# Blu-rays : old films vs new?



## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

Is it worth buying older type films on Blu-ray?

Basically take a film like Ghostbusters, it was made in the '80s when (I presume) Hi-def/digital cameras weren't around which would mean that even if i bought it on BR it wouldn't be as visually good as a modern film like The Dark Knight.

Is this a correct assumption or is there more to it?

I only ask due to the price difference between BR and DVD.


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Yes and no. 

No they won't be as good as modern films, but there's still enough improvement to make it worthwhile.

Whilst the quality of the film was never intended for 1080p it still has more detail than standard resolution DVD.


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## Puntoboy (Jun 30, 2007)

I believe that HD has been around for years and a lot of older films were filmed in HD. However because the general public didn't have access to equipment to view movies in HD you've never seen the films in HD before. 

I fairly sure The Goonies was filmed in HD so I would be surprised if other films weren't.


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## robj20 (Jan 20, 2009)

Any film shot on film is already well above 1080 its just a case of retransfering it from film. Some though where the film was lost they go from the digital backup copy which obviously is not as good.


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

Puntoboy said:


> I believe that HD has been around for years and a lot of older films were filmed in HD. However because the general public didn't have access to equipment to view movies in HD you've never seen the films in HD before.
> 
> I fairly sure The Goonies was filmed in HD so I would be surprised if other films weren't.


Cool, never realised that.

Looks like I'll be on the look out for Goonies then  



robj20 said:


> Any film shot on film is already well above 1080 its just a case of retransfering it from film. Some though where the film was lost they go from the digital backup copy which obviously is not as good.


So that should include most films I'll ever watch


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## gherkin (Jul 6, 2008)

I've got Ghostbusters, Zulu, Days of Thunder and Top Gun on blu ray

Ghostbusters was good there is sharpness there and the colours were nice although not necessarily in all scenes.

Zulu on the other hand was quite impressive especially since it was made in the 60s. Sharpness is there colours are vibrant all in all a good transfer over.

The Tom Cruise duo above again sharpness and colours but not in all scenes. It really depends on how the transfer is done really from what i can tell.

bluray.com will give you reviews on movies that have just been released on blu-ray including screen shots and details on the extras.


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

Puntoboy said:


> I believe that HD has been around for years and a lot of older films were filmed in HD. However because the general public didn't have access to equipment to view movies in HD you've never seen the films in HD before.
> 
> I fairly sure The Goonies was filmed in HD so I would be surprised if other films weren't.


Not sure about now, but technology used to be around 10 years old before it filtered down to the consumer market..

With things progressing so fast these days, I doubt it will take very long for things to filter down..

I have some friends who work for the government and military, they develop well listening devices and phones for the military, i was told that when we get our nokia phone, well it's old hat when we get our hands on it..


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Video wise all the old film is fine, the audio lets it down with stereo or Dolby Digital.

Shawshank on blu-ray only has the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 that is on the DVD. Video is OK although a bit of noise on the video from the transferring, but some modern films put this in to get rid of the sharpness such as Casino Royale.


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## J3FVW (Sep 28, 2009)

I watched Zulu on Blu Ray the other month and the quality was amazing. Some modern films on Blu Ray didn't look that good. I suppose it all depends on how well they digitally restore the film.


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

cool hand luke has an amazing transfer,then you see stuff like american psycho and its only marginally better than the remastered dvd version.not all blu rays are made better,and i wait for reviews before buying full price ones.the original Halloween is also quite impressive.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Really depends on the company. Warner have been bad in the past, not sure if they have improved or not.


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## David 1150 (Jun 6, 2009)

I'd have thought that, since older films were designed to be projected onto proper big screens, rather than the smaller, multi-screen cinemas we now have, the image quality would necessarily be there (i.e. by recording onto a larger negative)? Or is it not as straightforward?


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

David 1150 said:


> I'd have thought that, since older films were designed to be projected onto proper big screens, rather than the smaller, multi-screen cinemas we now have, the image quality would necessarily be there (i.e. by recording onto a larger negative)? Or is it not as straightforward?


There's a difference between resolution and detail. Yes the raw resolution is there but the detail may not be.

Look at it this way; a £5000 Canon/Nikon 12 megapixel DSLR camera with a £1500 lens versus a 14 megapixel compact camera worth £200.

