Thank you Fraser. I've been reviewing Super 8 films a long time so that was my education or baptism of fire. I think you have to understand film a bit to do this video review malarkey. John.
The Thing is my favorite movie of all time. PERIOD. I saw it in the theater on its original run and I loved it. I bought it on VHS, DVD, Blu Ray, and now I will pick it up on 4K and I don't even have a 4K player. Yet.
You mean you didn't get the LaserDisc Kevin? It's never too late you know. Seriously though, the 4K is great and I hope that when you do get the equipment to play it that you enjoy it as much as I did. John.
Lovely review of the The Thing, I purchased it and I am more than pleased with the 4k transfer of the movie. It`s a movie I really enjoy watching anyway so having it now in 4k is a huge bonus.
I don't know how many times I've seen the film over the 39 years but a lot. Cinema, television, probably VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, Blu-ray and now 4K. Ridiculous really but I'd have bought it on Super 8 too if it had have ever been released. John.
John, your videos are getting better and better and are now, IMHO, the gold standard on TH-cam. I love this film and have owned it on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD. I’ll be getting the 4K once my bank account has recovered from my splurge in August. Thanks for what you’re doing. I’d basically like you to review anything. See you in Shawshank, Rob
I think one of us needs to track down a 35mm print... or even a 70mm! That might hit the bank balance a little too hard though Rob. Hope you're fully recovered now. John.
@@moviecollector5920 that would be fun, I wonder about the price of a 70mm projector and print. I do think that a decent 4K transfer on disc, projected, in tru 4k (4k chip on the projector versus upscaled), with HDR correctly setup, on a very large screen is as close to film as I remember. I know many don't like grain, however, I'd argue that the correct presentation of grain makes for a truly filmic experience. I have not seen "The Thing" projected through celluloid in many decades, so my memory can play tricks (I'm old @ 63). I'm doing well thanks John and walking over 3 miles a day and only 3 weeks out of hospital.
@@Celestialrob Three miles every day is wonderful Rob. You'll be entered in the London Marathon in April at this rate! This disc of The Thing does look like a film. So many of them have done since 4K first arrived. Blu-ray rarely quite made it into the filmic look but the authors and masters of these videos on 4K discs have nailed it so often. Just a shame that most movies now are on video which rarely has such an impressive look. Le Mans' 66 (Ford Vs. Ferrari) is one exception though. By the way, I'm old at 57 now so I'm catching up!
@@moviecollector5920 we're in a rich period for collecting physical media, with so many really great titles coming out each month. It does't matter what your taste is, there are going to be outstanding discs available. I just took delivery of "Dead Zone" and "Event Horizon" Shout Factory special editions for $20 each. If a person is fortunate to have a projector and an 84+ inch screen or larger.... you're in for a treat with both uprezzed BluRays and 4k discs. Good times!
Would definitely be interested to hear your thoughts on "The Shawshank Redemption". As well as having a superb "making of" documentary, "The Thing" also has one of the all time great commentary tracks (my other favourite is on "Conan the Barbarian") if you are interested in that kind of thing - no pun intended. Thanks for the review!
I heard that commentary track years ago Dan and have never forgotten it. I don't get the time for such things these days but it would be nice to get some time off every now and then just to indulge in such things but being self-employed means you have to put the hours in. Still, I'm managing to make the time for these reviews so that's something. John.
The Thing is such a clasic and I enjoyed the 4K transfer - had an audio dropout on my disc around 57 min mark and had to return it gonna wait and pick it up again around the Black Friday sales along with Shawshank
We had the sound synch problem but it turned out to be the player. These things happen but for £19.99 it's a bargain. We should be paying hundreds of pounds for quality like this. John.
Watched the 4k release on my JVC RS4100. I've never seen the film look this good. The vividness of the colors was impressive. Superlative SF/Horror film.
One of my favourite films since the day I saw it in the cinema. I just wish I could remember more about the look of the general release print I was looking at but my overriding memory of that screening is that there was hardly anyone else in the cinema. Indicative of its poor performance which was a surprise to me at the time as I felt I'd just watched a masterpiece of horror. I had and time has proved me right even though I was only 17 years old at the time and hardly anyone agreed with me until years later. John.
