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Quint investigates the ZODIAC Director's Cut DVD!!!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. As with most invested in some form or fashion in the high def war, my head has been spinning the last few days. Not only with Warners going Blu, but the new rumors that Paramount might use an exit clause in their HD-exclusivity contract to jump ship as well.
I love my HD-DVD player, I love the movies I have on it, but in all honesty if Blu is going to ultimately win and the HD camp can’t counter the Warner/New Line exclusivity, I’d rather it goes that way fast and we’re left with one high def choice. I’ll be able to play my 90 or so HD-DVD titles for years, enjoying my favorite movies in near 35mm quality at home.
But if this is the KO to HD, I want this to be the KO to HD and not drag out for another year.
Which leads me to my review of the new ZODIAC DVD, the jam packed director’s cut.
I don’t know exactly how I should recommend the disc. It’s fucking great, the movie’s great, the documentaries are great, the two commentaries are great… but the movie looks so good in HD. I want to recommend picking it up on HD-DVD, especially since there is no Blu-Ray option, but I know I’m more cautious now in picking up high def titles.
So, I’ll leave it up to you. I watched it in this version:
And I can say that it’s a fantastic set.
First of all, the movie… The director’s cut isn’t all that different from the theatrical version. In fact, I didn’t really notice the new additions until I listened to the commentaries and they were pointed out. It’s about 6 minutes of small scenes… mostly more investigative scenes, including a really good sequence where Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) and Marty Lee (Dermot Mulroney) have to convince the DA to get a warrant for Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch)’s trailer. Of course, the DA isn’t there. The conversation is over the phone, specifically a Charlie’s Angels-ish speakerphone.
Anyway, the flow of the film isn’t affected. If you liked it before you’ll like it still and if you were obsessed with it before you’ll love the new additions.
On the first disc you have the flick and two commentaries. One is director David Fincher all by his lonesome and the other is a multi-commentary featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., screenwriter James Vanderbilt, producer Brad Fischer and novelist James Ellroy.
Of the two, the most consistent is Fincher’s commentary. He gives you a glimpse at his process, turns you onto some tricks (the film was shot digitally, but he had to shoot the opening murders on 35mm because the slow motion on film looked better) and gives you a sense of his own personal obsession with this story about obsession itself.
The second commentary track is entertaining, especially Robert Downey Jr. It actually made me jones for the inevitable commentary track with Favreau on the IRON MAN DVD.
Gyllenhaal is likable and Vanderbilt has a lot of insight into the actual writing. Producer Fischer is actually really funny, so that helps, too, but it does get a little confusing on who is talking when. I’d love it if they’d put the name of the person talking onscreen on these bigger commentaries.
The second disc features a feature length documentary called THIS IS THE ZODIAC SPEAKING which is an in-depth look at the Zodiac murders with the real life people involved, including most of the characters you see in the movie. It’s pretty graphic as it shows real life crime scene photos and stories from the lips of the survivors themselves.
You get to go step by step through the entire case and get every piece of evidence (including conflicting reports). It’s a real good watch.
Just as interesting, maybe even moreso, is the shorter documentary called HIS NAME WAS ARTHUR LEIGH ALLEN, which has discussions from people who knew one of the prime suspects of the Zodiac investigations. You have people convinced he was Zodiac and people who defend his name and honor. It’s a fascinating look at a very troubled man.
All the docs are presented in HD on the HD-DVD, in case you were wondering.
That’s about it. The flick held up great through three viewings on HD (one just the movie and both the commentaries). In a way it feels like a classic Spielberg movie, like if Spielberg did ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN. It’s absolutely one of the best films of 2007 and this set didn’t disappoint.
It's a definite own... now it's up to you if you get the HD-DVD now or you get the standard def and upconvert until we know the impact of the last week a little better.
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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+ Expand All
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proof- reading dude. Didn't Fincher direct Zodiac.
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an opening into another TB
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I assumed the slow mo in the beginning was Digital, and was impressed. Fail.
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but i was hoping the directors cut was at least 15-20 minutes of extra stuff.
http://tinyurl.com/pv8do -
David Lynchs director cut?
Will this pave the way for a David Lynch cut of Fight Club?? -
I'd personally prefer a David Cronenburg remake of Sleepless in Seattle. or a woody allen Cabin Fever. Seriously, it isn't that hard to get shit like this right.
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i took back my player and movies yesterday, got £200 pound credit ($400 dollers) and used it against a PS3... i wasn't the only one.
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I had just written about John Carroll Lynch and then had to type David Fincher... and now my retardness is fixed... thanks for pointing it out so I could pretend like it didn't happen early on...
