Predator (1987)

The Blu-ray is perfectly fine. Let me make clear that I watched it on a 75inch 4k screen and it doesn't look quite as sharp as other Blu-ray ray disks as other movies I have. However, my theory is that the disk release is either because the movie wasn't filmed with the best cameras available ,or there just isn't a real mastered version available. In any case, as a fan I recommend this Blu-ray purchase. Much better than my deteriorated original DVD copy

I used to consider myself a film purist but I guess I no longer can because I really enjoyed this 'digital noise reduction' version of the film. That's because the excessive DNR was noticeable mostly in the first 10 minutes (before they got to the jungle) and for a few scenes outside of that - scenes which had incredible amounts of grain which is why they look bad when they were DNR'd to death in this release - but I imagine they would have looked worse, and more out of place, if they weren't grainless like the rest of the film (Ah, but film grain is good, and it should have been left in - in the first place - right? Yes, I'll elaborate later). For film, grain IS good. Grain basically 'is' the detail in the film. There's no denying that. I already have the 2-disc Collector's Edition DVD, which I've watched many times so I know how grainy it looks. It never bothered me because I understood that that's how the film was shot. The thing is, the original Blu-ray release of 'Predator' used a poor codec and the disc was only single layered. So, the compression artifacts made the grain look even worse. People complained, and FOX came out with this release. If they did it right the first time, and used the proper codec and bitrate (due to having the 50GB dual-layer disc that they have now), I'm sure there would be a lot less complaints. But, they screwed up the first time.Wanting to satisfy fans and milk this franchise for all it's worth (since they left out all of the special features on the last Blu-ray), they decided to "clean up" the picture, put back all of the special features, and give a little sneak peek to the new 'Predators' movie. It was a good business strategy, but film purists would not agree. At first, I was very against the idea of this release. But hell, Amazon was offering it for $13.99 and I always wanted to own 'Predator' on Blu-ray (with the best picture possible and all of the special features), so i decided to give the disc a try.The first scene of the movie looks excessively DNR'd. I'm not denying that at all. However, I'll live with that since the rest of the film looks BEAUTIFUL. It looks like it was shot yesterday. I know, I know. It wasn't shot yesterday. It was shot in 1986 and released to theaters in 1987. The film stock used was cheap, hence the film should look grainy. I know that. But damn, the picture looks so gorgeous now. I still have my Collector's Edition DVD for when I want to be a film purist and see the picture in all of its grainy glory. I wanted the film on Blu-ray, and I wasn't about go to buy the original release which was more like an upscaled DVD. If the movie were released, grain in tact, with the proper codec and bitrate, I would have bought that. I feel that this disc is the lesser of two evils.If you want the movie to look like it did when it was in theaters, please, go and buy the lovely 2-disc Collector's Edition DVD. If you want the movie to look like it was shot yesterday, buy this release. I've seen the movie enough times to know how it's supposed to look. If you can get over the first scene looking excessively DNR'd, then give this release a try. I've included a page with some comparison shots of later scenes in the movie (to see the comparison, check out the 'Comments' section). If you prefer the grainy pictures, buy the DVD or the original Blu-ray. If you prefer the 'clean' (DNR'd) image, buy the 'Ultimate Hunter Edition' Blu-ray. Aside from the first scene (the infamous shot of waxy looking Arnold - which really didn't look as bad in motion on my TV as it did in the screenshot), there really aren't too many parts of the film where detail is lost due to the DNRing that took place. I know, grain is detail, but I'm talking about the lack of sharpness that can occur when too much DNR takes place. That doesn't really happen at all, aside from that first scene. Give the screen shots a look and judge for yourself. The detail looks very well preserved, which is the ONLY reason I recommend this release. If the whole movie looked like the first scene did, I wouldn't go near it at all. But, the picture quality ends up being pretty damn amazing, albeit artificial (since I know what it SHOULD look like). Like I said, I think this release is the lesser of two evils, especially since I don't think FOX will re-release it AGAIN any time in the near future. The lossless audio (DTS-HD MA) track is amazing, the special features are great, and the picture quality (artificial, I know) is astounding. If you are a film purist, stay far away. If you don't even know what DNR means and you just want a nice looking movie, you won't be disappointed.On a side note, the menus can be a little annoying. They are very Predator-like, but they take too long to navigate and while you fastforward, an image pops up on screen showing you what chapter you're on - this is the only disc I have that does this. That stuff was only a minor annoyance that doesn't really detract from the awesome disc.In summary, I normally wouldn't recommend such a DNR'd release like this, but since the only HD alternative was the lower bitrate (and worse codec) Blu-ray that was already released (with no extras), this seems like the obvious purchase - especially since the DNR is only distracting in that first scene. Once the action starts, the film looks beautiful - and the sound is amazing.PLEASE CHECK THE 'COMMENTS' SECTION FOR A SCREENSHOT COMPARISON!

