Warner Bros. HD discs: Blu-ray Vs. HD-DVD: Round 2

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Warner Bros. strikes again on Blu-Ray with their second wave of releases, which hit store shelves on September 12th, roughly six weeks after their first wave of Blu-Ray releases caused a fervor of interest in both the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD camps. The first wave's focal point was whether or not the MPEG-2 transfers of the Blu-Ray releases could equal the VC-1 compressed HD-DVD titles. Before the WB released their titles, there were no direct A-B comparisons for the fledgling formats. Regardless, HD-DVD was considered to have better overall picture quality and the first wave would help cement this argument in stone or show that Blu-Ray was being improperly maligned. The verdict came swift and universal. The Warner Bros. Blu-Ray titles were not bad, but they were clearly behind HD-DVD.

One would have expected the second wave of releases to not carry nearly as much interest as the first wave, but Warner Bros. has done something that has made their second four titles just as curious as the first four titles. The studio has released three of the four Blu-Ray titles utilizing Microsoft's VC-1 compression technology. So now the big question has become a question of how does Blu-Ray compare to the competing HD-DVD when both formats are on equal ground with VC-1 compression and Blu-Ray is no longer saddled by the older technology of MPEG-2. As could be expected, many forums and discussion groups dived into the second wave quickly and re-evaluated the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray situation. So how does "Lethal Weapon," "Blazing Saddles," "Firewall," and "Full Metal Jacket" compare?

Second Glance: Pricing Points and Combo Discs

In my first article on Warner's Blu-Ray releases, I looked at the menus and the "pretty blue cases." The menu system is essentially the same and the cases are still a pretty blue color. There is still another difference between the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD releases by Warner Bros. and that is the pricing points. In the first wave, the HD-DVD titles were more expensive. The three films that existed on both formats were ten dollars more expensive for the HD-DVD release. There is a reason for this, though I am not sure it is necessarily a good reason. HD-DVD has the ability to release "Combo" discs that can be played on either a DVD player or an HD-DVD machine. This pushes the price from $28.99 to $39.99. If your only interest is in the high definition release, then Blu-Ray becomes a much more attractive option for your wallet. If there is some value in having a combination disc, then the HD-DVD is more expensive, but you have the ability to have some ‘backward compatibility' with your older DVD player. I am not sold on charging a premium for this backwards compatibility and have strayed a little bit away from purchasing some HD-DVD content because of the added cost. On the flip side of the coin, I've had family borrow my HD-DVD combination discs to play the standard definition side. The second wave finds only "Firewall" having an HD-DVD/DVD combo equivalent.

Second Sound: Audio Differences

Aside from "Firewall" being a combination release and the fact that "Full Metal Jacket" is an MPEG-2 transfer on Blu-Ray and a VC-1 transfer on HD-DVD, what exactly are the differences between the formats? This time around, the difference is in the audio tracks. The Blu-Ray releases are mastered with English Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes. The HD-DVD releases use the more advanced English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 algorithms. Considering the nature of the releases, none of these four titles could be considered sonic assaults on one's aural canals. The HD-DVD does benefit from the more space-hungry Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack, but the material of the films used for this second wave don't necessarily benefit from the enhanced audio capability. To sum things up quickly, HD-DVD has better technology on these releases, but the films used don't need or allow for an enhanced soundscape and when you listen to both discs, the differences are so minor that it really does not matter. I will give HD-DVD a very slight advantage, but it could be more hardware related than a difference between Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus. In a world where Dolby TrueHD sound and Uncompressed PCM are the music my ears demand, using these lesser formats is a detriment to both competing next-generation home video formats.