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I'm just curious because I've heard few people said that it was distracting in otherwise perfect direction. Some even say that it looks too digital...
I've never seen before shoot like that and I like it. -
I got really excited for a split second there about David Lynch somehow doing one of the commentaries. Nuts.
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we have witnesses.
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I'm not waiting for the Blu-ray edition of this to come out. That HD DVD is mine come ten a.m.
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Or blu-ray for that matter. I'm perfectly happy with the picture and sound on my standard player and i'll be buying the standard edition of this disc asap. The whole High def thing is just laserdisc all over again anyway. Tech freaks get suckered in to buying the new technology that adds little and won't take off big time. The next big thing in home ent ain't this "fleece the idiots" format.
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You'd think their manhood was at stake or something. lol
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Thanks for the little peek into your mind there, because your whining bore absolutely no relation to anything Quint said in his piece. Sometimes watching how people react to things they read is better than a Rorschach test for seeing just how their agenda affects their interpretation.
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email votes to bobby.j.warren@navy.mil
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28 Weeks Later
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Behind The Mask: Rise Of Leslie Vernon
Them
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Michael Shannon- Bug
Sam Rockwell-Joshua
Nathan Baisel-Behind The Mask
Rory Cochrane-Right At Your Door
Wes Bentley- P2
Actress
Ashley Judd-Bug
Vera Farmiga- Joshua
Scout Taylor-Compton-Halloween
Olivia Bonamy-Them
Connie Britton-The Last Winter
Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin-Planet Terror
Jacob Kogan-Joshua
James LeGros- The Last Winter
Ben Foster- 30 Days of Night
Mark Boone Junior- 30 Days of Night
Supporting Actress
Marley Shelton-Planet Terror
Sydney Poitier- Death Proof
Heather Matarazzo-Hostel 2
Celia Weston-Joshua
Marcia Gay Harden- The Mist
Director
Robert Rodriguez-Planet Terror
Quentin Tarantino-Death Proof
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo-28 Weeks Later
William Friedkin-Bug
Scott Glosserman-Behind The Mask
Special Effects
Planet Terror
Black Sheep
30 Days of Night
The Host
I Am Legend
Makeup Effects
Planet Terror
Death Proof
Hatchet
Black Sheep
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Set Design
Planet Terror
Halloween
Zodiac
The Mist
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Screenplay
Planet Terror
Death Proof
Bug
Behind The Mask:Rise Of Leslie Vernon
Fido
Costumes
Planet Terror
Halloween
Zodiac
Murder Party
30 Days of Night
Best Poster Art
Planet Terror
Death Proof
28 Weeks Later
Bug
Hatchet
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...so no mater which format wins I'm going to call it HD. If you say "I've got new Blu-ray" it sounds like line from bad cyber-Sci-fi. Like in 96 when you said "I have a new movie on Laser Disc"
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I am a film collector, so I can definitely appreciate the qualities of film versus anything digital. Believe me. However, I have seen HD-DVDs projected onto a theater screen and it was beautiful. Not quite 2k (or even better, 4k) quality, but there's no way the studios would ever let us have our own 2k versions of these films. That'd be like them selling prints to collectors. It just doesn't happen.I believe I read a number somewhere that said 1080p is 98% the resolution of 35mm film. That could be complete BS, but that's what I read and after what I've seen, I believe it. I think HD (in either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD) will be the highest resolution the studios will allow us to have for our own home theater enjoyment.I'm sure the HD demonstration I saw was using the top of the line HD digital projectors, but it still came from those shiny discs on sale at Best Buy.I apologize if I came off whiny... I don't believe I did, but in any case that's not how I wanted to appear. Yeah, it sucks the format I was invested in seems to be on a slippery slope to defeat, but I still believe in high def. I think in the coming years you'll see all DVD players become BR or some kind of High Def players. They're backwards compatible, so why not? This isn't like video or laserdisc. All next gen players play the last gen format, so who's losing if every disc slowly becomes HD? Big screen TVs are getting cheaper and cheaper, tube televisions are dying out. I think high def is the future... and I hope whatever the future holds includes tangible product... I don't know if I'll ever fully get behind the idea of a digital download center. I love DVR, but I also love having shelves of DVDs and something tangible in my hands when I buy something. Anyway, this is getting all rambly... so I'll quit now.
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...Is nowhere near the resolution of 35mm. Even as a capture device its a long way behind. But who gives a fuck. Your watching it at home, not in a cinema. Which is why me and the general populace will stick with DVD's until downloads don't take a whole night and alot of nerd searching on the net.
