Arrow On Blu
 

At Xmas I am going to be buying a full 1080 HD TV with a blu ray player (arn't I lucky). And I want your honest truth, are Arrow & Shameless worth buying in blu form rather then dvd.

Because I have heard that some films are better in blu then others - eg 28 Days in shit on blu apparently.

There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into account, source material, transfer, the way the film was originally shot. Your best checking reviews before you buy something. Many Blu-rays look a lot better than the DVD versions but dome not much better. You also have to take size of the telly into account.


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There's a few Arrow releases that looked great but a few I weren't too keen on either.
My favourite releases for PQ are Vamp, The Funhouse and The Beyond. They all look fantastic but the others are just okay I guess.

28 Days Later is definitely not worth the upgrade as there really isn't any upgrade at all PQ wise.

28 DAYS LATER was shot on DV, that’s why its flaws are accentuated on Blu-ray. But what about the sound? People seem obsessed with the supposedly better picture quality but the sound, in most cases, is far better (a lot richer) than that offered on DVD.

Of the Arrow Blu-ray’s I’ve got, those worthy of an upgrade are the aforementioned VAMP and Argento’s PHENOMENA are both very good. I own a fair few of the others but haven’t gotten around to watching those yet. I did watch Brian De Palma’s OBSESSION, and while the PQ isn’t a massive leap from DVD (the film was show mostly soft-focus) the exclusive special features and the reproduction Schrader script more than make up for it.

Arrow On Blu
 

I read SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is another blu ray to be avoided as its crap, way it was filmed etc. and better to stick to dvd which I have anyway
I have FRENCH CONNECTION 1 & 2 blu ray and was aware of esp. the first fillm of the 'documentary style' being grainy etc. but pleased anyway as they are two of my fave films and more extras than previous dvds
Only buy blu rays if really necessary

I'm not entirely convinced Blu-ray beats DVD everytime, that's why I only buy BDs for the films I love.DVD suffices for all others and is still cheaper too.Do your research (read reviews and visit forums like Cult Labs to get opinions) before buying imo. :)

I've not seen the FRENCH CONNECTION Blu-ray, James but it caused a lot of controversy because Friedkin revised the colour-timing, leaving the film looking bereft of most colour and with a somewhat bleached look.

Yeah I read about the alterations by Friedkin but still satisfied with the blu rays
the reviews I read were positive really, of course there was criticism, but I would of bought them nevertheless

I disagree. Yeah, it looks "bad" as it's taken from an SD source, but compared to the DVD, you lose blocky compression artifacts. the picture does look better. And the last bit... Looks amazing.
And as Paul said, the sound is much improved.


But yeah, it's not something I'd recommend picking up unless it's really cheap.

Agreed with this (although I haven't yet got anything after The Beyond so it could change) this, and Dawn of the Dead are probably my top arrow Blus.

I have never seen a dvdversion of a film that is better than the BD counterpart! Maybe Maniac but that is the only one i can think of on the top of My head!

You may well be right mate but it was the first ever BD I bought and watched after buying my PS3 years ago and I was so diappointed after expecting this leap in quality. I'll put it on again at some point as I'm sure there is a slight upgrade that I just hadn't noticed at the time.

As for AQ I never notice any difference in sound on any releases I have as I'm still stuck with plain old stereo, no surround sound for me. I can just never tell the difference at all, some releases can be quieter than others but I just adjust the volume accordingly. I'm not a very techy person so don't realise if I'm missing out when it comes to sound quality, I tend to scroll past any AQ sections on reviews. :o

It's not a hugely noticeable upgrade, but at times there is some very noticeable blocky images on the DVD that are not present on the blu.
But yeah, that as your first blu, I can imagine the disappointment :lol:

What really makes me laugh, is some reviewers having to point out, and even warn people if a BD transfer is grainy. It seems quite a lot of people still expect older films to look like Avatar on BD.

And then for the idiots who say that any film that wasn't made in the 2000's is "pointless on blu-ray, because it wasn't shot in HD" :tsk: :doh:

Then you show them 2001: A Space Odyssey.

And then point and laugh at how stupid they are.

I'll pick up The Matrix, Alien Quad, and The Arrow films on blu....... Star Wars too

And 2001! Trust me.

Not any time soon I won't. Bloody hmv :mmph: . . .

I didn't say DVDs look better than BDs, in my opinion some BDs are really not worth replacing my DVD counterpart for, that's all.I have got other uses for my money other than replacing all my DVDs for Blu-rays.

Definitly not going to substitute all my dvd's with BD:shocked:
Most new purchases will be probably

Just got my first 3 Arrow blu-rays today. Inferno, Phenomena, and Vamp. Incredible. Argento blu rays are amazing well done. Vamp pq isn't as good but it's a great package.
Also got Beyond Re-Animator( meeting Coombs the weekend) and Terror at the Opera.
Guess for me I'll continue buying both formats.

Glad to see you're getting in on the Arrow BD fun! :) I personally thought that Vamp looked fantastic though - lots of details, grain intact, very good in my opinion.

So far only skimmed it so I'll have a more sensible view when I get to watch it. No complaints with any I've gotten so far. Love the art cards. Hope to see more with those included.

It should be great to meet Jeffrey Coombs and get some of your BDs and DVDs autographed.

Yeah I'm actually really excited about meeting him. Went to the Montreal convention last year and got to meet Doug Bradley, Sid Haig, Adam West, and Stan Lee.
This is a more local convention so I was shocked that they got Coombs. I'm a long-time fan so I can't wait til Saturday. We are watching Beyond Re-Animator Friday night to be ready for it :-)

You should then follow it up with one of his finest roles.... The Frighteners :D

I'd go for a double bill of Re-Animator and From Beyond. :)

I've never seen From Beyond actually, must correct that asap

You definitely should From Beyond is an incredible film. I think it's probably my favorite of the Lovecraft films. Even ahead of Re-Animator!

Woah! It must be good, that is some seriously high praise. If I don't like it I'm coming to get ya! :tongue1: ;)

Lol...you might not like it that much. After all I think Re-Animator is a true classic. I just really love the concept and the villain in From Beyond. Plus it didn't hurt that Barbara Crampton was at her hottest either.

The more I think about Arrow Video taking a dual format route with special DVDs the more excited I am about it. The only way it would fail is if the regular DVD lacked the features. That would be a low blow.
I'd definitely be up for dual format. Arrow is the most fan accessible company I've come across.