Diving Into the Catalog

I'll be the first to admit that I was not at all excited about the quality of the titles in the first wave of releases. "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" ended up being a nice surprise. I had no interest in the film, but after watching it, I found I liked it a good bit. "Rumor Has It..." had the great Kevin Costner, but I would have much rather watched "The Postman." I like the film "Training Day," but was satisfied having the standard definition DVD (Now I have all three formats, go figure). "Good Night and Good Luck" was the only release I would have rushed out to purchase. Where the other three titles would have gotten a "Meh" response, that title stood out as something I had wanted to see, but oddly had never gotten around to purchasing on DVD.

The second wave of releases are mostly catalog titles. However, the three catalog titles are much more popular films and far more accessible to the masses. "Lethal Weapon" is a classic. Regardless of his drunken antics, I love Mel Gibson movies and will continue to do so. "Blazing Saddles" is by far one of the greatest comedies ever filmed. It is not very politically correct in today's world, but damn is it funny. "Full Metal Jacket" is a film loved by many and aside from "Apocalypse Now," one of the better films about the Vietnam Conflict. "Firewall" is not something picked from the back catalog. It is a recent film, but it continues the apparent attempt by Warner Bros. to release their Combination titles to Blu-Ray. I'm sure "16 Blocks" is just around the corner. Though the films are, on the average, older in this second wave, they are of a higher quality of entertainment and certainly more familiar to the general public. Warner Bros. is offering much more diversity in their second batch of offerings and they should see more financial success with these titles.

Blazing Saddles

Mel Brooks is a comedy genius and "Blazing Saddles" is arguably his greatest picture. It is among my favorites of his creations and I quickly purchased a copy when it was released on HD-DVD. Had the tables been turned and this film debuted on Blu-Ray first, I would have most certainly purchased this just as quickly. I've owned the movie on LaserDisc and DVD. My collection now claims the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray releases as well. The LaserDisc is gone, but I'm not giving up any of the other three anytime soon. This is the only problem with catalog releases â€" so many people already own the film. Had the Blu-Ray not arrived at my door for review, I would never had purchased a second high definition disc of the film. I skipped out on the Anniversary release of the DVD and not owning that was a large reason to purchase the HD-DVD, which upon viewing it amazed me and gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling for double dipping after already owning it on DVD.

"Blazing Saddles" is a film that could not have been done today. I'm sure there would be an outrage of the constant use of the infamous "N-Word." Even little old ladies let that insult fly. The film is intended to poke fun at racism, but in today's world, I'm sure there are many who would call it racist. Cleavon Little is absolutely wonderful as Sheriff Bart. Gene Wilder puts down the lollipop and picks up a bottle of whiskey and a pistol in his side-splitting performance as The Waco Kid. Mel Brooks is the film's villainous mastermind and just as comedic as ever. He puts in extra time in a few other smaller cameo roles. Then, there is the great Slim Pickens. I have heard rumors that John Wayne was looked upon to be Taggart at one time. While that would have made for an interesting take, I don't think the "Duke" could ever have filled the shoes so Mr. Pickens. Pickens is the best part of this picture.

There are not many films out there that can illicit as many laughs as "Blazing Saddles." When you sit down and watch something as downright funny as this classic picture, it is hard not to wonder why they don't make movies like this anymore. I've defended Hollywood countless times and claimed they still put out very good movies. But after watching a classic film like this, you start to wonder if Hollywood is no longer capable of releasing great movies. This laugh-out-loud take on stereotypes, racism and the general stupidity of rednecks is the kind of film that everybody needs to own in their collection. Throw out the VHS and spend a couple dollars on the Blu-Ray release.

Video: My friend and colleague, John J. Puccio reviewed the HD-DVD release of "Blazing Saddles." John had the benefit of comparing that release to the second DVD release. He acknowledged that there was definite improvement in many of the scenes in the HD-DVD release. The baseline I had for comparison of the high definition transfer of "Blazing Saddles" was the original DVD release which John nicely summarizes as having "had a picture and sound quality less than commendable." When I first feasted my eyes on "Blazing Saddles" at 1080i resolution, I was amazed. I could see every pebble of sand in some scenes and the picture quality was tremendously detailed. I honestly do not think I can watch this film in anything less than high definition ever again.

