MovieChat Forums > What's Up, Doc? (1972) Discussion > Blu-ray of "What's Up, Doc?" Is Distract...

Blu-ray of "What's Up, Doc?" Is Distractingly Clear

posted 9 years ago by jlgreenlee
24 replies | jump to latest

Can a movie transfer be TOO good?

I've seen this film innumerable times, and have owned three versions: LaserDisc, DVD and Blu-ray. But I hadn't taken the shrink-wrap off of the Blu-ray for some time, until about a week ago. We watched it at a friends house (they unbelievably hadn't ever seen it) and watched it on their high-end 70" HDTV.

Oh, wow. It was like the movie was shot this year. Crystal clear, amazingly detailed. But it was so clear, it looked. . .I don't know, less like a movie and more like it was video taped. Things that normally recede into the background just popped out at you. Almost 3D it was so focused.

I love the film and always will. But I'm surprised to learn that a film can lose something by being too clear. I probably sound nuts. Does anyone agree?

[–] Blueghost 9 years ago

It actually is one of my complaints about bluray films, but a bunch of cinematographers reminded me that the level of sharpness is actually what you saw in the theatre, only it was blow up to such huge proportions that that the details of the film don't stick with you.

Also, your memory may be tainted by the fact that you've been watching low resolution copies all these years on both home video and broadcast TV. So when you get something with the definition of the actual print that was released to the theatres, you're probably overwhelmed a little by the level of detail.

I hope that helps.

[–] jlgreenlee 9 years ago

Oh, sure, I get it. The movie was likely shot in 70mm, with very high quality, and we haven't seen the real deal (reel deal?) for over 40 years! But this is the first time I've ever watched a Blu-ray movie where the clarity actually took me out of the movie noticing the detail.

[–] urgeking 9 years ago

I haven't seen this Blu-ray yet... or any others. But when I first saw the clarity of the "What's Up, Doc?" DVD, some time ago, it did make me wonder whether they should ever get the image any sharper than that.

And now I'm wondering about something else: Are there people out there who prefer the low-res VHS versions of movies, the way that some people deliberately shoot photos on low-quality film cameras with cheap plastic lenses (the Holga fetishists, etc.)?

[–] jlgreenlee 9 years ago

I definitely don't prefer grainy or unclear video, but I am used to it. Or rather, it's all I've ever seen of this particular movie, at least on home video. But when seen in blu-ray on a 70+" HD screen? It was so crisp, so clear, it was distracting. It looked like it was shot on digital video with soap opera lighting, in some places. I'm not sure I could explain it any better.

[–] rippy0032 9 years ago

No you're not nuts. High definition, in general, can bring out things that are better left a little fuzzy.

[–] rdoyle29 8 years ago

You do understand that film is higher definition than a Blu-Ray, yes?

[–] jlgreenlee 8 years ago

Yep. But in addition to the TV and the player's abilities to boost resolution/edge detail/etc., isn't it possible that changes in the transfer (contrast, brightness, sharpness, saturation and even restoration) could have changed the image from how it was intended to be presented? I'm not making it up, I wasn't the only one in the room who noticed.

[–] denis-38 9 years ago

YES!!! Too much restoration is actually destroying the beauty and mystery of some films. I don't need to see every pore and freckle.

[–] shadaif 9 years ago

I agree. I noticed that with the restoration of The Red Shoes that it looked less exotic following the restoration. I always liked how dated this film looks by the slight grainy look of all the versions I've seen. Maybe it's my imagination but I remember as a child when films aired on ABC, they all had a grainy, slightly out of focus look about them. Does anyone else remember this?

The end of the shoelace is called the...

[–] marshall crist 9 years ago

When people leave their modern TVs set to the factory settings, the result is something that looks like a 1980s soap opera. The Blu-ray looks GREAT on my properly-calibrated plasma set. LED sets are tougher, but the better brands can be tweaked for superior results.

[–] ralph_2ndedition 9 years ago

Yes, this! ^^^^^

I noticed, the first time I bought a 42" flatscreen tv, that everything - even my trusted old favourite 80's action movie´dvd's - suddenly looked like 'The Bold And The Beautiful'!
I put up with that for about 5 minutes until I decided that something must be done!

