart especially, it's utterly disappointing.

The real shame is, had the title simply been delayed for a few months, the studios could have prepared a new state-of-the-art HD transfer befitting both the Sapphire label and the film itself, and then released Gladiator has a 10th Anniversary Sapphire Edition early next year.

As things are, Paramount and Universal are obviously going ahead with the release of both Gladiator and Braveheart on Tuesday. What I HOPE happens - what I STRONGLY encourage - is that the studios immediately run a new HD transfer, and then either recall the disc or make it a running production change. Either way, they should arrange an exchange program for those fans who purchase the disc on Tuesday in the meantime. IF the studios take quick steps to correct the disc and make things right with fans who purchase it, that will go a very long way toward restoring confidence in the Sapphire line. So that's what I HOPE the studio decides to do. With luck, we'll learn more next week.


In the meantime, forewarned is forearmed. Braveheart is spectacular and is well worth your money, in terms of video, audio and extras. The audio and extras for Gladiator are first rate, but the video quality is WELL below average for the Blu-ray format. Adjust your purchase plans accordingly.

Rest assured, I'll stay in contact with sources at Paramount over the coming days and let you know what happens with regard to the Gladiator disc. As I said, hopefully, we'll know more next week. I'll post full reviews of both titles then (including comments on the special features, which are excellent on both titles).

Until then, strength and honor! Stay tuned...

Bill Hunt, Editor
The Digital Bits
billhunt@thedigitalbits.com"

[AndyDursin]

Still waiting on my review copies to come in. Sorry to hear about the Gladiator issues, but I agree with Hunt that you can't judge everything on one or two screenshots. Some of the hard-core crazies have gone nutty with judging screencaps and stills -- it's absurd. It's to the degree I honestly can't believe more than half of what I read on the AVS Forum or other places where guys get hooked on "DNR" talk. It's true it's an issue at times, but I've never, ever seen it so bad that I'd say an affected Blu Ray "isn't as good as the DVD or VHS," which IS what you read at times!

[Eric W.]

Still waiting on my review copies to come in. Sorry to hear about the Gladiator issues, but I agree with Hunt that you can't judge everything on one or two screenshots. Some of the hard-core crazies have gone nutty with judging screencaps and stills -- it's absurd. It's to the degree I honestly can't believe more than half of what I read on the AVS Forum or other places where guys get hooked on "DNR" talk. It's true it's an issue at times, but I've never, ever seen it so bad that I'd say an affected Blu Ray "isn't as good as the DVD or VHS," which IS what you read at times!

Right on all points.

I saw some this chatter on the 'net and I dismissed it as the usual FUD and witchunting rubbish that I've seen far too often from the usual suspects.

I never gave any of this a second thought until someone tipped me off to Hunt's write up.

Cancelling that Gladiator preorder made me sad.

At least I get an awesome Braveheart, though.

They'll have to fix this somehow even if the inevitable double dip comes down the road in a year or so. At least we've seen studios take some steps with trade ins and other things like that we used to never see before. There's some hope here but I think patience is the way to go here.

[AndyDursin]

I'm a much bigger fan of BRAVEHEART anyway so it's fine by me. I'm interested in checking these out but Paramount was really late in shipping these to the press, as of last Friday they still weren't in the warehouse and have yet to come in.

[Eric W.]

I watched Braveheart on BD last night. PHENOMENAL!

[AndyDursin]

I watched Braveheart on BD last night. PHENOMENAL!

I'm sure! Still haven't gotten these. No idea what's going on with Paramount but at this point it'll be tough to get a review together for Monday unless they materialize soon.

[John Johnson]

According to information from Swedish retailers, the long-rumored re-release of Ridley Scott's Gladiator will finally come out on October 13, probably to coincide with the release of the new Scott/Crowe vehicle, Robin Hood. This new edition had been pre-announced for May, only to be indefinitely delayed days later (see blu-ray.com, March 3, March 9 and March 18).

Update: apparently, in the Netherlands the rerelease will be available even sooner, as early as July 1.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=4781