[crobo]

Watched Miami Vice on HD-DVD last night and the PQ was good but didn't seem stellar. Part of this is probably down to technique with Mann apparently going for more realistic, grainy types of shots. But I was not as impressed as I have been with other HD-DVDs. Music was very good though (and slightly to my surprise, after mixed reviews, I did like it). Anyone else care to comment on this HD-DVD?

[Mr.D]

Watched this on a barco DP100 (2k theater grade projector) a few weeks ago and its a stunning transfer. The fact you can notice all the hallmarks of the digital photography says it all. Excellent film as well.

[Uruloke]

I too don't like the overly grainy look of this film. I think it's a great cop thriller, and some scenes - most notably the light ones - look fantastic; dark shots however look very grainy, making it hard to imagine it looking much better than the standard DVD really.

There's some natural film grain in the HD transfer of The Departed if you look for it, but only if you actually look for it. In Miami Vice the grain pretty much slaps you in the face...

[Mr.D]

Originally Posted by Uruloke

In Miami Vice the grain pretty much slaps you in the face...

The "noise" is an inherent part of the original photography. The thing people miss is that you would not get the night scenes to look that way if you used a film camera. There would be zero detail in the blacks. The night scenes in miami vice are really rather special. Mann is probably the only director actually trying to use the digital capture formats on their own terms rather than as a cheap alternative to film.

The HD-DVD master is outstanding and captures all the nuances of the digital photography. If you think it looks little better than an SD master you really need to challenge your own ideas about image aesthetics.

[crobo]

I agree with the comments on unusual filming style and this is one of the things I liked about it; it's just that bright scenes usually look pin-sharp and more 3-D in high-def but some objects didn't in this one. Very stylish film though.

[featherhall]

As above, the PQ suffers due to the way the film is intended to look.

I was not at all impressed, and the film had me even less impressed. A poor buy for me

[Nic Rhodes]

A good quality disc.

[the_pauley]

A great movie and a great quality transfer. If the grain is inherent in the original master then the HD DVD is accurately reproducing what is there. Besides, it adds a texture and a gritty feel to the movie.

Nice to see a high profile Hollywood production aimed at an adult sensibility - all too rare these days. Just watched the unrated HD DVD cut after having seen the shorter SD cut twice. Couldn't see anything in there that would have troubled the MPAA's 'R' category.

[Mr.D]

Originally Posted by the_pauley

Couldn't see anything in there that would have troubled the MPAA's 'R' category.

Probably more to do with the recut not being submitted for approval to the MPAA rather than there being anything "unratable" per se.

[the_pauley]

Ah!

[hottstuff]

Mann’s decision to shoot everything on HD again, primarily using the Viper camera system that he used on COLLATERAL , was fantastic IMO.
During the scenes at the club and on the rooftop and in a few parking lots, there’s a definite grain to the image, and for some people, that won’t look like a “movie.”
Personally, I think Dion Beebe deserves an Oscar nomination for his cinematography. I think it’s brave, visually extreme in even the quiet moments. There’s an immediacy to the way Mann uses his camera, putting you right in the middle of things, and it’s a perfect match for the way his script works. Even better, once the film breaks free of the nighttime and Mann plunges you into the brilliant Miami daytime, all that grain disappears, and suddenly, this is a film of stunning color and brightness. It’s beautiful. Mann’s showing off the full range of what that Viper camera can do, and this doesn’t look a thing like SUPERMAN RETURNS, shot on the Genesis camera. That has a sort of candy-colored artifical feeling that the Viper doesn’t. This camera, especially in bright light, seems to be capturing the world as it really is.

[jon smith]

Miami Vice may just be my fave transfer across all the HD-DVDs and BluRay discs i've seen. Absolutely stunning.

I've watched both versions, but went for the UK version as I prefer the theatrical cut.

[Bald Monkey]

I admired the PQ in Miami Vice also, I'm not a massive fan of the noise/grain although I could definately see the quality of the film. The difference between the two cameras, Viper and Genesis, is interesting... I had seen both and although I've not thought about how they compared, after reading 'hotstuffs' comments I've got to agree, there is a real difference, and would say I prefered the genesis (Miami Vice)....... Cheers for the input guys

Any other Genesis / viper noteworthy HD-DVD's out there?

[the_pauley]

I've got to agree, there is a real difference, and would say I prefered the genesis (Miami Vice)...

Wasn't Miami Vice shot on the Viper?

[Mr.D]

Genesis used on MV I believe.

[hottstuff]

Most of Miami Vice was shot with the Thomson Viper Filmstream Camera, and the remainder was shot on Super 35mm film.

[Mr.D]

Originally Posted by hottstuff

Most of Miami Vice was shot with the Thomson Viper Filmstream Camera, and the remainder was shot on Super 35mm film.

Ah yes my mistake it was indeed mainly the viper.

[Chris Bellamy]

Originally Posted by hottstuff

Mann’s showing off the full range of what that Viper camera can do, and this doesn’t look a thing like SUPERMAN RETURNS, shot on the Genesis camera. That has a sort of candy-colored artifical feeling that the Viper doesn’t. This camera, especially in bright light, seems to be capturing the world as it really is.