I don't know what the fuss is about the quality of this Blu-Ray is about I think certain reviewers aren't fully aware of the remastering process involved in taking a movie this old recorded on analog film and mastering it into Blu-Ray format I'll explain that a bit throughout this review. I've been watching this movie since I was a kid on VHS and I've been looking at the same DVD copy of it for a long time. I bought this movie on Blu-Ray simply because it seemed pertinent to get one of my all time favorite movies in the highest possible quality and plus I needed to add something to my purchase to get free super saver shipping, ha. But anyways, this is an old movie and inherent in the type of film stock the film was made with is a bit of grain. The idea that Blu-Ray imparts digital remastering on films making them "perfect" looking images is a false one to say the least. Blu-Ray does bring out the colors allowing for a more clear and defined picture but along with that it will also cause grain to become more prevalent which is something people should be mindful of when purchasing a film this old in this particular format. Think of it this way, basically Blu-Ray raises the scale of the video your watching and with the bigger scale the the grain also gets bigger. Now there is a process to remove this grain from films such as this the grain/noise removal process is basically a filter that blurs the image slightly to make the grain go away, which is nice although heavily grained films such as this one it makes the image very, very blurry and causes a "soft focus" effect which can cause you to to miss out on more subtle things in the frame. Look to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn on Blu-Ray to see just how terrible a price you pay for a grain free picture. Personally I much prefer being to see subtle movements on actors faces over there being a bit of grain on the screen. It bugs me that people buy these things and then rail them for not being painstakingly restored frame by frame by whatever company decided to put it out. That's a very costly and time consuming process that is reserved much more popular films.I apologize for rambling I'll continue on to my review of the disc now. This is a great looking version of Predator the colors are as vibrant as they've ever been and I've owned this film in virtually every format since the late 80s. I'm guessing this disc was put out as part of promotion for the new "Predators" film because most of the special features originally on the two disc DVD collectors edition have been replaced by stuff featuring the the film makers from Predators but that's not such a big deal the two disc collectors edition DVD is still quite affordable and easy to find online and really it's kinda nice that they at least attempted to add something new instead of just rehashing the original release. The best bits of the original special features are included.The film it's self is 80's sci-fi at it's best it starts out with a space ship entering orbit and then turns into a pretty straight forward 80's military action film and towards the middle reverts back into a terrestrial sci-fi action and suvivalism film. It's really one of Schwarzenegger's best performances in that he actually appears to be threatened for once. The problem with his films is not that he's a bad actor, it's that he has this aura of invincibility due to his physique and generally cool demeanor but that all gets stripped away when he is confronted by an alien creature who is bigger, stronger and more equipped in literally every way. Arnold gets chased and beaten and brutalized by the Predator and never does the thought cross your mind, "awww Arnie could take that guy what a phony movie" for example the fight scene with Bennett in the film Commando. This film also features a great score, a wonderful premise, and an involving cast of supporting characters who all have great moments throughout the course of the film. I highly recommend this film to any one but the decision is up to as to your preferred format although I quite like the quality of this Blu-Ray.