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...Me and the other normals might end up picking up HD regardless, since when my DVD player conks out, and a HD player is the same price and so are the discs, and its backwards compatiable, why wouldnt I buy it. Sort of like me and the general populace did with VHS players and tapes. Except not as rapid, since the jump in quality and extras is negligible.
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And I'm not a Fincher fan. I agree that it's nice to have something tangible. I easily own at least four hundred CDs and I would never trade them in for a hard drive of Mp3s. Maybe that's not the case anymore.
It's like Walter Benjamin wrote seventy years ago in "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," people are replacing the aura of the piece of art for convenience. I think tangible objects have more of an aura than just watching it on your computer. Maybe that kind of thought is old fashioned today. -
I sort of felt the same way, but now, owning means little to me. Except, strangely, when it comes to books. I hate reading on the computer. Yet with music, the thought of purchasing a CD when I can purchase a download whenever I want for cheaper, and being able to whack in straight on my computer or ipod has increased my appetite for music again and led to me listening to and enjoying alot more of it. I don't think I can go back to the hassle of owning goods, even if it feels less concrete, almost like a rental. And I'm starting to feel the same about movies. I would definately download them if the size and speed issues could be sorted out, especially since my monitor and speakers are nicer than my TV. Now I pretty much only go to the flicks for movies like Atonement, No Country For Old Men, Into The Wild...Gauranteed stuff, and stuff that wont be ruined by fuckng slack jawed yokels. After all, the movie going experience truly and utterly sucks now. I had FORTY FIVE minutes of commercials prior to Atonement the other night. It sucked the life out of it. While I appreciate cover art and how tangible it feels to own a DVD, when you consume as much as me, its just a hassle to physically hold so much product.
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HD = 1920 x 1080, 2K = 2048 x 1556, keep in mind also anamorphic and/or letterboxed qualities of both.
HD viewed in a well calibrated home cinema from a good clean HD master and a great sound system compared to your usual film print at a 'non-brand new' cineplex on a projector running on average at a MAX of 2K, no operator focusing or framing the print correctly, colour fading and film wear (scratches) after approx 50 viewings, shitty seats, annoying patrons and a questionable sound system......I find myself agreeing with Quint here, but hey make your own choice, I'm getting shittier myself every time I go to the cinemas recently, luckily though, because of my work, I don't pay for film tickets. Imax however, that is an entirely different story. -
cover of the year
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I can't really answer that question. I haven't seen the standard def DVD. If you just want the movie and you don't care about the extras, then you probably won't want the new edition. This isn't like the ALIENS director's cut where the new cut is a wholly different experience and an even better movie. If you care about the commentaries or documentaries, then the disc is definitely worth a buy.
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To listen to commentaries on like everything? I am pretty selective of commentaries and special features. Probably because Matt Stone and Trey Parker have set the bar when it comes to commentaries, as well as goonies, where they did the split screen with the panel. If they did that with more movies I would watch, just hearing people talk like when there is more then one person talking in the commentary is irritating unless the voice is well known of easily recognizable. Oddly enough I listen to the Night at the Museum commentary (we had just moved and rented that movie since we didn't have cable and its all I had to watch at the time) plus I wanted a reason. And it pretty much illustrates how dumb we are. I've watched the Fight Club commentaries as well and enjoyed them. I don't think this is Fincher's best. It does show that Fincher can make normal movies. Because lets face it there was nothing groundbreaking or movie changing about this film. Its just a wonderfully shot and made to look like the period crime movie. Like a really good episode of Law and Order, just the Law part though. Plus the acting was ok Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal are get too much praise for not much variation. But people who found this tedious, I started this movie really late and finished it in one sitting if I recall. Just a real solid movie, that in all retrospect should have just been a documentary. That would have lead to more insight and shown that Fincher can do something different. If Fincher had made this a real documentary I think it would have been a lot bigger. This movie was pretty much just a better version of Summer Of Sam.
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If you have time, do this experiment, open Adobe Illustrator or for that matter any drawing program and overlay two boxes with my above HD/2K measurements, you might be surprised by what you see. Keep in mind that Anamorphic film is stretched vertically when projected and also letterboxed by the projectionist so as to achieve the desired aspect ratio. The HD image area, on the other hand, has already been letterboxed and the anamorphic nature corrected during correct mastering. You also mentioned 'Even as a capture device it is a long way behind' as if capturing is an afterthought, when in fact capturing is the first step. Capturing is kind of an irrelevant factor here though as we are talking film originated transfers, sorry if I sound like a smart arse, just wanted to clear up any misconceptions. Further experimenting, you could do a high resolution drum scan of an individual frame from a motion film print, open/compare in Photoshop at 100% to a Blu-ray/HD-DVD frame grab so as to see the actual visual resolution of motion picture film as compared to a grab from an HD master, again, you might be surprised by the results (yes I have done this test). Apologies in advance if this sounds condescending.
