'Talladega Nights' -- High-Def Digest review

[PeterB]

Checked out 'Talladega Nights' tonight:

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/talladeganights.html

I'm bummed, though. I really wanted to give this one high marks, but I don't know what is up with the transfer. It is totally flat and darkened, as if the contrast settings are all wrong. Otherwise, it is a solid disc, though some won't like the jokey extras, which are total parody all the way through. Can't realy give this one a thumbs up, though maybe it is just my eyes...

[Tejstar]

"It is certainly no fault of the technology, but rather an aesthetic decision made somewhere along the line that makes 'Talladega Nights' just about the flattest transfer I've yet seen on either next-gen format."

Oh dear! And Sony chose to bundle this with PS3's, as a showcase of BD technology. Sounds a definite one to avoid, a big shame imo.

[spf781]

That is one thing that really bothered me about the film when I saw it in the theater: how ugly it looked. A lot of it did look like workprint quality, namely the racetrack scenes.

[Kenshiro]

Ricky Bobby is going to be all over ebay.

[Tejstar]

Originally Posted by spf781

That is one thing that really bothered me about the film when I saw it in the theater: how ugly it looked. A lot of it did look like workprint quality, namely the racetrack scenes.

So maybe the master wasn't great to begin with?

[dkny75]

I'm a little bummed to hear about the video transfer but I don't remember the theatrical version being the same way. I thought it looked fine when I saw it in the theater. Besides it doesn't make any sense that the deleted scenes have a better look to them than the actual movie.

[J.Nomak]

I was telling a co-worker today about this dilemma - Sony bundling a film with such a poor transfer with the ps3 as their 'showcase' sampler. She laughed and said that's why it's the title included. They realized 'Hey, we have all these copies of a poorly mastered film. What do we do?......I know, we'll give 'em away with the ps3! Problem solved!'

[MovieMinded]

I wonder how Sony is going to explain this misstep, they have no one to blame but themselves since Talladega Nights was a completely in house effort by them. They can't place the blame on it screwing up Blu-Ray's reputation on anyone else but themselves.

It's funny how people are saying "It's clear why King Kong was bundled by the Xbox 360 HD-DVD attachment" along with everyone also wondering why Sony would bundle Talladega Nights as their "showcase" to draw people to start spending $40 on Blu-Ray movies. It seems like "Why?" has been the question with Sony and Blu-Ray for awhile now. Alot of what they have done just hasn't made sense and this continues that trend.

And PS3 bundle issue aside if you're charging $40 for a disc it better be of great quality, especially a blockbuster like Taladega Nights. It will be interesting to see if the standard DVD has the same issues as the Blu-Ray version. If it is truely a transfer issue than the standard DVD should have the same issue.

I saw Talladega Nights in theaters and thought it looked fine, it was never mind blowing in quality but it was what you would expect from a film that cost $80 million to produce. The race car scenes alone should have been a showcase for what Blu-Ray can do.

[illegalprelude]

all i gotta say is. "The room's startin' to spin... 'cause of the gayness... "

[Tejstar]

Originally Posted by MovieMinded

It's funny how people are saying "It's clear why King Kong was bundled by the Xbox 360 HD-DVD attachment" along with everyone also wondering why Sony would bundle Talladega Nights as their "showcase" to draw people to start spending $40 on Blu-Ray movies.

Well, MS putting KK (one of the best representations of pq around on HD-DVD) was a good decision, although you wonder whether they needed to, given that everyone who bought an add-on was buying into the format anyway.

However, Sony who needed to convince people of the format bundle Tallegda? I wonder who makes these decisions?

[dkny75]

Actually I just thought of this: Does anyone have a review of the BD25 version that comes with the PS3? I mean it could have a different transfer. It's probably not the case but has anyone seen both to confirm this?

[Pat H]

I'm not saying it will definitely make a major impact, but I think Sony made a severe mistake bundling this movie with the PS3. It won't be an issue for people who are already into Blu Ray, but people who may not know much about the format will certainly not buy more Blu Ray titles if they perceive it as simply being an overpriced DVD. So in my opinion, they just drastically reduced their chances for a major jump in Blu ray sales coinciding with the PS3 launch.

[Tejstar]

Originally Posted by dkny75

Actually I just thought of this: Does anyone have a review of the BD25 version that comes with the PS3? I mean it could have a different transfer. It's probably not the case but has anyone seen both to confirm this?

So you believe two different SKU's may exist? I just can't see this being the case.

[FourToedStatue]

Originally Posted by Tejstar

So you believe two different SKU's may exist? I just can't see this being the case.

The PS3 version has no extras. It may be so.

[Tejstar]

Originally Posted by JackBauer24

The PS3 version has no extras. It may be so.

I wonder why Sony did this, surely in terms of cost, it wouldn't make too much difference?