The Blu-Ray transfer is pretty much identical to the HD-DVD transfer and even sitting back and enjoying an HD transfer of the film for a second time, I still could not help but be amazed. This movie is almost thirty years old, but it looks amazing for its age. Colors are vivid. Detail is high. The Sheriff is black and the black levels are deep. There is some film grain, but the transfer is overall quite clean. The Blu-Ray release of "Blazing Saddles" gives hope that older movies can look simply amazing. I would never have expected "Blazing Saddles" to be a film that would stupefy me with visual splendor, but it does.

Sound: Audio is another area where the High Definition release was a marked improvement over my original DVD copy of "Blazing Saddles." Again, I did not own the Anniversary release of the film and my point of reference was the initial offering on Digital Versatile Disc. That soundtrack was mono. On my THX calibrated system, only the center channel was given employment by that disc. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 transfer is much livelier and far more entertaining. The soundtrack was just as eye-opening (ear-opening, perhaps?) as the visuals. The front soundstage shows great stereo imaging. The musical score if heightened and present in all speakers. The bass rumbles and the rears give life to the occasional gunshot or fart. When comparing the HD-DVD to the Blu-Ray, there was not much difference, though I noticed a bit more timbre to the voices.

Extras: The extras contained on the Blu-Ray release are the same pieces of value-added content that was delivered to the HD-DVD title and were originally found on the 30th Anniversary DVD release. The Scene-Specific Commentary by Mel Brooks is a high quality commentary by the affable Mel Brooks. This really is something every Brooks fan should sit down and enjoy. He is informative, humorous and very personable. The next major feature is the Back in the Saddle Documentary. Running for nearly a half an hour, this cast and crew reunion documentary reveals many details about the production of the film. Did you know Richard Pryor was to star in the film? Yup. Cleavon Little is missing, but this 2001 documentary features Gene Wilder and others. A very short vignette, Intimate Portrait: Madeline Kahn (Excerpt) is so short, it is hardly worth it. At just three minutes, it only whets the appetite. The unused Black Bart: 1975 Pilot Episode of the Proposed TV Series Spinoff is an awesome supplement and a recommended watch. Featuring Louis Gossett Jr. as the black sheriff, this TV show was not nearly as entertaining as the film, but certainly carried on the humor and feel for the film. Though it felt stupid at times, I found myself laughing quite often. Almost nine minutes of Additional Scenes are included on the disc. These were included in broadcast versions of "Blazing Saddles." A Theatrical Trailer completes the list of supplements.

Quick Notes: "Blazing Saddles" is a great, great film. They don't make comedies like this anymore. Through parody and humor, Mel Brooks tackled the issues of racism and conveyed the sensibilities of the Seventies. The film makes its way to Blu-Ray with fine looking visuals and very good 5.1 channel sound. All of the supplements of the 30th Anniversary DVD release make their way to the Blu-Ray release and "Blazing Saddles" instantly becomes of one the better endowed discs on the format. I love this movie and I know millions of others feel just as strongly. I was a bit surprised to see this film debut so early on the newer formats, but Warner Bros. must consider it to be one of their stronger catalog titles. The Blu-Ray release is nearly a carbon copy of the HD-DVD release. I give the HD-DVD title a very slight edge when comparing the sound quality, but it isn't enough to terribly matter. Now, anybody else want some beans?