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Quint: please stop referring to movies/films as "flicks" - it's been driving me crazy forever. There, I've finally said it...
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Jan 08, 2008 9:43:28 AM CST
Tourist, that's not to say that digital ownership hasn't...
by rbatty024
done plenty of good in the world. Music is the prime example. The fact that so many small labels can get their bands on the Billboard top ten is an astonishing feat. Radiohead being able to ditch their record label is a prime example of what the internet and digital downloads can do. A new system has to be developed where the artists can make money (perhaps profit sharing with i-pods and other devices that profit off of illegal downloads). However, I'm still nostalgic for the jewel case, even if I end up ripping the album to my computer. Unless I have the jewel case I don't feel like I actually own it, even though I have plenty of music solely in Mp3 form. Just a personal preference.
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pop over to rotten tomatoes for the first imagery from the biggest guaranteed hit since The Phantom Menace....Lost Boys 2 WHOOOOGH. Man, I hope Nanook and that crazy heysomethingshappeningatmyhouseI'lljustdrivemycarthroughthefrontdoor Grandpa are back
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Jan 08, 2008 9:46:14 AM CST
Not to mention that its directed by the same visionary as he
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
who made From Dusk till Dawn 3. What a freakin great world we live in. Death by Stereo!
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apparently Warners is planning on making a third, which as we know will put Peter Jackson to task by being the greatest trilogy ever made or that will ever be made.
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On paper, 35mm is much higher res than 1080p digital (aka Hi Def), but go to any regular cinema to watch a film shot on and projected from 35mm and you'll see something that might be even less resolution than something mastered and projected digitally. It's all down to the interneg/interpos process that happens to produce the 35mm prints that are distributed to theaters. An acquaintance of mine, who worked for the BBC's R&D department, and is now a HD consultant for hire, once described how much of the 35mm detail is lost when producing a print. I imagine that with digital intermediates for color grading, etc., some of that quality is regained, but it still has to go through a couple of generations to output a theatrical print.
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Evil Ed becomes the worlds' first Gay porno star Vampire, and he runs across William Ragsdale somehow. No wait, even better, he bumps into freshly turned lesbian Amanda Bearse who finishes Ed with a 12" dildo to the heart.
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I don't scab for free!
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Jan 08, 2008 10:01:01 AM CST
Do you doltish heathens not hear ? EDGAR FROG LIVES
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
I wonder how much the frog brothers charged?
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Shit, its the attack of Eddie Munster.
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is that the plot is almost identical to the first film. The movie is going to be shit anyways, you might as well go out on a limb, instead of making a de facto remake.
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Jan 08, 2008 10:19:30 AM CST
Ultra HD will have us replacing our collections again...
by wolverines claw
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5335870.stm
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Jan 08, 2008 10:20:47 AM CST
rbatty024 Nah man you got it all wrong
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
This time its a brother and SISTER. This time the sister has the vamplust. See, completely different.
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Jan 08, 2008 10:28:06 AM CST
I wonder if the frog brother from the same mother is still there
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
Even more important questions to be answered......Are the frog parents still alive? Is the missing frog brother now a Kevin Smith Live Free or Die Hard style geek? Will we have Death by IPOD? So many questions to answer in what I'm sure will be a ridiculously short running time.
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I find that stuff way more interesting than the "true story" documentaries. I thought I read there was like an hour-long making-of on here.
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There is no dvd section this week! When the best movie of last year arrives, Sunshine. Yet we get more pimping of this bomb. I guess Fox Searchlight doesn't care that they could have made a great deal of profit with Sunshine? While Warner Bros. Pictures is scrambling to break even with this one.
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Faraci had some good thoughts on how people balls-deep into this massive technological double dip in an increasingly obsolete format. many of us on the site have already likely made the jump from discs to downloadable content, displayed on HD monitors either on computers or attached to television sets using an S-video cable. The slight hit we have to deal with in quality looks to be only temporary as it is considering Netflix's recent move...I just don't subscribe to this bullshit at all. As for Zodiac..well I'll have to say that it's finished.
I would like to add that Spicy Jack, a north texas strain of endo provides one of the better wake and bake experiences I have undergone recently. -
Faraci had some good thoughts...
*on how* people balls deep into this massive double-dip are going to be kicking themselves ten years down the line. -
Jan 08, 2008 11:25:37 AM CST
Who gives a shit about HD, EDGAR FROG MOFO'S
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
Has the world gone Mad?
