I was only mildly impressed by the greater picture quality of DVD over VHS. However, the first time I saw 2001 on blu-ray, I nearly sh*t myself.
Im curious, had you seen 2001 on dvd prior, or had you seen it only on vhs? i have it on dvd and i am wondering if its worth my upgrading that one to blu-ray.
Oh, my God, you have no idea.
Yes, I owned 2001 on DVD. It's one of my top two or three movies of all time. Not only does the blu-ray absolutely blow away the DVD, but out of all the blu-rays I've seen so far, it's probably the best transfer I've yet seen (although Casablanca comes close, I think). So if any movie is worth upgrading to blu-ray, 2001 is.
Remember the scene where Floyd (I think that was his name) was reading the instructions for the zero-G toilet? I can actually pause the image and read the tiny print. I can't remember if it was legible on the DVD, but it's crystal clear on the blu-ray.
Blu-ray.com's review perfectly echoes my thoughts:
First, a few technical notes: 2001: A Space Odyssey was filmed in 70mm in the 2.2:1 aspect ratio. The film was shown around the country in various Cinerama theaters, projected onto huge, curved screens. Probably for this very reason, Kubrick chose to give the film a very crisp and clean cinematographic look. Fortunately, these technical choices, made forty years ago, render 2001: A Space Odyssey stunningly on Blu-ray. Having seen the film on several occasions in 70mm, this Blu-ray presentation is very much consistent with how I viewed the film theatrically. The film has a very clean, almost sterile look. Much of the film takes place in entirely white or black environments with the odd spacesuit providing a welcome splash of color in many scenes. However, there are a number of vivid sequences that feature an abundance of rich color. The opening “Dawn of Man” sequence seems to have been shot entirely at magic hour. The resulting shots are beautiful and really show off this discs flawless handing of color. Just about every scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey looks as though it could have been filmed yesterday. The print is flawless and the images are truly spectacular. This is a must own title on Blu-ray and is the very definition of reference grade.
I should say, though, that I'm not a videophile, it's just my opinion. I found "Patton" to have an incredible picture, though some people have apparently found it wanting. If you get a chance to rent 2001, do it just to see for yourself.
I had heard that they were going to try to bring one episode of TNG up to HD by going back to the film stock and redoing the FX in 1080p.
Actually, I don't think they even said that much. They were going to explore the possibility of TNG on blu-ray, but exactly what their plans were they never revealed. And that was a year or so ago, anyway, and we haven't heard anything further.
Some people think they will someday do this for the series, but I seriously doubt it.
Don't be too sure. Yes, getting TNG to HD is not going to be easy or cheap, but Paramount knows there's a market just waiting for it. I've no doubt that they haven't yet given up on it. It's probably going to take a while, and may not be quite what some fans want -- say, a collection of the top five episodes. But I'm certain it will happen at some point. Paramount just has to figure out a way to make it cost effective.
