The 88 Films Thread

[Antropophagus]

Originally Posted by JAMIOUSE

Maybe we should all wait until Anthro pops through our letterboxes before condeming 88 or wait until reviews appear online?

I prefer to wait for some reviews Will buy it in 6 months although something tells me it'll appear on Amazon way sooner.

[Steel76]

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs

There's enthusiast......and there's completely off your rocker loon (obviously not saying you're a loon).

Well, when it comes to Italian movies, I do get a bit nutty at times hehe

It´s just too bad that the Italians are hard to work with.

Another thing I have a passion about, is old Hong Kong action from the 80:s, but those are even worse, since companies like Fortune Star, use upscaled standard definition transfers.

As I usually say: "Oh well...."

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Steel76

Well, when it comes to Italian movies, I do get a bit nutty at times hehe



It´s just too bad that the Italians are hard to work with.



Another thing I have a passion about, is old Hong Kong action from the 80:s, but those are even worse, since companies like Fortune Star, use upscaled standard definition transfers.



As I usually say: "Oh well...."

Which reminds me, I wonder how the upcoming Bruce Lee UK blu-rays will fare.

[JAMIOUSE]

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs

And that's what I find incredible, that's exactly what everyone seems to be doing, condeming them. I can see people now, getting out their pitchforks like villagers going after the evil monster.

When in reality they should be going after you with their pitchforks, ball gags, nipple clamps and electrodes! Just to coherse info out of you on upcomming releases of course not for pleasure

[Steel76]

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs

Which reminds me, I wonder how the upcoming Bruce Lee UK blu-rays will fare.

Actually, those are true HD transfers, IF they use the ones from Fortune Star.
"Fist of Fury" really needs some color correction, as the old Hong Kong legends DVD, looked better in that department. The Blu-Ray has a greenish tint to it. It has a mild layer of DNR, but mild enough, that it doesn't distract. Though finedetails can be lacking, as the camera goes out of focus at times. Typical of the period

But "The Big Boss", looks amazing in comparision, especially during the outdoor scenes. Much better colors and lot´s of details

Been a while since I saw "Way of the Dragon", but if my memory doesn't fail me, it looked pretty good as well.

Who are releasing the movies in the UK?
Hope they spend some time on the colorcorrection for "Fist of Fury".

We need a new label that can put back classic Hong Kong action on our shelves, after Cine-Asia crashed and burned.

Edit: I own the Hong Kong Blu-Ray´s of the Bruce Lee films, and not the release that was released in the US.

[JAMIOUSE]

Just had a quick look at Bloodstained and it looks pretty good, it's colourful, fairly detailed and also has fine layer of grain. It looks pretty good on my TV the English audio sounds a bit dusty but is serviceable. I'll hopefully get a chance to watch it properly later.

[Antropophagus]

Originally Posted by JAMIOUSE

Just had a quick look at Bloodstained and it looks pretty good, it's colourful, fairly detailed and also has fine layer of grain. It looks pretty good on my TV the English audio sounds a bit dusty but is serviceable. I'll hopefully get a chance to watch it properly later.

Now I'm confused, some people who have the disc people over at blu-ray.com say it doesn't look good:

"As for 88 Films release of BLOODSTAINED SHADOW, I watched it over the weekend and was very disappointed, especially after 88 Films praised the quality so highly. It lacks detail, looks washed out and appeared to be overly processed. A real disappointment."

"I've only had a quick flick through the disc, but I noticed some nasty banding during the opening sequence. The print also suffers from scanner noise throughout, and there's some moderate black crush present. I tried not to spoil myself by watching to much, as I've not seen the film before. I would probably give it 2.5/5 for picture quality, it's definitely not as good as Night Train Murders."

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Therein lies the issue.

Everyone is going to have different quantifying factors to decide what is 'good'. This will depend on their set-up and their expectations for the release - if people are used to seeing Bloodstained Shadow on VHS/DVD then they will perhaps not be as critical towards the Blu, which to them will look like a decent upgrade over previous versions. However, people seeing it for the first time and people who are maybe comparing it to output by other companies of 'similar' films may pick-up on issues that whilst may be there others either aren't as bothered about, cannot see, or just plain aren't looking for as they're too busy watching the film rather than analysing the source material.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Therein lies the issue.

Everyone is going to have different quantifying factors to decide what is 'good'. This will depend on their set-up and their expectations for the release - if people are used to seeing Bloodstained Shadow on VHS/DVD then they will perhaps not be as critical towards the Blu, which to them will look like a decent upgrade over previous versions. However, people seeing it for the first time and people who are maybe comparing it to output by other companies of 'similar' films may pick-up on issues that whilst may be there others either aren't as bothered about, cannot see, or just plain aren't looking for as they're too busy watching the film rather than analysing the source material.

Very true. Also, some people can be more critical than others, especially if they are watching and 'marking' the picture quality, looking for digital noise, banding, moiré and some other things which most viewers don't know exist, let alone what they are called.

[keirarts]

In terms of discussing the issue with italian films its worth looking at the main issue. Money.

Synapse for example have had some great success with Italian films, they had enough budget and connections to get access to the materials and get a proper scan. As Arrows budget improved the transfers got better. They spent real cash on ZFE for example and it shows.

The real issue is budgets. Stephen is quite correct in that not every release can be crowd funded and unless the label has real cash to splash then as lot of firms will be at the mercy of the Italian labs.