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for what it's worth my biggest gripe with this film is how Fincher and Co. kept insisting they were drawing from case files only. A lot of the "evidence" presented against Allen is actually information lifted from Graysmiths book which has been proven to be filled with inaccuracies and lies to help substantiate his theory (Allen = Zodiac).
Fincher should have said the movie was based on "some" case files, and Graysmiths book.
The case is unsolved due largely to the blunders of law enforcement, but also because of the mis-haps that alot of amatuer investigators like Graysmith made.
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There is a general misconception that film has an infinite resolution being an analogue medium as compared to HD being a digital format comprised of pixels. Keep in mind however that no matter what the specifications are on paper, any resolution is limited in a visual sense by what our eyes can actually see. For instance, a 10,000 dpi image may be technically double that of a 5,000 dpi image but when both images are seen at the same size, your eyes are only able to perceive a limited total dpi, you'd need to view things under a magnifying glass to see any difference, which is not how we most often view images. The preference of film over HD, once the eye maximum resolution is reached, is then largely an emotional preference rather than a technical one, a little bit like vinyl collectors referring to to vinyl as being 'superior' to CD. The sound isn't actually 'better' but rather 'different'. Better comes about as the listener is accustomed psychologically to have known and been used to the sound of Vinyl first, judging everything onwards to what they currently know and hold as a benchmark. The same can be said for Film vs HD. As far as digital capture goes, resolution is not the only factor in play, the properties of a lens such as depth of Field and aperture as well as the captured gamma range play a much more important part in determining if an image looks like film or better/worse. To think that digital capture will never be as good as film capture is a short sighted view, the same was said only a few years ago in the still photography field, yet with advances in technology you'd now be hard pressed to find many people in that market that have not moved to digital 35 from film based 35mm. While HD resolution may be determined by pixels, Film based resolution is determined by the arrangement and size of the crystal based medium we see visually as grain, blow up a film image and it becomes more soft and grainy, hardly infinite resolution. By all means read technical specifications but keep in mind that your own two eyes and your perceived emotional history end up equally determining/judging the quality of any image.
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Tell those people who produced "The Shark Is Still Working" to get a distributor already. I wanted to see that documentary like years ago. What's the holdup? Get on it, shark man.
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I'll be grabbing this one on HD DVD right away, because no matter who wins who says those HD DVD titles will be reissued on Blu any time soon? And the fact that Blu is moving toward TrueHD rather than PCM is unsettling. I don't want CRAP extras, I want great sound, and while my PS3 decodes TrueHD, my BD-301 doesn't. Nice move, Sony! Update my player, bitches!
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I don't care if that makes me a bad person.* Probably spelt incorrectly.
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Lost in the Shadowwwwws.....Say hello to the night(Alosta Boysa)....lost in the loneliness, No-one knowwwwwsss.
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I agree with your statement, but I think the vinyl vs cd is a bad analogy. Vinyl is (infinitesimally) better than cd in sound reproduction because it's a more accurate representation of the highs and lows of a music source. Cds were more like digital facsimiles, and often compressed. That was the big selling point of the Hi-Def sound formats, they more closely resembled analogue (due to their higher resolution).
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ummm something something and the days will be-a mine
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My own brother a goddamn shitsucking vampire... oohh you wait till mom finds out buddy
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I am NOT! ........So what are you, the flying nun? OK thats enough.
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Jan 08, 2008 12:29:33 PM CST
oops, that made me think of a different horror flick
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
Eel' change....eel'. ......THATS ENUFF. THATS EEENUFF!
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Jan 08, 2008 12:30:51 PM CST
Excuse me, but whats that star on the wall for?
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
You.....made me miss. I've never missed before.
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NURSE!
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whoooooh!
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Does anybody know if there are plans to release a DVD of The Game with any decent features? (I always love Fincher commentaries.)
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um...no.
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I worked at the San Francisco Media Archive this past summer and we supplied archival footage for this SE. Cannot to pick it up on the way home today!
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You can hear it if you play your records and cds on a sufficiently good system. Even CDs that are mastered well do not sound as good, which ignores the fact that the majority of CDs have been mastered poorly over the years - most recently due to the desire for increased loudness.
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We live in a world where people seem to no longer care about the quality of their recorded music.
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...in the first place. So damn stupid and pointless.
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The ultimate poop on the franchise addition. Newt not only drowns, gets an autopsy & burnt in molten lead; but now also gets steam rolled, minced, feed to the dog (the dog has anti-lice superpowers – let it be), pooped out, kicked, frozen, smashed by a demolition ball & then finally tea bagged. Fincher also adds commentary where he makes *fart* sounds as Newt is cut open with the scalpel during the autopsy. The best part of the A3 directors cut is the addition of new FX. The dog has been digitally replaced by a cow, Newt is digitally replaced by a cow… heck, the whole cast are now shaved cows on a wooden planet.
