Topic: KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010

[KinkyCyborg]

Braveheart



Title:Braveheart
Year: 1995
Director: Mel Gibson
Rating: R
Length: 177 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English

Stars:
James Robinson
Sean Lawlor
Sandy Nelson
James Cosmo
Sean McGinley

Plot:
Mel Gibson stars on both sides of the camera, playing the lead role plus directing and producing this brawling, richly-detailed saga of fierce combat, tender love and the will to risk all that's precious for something more precious: freedom. In an emotionally charged performance, Gibson is William Wallace, a bold Scotsman who used the steel of his blade and the fire of his intellect to rally his country-men to liberation. Filled with sword-clanging spectacle, Braveheart is a tumultuous tapestry of history come alive, "the most sumptuous and involving historical epic since Lawrence of Arabia" (Rod Lurie, Los Angeles Magazine).

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Yes... it's true. KC has gone blu.  

I've had my bluray player for a few weeks now but this is the first bluray I've watched in it's entirety since I got it. Mostly up till now I've fiddled with it, fine tuned the settings and audio and watched some up-converted dvds on it.

I picked up a sleek Phillips Bluray player and the only way I would agree to buy it from the A/V store where I bought it was if he threw in a Bluray movie of my choice and this is the one I grabbed.  

Before I review it though let me give my first impressions of true 1080p Hi Def. What can I say... the visuals are stunning. I can see the pores on the skin of the faces of the people on screen, I can see individual blades of grass when outdoors. The colors are rich, the clarity incredible. My only knock, if I could even call it that, is that is just kind of well... looks weird.   My first thought when seeing true Hi Def was that these Hollywood movies now look like Canadian television... amateur and lacking a Hollywood production 'ambiance'. I think it's merely not being used to it and I'm sure I quickly will.

I have nearly 200 blurays stockpiled and will now start watching only those that I have already seen the DVD version, if only for comparison reasons. Also, I'm sure you'll find this crazy as well, I plan on continuing to collect both DVD and Bluray formats... with potential future business opportunities in mind.

Onto the movie. Mel Gibson's crowning achievement as both and actor and director. Honestly... show of hands... how many people knew the story of William Wallace before this movie? Gibson's vision has made William Wallace near mythical in reverence. Being of Scottish ancestry myself I feel a small amount of personal pride in this film knowing how a fed up nation took up arms to shrug off English tyranny. Some of the finest detailed and choreographed battle scenes ever on film are to be found in Braveheart. The jockeying for position, the betrayals, the constant shifting allegiances throughout the noble class system is fascinating and yet the bulk of the nation chose to follow a commoner not interested in land or riches... just freedom and to avenge the murder of his beloved. Wallace's torture at the end, and his refusal to cry out except to shout FREEDOM is one of the most memorable scenes in all the countless hours of movies I have watched in my life.

Again, in Bluray the visuals are stunning. The sweeping panoramic views of the majestic Scottish highlands is breathtaking. I did detect a very slight amount of motion blur during some of the more intense action scenes but not enough to bother me... yet. I will watch a few more action flicks in blu before I pass complete judgment on that.

I have worked bluray into my semi-random system of selecting movies. Working in random picks, my own picks, TV episodes and now bluray has turned into a form of science for me... I even have a chart/checklist now that I whipped up in Excel to help me remember and facilitate my movie watching.

I've rambled and gushed enough. Feels good to have joined the club!  

KC

Rating:

[hal9g]

Welcome to the Blu ray world.  Glad you are finding the technology worthwhile.  As with DVD, you will find varying levels of quality, so I'm glad you started with something not only of high quality, but also something that you completely enjoyed, as did I.   

[KinkyCyborg]

Welcome to the Blu ray world.  Glad you are finding the technology worthwhile.  As with DVD, you will find varying levels of quality, so I'm glad you started with something not only of high quality, but also something that you completely enjoyed, as did I.   

Hard to go wrong with Braveheart.  For many of the movies that I have already seen, in some cases many times, it will be like experiencing them all over again as the difference between DVD and Bluray is far more immense than I ever expected it to be.

Thanks for the warm welcome... in High Def!! 

[hal9g]

Oh, and keep in mind that the fast-action blurriness that you experience may have more to do with your TV (or the player) than with the Blu ray disc itself.

[goodguy]

Title:Braveheart
...
Stars:
James Robinson
Sean Lawlor
Sandy Nelson
James Cosmo
Sean McGinley

 
Omitting Mel Gibson I can understand, but where is Sophie Marceau?