Story: 9
Video: 9
Sound: 7
Extras: 7


Firewall

I am a .NET Enterprise developer. I was formerly a UNIX and Windows NT Network Administrator. Why are these credentials any relevance to a capsule review of the Harrison Ford thriller "Firewall"? Simple. I know what a firewall is, how it works and I know what is behind the techno-babble, mumbo-jumbo the film attempts to pass off as reality. Any movie named after a physical piece of equipment that serves as intrusion protection for a computer network is bound to attract viewers who work with the technology on a daily basis. I went to see "Firewall" theatrically because my life-long best friend is a network administrator who feels the need for a Cisco firewall for his home network. Otherwise, I would have waited for the home video release of this Harrison Ford film. Fortunately, much of the film does not travel too far into the absurd or try to impress with technical jargon or techniques. In tact, the only laughable moment came when Ford's character read a screen dump of data with a scanner head and got perfect screenshots. I won't get into details, but I have a better chance of marrying my life-long crush, Uma Thurman.

With Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Robert Patrick, Alan Arkin and a guy that reminds me a lot of Sean Bean, "Firewall" has a very talented cast. Expectations were certainly high and after "Hollywood Homicide," I still hope my childhood idol can regain the glory he had as Indiana Jones and Han Solo. "Firewall" only serves to dash my hopes with a cookie-cutter thriller that cowers in the shadow of Ford's Jack Ryan film, "Patriot Games." Instead of using its powerful cast to deliver a two-hour experience chocked full of intrigue, suspense and action, "Firewall" takes a safe path and does not risk any originality or inventiveness. I'm sure with a little work, you could take bits and pieces of previous films and tell the same story with superimposed faces from this film.

Like I said, "Firewall" plays it safe. In doing so, it can be best called decent. There is no surprising twist or situation that is unexpected. There are no high-suspense action sequences. The Paul Bettany / Harrison Ford brawl that serves as a climax is not particularly exciting. By playing it so safe, "Firewall" at least guarantees that some joy can be found in watching it. Tried and true conventions are considered as such because they've been tried so many times, we know they are true in delivering entertainment. The screenwriters for "Firewall" used as many of them as they could, hoping that if you put enough of them together, you strike gold. Instead, you get scene after scene of "seen that, done that" mixed with a bit of computer geek speak. It is worth watching, but you are never going to feel a need to do so again. As far as that guy that reminded me of the great Sean Bean, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's villainous Liam was one of the bright spots in the film.

Video: "Firewall" looks pretty good with its 16x9, 1080p transfer. Of course, I cannot just stop there with my review. Diving into details, the VC-1 transfer of "Firewall" is a crystal clear, highly detailed film that is currently one of the better looking Blu-Ray films. Compared to the HD-DVD, it is nearly identical. Joe Six-Pack will have a hard time spotting any differences whatsoever. Compared to the standard definition DVD release (or in my case, the flip side of the HD-DVD), it is a solid improvement, but nothing Earth shattering. A lot of scenes in this film take place in darkness and low lighting. They hold up very nicely and are helped with solid shadow detail and good black levels. Colors and contrasts are very good. There is a lot of rain and each drop is nicely defined. Skin tones are pretty good, color saturation is spot on and the contrast is sharp. If you are looking for picture quality in your Blu-Ray release, this one won't disappoint.

Sound: The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix of "Firewall" is satisfying enough, but constrained by the lengthy amount of exposition and dialogue. One of the scenes that took place in the rain was quite enveloping. The film does not contain any pounding action scenes that deliver an exhilarating soundtrack, but it never falters in its conveyance of the material requested by the Dolby Digital mix. With any dialogue heavy picture, the clarity of the spoken word is important and "Firewall" is just fine in this area. When we are treated with some gunfire, the sound ricochets nicely from speaker to speaker and a bit of a tremble can be felt through the low frequency effects channel. Comparing the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix to the HD-DVDs Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack, there are some minor differences and the Toshiba player comes out on top, but the difference is not large enough to cry foul on the Blu-Ray release.

