My take: 28 Days Later

HD Goofnut · 11-08-2009, 09:19 AM

Title: 28 Days Later
BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc
Video: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Aspect Ratio: 1:85:1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, and Korean
Run time: 113 minutes
Studio: Fox Home Entertainment
Rating: R
Region Coding: Region A Only
Player used for review: LG BH200

Cast/Crew Info:
Cillian Murphy as Jim
Naomie Harris as Selena
Brendan Gleeson as Frank
Megan Burns as Hannah
Christopher Eccleston as Major Henry West
Directed by Danny Boyle

My take: (the breakdown)

I am not a large fan of horror movies, but I do really enjoy zombie movies and although the infected people are not really zombies in this movie they are really close enough. The story focuses on the city of London 28 days after a violent virus has been released onto the populace called Rage. When Jim wakes up in a hospital about a month after a car accident he finds most of London deserted. However, it's not long before he begins to piece together that a virus of epidemic proportions caused mass deaths and a large scale evacuation. It's also not long before he finds infected people as well as a couple survivors. This is certainly a different kind of zombie movie and I was mildly impressed by it. I say it's worth a rental, but I certainly wouldn't blindly purchase this title. Due to graphic violence and language this is not suitable for children.

The first thing I noticed about this Blu-ray transfer was how ugly it is. However, it is not a fault of the transfer, but a fault of the cheap camcorders used to shoot this British film. Colors appear rather drained and flesh tones I guess are accurate although it is tough to tell through such a murky picture. There are artifacts, unresolved blacks, and grain everywhere. Fine detail is also awash and really wasn't any better than a SD video from You Tube. I have honestly seen better looking DVDs and if the Blu-ray looks this bad I can't imagine how bad the DVD version looks. This has got to be one of the worst transfers I have ever seen on Blu-ray.

We are given 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track and while it is substantially better than the video quality it's still not that great. Dialogue tends to suffer at different times and can be extremely hard to hear. Then the action will kick up and blow you out of your seat so I found the mix to be fairly unbalanced at times. There's not much going in the surrounds other than music and just a few discrete effects like bullet ricochets and rain. At least your sub will get a lot work especially during the intense zombie oriented scenes.

We are provided with an array of supplements including four alternate endings, nine minutes of deleted scenes, and several making of features. From what I found out it's the identical supplemental package as found on the DVD version except that this Blu-ray contains an exclusive fourth alternate ending.

Movie: 6.5/10
VQ: 2/10
AQ: 7/10
Supplements: 5/10
Final word: Worth A Rental

As always thanks for reading folks.

iDarren · 11-09-2009, 05:30 AM

I've read SOME people claiming the DVD looks better than the blu ray but don't know if that is true. I wonder what it looked like in the cinema on truly big screens...

Chris Gerhard · 11-09-2009, 05:50 AM

I like this movie and I like the sequel. I don't even remember if I own this one on DVD or Blu-ray but I do recall I own the sequel on Blu-ray. This is one case where Blu-ray can't offer much of an improvement over the DVD as basically DVD exceeds the source quality. Fortunately in my opinion, the movie works despite low resolution, murky, dull colors and grainy. I don't recall a recent low budget horror film I like better than this one.

Chris

iDarren · 11-09-2009, 06:12 AM

Definitely!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Gerhard

I don't recall a recent low budget horror film I like better than this one.

Chris

cbcdesign · 11-09-2009, 07:33 AM

I think it's dreadful quite honestly. The rotten picture quality spoils the movie completely and I cannot understand what the Director was thinking of when he decided to downgrade the PQ so much. I am sure he will say it was an "Artistic" choice but frankly I think this sort of so called "art" is nothing but pretentious claptrap.

HD Goofnut · 11-09-2009, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbcdesign

I think it's dreadful quite honestly. The rotten picture quality spoils the movie completely and I cannot understand what the Director was thinking of when he decided to downgrade the PQ so much. I am sure he will say it was an "Artistic" choice but frankly I think this sort of so called "art" is nothing but pretentious claptrap.