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I bought the original DVD. I loved this movie to death, and couldn't wait to pick it up, so I bought it, hoping there'd be some special features at least. Then I see the only feature is an ad for the special edition DVD! How insulting is that! At least have a trailer. I really wish I had waited, as I'd love to hear the commentary for this thing.
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Absolutely loved it, and it works well playing with the "detached" radio callers. The best part is how fucking smooth the camera is when it turns the corner. I suppose that's what people mean by it looking too digital, but it worked for me. What's even better is after the driver is killed, and you have that perfect shot of the near glowing cab in darkness. I'd love a screengrab of that (along with that shot of the Golden Gate Bridge where it looks like it is in the sky).
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The best way for artists to make money from their product in a digital world is to charge less, and recoup profits by eliminating the middle man, namely labels and studios. I can download a bootleg from a russian site for 99 cents, but I'd happily pay 3 bucks to download it from a legit source. Sure, usually I would pay 30 dollars for the CD, but the product just isn't worth that outlay. To make a handsome amount of money, the artists would most likely need to tour, and cut out all the ancillery costs like marketing and whatever else it is major labels do. It can work, considering I never watch TV or read popular music mags. Most of the stuff I listen to I get through recommendation or through the usual music blogs/review sites or the radio. Alot of those bands do quite well, despite not having MTV or other forms of big label support. Movies will naturally find it a little harder, but then again, I would happily pay 3-4 bucks to download to "rent". Considering I pay 7.50 for a new release not counting deals.
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you fucking the moron.
the fact that EMI pumped 11 million into radiohead over the last 13 years has nothing to do with it i suppose?????
If Vampire Weekend only released their forthcoming album as a digital download do you think they would sell as much as they will do releasing it physically ???? -
Especially the scene where Zodiac stabs the couple at the lake. That shit looked like a snuff film. Some fucked up shit.
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Ok I'm not going to start a Vinyl war here, like I said emotion and 'what you already know' plays a large part in how you judge quality, all my vinyl does however sound like shit on my new modern amp, that and a needle degrades it further every time I play it, basically though it is a 'different' sound to digital, 'different' as opposed to 'better', sure it does have the highs and lows of the original music because the sound is being reproduced with a physical needle much like the original instruments are making sounds with plucked physical strings and impacted drums, but these elements are also further determined in a recording by how they are originally captured/recorded as well as how they are output. Would an electronically created instrument sound better on Vinyl? Probably not, it would however sound different though to the original, lets add a valve amp into the mix to further change and gain an analogue sound, see where I am going. As a side note, I picked up the Nirvana Unplugged dvd the other day re-mastered in DTS and I almost wish all audio was released in DTS, maybe it doesn't have the high and low analogue sound coming from a needle through a heated valve amp but it does have other elements that encompass you and make you feel like you are at a music venue, and I preferred this element of the sound to any vinyl I have ever heard, not 'better' not 'worse' but simply preferred for that particular music event. I heard instruments in the back speakers that I have never heard before. Does a needle scratch in vinyl add or detract from the quality of the sound?, that depends entirely on what part of the outputted music the individual places the most emphasis on when judging it's quality. Perhaps each individual band is best played on output devices from the era they were originally recorded in, but hell I already have too many audio and video boxes plugged into my walls as is and a lack of space. Vinyl did not simply die because corporations are evil and wanted to peddle you an inferior product that saved shelf space, it died off because technology always evolves, Ironically enough Vinyl has been largely kept alive by the electronic music scene due to its ease of mixing/scratching. I'm sure, if given the chance, a caveman might critique vinyl in a negative light, claiming that 'the recorded rocks bashing together, sound good but not as good as the sound they originally made to his/her ears'. They'd most likely find it 'better' just bashing the rocks together each time they wanted to hear them, skipping vinyl entirely.
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...How many millions were pumped into Band Of Horses, The National or Okkervill River? Some bands I actually LISTEN to. And you know what, they are gonna HAVE to sell as much through download as they do physically, because most people who have an internet connection will just fucking steal the album if a cheap and easy alternative is not available.
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that killed serial killers.
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...Prefer a movie closer to Dexter than Suspect Zero. If he had some taste.
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Thank you for the exposition of digital and analog versions of film. I was always confused;however, you did a superb job of explicating the pertinent information.
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Jan 08, 2008 9:14:32 PM CST
regardles of different/better vinyl was artificially ended
by jmyoung666
Don't believe market decided. CD sales through '89 were slow. In one year vinyl disappeared from record stores. The major labels just stopped manufacturing them.
