Blu-ray.com Reviews Dawn Treader, Includes Aspect Ratio Comparison
Fox has has a lot to live up to this Easter. The Blu-ray releases of the first two Narnia films both received perfect scores for video and audio quality. Now, Blu-ray.com has posted their review of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Blu-ray. In the reviewer’s opinion, VDT “looks cheaper than its lavish predecessors, which were shot on film rather than digital.”
The film was released theatrically with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, but it will be presented in 1.78:1 for this release. Some feared this meant Fox would chop off parts of the frame, but it appears they have done the opposite. Fox has expanded the top and bottom, so now fans will be able to see more than they did in theaters. View the comparison below:
I’m not sure what’s up with the difference in color. Either way, the same master used for the Blu-ray will be used for the DVD. It has nothing to do with the Blu-ray format.
Here is how Blu-ray.com rated the Dawn Treader Blu-ray…
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Read the full review here (includes 19 high-def screencaps)
That's awesome! Wish I had Blu-ray though…
Ohhhh, so that's what happened to all the crucial plot details and character development – it was hiding behind those black borders all along! 😉
Third Comment! In case some of you didn't see my poll earlier, I want to post it again.
What does Polly Plummer look like to you? List hair, eyes, ect…
Thanks!
To me she has brown hair, blue eyes, and she is not too short, but not too tall. 😀
Oops, I meant HAZEL eyes! 😉
We just got a Blu-ray recently, but I'm looking at these pictures and I think I like the original one better… but that's ok.
I imagined her w/ brown hair and bangs that go straight across the forehead. And she's pretty, but not, like, drop dead-gorgeous. And she had either light brown eyes, or hazel: like Christ's girl said (love the name 🙂 )!!
Aww, awesome. Wish i had blu-ray, simply for the sake of watching Narnia…
Click on my name to see what I think she looks like. 😉 Like a certain famous singer…
Thats nice that the blu-ray shows more, but the color quality is different and is rather flat (it has low tonal values). I don't like it when movies are changed from how they were in theaters. This is why I HATE blu-ray and refuse to convert from DVD!
You can adjust color on your TV.
The trailer screen cap definitely has truer blacks, witch gives it a much more rich feel, but I think that may be due to whatever they used for the second screen cap, that diluted the blacks. just a thought.
It will look exactly the same on DVD, except worse. A Blu-ray release of a film will ALWAYS look more like what you saw in theaters than a DVD will.
And it may be a screen-capturing issue.
thats blu ray? it looks terrible. just look at the difference. the original is so rich in color and looks pure and realistic. the blu ray one looks….well, blue! it has a blue tint to it. whats up with that? who cares about the extra inch of screen on the top and bottom?
Eustace Scrubb, reformed brat. LOL!!!
It is probably a screen capturing issue.
As Blu-ray.com's website says, their screen caps are not representative of the quality Blu-ray offers. You can't capture that in a screenshot.
Thanks! 🙂
Very nice.
No, it's not a screen capturing issue. The reviewer on Blu-Ray.com mentions that the finished film has a more natural colour-palette than its trailer:
"Color is also largely well represented, although you may notice that the screenshot from the trailer has vibrant, stylized colors, while it appears that the filmmakers decided to go for a more natural palette for the finished product."
It was the same in theaters. I remember watching the international trailer and how rich and vibrant the close-up of dragon-Eustace's eye looked. In theaters, the close-up was still rich and vibrant, but the overal shot was a lot lighter.
Now, it has nothing to do with the quality of Blu-Ray (narnian resident). It is just the way the filmmakers decided to display the movie. If you really like the look of the colours in the trailer, you can always adjust the settings on your TV and watch the movie then 🙂
How to Train Your Dragon had the same thing: the Blu-Ray disc was higher in contrast than the movie was in theaters.
I was wodering….
Do they notify Narnia web with a casting call?
Thanks!
🙂
Not necessarily! This isn't the first time I've seen a color/lighting difference in blu-ray compared to DVD and the theatrical release. I've also seen the film sped up more than once. Besides, there's something about the movement in blu-ray that's too real, and it bothers my eyes after a while.
I've been comparing trailer screenshots to Blu-Ray screenshots myself, and I can say that there are definitely parts of the movie where the left and right sides have been cropped. So be aware that even though there is picture gained, there is also picture lost – even if it's not in every shot, as the blu-ray.com screenshots show.
Just Queen, not High Queen: You do realize this can work the other way around as well, right? And frequently does? As a rule of thumb, a movie will generally look better on Blu-Ray than on DVD. It's not even a matter of opinion, it's simple mathemathics. If you've come across the odd BD release that looks worse than the DVD, then that is not a BD that's representative of what the format has to offer. As with all technology, it's all in how it is used… If the people doing the authoring don't know what they're doing, then obviously it'll look bad no matter how awesome the format is. But the same can be said of DVD and any other format you can think of. And believe me, I've seen more than my share of DVD's that had utterly horrible picture quality .
Cheapskates at Fox! The Blu-ray colors compared to the theatrical trailer's are so dull!!!! No wonder it looked cheap on Blu-ray!!!!
Anybody know?
This is correct. The final color grading is done long after the trailers are released. Not surprising that there would be discrepancies between the two. I actually want to see the Blu Ray release, just because I was denied Dante Spinotti's intended vision, being forced to see it with the atrocious 3D conversion.
Wow…so many things wrong this post. Full of fail.
You just made my day 🙂
i think the more vibrant coloring is more aproppriate for a fantasy film like this- same with the posters
Are they rating the movie, or the Blu-ray conversion?
Seems like not many people read the note at the bottom: "Either way, the same master used for the Blu-ray will be used for the DVD. It has nothing to do with the Blu-ray format."
I think that's just a poor picture example…
in my imagenation,polly has golden or blond hair(straight or a bit wavy),blue eyes,a bit shorter than digory,smooth pink cheeks…:)
i think they do!
i mean,they showed us casting call informations b4:)
ex.PC,VDT…
Thanks, Lucia(love the name :))! I'll look around to about the time of when they green lit VDT and see if it has a casting call.
Wow in those pictures the color in the trailer looks way better.
We have to Blue-ray and the DVD and though I have only seen it in Blue-ray I think the Blue-ray is sweet! That picture above does not do it justice….
Having no black borders is great, but the color of the blu- ray pic is not as bright as the first pic
Yes, I think she would be blonde with blue eyes, but i think she would be a little taller and older than digory
Just Queen, not High Queen is right. Something about blu-ray looks too real, and the movements don't look quite natural, making cgi and animated stuff just not look as good as they do on a normal dvd