The compact has more pixels so the dimensional resolution of the photo is greater than the DSLR, however which do you think will produce the clearer image with more detail?


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## packard (Jun 8, 2009)

Agree some BR films are VERY good quality dispite the age, where as others are simply poor. A good exmaple of this is Rambo (1), on DVD very good, on BR you can barley see the difference between a DVD upscaled to 1080.

Best thing is to do is do a quick google to see what the reviews say, remeber some BR have also been remasterd.


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

packard said:


> Agree some BR films are VERY good quality dispite the age, where as others are simply poor. A good exmaple of this is Rambo (1), on DVD very good, on BR you can barley see the difference between a DVD upscaled to 1080.
> 
> Best thing is to do is do a quick google to see what the reviews say, remeber some BR have also been remasterd.


:doublesho

i was impressed with rambo on blu compared to what i was expecting.i think if you did a search of reviews on it you will also find it turned in a reasonably good perfomance for a film 20 odd years old filmed in that kind of location.it was never going to blow your socks off but when you see the likes of

infact here are some reviews

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/27061/first-blood/
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/177/firstblood.html
http://www.dvdtown.com/review/rambo-first-blood/blu-ray/4448/2

direct picture comparrison

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...mage_result&resnum=2&ct=image&ved=0CA8Q9QEwAQ


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

I would say the best answer to this is to watch "Its a wonderful life " recreated in colour and see how much sharper this is remembering its an ancient black and white film made for christmas , the quality is absolutley stunning on bluray , i was actually quite shocked.


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

for me the biggest stinker on blu is dracula.its **** poor beyond belief.


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

I'm currently watching "The Hangover" on BR, it's a bit disappointing, but then i guess it's not the sort of film that would benefit from spending huge amounts of high def processing.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

rmorgan84 said:


> I'm currently watching "The Hangover" on BR, it's a bit disappointing, but then i guess it's not the sort of film that would benefit from spending huge amounts of high def processing.


It does help though. I have Cast Away on BR which is also not the sort of film that wouldn't really benefit from BR but the clarity is great although a little grainy at times.

Both Airplane! films came out alright too.


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

rmorgan84 said:


> I'm currently watching "The Hangover" on BR, it's a bit disappointing, but then i guess it's not the sort of film that would benefit from spending huge amounts of high def processing.


what kind of tv are you watching it on. i thought the picture was great :tumbleweed:


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

Whats the latest Rambo like?

And Wall-e supposed to be pretty good isn't it?


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

silverback said:


> what kind of tv are you watching it on. i thought the picture was great :tumbleweed:


A 42" Panasonic Viera Plasma


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Alex L said:


> Whats the latest Rambo like?
> 
> And Wall-e supposed to be pretty good isn't it?


Latest Rambo is alright in video, bit grainy, audio is amazing especially at the end.

Wall-E looks fantastic and is a credit to the people at Pixar.


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

jamest said:


> Latest Rambo is alright in video, bit grainy, audio is amazing especially at the end.
> 
> Wall-E looks fantastic and is a credit to the people at Pixar.


That means getting a surround setup then  Don't know how i'll get that past the boss :lol:


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Alex L said:


> That means getting a surround setup then  Don't know how i'll get that past the boss :lol:


It's totally worth it though, especially if you know the scene I am talking about.

Transformers also has some very good sound in it.


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

jamest said:


> It's totally worth it though, especially if you know the scene I am talking about..


im thinking the vietnam bomb and claymore scene  that had my sub (and probably neighbours lol) ****ting itself haha.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

silverback said:


> im thinking the vietnam bomb and claymore scene  that had my sub (and probably neighbours lol) ****ting itself haha.


Everything post claymore scene. The sub was pushing a lot of air.


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## Danno1975 (Mar 30, 2009)

J3FVW said:


> I watched Zulu on Blu Ray the other month and the quality was amazing. Some modern films on Blu Ray didn't look that good. I suppose it all depends on how well they digitally restore the film.


Yeah, I was disapointed with Terminator Salvation on Blue Ray, Transformers 2 was much crisper, as was apocolypso.


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

jamest said:


> It's totally worth it though, especially if you know the scene I am talking about.
> 
> Transformers also has some very good sound in it.


Is that the last one with the 50 cal ripping sh** up?


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Alex L said:


> Is that the last one with the 50 cal ripping sh** up?


It is indeed.


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