I agree that it drug the overall experience down. Had it had top notch PQ I probably would have rated it a 7.5 instead of a 6.5 out of 10. I think it comes down to Boyle wanting to use cheaper cameras to save money.

MikeRox · 11-09-2009, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDarren

I've read SOME people claiming the DVD looks better than the blu ray but don't know if that is true. I wonder what it looked like in the cinema on truly big screens...

They're talking pap. It could just be that the inferior transfer masks some of the ugly truths in the films video presentation. But it was a £6m movie shot on SD handi-cams.

oblioman · 11-10-2009, 08:51 AM

This was a budget film from the get go, and exceeded everybody's expectations. It was shot with HL1's, basically a prosumer camera, all at 24fps. Have not seen the BD version but the dvd version rocks, in me opinion. It may be that some movies are just not meant for BD

iDarren · 11-11-2009, 12:33 AM

My understanding is it was a budget constraint.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbcdesign

I think it's dreadful quite honestly. The rotten picture quality spoils the movie completely and I cannot understand what the Director was thinking of when he decided to downgrade the PQ so much. I am sure he will say it was an "Artistic" choice but frankly I think this sort of so called "art" is nothing but pretentious claptrap.

awol · 11-12-2009, 10:01 AM

I really enjoyed this flick. It's definitely a different type of zombie that goes against what most people think of as zombies. That alone was enough to unnerve me while watching it.

But yeah, the PQ was pretty meh for a BD. If the audio mix had been better, it would be understandable to be on BD even with the poor video. But the audio isn't great. It's also pretty meh. Again, I would imagine it had something to do with the recording medium to begin with.

MikeRox · 11-14-2009, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDarren

My understanding is it was a budget constraint.

It was meant to feel like it was all shot on a handi-cam... and as if the audience is part of what is happening.

It certainly helped them keep the budget down as well though.

cbcdesign · 11-21-2009, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeRox

It was meant to feel like it was all shot on a handi-cam... and as if the audience is part of what is happening.

It certainly helped them keep the budget down as well though.

But this is one of the things that bugs me about film makers "trying" to make movies look like they were shot by an ordinary person. In most cases, the picture quality is either worse that an ordinary person could get from a decent quality camcorder, or they swing the camera around way more that an ordinary person would which also spoils the image.

Look at Cloverfield! The camera movement was so exagerated that it was totally over the top to the point that it was almost unwatchable.

If filmmakers want to make a movie look like it was filmed by an amateur on high street equipment, perhaps they should just ask one instead of using a cinematographer. For my money, professional cinematographers make a rotten job of filming something and making it look like it was done by an amateur.

