Silverado - Blu-ray
kuntasensei
Posts: 3,263
Silverado is one of my favorite Westerns of all time. It's just the perfect combination of story, cast, excellent direction, and a score that brings it all together. So when I saw the Blu-ray in Wal-Mart for $14.95, I had to snag it.
I've avoided going Blu until a few weeks ago when I bought the Oppo BDP-83. Having seen some amazing transfers of recent movies on BD (I Robot, The Incredible Hulk, Knowing, Live Free Or Die Hard, etc.), I was a little suspicious of how much they could improve Silverado over my previous DVD. Long story short, they hit it out of the park. Silverado looks absolutely gorgeous on BD; possibly the best it has looked since its first theatrical showing. Some heavy film grain is apparent during the opening titles, as you'd expect considering how titling was done back then. However, the rest of the movie maintains a normal, crisp, beautiful film-like presentation that is simultaneously free of any scratches or dirt and not plagued by any obvious digital scrubbing that would blur the film grain. Simply put, this is the best I've ever seen this movie look, and in 1080p/24 on my Sanyo Z2000, it felt almost like I was watching it projected from film.
On the audio side, I also didn't expect a vast improvement. The DVD sounded pretty much like you'd expect for a movie of this age, though there was some harshness to the soundtrack that kept the volume levels in check. The 5.1 TrueHD track on the BD gets rid of all of that harshness and offers a surprisingly refined and robust sound for a movie of this age. Surround use is largely ambient, though still directional enough to work nicely with DPL-IIx Movie Mode providing the rear surrounds. The front soundstage, however, sounds outstanding with both dialogue reproduction and the score. I had my system cranked considerably higher than my usual listening level, and this disc sounded better than any movie of this age should.
As far as extras, they're about the same as the last DVD release. The only one of real interest to me was Kevin Costner looking back on his experience making the film, which is a good watch. All in all, this one's worth picking up if you're a fan of the movie, and I can only hope that all catalog titles are handled as well on BD as this one was.
I've avoided going Blu until a few weeks ago when I bought the Oppo BDP-83. Having seen some amazing transfers of recent movies on BD (I Robot, The Incredible Hulk, Knowing, Live Free Or Die Hard, etc.), I was a little suspicious of how much they could improve Silverado over my previous DVD. Long story short, they hit it out of the park. Silverado looks absolutely gorgeous on BD; possibly the best it has looked since its first theatrical showing. Some heavy film grain is apparent during the opening titles, as you'd expect considering how titling was done back then. However, the rest of the movie maintains a normal, crisp, beautiful film-like presentation that is simultaneously free of any scratches or dirt and not plagued by any obvious digital scrubbing that would blur the film grain. Simply put, this is the best I've ever seen this movie look, and in 1080p/24 on my Sanyo Z2000, it felt almost like I was watching it projected from film.
On the audio side, I also didn't expect a vast improvement. The DVD sounded pretty much like you'd expect for a movie of this age, though there was some harshness to the soundtrack that kept the volume levels in check. The 5.1 TrueHD track on the BD gets rid of all of that harshness and offers a surprisingly refined and robust sound for a movie of this age. Surround use is largely ambient, though still directional enough to work nicely with DPL-IIx Movie Mode providing the rear surrounds. The front soundstage, however, sounds outstanding with both dialogue reproduction and the score. I had my system cranked considerably higher than my usual listening level, and this disc sounded better than any movie of this age should.
As far as extras, they're about the same as the last DVD release. The only one of real interest to me was Kevin Costner looking back on his experience making the film, which is a good watch. All in all, this one's worth picking up if you're a fan of the movie, and I can only hope that all catalog titles are handled as well on BD as this one was.
Equipment list:
Onkyo TX-NR3010 9.2 AVR
Emotiva XPA-3 amp
Polk RTi70 mains, CSi40 center, RTi38 surrounds, RTi28 rears and heights
SVS 20-39CS+ subwoofer powered by Crown XLS1500
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player
DarbeeVision DVP5000 video processor
Epson 8500UB 1080p projector
Elite Screens Sable 120" CineWhite screen
Onkyo TX-NR3010 9.2 AVR
Emotiva XPA-3 amp
Polk RTi70 mains, CSi40 center, RTi38 surrounds, RTi28 rears and heights
SVS 20-39CS+ subwoofer powered by Crown XLS1500
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player
DarbeeVision DVP5000 video processor
Epson 8500UB 1080p projector
Elite Screens Sable 120" CineWhite screen
Post edited by kuntasensei on
Comments
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$14.95,thats a good deal!Linn AV5140 fronts
Linn AV5120 Center
Linn AV5140 Rears
M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
Odyssey Mono-Blocs
SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D