Joker 4K Blu-ray Review & Comments

Loved this film at the cinema - and bought it day one (first time in a while) but just couldn't justify the extra £10 bucks for the 4k...
I may be tempted to double dip at some point when it special guests in the zoom £10 weekend deal in about 6 months :)
 
Maybe you need to check your display of choice , or settings on your display of choice . HDR and the WCG it brings to the table is more an accurate example of what the filmmaker intended us to see. Whilst DV can be hit n miss occasionly on certain discs , this one is the dogs bollocks in PQ.
Quite frankly l don't give a dam about the way film makers intended us to see, doesn't mean l have to like it, same with black bars that film makers have on movie don't have to like them, lose 10 inches of the screen cause of those
 
Quite frankly l don't give a dam about the way film makers intended us to see, doesn't mean l have to like it, same with black bars that film makers have on movie don't have to like them, lose 10 inches of the screen cause of those

As such you have the choice of changing your display mode to something that suits your eye . You can also remove the black bars using your player or display to do so . If you do not give a damn for what the filmmaker intended you have many ways to change it to suit yourself . So not really any need to complain, is there ?
 
This is definitely one of the best looking UHDs I've ever seen. Not an easy one to watch over and over but definitely an example of a great transfer and the 1.85.1 aspect ratio makes it even better. Also the most non-digital looking digitally shot film I've seen so far.
 
Quite frankly l don't give a dam about the way film makers intended us to see, doesn't mean l have to like it, same with black bars that film makers have on movie don't have to like them, lose 10 inches of the screen cause of those

maybe just use the zoom function then ? Quite why you wouldn’t want to see a film as a director intended or in the aspect ratio they film in is a bit strange I’d say ? Had to check I wasn’t in 1998 again. You’d of course lose a fair bit of the actual film by zooming but I’m guessing you wouldn’t ‘give a damn’ about that.
 
A genuinely great cinema experience, drawn in from start to finish despite the uncomfortably bleak tone of the film. Tempted to buy the 4k from the review but not sure it's one for repeat viewing.
 
I find that HDR on movies makes the colours look dull and picture dull. it's like someone has turned a dimmer switch on a light switch, a lot of the time colours and scenes look better in SDR but resolution is better in 4k mostly
Enjoyed the movie thought it was very moving
Maybe your TV needs calibrating, or it's just not very good, sorry. I've never found that with HDR to be fair.
 
I find that HDR on movies makes the colours look dull and picture dull. it's like someone has turned a dimmer switch on a light switch, a lot of the time colours and scenes look better in SDR but resolution is better in 4k mostly
Enjoyed the movie thought it was very moving

What display are you using?
 
Little disappointed. Very predictable plot, I knew the ending before the halfway mark. A little ponderous at times and the set pieces didn't have the impact I was expecting, just knew what was about to happen. It was Jaoquin Phoenix's performance that saved it for me, absolutely outstanding and worthy of the Oscar. I can only give it a 6/10 at a push.

PQ wise it was excellent and sound track very immersive, especially the train scenes. I don't know whether this disc is keeper though.
 
I find that HDR on movies makes the colours look dull and picture dull. it's like someone has turned a dimmer switch on a light switch, a lot of the time colours and scenes look better in SDR but resolution is better in 4k mostly
Enjoyed the movie thought it was very moving
While there are a few films where HDR makes the overall picture a little darker, it's still not enough to make it worse than SDR. As the others have said, you need to look at your TV settings or the TV itself.
 
I find that HDR on movies makes the colours look dull and picture dull. it's like someone has turned a dimmer switch on a light switch, a lot of the time colours and scenes look better in SDR but resolution is better in 4k mostly

The only time I've seen HDR content looking like you describe is on my PC monitor which is not HDR ready.

Hopefully just a settings issue but could be your display is not very bright and is more HDR compatible rather than being able to give you the full(er) HDR experience?

A previous HDR TV of mine could only reach around 420 nits in it's most accurate HDR mode, it was rubbish for HDR content and often looked unnatural in certain scenes - can't say it ever look duller than SDR though but have seen worse on other folks HDR displays. The calibrated SDR on it was excellent but ultimately it had to go.
 
The fridge scene! 😯
 
I'm sorry but the praise that this film is getting is just ridiculous

it’s because it’s different. Very dark and Phoenix performance is very good, but I can’t say I’ll be watching it many more times than once or twice.

still, found it a lot better than once upon a time in Hollywood.
 
