Patton (1970)

As great as the original!

Wow! They really did an awesome job of creating the blu-ray version of this movie. I really like this classic and the blu-ray movie is a must for any Patton fan. The audio and video are excellent. I could not be happier with this blu-ray version. Well worth the money if you really enjoy this movie. October 7, 2008

patton

a very good war film one of the best. I purchased this film after patton 2 disc and found out that it is not 2.35 aspect ratio but 2.20. After I purchased this version 2.35 aspect ratio to find out that the 2 disc is the letterbox original version that is the 2.20 widscreen. October 5, 2008

great movie, AWFUL picture quality

I have to agree with the very few that have called Fox on its despicable job with the picture quality on Patton.

I give the film four stars (in case you were thinking i'm just being mean and unhelpful) and the Blu-ray one. In case you didn't red those others (and there should be MANY more critical reviews of this movie's quality), here it is in a nutshell.

You've been duped.

Oh no it isn't great picture quality. The remaster is AWFUL.

Have you heard of DNR, or Digital Noise Reduction? Film has grain. 70mm film has less noticeable grain due to its large negative size. The thing is, picture detail cannot be separated from the grain and the chemical reaction when the film is exposed.

Because people want to see things looking 'clear' and 'high-def' like HD video and digitally originated cg/3d movies, the studios are 'scrubbing' the pictures electronically to get rid of the grain. They also use a technique called 'edge enhancement' to artificially sharpen the picture by increasing areas of high contrast like edges. So what you get is a halo effect around the edges, and/or LOSS of fine details because when you erase the grain, you erase the high-frequency detail. Detail on chemical film is inseparable. Look at Karl Malden - where are the pores of his skin? HD, and certainly the original 70mm film, is capable of showing this. Now go and look at Patton again. Just atrocious. You've been robbed and don't even know it. Compare it to another 'war' movie, Blackhawk down. THAT's detail and picture quality. Yes Patton is older, but it was shot on 70mm and there should be plenty of detail so you can actually compare the two differently aged films.

Look at Jennifer Connelly's face in Hulk where you can see pores and fine hair, peachfuzz and so on. Then look at something like the Dark City BD, where it's been erased (even though she's younger there!). In Sweeney Todd, the worst thing is they only applied the DNR around the nose and cheeks/under the eyes. See how 'blurred' it looks! They didn't even put grain back over the top to match the rest of the picture - and the most ridiculous thing of all is that in Sweeney Todd Depp and Carter are SUPPOSED to look drawn and tired and lined! It's just ludicrous! And they DON'T do it to other characters! Look at Depp's face in the Pirates movies. THAT'S what you should be seeing, colour grading and tone aside.

I won't even start on how many filmmakers use coarser grain to make the tone/film literally more 'gritty'. On purpose.

DNR is the devil, to be melodramatic about it. I'm not buying Patton on BD until they 'fess up and 'unfix' the thing. HD and Blu-ray are supposed to let you see a film as ACCURATELY to the original as possible. Not this rubbish. October 1, 2008

Amazing Blu-ray

The Patton Blu-Ray release is a fantastic remastering. By far one of the best picture quality Blu-Ray releases I've come across to date. Its a wonderful movie with awesome picture quality. September 20, 2008

Fantastic remastering

I personally love this movie. My first purchase of this movie was in Betamax and I still love it. I was amazed at the difference in quality with the Blu-ray version. The colors and detail are fantastic. The sound is better, but not as good as you will get from a new action movie. I am very pleased to have this new release and strongly recommend it to any lovers of the movie. September 19, 2008

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