[[image:090615_ghostbusters.jpg:Bustin’ makes me feel good:right:0]]Hey, guys — movies shot on film have grain. Watching movies on BD you’ve previously only seen on VHS or DVD can be a shock when you realize how much grain is actually present. Some BD transfers choose to soften the image to try and eliminate the appearance of grain, but to me this results in a much uglier transfer than just leaving the grain in.
The Ghostbusters transfer is sure to be controversial, as the early reviews have all mentioned that the transfer has a lot of film grain. Some people are going to react negatively to this, but unfortunately a movie shot on film in the 1980s isn’t going to look as good as a movie shot digitally today. There is a reason that Pixar movies look so amazing on BD — they’re digital from start to finish.
Of course, no one would care about the transfer on the Ghostbusters BD if it weren’t a beloved comedy that has become a cultural touchstone. I’m a huge Bill Murray fan, and this movie is pure ’80s Murray, when he mostly played riffs on the same persona throughout various movies. I think I prefer the more recent Murray, the guy who was in Rushmore, Lost in Translation and Broken Flowers — still playing variations on a theme, but it is a theme I find more personally relevant and interesting.
I’ve been away too long, leaving you and your online rental queues to fend for yourselves! I apologize most profusely. The first week I missed was E3, and I made the decision to spend my limited writing time trying to cover the events of that conference, although lethargy and an intense work schedule worked against me. I also missed last week, as I felt too dizzy and light-headed to concentrate on writing. Now again this week I must humbly beseech your forgiveness, as while I had planned to catch up on all the Blu-ray films I missed, I find myself once again not up to the task.
It is a terrible thing to achieve a private dream (I’ve ached to be a writer since I was in third grade and discovered Stephen King, and wanted to steal some of his power) and to be laid low by such petty concerns as my physical well-being. I’ve long harbored a deep anxiety and dread towards the medical profession, but if this lethargy persists I will have no choice but to drag myself before a doctor. You see how insidious dreams are? I have become addicted to the rush of creating, and to keep hold of that rush, I am forced to face up to a personal failing I’d much rather just ignore.
As the readers here are very kind and thoughtful people, wish me luck as I venture into the unknown.
Be sure to take care of yourself first and foremost!
The weekly (normally) Queue is a great articles that serves as a reminder of what’s coming out as well as providing some insight on some of the more notable ones, but I think everyone that reads it would agree that you need to maintain your health and happiness first.
There’s enough of us writers out there that lose themselves in the turmoil; no need to join their ranks. Unless, you have a million dollar plus contract on the line or something.
Yeah dude chill.. we missed the weekly update, but take care of yourself first and foremost
I don’t have a problem with film grain or digital noise. I do have a problem with people cropping frames, and messing with white balance.
From High-Def Digest:
Going into this Blu-ray edition of ‘Ghostbusters,’ I was concerned Sony would use the same so-called “remastered” version from the botched 2005 double-feature DVD gift set. To my disappointment, those fears are justified with this 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer looking suspiciously similar to that master. However, it appears technicians have gone back and tweaked the picture to a more faithful presentation, giving fans at least a small shimmer of hope (the bright green glow of Slimer in Chapter 6, when he’s captured at the hotel, is finally gone and looks as it should). Regardless, the picture remains slightly cropped to better fit 16:9 screens (taken from a 2.20:1 and 2.35:1 OAR to this new 2.40:1 size, so it’s barely noticeable without closer examination) and many of the same anomalies continue. I have a feeling this Blu-ray disc will be a topic of debate, as some will approve of this new look, while others with fond memories will miss the warm reddish appeal replaced with this bluish-green tint.
I actually saw Ghostbusters on DVD a couple days before the BD came out. Ironically I watched it on my BD player and it looked fantastic, no film grain. Not all BD conversions are good. This would be a bad one.