On any tv I have bought since then I have been prompted, upon installation, to give my preferences on 5-10 different images, and thereby setting my preferred image as standard.
I tend to like the slightly darker, not over saturated but high in contrast images, it makes movies look like movies, instead of soaps. :)

[–] HowYaLikeDemApplesWill 8 years ago

Truth! Default settings on most LED TVs made the picture appear to have been filmed on a hand-held HD video camera...almost too 'realistic'.

Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] bomboogie 8 years ago

"Lisp" belongs to a form of speech that attempts to imitate the sound it represents. Examples of other words that do this are "crash", "boom", "crunch", "zoom", etc. So "lisp" is an attempt to mimic the sound of a person "lisping" [replacing one letter with another] as he speaks. It dates back to medieval times.

[–] HowYaLikeDemApplesWill 8 years ago

Ehh, not really.

I think you're referring to onomatopoeic words.

And lisp would only become onomatopoeic, if a person with a lisp, pronounced the word, which is why I find it a cruel irony....unlike true onomatopoeic words like pow or bang or spit.

Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] ralph_2ndedition 9 years ago

100% agree!

This is one of the reasons I will not buy any "upgraded" verion of this, one of my favourite movies. I'll stick with the dvd I own, it is definately clear enough! I don't need it any sharper than that.

Side note: Another of my favourites is the 1985 horror-comedy 'House', and I was used to seeing that on a pretty well worn VHS-tape. Upon getting the dvd many years back I suddenly noticed a lot more mistakes in the film, or rather I saw a lot of the edges and "holes" in all the otherwise so fantastic masks and makeup effects.
I still love that film, but the crystal clear dvd kind of took the effects down a notch for me... :)

-If made by George Lucas, this would be re-released 3 times - and by now be mostly cgi.

[–] rdoyle29 8 years ago

FILM is higher definition than a 1080p Blu-Ray. Suggesting that Blu-Rays are too HD is just wrong.

[–] jlgreenlee 8 years ago

Sure. But different technology displays in different ways. Though I might know what is going on here. I've read a few articles lately on this very issue, and it may just be that the TV we watched this on had too many image boosting doo-dads going at once: image enhancers, sharpeners, etc. Or maybe not. Regardless, the fact of the matter is, the backgrounds in this movie "popped" so much, it was distracting. Not being the only one who noticed it, I know it wasn't just me!

[–] DMB_Lover 8 years ago

"it may just be that the TV we watched this on had too many image boosting doo-dads going at once: image enhancers, sharpeners, etc. Or maybe not."

Oh no this is DEFINITELY what is going on with the set you watched it on, the Blu-ray of What's Up Doc? has a lovely natural grain intact, it has very little in the way of digital noise reduction (DNR) and looks magnificent on my TC-P60VT60 Panasonic plasma.

It's been noted earlier in the comments here that too many TVs come out of the box looking like absolute CRAP! Most LCD panels, whether LED or CCFL lit, compensate for poor motion resolution, not a factor with plasma, by leaving motion estimation/compensation circuitry turned to at least a "LOW" setting, and noise reduction turned on.

If you ever have someone calibrate your TV and they leave any of these setting on, you got ripped off. Anyone who is either ISF or THX certified and properly calibrates your panel will have all these settings turned off, they are detrimental to the picture.

What's Up Doc? is a great release, I highly recommend revisiting it someday.

[–] jlgreenlee 8 years ago

Oh, I've watched it literally at least a dozen times. This happened to be a very high end TV at a friend's house, and the first time we'd seen the film on Blu-ray.

[–] Interlepos 8 years ago

Oh, I've watched it literally at least a dozen times. This happened to be a very high end TV at a friend's house, and the first time we'd seen the film on Blu-ray.

It is nothing wrong with the blu-ray transfer. Your friends TV has a smoothing filter applied. Sony calls it MotionFlow, Vizio calls it Smooth Motion, Samsung calls it Auto Motion Plus—buried in the picture-settings menu. It is meant for sports shows. This has to be turned OFF, and you will notice that the film will look normal, only with more beautiful colors and naturally enhanced picture quality. There will be no soap opera effect. If you have the correct settings, the blu-ray medium is a miracle to older movies.

[–] deboranoh 8 years ago

I totally get it! HD and blu ray can make things TOO clear, to the point that my eyes can't take the distraction.

[–] shango7200 8 years ago

I do not like blu-ray. I'll take the good olde fashioned DVD. Thank you.

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