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Many CDs were remastered on the cheap during the early days of CD production. They clearly sound inferior on the cheapest of equipment. By the early 90s, mastering had improved, but by the late 90s use of compression was increasing significantly distorting the original sounds.
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You can hear individual instruments more clearly on vinyl than on CD.
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because Sony's stupid ass along with it's internet whores enjoy strapping unplayable software on its customers. Blu-Ray is not gonna win this I hate to tell you shit eating bastards. People are pissed because their players won't play the new BD+ discs.
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what a hack
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Jan 08, 2008 10:46:18 PM CST
"What if there was a serial killer that killed serial killers"
by osmosis jones
That was Suspect Zero, and it sucked.
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Jan 08, 2008 11:35:50 PM CST
What if there was a serial killer who killed serial killers who
by alonzo mosely
And he was also a detective and had a degenerated illness that made him have to have sex every 24 hours with hot chicks or he died...
I'm just saying, what if.... -
was that it kept you in the era in which the events took place. From the opening old school Paramount logo to the pong machine in Downeys house. Plus it had Goose from Top Gun! Every movie should have Goose from Top Gun!
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I heard this referenced in the old EW article about the film, how Fincher was forced to drop a three or four-minute sequence of black screen with evolving music and ambient noise reflecting the passage of the '70s. Is that no longer in?
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I never said in my post that Radiohead would have necessarily been as popular or would have been able to make as much money off their In Rainbows internet sales without having first sold a ton of records through EMI. All I said was they would have never been able to distribute their album without a major label without the internet (I know others have done it before but they're an easy and contemporary example).
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You've been deleted from the man of steel TB and the Bond TB, yet ike an annoying energiser bunny you keep coming back
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he's automatically a cunt. Everyone I've ever met that works there is, and Ive never had the misfortune of dealing with a more difficult obstructive head-up-their-own-arse group of wankers
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You're talking about James Bond or Shaft?
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Neither the DVD nor the HD-DVD versions are on the Netflix website. Apparently they won't add it until it's one of the most requested titles. If you want to be able to watch it in HD, please request it on the Netflix site. Here's the link: http://www.netflix.com/Suggest?type=0&lnkctr=cu_tr
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if God was the producer and our savior was the director.
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As an owner of previous DVDs by Fincher, I was 100% disappointed in the packaging of the new directors cut. The outside cover looked great. Very clever design idea to use the central letter as the cover, but I feel that the ball was completely dropped as far as the rest of the packaging was concerned. First of all, why not have a slip-case? The majority of the movie is centered on deciphering the visual clues and symbols left by the killer. The slipcase graphics could have been used to showcase the symbols and police notes. Or even have the inside art reflect the time period of the film. Where is the booklet inside the plastic case? The packaging for Se7en, Fightclub, & Panic Room special editions all were great. There were so many possibilities for Zodiac. What happened?????
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Zodiac is simply a masterpiece. There is not a tedious section in the film and that is due in large part to the on screen ensemble's performances. John Carrol Lynch is nothing short of unnerving in his portrayal of Arthur Leigh Allen.Best cast in years. Proof of Fincher's ability to tell great stories the way they are meant to be told. His attention to detail is Kubrickian in it's scope.
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Man I hated that film, sorry Spike, if I wanted to watch a porno then I'd watch a porno. Like that 25th Hour shit he did after. Fucking terrible. Thank god he went and made that Inside Man. Much better.
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Was the disc damaged? If not, then the packaging was GOOD. You watch the fucking movie you retard, not the box.
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...Your a retard too. Not just because you prefered Inside Man to 25th Hour, but because you liked Inside Man full stop. To prefer a director makes boring, insulting and lazy films to entertaining, engaging and creative films marks you as subhuman, and in need of disposal along with your fellow travel on the road to retardation, minton.
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I compare it to Law and Order in how much of the movie plays out like the first half of a Law and Order show (before Jerry Orbach left the show to do bigger deader things, and then the show became all about Sam (I'm a whiny bitch for justice) Waterson). The Law part of L&O is all I thought about during Zodiac. That and the cast was very sub par in this movie, had too many TV actors (seriously are we sure Mark Ruffalo and Benjamin Bratt are not the same person?). As for Tourist, have you not seen the packaging for the SE of FClub, 7, and Jodie Foster? If all DVD's were packaged like that I think I would still be buying DVD's. It just makes what is most likely going to be a dust collector at least look cool. I mean how dissappointing is it when you buy a movie on the DVD and open it and its just a disk? I bought Sunshine last night and nothing. Just a fucking pooped out DVD by the Fox Company (didn't even come with anything free at the Wal-End of America Mart (unless you wanted Supernova? I feel like Fox is going out of there way to make people not want to see this movie)), may as well just been a fucking copy from a friend. I know I said earlier that I don't by DVD's, by that I mean buying like 2 a week. Now I buy like 3 a year. Man they just don't make DVD's like they used to. Also in a 3 hour movie, is 7 minutes really that important? They are trying to make this DC seem like a Brazil or Killing Spree ending from Its a Wonderful Life or Kingdong of Heaven. Also whats with the Brad Pitt/Kate Bland-chet thing? I much perfer the Jason Bateman/Jennifer Garner thing.