Extras: The value added content was previously stored on the standard definition side of the HD-DVD combo release. Considering that "Firewall" lived on a 15GB platter on HD-DVD and has 25GBs of space on the Blu-Ray release, it is pretty easy to see how the supplements have room on the single-sided, single-layered Blu-Ray disc. Then supplements hit around twenty minutes in length and can be considered a bit paltry. The Conversation with Harrison Ford and Director Richard Loncraine runs for a quarter of an hour. Loncraine and Ford discuss their experiences making the film. They take themselves too seriously and certainly have a much higher level of respect for "Firewall" than I do. The second vignette, Firewall: Writing a Thriller is a short chat with screenwriter Joe Forte. A Theatrical Trailer is included and runs for almost as long as the second featurette. It should be noted that the HD-DVD release contains the standard definition transfer on the flip side and that is unavailable on Blu-Ray.

Quick Notes: My capsule reviews feel as if they are getting as long as my full-length reviews. Watching "Firewall" for a third time felt very long. I've seen the film theatrically and watched in on both HD formats. It is not necessarily a bad film, but I'll never call it a good film. It sticks to the standard conventions too closely and mimics too many far superior pictures. Compared to "Patriot Games," "The Fugitive" or even "Clear and Present Danger," "Firewall" is a low-key, high-budget thriller that does note excite or inspire. The Blu-Ray release contains nearly identical sound and video of the HD-DVD release and the three small and uninteresting supplements. This is clearly the lowpoint of the second wave of Blu-Ray releases from Warner Bros. and aside from "Rumor Has It," possibly the least interesting of all Warner Bros. high definition titles.

Story: 5
Video: 8
Sound: 8
Extras: 4


Full Metal Jacket

Stanley Kubricks' Vietnam Conflict tour-de-force "Full Metal Jacket" is considered to be one of the finest pictures made chronicling the Vietnam War. Kubrick crafts two distinct aspects of the War and creates a cinematic description of their effects on the human psyche and how war and military service can change a man. The message delivered by Kubrick's vision is that war can make a monster out of anybody. Just preparing to go to war can destroy a man and just being a part of a war can make the most mellow and easy going person into a killing machine. I've never considered "Full Metal Jacket" to be either an anti-war picture or a pro-war picture. Its complexity lies in its duality. The helmet shown on the cover artwork and worn by the film's main character is a perfect example of this. The words "Born to Kill" sit etched in black beside a white peace symbol. How much more contrast can you get than that?

The story tells the tale of Private Joker (Matthew Modine) and his experiences in basic training and the Vietnam Conflict. In basic, he is terrorized by the overbearing Drill Instructor Gunny Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey) and forced to help a drafted simpleton, Private Gomer Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio) succeed in tasks that are mundane to others, but nearly difficult for Pyle. Joker excels as a student of war during basic training, but Pyle shows how a person so innocent in life can be transformed into something vicious and deadly and self destructive. The entire first half of the film is dedicated to what happens in basic training and the transformations of Private Pyle and Private Joker are the statements made by the filmmaker.

Upon arriving in Vietnam, Private Joker enlists as a military photojournalist. Instead of arming himself with an M-16, Joker carries a camera and cherishes his role as a noncombatant. However, he is soon sent into the field and joins up with a familiar face from basic training, Private Cowboy (Arliss Howard). Here, he finds himself surrounded by bloodthirsty soldiers who relish their combat duty. Animal Mother (Adam Baldwin) is a perfect example of how combat changes a man, as he is more animalistic than motherly in his nature. Unfortunately for Joker, his time with the combat troops forces him to not only load and carry an M-16 assault rifle, but to be placed in a situation where he must use it.

"Full Metal Jacket" is a film that is not only split in its physical structure, but it's the message it attempts to deliver. Duality is the best word I can think of to describe Kubrick's motion picture. You see the good and bad side of man. Pyle is a mentally slow boy who struggles to become a soldier, but is a gentle and easygoing person. He is transformed into a trained and deadly individual that is completely opposite of his own personality. Joker is a lighthearted and caring individual that works to tell the story of his fellow soldiers and not take part in the killing. He serves as that fine line between the two sides and as the film's narrator. The film itself is split into two halves. Once shows the buildup of basic training and how humanity is forced out of a man. The second half shows how humanity is lost when putting that training to use. "Full Metal Jacket" shows the dark human toll of a war by showing how kindness and peacefulness can be completely destroyed.

