Deep Red - The Reviews

[springjack]

I shall call the 6th of January... My Arrow Day.

Received in the mail...

Martin
A Bay Of Blood
Deep Red
Battle Royale

[bdc]

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs

After reading the posts on blu-ray.com, I had a look at the disc again and did notice an encoding glitch. Like The Matrix Revolutions, it depends on what player you have. It wasn't that bad on my Sony player, but worse on my Fohen & Hirsch player.

Seems just another example of hardware issues with Blu-ray?
Maybe it could be corrected by an updated firmware on the troublesome players?
I've had to return a BFI bd because JVC can't be bothered to update their firmware.
Seems like "early dvd player syndrome" all over again.

Anyway from what I've read the glitch is very short.

[Gojirosan]

Speaking of "glitches" and such.

Is the reason the well reviewed Italian 5.1 DTSHD soundtrack sounds clangy and echoey/reverby on my system because of phase issues due to mixing down to stereo? I don't have (or especially want) multi-channel sound.

It reminded me of the awful English track on the Italian disk of "What Have They Done To Solange?"

I'm not bothered as the 2 channel soundtracks are fine (and I prefer original soundtrack presentation rather than modernised remixes) but I was surprised and curious.

[bdc]

Could be...I'm no expert on audio.

[norliss]

Originally Posted by nekromantik

first bad review

(link omitted)

there will always be one sour grape ha ha

people over on bluray forums are talking about a quick skip in the movie a few times, is that how it is meant to be or is it a error?

Sour grape = a review that doesn't sing the praises of the transfer? At the end of the day, this guy's opinion is just as valid as those of all the good reviews people have posted.

I think I'll wait for a few more reviews of this before parting with my hard-earned...

[bdc]

Quick skip = missing frame(s) I suppose...nothing unusual for an older film.

[nekromantik]

Originally Posted by norliss

Sour grape = a review that doesn't sing the praises of the transfer? At the end of the day, this guy's opinion is just as valid as those of all the good reviews people have posted.

I think I'll wait for a few more reviews of this before parting with my hard-earned...

yes thats what I mean ha ha

[zombeaner]

I think I have a copy coming for review, but I can't seem to confirm that. Looking forward to giving it my time, though!

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Prior to writing the review, I watched it three times on my PS3 and didn't notice any encoding errors so it may be to do with your firmware and whether it is up-to-date or not. I also didn't have a problem with either the DD 2.0 stereo or DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround but that also might be to do with my AV setup.

[The Limey]

Here is the Land Of Whimsy's take on the Deep Red BD:

"Overall

All told, I'm of two minds about this release. The extras are plentiful, the sound is good (despite the lack of a lossless English option), and I'm sure many will welcome the ability to watch both cuts of the film in high definition (though for me the full-length 127-minute cut is the only one that matters). The image quality is rather iffy, but it's unclear how much better it could reasonably have been expected to look.

I know quite a few people intending to pick up the upcoming Blue Underground release have been waiting to find out whether the extras alone justify the purchase of the Arrow version. That's a question I can't really answer: this is one of my favourite films and I was always planning on picking up both editions anyway. For those only intending to buy one or the other, we'll have to wait for the BU release to see how it compares to Arrow's version on the audio-visual front. Different people will have different views on this matter, but this is mine: extras, no matter how informative and numerous they are, are just that - extras. For me, it's all about the presentation of the film itself, and personally, given the choice between a feature-packed disc with a decent transfer and a bare-bones one with a superb transfer, I'd pick the later without a moment's hesitation.

Of course, this is all rather academic at the moment, given that BU's release is a good three months off. So, should you buy the Arrow version now or wait and see what the competition looks like? That's not a question I'd feel particularly comfortable answering. The only advice I can give is to read my review (as well as the various others floating about the 'net) and decide how you want to play it."

Land of Whimsy