@@moviecollector5920 It Comes at Night (2017) After an unexpected apocalypse, two families are forced to share a house in order to stay away from the threat outside. Despite the good intentions, both families end up boiling distrust and paranoia. The Devil All the Time (2020) A young man devoted to protecting his loved ones must face off against corruption and sinister characters in a postwar backwoods town. Logan Lucky (2017) The Logan brothers, Jimmy and Clyde, plan an elaborate scheme to successfully rob a racing circuit in North Carolina, USA, and evade the authorities.
The Arrow release was made from the same 4K master i believe and it's pretty damn good. Much better than the old Universal Blu-Ray. That might be why some reviewers didn't see as much of a difference between the Arrow Blu-Ray and the new 4K. But like you say, sometimes you gotta fiddle around with the equipment to get everything out of a 4K release, which can be annoying to many folks.
I think you've got to treat 4K more like film and that's not something video collectors have ever had to do. It's always been a push button pastime but 4K is more like a proper hobby just as film collecting is. Film collecting means you have to maintain your prints and generally work on your equipment to keep the presentation top-notch and that's what we need to accept with 4K. I actually like that about it as you have to keep your mind switched on to watch a disc rather than sit there and vegetate. John.
I have the excellent Shout steelbook set, which includes 2K & 4K scan discs. Compared to my HD DVD release , it's like night and day. I'm going to assume the Arrow blu.ray is also excellent. Does the 4K look better yes , but it's not a big difference.
Thanks for the review, John. For several years The Thing has been my most-anticipated 4k Blu-ray release. Several John Carpenter movies had already been released on 4k Blu-ray over the years and I've always wondered why this classic had not been released yet. As The Thing is an absolute masterpiece, I had expected it to be one of the very first 4k Blu-rays to be released. Well, all of that doesn't matter anymore, now that it's finally here and maybe it's even a good thing we had to wait this long, as it gave them enough time to release something incredible, instead of quickly releasing a disappointing, rushed 4k transfer. In my opinion this movie is just a must-own. I've got the Special Edition which also includes the 2011 prequel. I've got that 4k Blu-ray release of The Shawshank Redemption as well. Yet another classic that arrived on the format last month. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts about it.
I don't know but it's possible Universal leased the rights for the film on the home movie market for a set amount of time and that time has now expired. I don't have all the John Carpenter films on 4K (I have Halloween and The Fog on Super 8 so there's no point really) but the three others that I do have are from Studio Canal. Different studios, different licencing. Shawshank seems to be more popular than I thought. John.
My knowledge or ability to look at a video and gauge how good [or not] it is is all down to scrutinizing Super 8 film releases for many years for reviews in magazines/fanzines. I always put review prints on our ten foot roll down screen and I want to get back to using that for Super 8 and everything else. We're gonna' need a bigger house! John.
I could hear John for endless hours regarding the art of cinema screening...wait a minute..i'm already doing that! As always thank you for your hard work showing us all the details.
Just to note, loving the vids you do. You’ve got me on to Cinema Retro now and I’ve subscribed for the next season in 2025, I’ll definitely be gaining back issues. Thank you for that. I really do love your Super 8 films as well. I’d love an episode that showcases your Super8 collection with plenty of footage of the reels in action. Maybe you’ve already don’t it, this is as far as I’ve gotten in your vids and havent seen what’s upcoming yet. After seeing ALOT of people talking about reviews for various formats, I really do like your approach and I feel more comfortable with your channel for quality of picture or print reviews. Thank you so much for your work here and I look forward to more in the future. Keep up the good work.
I did make a video all about 'The Super 8 Gauge' about four years ago Adam so that will show you quite a bit but I didn't exactly go through my Super 8 film collection. You will be able to pick out many of the titles on the shelves though. In more recent videos I've been featuring 4K discs that had Super 8 feature releases (Highlander, Raiders of the Lost Ark) so you'll see glimpses of the Super 8 prints running in those. I daren't show too much otherwise I'll incur the wrath of the studios which is what happened with my review of Jaws in mid-2020. I hope you enjoy Cinema Retro. I've had it from issue 1 which was 20 years ago this month. It doesn't feel like 20 years but that's what happens as we age - time moves so much faster. As for LaserDisc, I really need to find a second player sometime because after more than 30 years, my Pioneer CLD-1750 is beginning to struggle a little at times. I also need to find a way of making the image quality look as good through current video projectors as it used to through older video projectors. I need to investigate genuine, capable line-doublers and a way of getting the signal converted into an HDMI output without turning it to mush. But the big thing about LaserDisc which I've only just started to appreciate recently is the fact that they come with the original theatrical soundtracks. No wonder they sound better than later home video disc releases so often. I used to think I was imagining it. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I used to use a HDconverter, which enabled me to plug it up through to the projector via HDMI, works very well and if you get a good one, it can upscale the image very nicely without losing quality of the original. Nothing tho can beat the original type of projectors Laserdiscs were meant to be used with, just so big and expensive they are to get.
