'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' – High-Def Digest Review

[Attebery]

Kenneth's review of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" has been posted. He enjoyed the film, finding it very rewarding after an initially slow start. He does have problems with this Blu-ray release's compression issues, which bring the video rating down, even as the audio track faithfully serves the films intents. This is still a significant improvement over the standard edition, but you'll want to read up on this one and approach a blind purchase carefully.

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1306...essejames.html

[DueNorth]

This DVD? You might want to correct that.

[BambooLounge]

Wow, this is probably them most dissapointed I have been after reading a review on here. I saw this in theaters and immediately could not wait for the high def release as I loved the cinematorgraphy, but to now read that it is plagued by all these technical issues with the pic quality has me on the fence.

Any idea if the HD-DVD release might look better? (not a fanboy, I'm format neutral and simply want the best pic quality available)

[mmmmDoNut]

Originally Posted by BambooLounge

Any idea if the HD-DVD release might look better? (not a fanboy, I'm format neutral and simply want the best pic quality available)

I was getting ready to say the same thing.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by BambooLounge

Wow, this is probably them most dissapointed I have been after reading a review on here. I saw this in theaters and immediately could not wait for the high def release as I loved the cinematorgraphy, but to now read that it is plagued by all these technical issues with the pic quality has me on the fence.

Any idea if the HD-DVD release might look better? (not a fanboy, I'm format neutral and simply want the best pic quality available)

The HD DVD version is being released in March -- I'll get a review for that edition online as soon as we receive a copy from Warner. Although, considering their previous dual-format releases, I would imagine it would be the exact transfer with the exact problems. I doubt the delays they're attaching to the HD DVD versions will ever result in improvements to the PQ or AQ.

Thanks as always for posting!

[Texan1976]

Yikes....This was a blind buy for me based on my buddy's comments about the cinematography, as well.

I might have to exchange this for Gone Baby Gone next week!

[aygie]

Originally Posted by mmmmDoNut

I was getting ready to say the same thing.

It will be exactly the same ported over.

[blu-way]

Ken you're right, 25-30 GB isn't enogh for long films

[PIHB]

Originally Posted by blu-way

Ken you're right, 25-30 GB isn't enogh for long films

i dont think this is the smackdown, that sucks i was looking forward to this, ah well will have to wait

[Randyboy]

Thanks for the review.

If (big if) WB double dips on this film here with significant improvements and more added special features, I'd purchase it.

I actually enjoyed the half hour documentary right after viewing the movie itself. There were quite a few bits that weren't mentioned in the film about Jesse's life. I'd mentioned some, but I don't wanna spoil it for viewers who haven't seen it.

To the foeks out there that might stray themselves away, because of the PQ (not that I disagree)...you should give it a rent for the movie itself.

[theHDphantom]

Wow. Poor PQ, huh? I watched this movie on the satellite a few days ago (in SD); great movie but the picture was really nice. I'm surprised this blu ray version isn't all that great.
You'd think it would've been better because 25GB's is still a lot. Remember Universal putting the 3 hour 8 minute King Kong movie on a 30GB HD DVD? That PQ I thought was spot-on perfect. But too bad Warner "screwed" up this release. I think I'll ultimately pass on a purchase.
Nonetheless, great review Ken.

[bepps]

I have said it before, once HD-DVD is out of the picture, and there is no competetion, BLU-RAY supporting studios will begin to serve films with mediocre quality. What happened to the 50 Gig Disc that was bragged about as a reason for superiority over HD-DVD?

The truth is, that most studios do not want you to have the best quality possible of their work in your home, to own and play as you will. They want you to have a watered down version, so that they can continue to sell you the same film over and over and over again. Where are the 4.5 and 5 rated transferes since HD-DVD left the scene? I'll tell you where they are, there somewhere being transformed into 3.5's and 4's.

This is exactly what you get when a format is decided by the masses, who have no idea what ISF even stands for, a watered down format, that is just a little better than Standard Definition when you watch it. They promised us so much more.

[taygan315]

I loved the movie. But...I dont understand how this movie got a ''worth a look'' rating with a 3 star overall rating, a 3 star for pq, and a documentary in sd?? I agree with the review...but the scores dont match Ken's comments, with all due respect to Ken. I am not trying, nor qualified, to belittle any of Ken's review. Just a bit confused.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by blu-way

Ken you're right, 25-30 GB isn't enogh for long films

I have to point out the obvious due to your inflamatory comment: edge enhancement problems have nothing to do with disc capacity. 1 TB of space isn't going to help a lousy encode.

[DrMaustus]

Bepps: The other side of the argument (and I'm saying this as an HD DVD fan) is that once Warner doesn't have to release one encode for two formats, they may start releasing their films on dual layer Blu-ray discs. I'm only guessing...and hoping. I really hope you're not right on this one.