Yesterdays UHD Double Bill.
E.T - US 4K UHD
No introduction needed for this one. 38 years ago
Mr Spielberg unleashed another monster hit upon the world. E.T gets left behind on earth and forms a bond with Elliot, who try to assist him in his efforts to contact his alien friends to come back for him.
Only vague memories of this one which I think involved a family trip to the cinema and not many dry eyes come the end.
Must be 20 years since I've seen this so i'd forgotten some minor parts of the movie. Tis a lovely family movie but its lost a lot of the magic, compared to seeing it for the first time as a young kid. It's a good movie but that's all I feel about it now. That said, it was still getting a bit emotional come the end!
How does it look. Firstly, I was kind of taken aback with how dark a lot of the movie is. Many scenes seem to rely on only limited natural light. A quick google on the UHD found lots of forum(s) discussions on how dark the 4K is compared to the BR (which I can't recall ever watching).
No matter. Straight away I knew this was going to be a knockout.
Right from the off, there's a scene right at the beginning where E.T is pulling a plant out of the ground right next to a rabbit. It's practically pitch black but you can see the plant clearly and lots of detail on the rabbits fur and face. The scene where E.T looks across and down to the town with all the lights. Wowza. The family home and all the bits and bobs lying about. When E.T opens the fridge and takes out the Potato Salad and Beer. The detail on his hands
. I can't remember now but I bet it never looked this good at the cinema on opening night.
There are numerous close up's of E.T showing lots of detail on his body and, though it may only be a man in a rubber suit, it's still pretty convincing now. God bless practical effects.
Some of the visual effects (
are a tad iffy but one can forgive that.
It's Spielberg so there's grain but it's very fine and never overwhelming (imo).
To my eyes, on my screen (55" OLED) the whole movie looks amazing. Another classic back catalog home run.
Blade Runner - US 4K UHD
Another movie that I rate as a very good but I confess that i'm not in the "one of the greatest of all time" camp.
Good old Mr Ford plays Dekard, a Blade Runner seeking out 4 replicants (AI's) who have returned to earth to track down their maker. You guys know the rest
I didn't think it could get any better after E.T but here's another 38 year old movie that looks downright amazing.
The opening shot where we see a futuristic L.A looks so crystal clear, for a second or so, the visual effects, look a little iffy. That soon passes and 99% of the VFX still look incredible.
It's always dark and seems to be raining most of the time (hell it could have been filmed in Manchester
) but the clarity is outstanding.
I'm not sure how often I will re-watch this (and E.T) but a lot of it is pure demo material so they'll both probably have a permanent stay in my collection.
As much as I only rate the movie as very good, the soundtrack by Vangelis is one of the best, ever. Just outstanding.
The music (Love Theme) when Deckard gets up and joins Rachael at the piano is arguably the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard in film