Video: War is Hell. It is dirty and grimy and just plain ugly. The same can be said for the high definition treatment of Stanley Kubrick's masterful "Full Metal Jacket." Previous DVD releases had the film framed in 1.33:1. This was Kubrick's intended vision of the movie, and he was against the letterboxing of his film for theatrical presentation. He wanted those mattes left open. The Blu-Ray release of "Full Metal Jacket" is a 16x9 widescreen presentation where the mattes have been closed and information intended to be seen by the director has now been hidden. It is nice to have my HDTV properly filled with information, but this is not how the director intended his film to be seen.

The transfer itself is very dirty, grimy and plain ugly. The level of detail is very low at times and looks nearly identical to the original DVD release that was part of the "Stanley Kubrick Collection." The low amount of detail is not where the real ugliness rears its vicious head. The real monster of this transfer is the film grain. I can't think of too many movies where film grain gets this ugly. One of the final scenes, when the Ak-47 sniper is gunned down, the orange and black hues of the scene are nearly lost with the horrendous levels of grain present. Colors are slightly washed out and this nineteen year old transfer looks far older and poorly preserved. This is the only MPEG-2 transfer of the second wave and the transfer is so dirty, it is hard to tell if one is better looking than the other when comparing the two formats. They both just look bad. Considering the framing is not what would be acceptable to the director and the poor picture quality, it can be said that "Full Metal Jacket" may be the worst looking release on either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD.

Sound: "Full Metal Jacket" has never been a good sounding picture. The original DVD release was either stereo or mono sound. At this point, I don't remember and is unimportant considering the newer transfers are featured in English 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. The remastered soundtrack is still not a very lively mix. There is little stereo separation between the front channels. Much of the film still occurs in the center channel. A few of the combat sequences do exhibit sounds coming from the rear surrounds or heavier use of the left and right channels, but the soundtrack is decidedly flat. Dialogue is a bit muddy at times, but generally intelligible. I can't help but think that "Full Metal Jacket" is not going to be impressive on a Home Theater format unless somebody takes the time to give it a major overhaul.

Extras: Real simple. A Theatrical Trailer. The pricey Stanley Kubrick Collection featured only a trailer. That is what we get here.

Quick Notes:I really do like the film "Full Metal Jacket." Sadly, it has never been given a fair shake on home video. There is quite an argument as to whether or not the film should be presented widescreen or full frame. Kubrick intended it to be full frame, but on a 16x9 television, widescreen is preferable. That argument does not change the fact that "Full Metal Jacket" looks and sounds poor in its latest incarnation on Blu-Ray. Fans of the film and format should not feel slighted in this regard. It looks and sounds equally bad on HD-DVD. In addition to the poor transfer that is greatly in need of a complete restoration and remastering, there really are no supplements to speak of. Considering the great performances of D'Onofrio, Ermey, Modine and others and the master filmmaking of Stanley Kubrick, "Full Metal Jacket" deserves better.

Story: 8
Video: 3
Sound: 3
Extras: 2

Lethal Weapon

One of the fun things to do currently for webizens is to trash and deface Mel Gibson for a few drunken remarks he made a short while ago. Leave Mel alone. I still like him darnit. As an actor and director, he has done nothing but entertain me and I have a good feeling he will do so for years to come. Yes, he made a few disparaging remarks when he was supposedly drunk, but for those of us that do enjoy a few drinks, who hasn't? Now that I'm done defending Mel to the webizens, the reason Mel is even being discussed here is because the last title of the second wave of Blu-Ray releases from Warner Bros. is one of the films that launched him to stardom â€" "Lethal Weapon." Starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, "Lethal Weapon" is the crème-of-the-crop of buddy-cop movies and a landmark action picture.