I'm not sure the difference is wholly due to the cameras - Sigel expressly sought a painterly, illustrative quality in Superman Returns, through production design and lighting, and also bent the colour scheme in grading to create a more pastel, less photo-realistic look. The idea was for the visuals to pay homage to comic books of the 1940's - warm colour palette, soft glows, etc. Many on various AV forums dont seem to like that look, but that's what the creators wanted. In fact, Sigel and Singer originally wanted to shoot on 65mm and ran tests that convinced them it blew away 35mm. They backed off in the end when they realised it would probably never actually be projected in 70mm as there's so few around.

I agree with what you say about Miami Vice - great film.

[bosque]

As there was a lot of disagreement (though not on this thread) about how Mann's use of digital cameras affected the picture quality of Miami Vice, I was interested to see this on-line review of the film from the French mag cahiers du cinema; typically French, it's not an easy read but I like the description of how the colours and lighting change during a single scene when filming with a digital camera:

"The garish heterogeneity of the visual style does not signal any regression in relation to Collateral, but a deepening of the specificities of HD, of which Mann makes a crude and systematic use here. The incessant changes in texture and dominant color, for example, result from high responsiveness of digital to variations in natural light. In the same shot, a slight movement by Burnett suffices for his face to go from gray to yellow, his hands from yellow to red. There is a shot, reverse-shot between Burnett and Tubbs just before the final shoot-out: the one mostly in blue, the other in orange. Mann could have unified the image of his film: either by re-creation, during the shoot, with a homogeneous, artificial light, or by subduing the variations in post-production calibration. If he didn’t do it, it is because Miami Vice wants to expose the regime of high definition. A regime whose temporality, too rapid, is not that of decisions, but of reaction. Aesthetic consequence: the filmmaker does not determine the light, the camera simply reacts. Narrative consequence: the characters only acting by reaction, the sequences follow too quickly, by permanent spatio-temporal short circuits. Visual heterogeneity and narrative confusion are two indissociable effects of Mann’s wager to fully play the game of HD."

By the way, you'd have a hard time working out from the full review whether the critic actually liked the movie

[Greg]

Did that reviewer have a dictionary next to him?

garish heterogeneity of the visual style my ass.

[abraxus]

With all the effort spent on visual style, picture quality and the overall appearance of this film it's just such a shame that as much effort wasn't put into the plot, characters and storyline.

As a big fan of Miami Vice and Michael Mann I found myself disappointed with the overall experience.

*******Spoiler Alert*********

Crocket was an annoying character on many levels, although that may have been down to Colin Farrell who I thought was poor for the role. The relationship with the girl was contrived and unrealistic from it's inception through to the predictable way in which it concluded.

Jamie Foxx as Tubbs was ok I guess, but it was criminal to reduce the character of Castillo (whose dark, enigmatic and dry presence was key to the series) to standard tv movie police captain.

I also found it annoying that the ending seem to be hastily cobbled together in a final shootout (albeit an impressive one), with no reference to the FBI insider referred to earlier.

Overall the drug dealer, undercover cops, final shootout story was no different to any number of tv movies or cop series episodes.

The interest in the film lay purely in it's visual style and how it looked as a whole. Granted I accept that a lot of effort went into this, but for me it was largely a wasted effort as the core had no substance and no matter how hard you try you can't polish a turd.

[Donnacha]

Nice transfer and a good film. Not his best but still enjoyable and very re-watchable for me.

For me Mann has always been about style (just as much as substance) and this film was no different, in fact it probably had more style than substance!

[HugoFJH]

I seem to recall after watching it a few days ago that the sq and pq where better than a sd dvd but didnt completely blow me away either but the film was so dreadful I would try and avoid watching it again

SPOILER ALERT

As stated abive Crockett charachter was badly played/written and implausible with the relationship

Tubbs was much more reliable but the way he left his partner to be nearly blown up in the trailer after being rescued was complete BS

I also thought that it could have actually been set anywhere in the world - there wasnt that much that gave the feeling of Miami - the series gave much more of a feeling in this regard

The 80's music was awful also

[Peopleselbowpad]

I wonder if someone can help me. Does the UK Miami Vice HD DVD contain the Unrated Cut?

Thanks in advance.

[owenfarmer]

UK version and US versions are different, get the 'Unrated version' at the Hd classifieds for around£7. I'm waiting for the Blu-ray release, as i thought the film was excellent.

Owen

[goodtimes]

I really wanted to love this movie ,heat and colateral were amazing.
M.V althought shot in typical Mann style is to me a lollypop movie.
sweet as visually ,but no substace and a simplistic story line which seemed to lack any underlying ommh.
If the charactors had more depth I would get the BD but I cant spend the dosh on this when there are better movies to spend my money on.

[Geoff_D]

I would dump the US HD DVD and get the Blu-ray for the lossless audio, but as the Combo version has both cuts of the film it's a keeper.

[Smurfin]

Originally Posted by Geoff_D

I would dump the US HD DVD and get the Blu-ray for the lossless audio, but as the Combo version has both cuts of the film it's a keeper.

But can you really tell the difference between lossless and high bitrate DD+?

[bosque]

He's just bought a digital hearing-aid

[owenfarmer]

If you were to tell me Transformers audio was lossless i would have believed you! excellent. I will say that i could definately tell the difference from 'Core' DTS with my Blu-ray copy of Die Hard 4 when able to listen to DTS Master Audio through my PS3 update.