First off, it really doesn't matter how good a film looks and sounds if it sucks! That being said, Batman Begins HD DVD delivers both the quality plot and the quality format.
I'm sure you have heard about how great this movie is, so I won't spend much time on that. It is by far the best of the Batman franchise.
Why you are probably reading this review is to find out about the HD DVD format quality--is it all it is hyped to be? If you have to go out and spend $1500 on a good HDTV and $1000 for a HD DVD player (or Blu-Ray for other titles), my answer is "no." In all other cases (you already have some of the pieces e.g. HDTV, Xbox 360 + HD DVD) then assuradely "yes!"
There are several scenes that are just jaw-dropping, including my favorite scene in Gotham near the end (no spoilers here). The quality is as good as others have hyped, both for the Title and for the format.
When I first popped it in, I was somewhat disappointed in the quality--but then I realized that my wife had changed the TV settings to her brighter preferences for video games. A couple of adjustments, and presto! Be sure to double check your settings, too--they make a huge difference.
Awesome movie, but where are all the extras we were promised???
As other reviewers have already mentioned, this is a great movie. Nolan makes not just a great superhero movie, but a great movie in general. And the HD-DVD version of the film makes it all the more better. On other resolutions I felt like the movie was almost lighted too dark, that I was somehow missing things. But in the stunning high definition I felt Gotham was a city I've been to, its details were so sharp, but without losing the darkness and moodiness the movie needs.
My only complaint with this, and the other HD titles I've purchased so far, is this..
Where are all of the fantastic extras we were promised? Part of the technology is the storage capabilities, so they should be able to just pack these discs with hours and hours of HD extras. High tech extras that have more interaction with the disc.
In some cases with the HD movies I've purchased so far, there aren't even as many extras on them as the DVD versions of the film, much less more.
I know they're trying to build this new technology and get some momentum, so why not take advantage of all the new technology has to offer and stuff these things with extras, the very types of things that DVD enthusiasts already enjoy?
Great movie and I recommend the technology to everyone, just hoping that they start making something bigger and better out of these discs than just a higher resolution and sound.
I'm not going into the whole story here, just what makes the HD-DVD version special. Needless to say, the movie is great.
First, the picture quality. There is NEVER any blockiness that you sometimes see in fast-motion HDTV broadcasts. The colors are perfect. The blacks are pure black. When not in the dark, the colors are rich and full.
The movie features lossless Dolby TrueHD. Even if you have the XBox 360 HD-DVD drive, you'll notice an improvement in sound. The sound is clearer and has more definition. It is hard to describe, but the sound is just better.
This is one movie that is a must to your HD-DVD collection. It is great demonstration of the quality of HD-DVD.
I am not going to bore people with what the plots on these 3 movies are about as I think we all have a reasonable grasp of them. What I will say about the HD-DVD boxset is that MI2 and MI3 are both spectacular examples of this high definition format. They excel in both the video and audio transfers, I think they would have been par excellence if they had of included a TrueHD audio track.
The one down point to this set is the original MI HD-DVD, the ball was dropped on this one with a sub par video transfer which at times was so out of focus that it was not funny. The audio, while not jaw dropping, was acceptable. More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 30 October 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $99.99 Your Price: $64.99YOU SAVE $35!
Buy it
"Remember, remember the fifth of November," for on this day, in 2020, the minds of the masses shall be set free. So says code-name V (Hugo Weaving), a man on a mission to shake society out of its blank complacent stares in the film V for Vendetta. His tactics, however, are a bit revolutionary, to say the least. The world in which V lives is very similar to Orwell's totalitarian dystopia in 1984: after years of various wars, England is now under "big brother" Chancellor Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt, who played Winston Smith in the movie 1984), whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After they gained power, minorities and political dissenters were rounded up and removed; artistic and unacceptable religious works were confiscated. Cameras and microphones are... More Info about this DVD Director(s): James McTeigue DVD Release Date: Released the 01 August 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $26.98 Your Price: $22.99YOU SAVE $3.99!
Buy it
If Richard Donner's 1978 feature film Superman: The Movie made us believe a man could fly, Bryan Singer's 2006 follow-up, Superman Returns, lets us remember that a superhero movie can make our spirits soar. Superman (played by newcomer Brandon Routh) comes back to Earth after a futile five-year search for his destroyed home planet of Krypton. As alter ego Clark Kent, he's eager to return to his job at the Daily Planet and to see Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth). Lois, however, has moved on: she now has a fiancé (James Marsden), a son (Tristan Leabu), and a Pulitzer Prize for her article entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." On top of this emotional curveball, his old archrival Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is plotting the biggest land grab in history.
I watched the HD version of Superman TMP today. PQ is very good for a film from this time period. It was filmed rather soft and that does not always lend itself to HD, but the colors are nice and it's an improvement over the DVD. Not a great example of HD-DVD, but a very enjoyable HD movie.li-[=]=[
More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 28 November 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $28.99 Your Price: $19.95YOU SAVE $9.04!
Buy it