Mel Gibson had already begun his ascent to superstardom with "The Road Warrior" and the second "Mad Max" film. In "Lethal Weapon," he found a role in an American picture as Martin Riggs, a cop driven nearly to the edge of sanity. He is given a new partner in Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), who is nearing his retirement and unsure of taking on a new partner who is questionable in his mental state and his policework. Together, they find themselves on the case of the villainous Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey). Murtaugh's family becomes a target and Martin and Roger have to find common ground and lose their dislike for each other if they are to save Murtaugh's family from Mr. Joshua.

"Lethal Weapon" established the buddy-cop genre. Before this film, "Dirty Harry" was the standard in a good police drama/action film. Gibson and Glover stepped to the plate and hit a grand slam with this film and created a very marketable franchise for Warner Bros. and its filmmakers. After getting his feet wet with portraying Mad Max, Gibson started to drown in fame after playing Martin Riggs. The Aussie now had two marketable franchises to guarantee him work for many years. Glover was a solid actor for many years and "Lethal Weapon" gave him much deserved popularity. A great film, with a lot of fun and exciting action sequences, "Lethal Weapon" is just as entertaining today as it was when it first hit theaters.

Video: Riggs and Murtaugh are getting long in the tooth and their cinematic debut is now twenty years old. The much older "The Searchers" is absolutely stunning in High-Def and the slightly older "Blazing Saddles" benefits greatly from the update as well. There is no reason for a twenty year old film to look bad on HD, though wave two stablemate "Full Metal Jacket" achieves just that. "Lethal Weapon" is not as stunning as the two older films just mentioned, but it is certainly an improvement over previous releases and it fares much better than what "Full Metal Jacket" did. The 1.85:1 transfer is striking at many times throughout its running time, but does get saddled with grain in more than one instance. Black levels are strong, as are color and contrast. Aside from the handful of scenes that are dark and grainy, "Lethal Weapon" is pretty impressive in the realm of 1080 resolution.

Sound: "Lethal Weapon" is presented in a solid sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 transfer. This fast-paced action film provides plenty of opportunities for the soundtrack to shine and the film does just that. Rear speakers are populous and enveloping in their presence. The .1 LFE channel rumbles during the various high octane action sequences and stereo separation is good along the three front channels. Dialogue drops off a hair during some of these moments, but does a good job of holding up through much of the picture. Out of the four releases in the second wave, this was the only film where the sound quality of the Dolby Digital track was audibly inferior to the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mix of the HD-DVD track. Dialogue held up better on the HD-DVD title and the action scenes had a slightly bit more pop to them. It wasn't a large difference, but it was the only disc of the four that was noteworthy. Still, "Lethal Weapon" sounds very good with its updated presentation and does not look or sound out of place on Blu-Ray disc.

Extras: The standard definition DVD that sits on my ‘top shelf' with the other three films of the series is a "Director's Cut" release. The six minutes of additional scenes that are included in that version of "Lethal Weapon" are not included in the film contained on the Blu-Ray disc, but they are part of the supplemental content. These six Additional Scenes focus primarily on Mel Gibson's character and though their inclusion would have been welcome in the main feature as a director's cut, it is nice to see them on the Blu-Ray disc. The only other feature is the Theatrical Trailer. Yes, it would have been nice to have the Director's Cut of "Lethal Weapon" on Blu-Ray, but I tend to think a box set of the four films will be forthcoming once the established base of players increases.

Quick Notes: I enjoy the "Lethal Weapon" series. The fact that the four original DVD releases sit among the 100 titles on my ‘top shelf' of my entertainment center is proof of that. I am certainly excited to see them coming to Blu-Ray, but the initial release is disappointing in its supplemental value and the fact that the Director's Cut was not included as a branching version of the film. As the format matures, I'm sure that will change and Warner Bros. will ask me to double dip. The visuals of the Blu-Ray disc are quite good, but fall short of being stunning because of film grain and some unnecessary darkness in a few scenes. Audio is quite good and surprised me in its liveliness. There are some supplemental materials included, but the reason for owning this title is simply to have the theatrical presentation in glorious high definition. "Lethal Weapon" is a solid catalog title and the second best of the second wave of releases, behind "Blazing Saddles."