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Children of men. Love by all the critics and the big brothers of AICN, as well as the majority of AICN TB'ers. But for me these two movies were just totally let down by their main actors. Both films were directed flawlessly by amazing directors and on that level they can't be touched. But Clive Owen and Jake Gyllenhaal/Mark Ruffalo were non starters. Just not engaging, boring (they just seemed bored with what they were doing especially Owen). Just took me out of the movie. It was like here are these awesome re/creations of a different time, and Owen said fuck it i'll just kind of Zombie my way through another movie. Gyllenhaal thought well give me some side burns and we'll call it character acting. I went into both those movies with some pretty high expectations, but probably for the first time I was let down not by direction or story or special effects, but by acting. I know I am in the minority but both films had there lead roles totally stolen by co stars (John Carroll Lynch, The Cainster, and baby Denzel-Chiwetel). Both movies could have been told from a different point of view and should have in Children. And Zodiac possibly tried to have too many. Just Owen and Heaths Bottom just are such unenthusiastic leads, just kind of lifeless. In the Jackie vs Spidy acting fight Spidy wins because well he can act.
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Jan 10, 2008 11:48:55 AM CST
Allfather...tourist is correct, you are a retard
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
Inside Man was the only Lee movie for me (outside of Girl6) that anyone could do. 25th hour and S.O.S. were masterpieces of character and mood.
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Zodiac's whole point is the many, encompassing, frustrating perspectives. And how you get lost and bogged down in it all. And towards the end of your last post, what are you even talking about? Jackie Vs. Spidy?
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Yeah I kind of trailed off there at the end. I was talking about the fued Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire are having on the set of their new movie. And how they are pretty similar actors but ultimately i feel like Tobey is the better actor. And that Jake is just boring to watch on the screen. Yeah I got that from Zodiac, I feel like I need to go back and watch it again, because when I first saw it I was watching A LOT of law and order, and now that I am not maybe I'll feel different about it. But you can't deny its resemblance to Law and Order. Oh and 25th hour was just about race reversal, that kind of turned me off. I'd say He Got Game and Bamboozled are better recent Spike Films.
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Summer of Sam had some decent parts to it, mainly those that dealt with the actual summer of sam business and the paranoia surrounding it, if you bothered to read what I said you cunts you'd see that my complaint was that every other scene was a sex scene, and it got boring, it took me out of the story that I was there to see. As for 25th hour, fuck off, Edward Norton ranting to camera about September 11th and race relations for two hours, no fucking thanks. As a non yank that's just no what I give a shit about. Inside man was a bank heist movie, it had no pretensions to be anything else, I for one liked it. That obviously upsets you, tourist. Good, go fuck yourself. Oh, and here's a little pointer. Next time you start a rant to someone and call them a retard, make sure you spell the first word correctly you fucking illiterate, ill-educated wankstain. Can't even spell fucking 'you're'. What a fucking cunt.
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They never caught the killer and only have ideas of who it could have been. It was buzzkill movie.
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As someone who remembers that particular bit of 60s crime history (I was 9 at the time, and rumors abounded in my elementary school that the Zodiac was going to drive down to L.A. to pick off kids on Halloween), I thought Fincher's film was one of the best I've seen in a long, long time. And OMG, was Robert Downey, Jr. too, too good in it! It's criminal that he was been overlooked during awards season, along with the screenplay, the cinematography, and David Shire's unsettling score. Everything about the film is remarkably accurate, right down to the song tracks. If you haven't seen it, frigging buy it (rent it if you're cheap, but see it). Also, the www.zodiackiller.com/ site is an outstanding (and unsettling) site to visit if you want more particulars and theories about the crime. I relish good (not lurid) true crime books as a form of social history. ZODIAC the film manages to be suspenseful, entertaining, high art, and history at the same time. It's a pity SUMMER OF SAM fell short of the same mark, but at least it has Spike Lee's audacity and energy to recommend it.
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This is the ZODIAC speaking
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Making progress...
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