[KinkyCyborg]

Oh, and keep in mind that the fast-action blurriness that you experience may have more to do with your TV (or the player) than with the Blu ray disc itself.

The TV is a Phillips as well. I thought that by marrying up matching name brands would be a logical thing to do but I guess I will find out.

Title:Braveheart
...
Stars:
James Robinson
Sean Lawlor
Sandy Nelson
James Cosmo
Sean McGinley

 
Omitting Mel Gibson I can understand, but where is Sophie Marceau?

That's just the way DVD Profiler orders the cast when copying the BB Code over. I could manually fix it but I'm too lazy for that. 

[Achim]

Welcome to the world of Blu. I have said it before, but the most blown away I was by the direct comparison of Blade Runner's Final Cut between DVD (great transfer) and Blu-ray (great transfer). Astonishing how much more detail can be achieved!

Braveheart is on my "must watch soon" pile (actually I have never seen it before ).

[Najemikon]

Kevin, my tv has a setting called Trumotion and it sets the frame rate to be more realistic. However I find it awful. It looks stunning but the movement is alien. It would work well for sports, concerts, etc, but I don't like it for film.

Mine isn't a Phillips but your description is exactly how I would explain it so check if you have any weird settings enabled. LCD like to use pointless enhancements.

[Antares]

Kevin, my tv has a setting called Trumotion and it sets the frame rate to be more realistic. However I find it awful. It looks stunning but the movement is alien. It would work well for sports, concerts, etc, but I don't like it for film.

Mine isn't a Phillips but your description is exactly how I would explain it so check if you have any weird settings enabled. LCD like to use pointless enhancements.

This is the reason I went with a DLP. You don't get the motion problem.

[Najemikon]

Switch all the crap off, it's great, but it comes down to price otherwise.

Kevin, I also thought afterwards, check if your player and TV are 24fps capable and if so, see if there is a setting that needs enabling on the player. That improves things no end too.

[Antares]

Switch all the crap off, it's great, but it comes down to price otherwise.

What crap are you talking about?

And DLP's have always been less expensive when compared to an LCD or Plasma, especially when you factor in lifetime of unit. On a DLP, the only thing you need to replace is the bulb. If you keep up with a regular schedule of cleaning and maintenance, this set can last you up to 4 or 5 times that of a Plasma, 2 or 3 times an LCD.

[Najemikon]

  General "crap" in terms of enhancements that seem prevalent on LCD and less so on Plasma. I like to keep things simple and I don't like the idea of over-producing a signal that the player is already doing a very good job at producing.

Are you talking about DLP in a rear projection TV, or on an actual projector with a proper screen? In the UK, either is pricey. In fact the TVs seem to have died out all together. I found them too big anyway, but I just quickly checked and can't find any current ones with typical sellers.

[Antares]

Are you talking about DLP in a rear projection TV.

This.

In fact the TVs seem to have died out all together.

Because they have a longer lifespan, sales people and their marketing representatives pushed the thinness of the Plasma and LCD sets as a main selling point. When juxtaposed against the size needed for the bulb in a DLP, everybody was fooled into believing that thinner was better.

If a set dies after 5 years, they're guaranteed you'll be buying a new one fairly shortly after your initial purchase. Whereas a DLP can last twice as long, meaning less sales over the coarse of time. This is why they hyped the shit out of Plasma sets. Sure they looked good in the first 200 hundred hours of viewing, but after that the luminescence degrades quite astonishingly. While LED doesn't degrade as fast, it too needs to be replaced quicker than a CRT or DLP.

In this day and age, sales is about quantity over quality, and knowing the limited knowledge of the consumer, the manufacturers know how to make the shorter life sets look better in the showroom. They never wanted DLP to become successful.

But everyone I talked into buying one, is now thanking me. Especially when they see their friends replacing those 3 - 5 thouseand dollar Plasma sets their friends bought just a few years ago.

[hal9g]

Well, I can only speak from personal experience.  I've had a 42" Sony Plasma for 6 years and it still looks absolutely gorgeous.  And it stays on at least 16 hours a day!  My wife keeps it on just to have "noise" to keep her company.

The only downside is the weight.  No way can I move it myself.

If and when the time comes, I'll replace it with an LED TV.  DLP is ancient technology.  It is very nice, but it's passé, as is plasma.

[Critter]

I personally have a Plasma and an LED. The LED is amazing and leaves the plasma in the dust as far as qaulity goes, yet I still like having them both. The Plasma has a nice softer feel to it, so I prefer to watch certain things on it, where as the LED is crystal clear and sharp constantly, which is better for things like blu-ray and gaming. To me they both have their merits.