Story: 8
Video: 7
Sound: 8
Extras: 4


Round 2: HD-DVD vs. Blue Ray - Final Words

In my "Round 1" article, I compared the two "Training Day" releases to one another. I did so before the v2.0 firmware update was available from Toshiba. Had I done that comparison after the update, it would have been an even larger slaughter, as the Dolby TrueHD track sounds incredible. The battle is not nearly as lopsided here in the second round between the two formats. In fact, the line is now blurred and the releases are nearly on identical footing. Warner Bros. has released the first titles to grace Blu-Ray that utilize VC-1 compression. This allows for more space for supplemental materials and as early indications have shown, better picture quality. Only one of the releases in this second wave exists as a "Combo" release on HD-DVD. The rest are HD transfers only. Round 2 found Blu-Ray doing a lot of catching up and nearly equaling their HD-DVD competitors.

Picture quality is nearly identical. I did see a few very minor differences between the two. Both players used the same HDMI input through a switchbox, so there are no differences between the settings on the television. I found that HD-DVD still has slightly truer color representation, and fleshtones were a bit too warm on the Blu-Ray title. I tend to think this is more aligned to hardware than software and didn't even point this out in my reviews as I tend to think the transfers of the three titles with VC-1 are identical. "Full Metal Jacket" is presented in MPEG-2 on Blu-Ray and the HD-DVD title was slightly improved over the Blu-Ray release, but lets face it â€" both releases look bad. One is just uglier than the other, but both are downright ugly.

If you look at the sound selection available on Blu-Ray, the fact that only Dolby Digital is available on that format, while Dolby Digital Plus is the standard on HD-DVD may be a small cause of concern. Well, the HD-DVD shows improvement in sound, but it isn't very dramatic. Only "Lethal Weapon" stood out as being more than minute in difference. The other three films were so close, I'd be hard pressed to prove that one sounded better than the other, but my ears tell me there was a slight difference. Some research shows that both films share the same bitrate, so until Dolby Digital Plus is allowed to play with added channels and higher bitrates, it seems the two formats are very similar. When compared to the two formats top-of-the-line lossless formats, they are disappointing. If anything, the improved sound in "Lethal Weapon" is the nose in which HD-DVD wins Round 2.

Supplements are nearly identical. "Firewall" contains the standard definition DVD release on HD-DVD. However, that disc will cost you $5.00 more than the Blu-Ray titles. The Blu-Ray of "Firewall" is $5.00 more than the three other titles. It is not really worth the price on either format, as it is the not a particularly engaging picture. The fact that only HD-DVD can present a disc with both formats only adds a little push in this second round for that format, but I'll give it just a nose on the hair of the horse, since I'm still not sold on paying extra for a standard definition transfer that I really don't want.

So the verdict for Round 2 is that HD-DVD noses out a victory over Blu-Ray. It only does so because "Lethal Weapon" sounds a slightly bit better than the Blu-Ray title. To a lesser extent, the availability of a "Combo" disc for "Firewall" is another example of how HD-DVD comes out on top, but I'm still not convinced that really matters. What is important to note is that Warner Bros. still continues to be the best looking titles on Blu-Ray. They established that fact with their first wave of releases and their second wave of releases improves upon that. This Round showed how close these two formats will be for a very long time. Until studios start to use some of the latest and greatest that the formats offer aside form picture quality, the technology may not present a clear winner.

If I had to make a recommendation, I'd say pick up "Lethal Weapon" and "Blazing Saddles" from this batch.

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