11-08-2009, 09:19 AM	#1
HD Goofnut The Official HDF Reviewer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mississippi, U.S.A. Your resident Dune, Star Wars, and war film expert Age: 27 Posts: 7,357	My take: 28 Days Later Title: 28 Days Later BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc Video: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Aspect Ratio: 1:85:1 Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, and Korean Run time: 113 minutes Studio: Fox Home Entertainment Rating: R Region Coding: Region A Only Player used for review: LG BH200 Cast/Crew Info: Cillian Murphy as Jim Naomie Harris as Selena Brendan Gleeson as Frank Megan Burns as Hannah Christopher Eccleston as Major Henry West Directed by Danny Boyle My take: (the breakdown) I am not a large fan of horror movies, but I do really enjoy zombie movies and although the infected people are not really zombies in this movie they are really close enough. The story focuses on the city of London 28 days after a violent virus has been released onto the populace called Rage. When Jim wakes up in a hospital about a month after a car accident he finds most of London deserted. However, it's not long before he begins to piece together that a virus of epidemic proportions caused mass deaths and a large scale evacuation. It's also not long before he finds infected people as well as a couple survivors. This is certainly a different kind of zombie movie and I was mildly impressed by it. I say it's worth a rental, but I certainly wouldn't blindly purchase this title. Due to graphic violence and language this is not suitable for children. The first thing I noticed about this Blu-ray transfer was how ugly it is. However, it is not a fault of the transfer, but a fault of the cheap camcorders used to shoot this British film. Colors appear rather drained and flesh tones I guess are accurate although it is tough to tell through such a murky picture. There are artifacts, unresolved blacks, and grain everywhere. Fine detail is also awash and really wasn't any better than a SD video from You Tube. I have honestly seen better looking DVDs and if the Blu-ray looks this bad I can't imagine how bad the DVD version looks. This has got to be one of the worst transfers I have ever seen on Blu-ray. We are given 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track and while it is substantially better than the video quality it's still not that great. Dialogue tends to suffer at different times and can be extremely hard to hear. Then the action will kick up and blow you out of your seat so I found the mix to be fairly unbalanced at times. There's not much going in the surrounds other than music and just a few discrete effects like bullet ricochets and rain. At least your sub will get a lot work especially during the intense zombie oriented scenes. We are provided with an array of supplements including four alternate endings, nine minutes of deleted scenes, and several making of features. From what I found out it's the identical supplemental package as found on the DVD version except that this Blu-ray contains an exclusive fourth alternate ending. Movie: 6.5/10 VQ: 2/10 AQ: 7/10 Supplements: 5/10 Final word: Worth A Rental As always thanks for reading folks. __________________ Living Room Setup Sharp LC-46SB57UN 46" 120hz 1080p LCD (24fps) Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Receiver Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 System DirecTV HR21-100 HD DVR Sony 40 GB PS3 (Netflix Enabled) LG BH200 Super Blu Toshiba HD-A20 Nintendo Wii Bedroom Setup Sanyo DP46848 46" 60hz 1080p LCD DirecTV HR23-600 HD Magnavox NB500MG9 Toshiba HD-A2 My Movie Collection 309~157~DVD193 Latest Review: *Ferris Bueller's Day Off*

11-09-2009, 05:30 AM	#2
iDarren Hi-Def Junkie Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 3,030	I've read SOME people claiming the DVD looks better than the blu ray but don't know if that is true. I wonder what it looked like in the cinema on truly big screens... __________________ www.bogieonline.com www.mcqueenonline.com www.saunaandspascene.com www.projectorreviewcentral.com

11-09-2009, 07:33 AM	#5
cbcdesign High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Somerset, UK Posts: 1,332	I think it's dreadful quite honestly. The rotten picture quality spoils the movie completely and I cannot understand what the Director was thinking of when he decided to downgrade the PQ so much. I am sure he will say it was an "Artistic" choice but frankly I think this sort of so called "art" is nothing but pretentious claptrap. __________________ 65 HD DVD's Latest Buy: Backdraft & Mr Bean's Holiday 57 Blu-rays Latest Buy: Star Trek TNG Movie Collection, Rambo, Terminator Salvation, The Da Vinci Code & Angels & Demons

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11-09-2009, 05:50 AM	#3
Chris Gerhard High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 8,759	I like this movie and I like the sequel. I don't even remember if I own this one on DVD or Blu-ray but I do recall I own the sequel on Blu-ray. This is one case where Blu-ray can't offer much of an improvement over the DVD as basically DVD exceeds the source quality. Fortunately in my opinion, the movie works despite low resolution, murky, dull colors and grainy. I don't recall a recent low budget horror film I like better than this one. Chris

11-10-2009, 08:51 AM	#8
oblioman Possum Tipper at large. Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Someville TN Posts: 5,307	This was a budget film from the get go, and exceeded everybody's expectations. It was shot with HL1's, basically a prosumer camera, all at 24fps. Have not seen the BD version but the dvd version rocks, in me opinion. It may be that some movies are just not meant for BD

11-12-2009, 10:01 AM	#10
awol I'm Fabulous. Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,881	I really enjoyed this flick. It's definitely a different type of zombie that goes against what most people think of as zombies. That alone was enough to unnerve me while watching it. But yeah, the PQ was pretty meh for a BD. If the audio mix had been better, it would be understandable to be on BD even with the poor video. But the audio isn't great. It's also pretty meh. Again, I would imagine it had something to do with the recording medium to begin with.