The scissors kill!😁👍
 
I'm sorry but the praise that this film is getting is just ridiculous
Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Joker is amazing, well deserving of his oscar. Like someone else said, it's a dark, uncompromising story of how Joker came to be!👍
 
it’s because it’s different. Very dark and Phoenix performance is very good, but I can’t say I’ll be watching it many more times than once or twice.

still, found it a lot better than once upon a time in Hollywood.

But how different is it really to, say, Falling Down, King of Comedy, Taxi Driver etc? How does it use it's inspiration from these films to express something new? How does it push the conventions of cinema?

It's a dark comic book adaptation? So was The Crow, Wanted and the Blade films!

Not trying to start an argument, I am just curious as to how this film has captured people's imagination.
 
But how different is it really to, say, Falling Down, King of Comedy, Taxi Driver etc? How does it use it's inspiration from these films to express something new? How does it push the conventions of cinema?

It's a dark comic book adaptation? So was The Crow, Wanted and the Blade films!

Not trying to start an argument, I am just curious as to how this film has captured people's imagination.

I don’t disagree, when I say different, I mean for a comic book film.
 
Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Joker is amazing, well deserving of his oscar. Like someone else said, it's a dark, uncompromising story of how Joker came to be!👍

I agree that Phoenix put in a very good performance, as he usually does. But as an origin story, do you not think it hits familiar and predictable beats in order to show us the descent of a man in a society that's not been very good to him?
 
I don’t disagree, when I say different, I mean for a comic book film.

I suppose in comparison to the recent comic book adaptations that have come out, it's different, sure. And as said, I Phoenix was great. I just fear that we are all becoming content with average work that's all.
 
But how different is it really to, say, Falling Down, King of Comedy, Taxi Driver etc? How does it use it's inspiration from these films to express something new? How does it push the conventions of cinema?
It's not necessarily different or totally new but then it doesn't claim to be.
It's a dark comic book adaptation? So was The Crow, Wanted and the Blade films!

Not trying to start an argument, I am just curious as to how this film has captured people's imagination.

That's kind of like asking why Parasite has captured people imagination. Same reasons. Interesting story told in an entertaining way. Entertaining may not be the right word but no matter how important and issue is, if the film doesn't engage then it doesn't work. If enough people find the story engaging then the issues it covers get discussed which then feeds into more people wanting to see it. Of course it didn't hurt that so many people were against the film before they even saw it.

Both Parasite and Joker will do more for discussing class and mental issues respectively than any number of talking suits.
 
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It's not necessarily different or totally new but then it doesn't claim to be.

It may not claim to be but many of it's devotees do. Seriously, i've heard people calling this film a 'game changer'.

That's kind of like asking why Parasite has captured people imagination. Same reasons. Interesting story told in an entertaining way.

I haven't seen Parasite yet so I can't comment on that comparison. But to respond to your point about interesting stories being told in an entertaining way, I swear by that myself and think it's important so we can agree on that. But.

Here is my perhaps my biggest issue - The Joker may be an entertaining antagonist in the Batman lore, but he does not make for an interesting story simply because by attempting to humanise him, you immediately remove what it is that makes the character so appealing in the first place! Was it not simply fun and engaging to infer the way in which, say, Ledger's Joker came to be? Was it not more satisfying to revel in seeing a character with no capacity for logical thinking and a freedom that does not burden him with fear or remorse?

There are very subtle hints here and there from The Dark Knight as to what caused Ledger's Joker to be the way he was. I inferred that he was actually an Iraq vet who had been discharged due to war severe PTSD and his increasingly eccentric behaviour. He was maybe a prisoner of war too something hence his ability to organise ambushes and fighting prowess.

Now, you see how I got all of that through visual storytelling rather than being spoon-fed? And how much more engaging that is? This is exactly what Joker does NOT do. The film basically shows and tells you every step of the way that this guy is going nuts because we live in a shite society and its basically a serious of juxtapositions of that. Rough upbringing? Check, dodgy mum? Check. Shit job? Check. Shittier 'mates'? Check. Object of affection who aren't interested in him? Check!

Now, if this film had told these sequences of events in a creative and exciting way like how Mendes and Deakins told a WW1 story, then i'd definitely be giving the film more slack, but it really doesn't. The framing is rudimentary, the lighting nice but in no way does it stand out. It's not daring enough to be 'dangerous' in the way that Lars Von Trier and Gasper Noe are, and it adds nothing to the mental illness argument other than suggestions that socio-political situations are the root cause of them.

Phoenix was great, but i'm sorry to say that the film was basic as can be.
 

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