Perfect timing, John. I watched this last night, and thought it was great. I couldn't understand the negative comments about the sound. Sounded fine to me. Colors and dynamic range were very nice.
I suspect most of us are going to agree that this release is pretty terrific Robert but some people have their systems set up poorly and don't think to check prior to complaining in public. You can get away with a poor set up most of the time but 4K transfers of real films can be somewhat more fickle and this one projected too bright looked quite poor. I turned the HDR brightness down 25% and it was just like watching it as a film print. Eureka! John.
Fun fact; John Carpenter's The Thing is a "remake" of The Thing of another World based on the Novella called "Who goes there" by John W. Campbell Jr. John Carpenter's version is almost a page by page representation of the Novella. One of my favorite movies because of that. Another top notch review.
The short story is really only 30 pages long or so. I read it in a competition of short stories that I read back in the 80s called "it came from Hollywood". Some of the other stories that were made into movies were A boy and his Dog and The Day the Earth Stood Still. What I love most about the correlation between the original story and John Carpenter's The Thing is that it took almost 30 years for the movie going public to grasp what people were reading in the 50s.
I was nine years old when I saw this during the summer of 82' at the drive-in. At that very moment, the film literally changed my course of life. At that very moment, I decided to become a filmmaker.
Wonderful. And I hope you've been enjoying being a film maker during all the years you've been doing it. I came out of the nearly empty cinema after watching The Thing thinking that I'd seen a masterpiece. Sadly, it wasn't exactly a big hit over here. John.
Another excellent review John. I saw this movie on the big screen upon its release. The special effects were ahead of its time and were quite amazing to watch at the time. Carpenter's score was also excellent as it was in Halloween. I was thinking that when the US team went to the other camp and what they found there was a perfect setup for a prequel and sure enough one was finally made which is about the initial discovery of the alien ship in the ice and the subsequent overrunning of the scientific camp by the alien creature. Also the ending was the perfect tie in to John Carpenter's film with them chasing the sled dog and trying to shoot it before it reached the US camp. Even using Carpenter's iconic theme at the end to further tie it in. All in all both can be viewed back to back as if it were one movie. The only thing that I felt John Carpenter's film should have had was one or maybe two female characters but that is just my opinion. The prequel did have a female character. Still Carpenter's films remain a legend in screen horror over all. I wonder what The Thing's movie take in is now since it has gone to video and gained even more in its popularity among horror fans. Keep up the good reviews and yes I would like to know your take on The Shawshank Redemption. Buh bye for now.
The prequel was good up until about the last half hour when I thought it went over the top and spoiled itself. I didn't care for introducing female characters into it because although that was to appease a modern audience it made it obviously from a different era to the original. Other than that, I can't remember much about it which tells me something. Sorry if I'm contradicting your thoughts on the film Daniel but I did enjoy about the first two-thirds of it overall. I'll watch it again sometime. Ennio Morricone did the score for Carpenter's film. I guess Mr. Carpenter had to give way when he's given a talent like Morricone to create the music. Bye-bye for now! John.
@@moviecollector5920 Oh, okay. Yes, lucky indeed to have Morricone do the film score, He's such a masterful film composer. After your review I do plan on getting the upgrade along with other horror classics such as The Shining. I already have two of Hitchcock's classics on 4K now. The Birds and Psycho. Psycho was the best transfer. The Birds seemed to have brought out the failings of the photography as some scenes were badly focused but still worth the upgrade in my opinion. Yes, I do like reading different opinions on movies as long as people keep it respectful. I like the fact that you reply to all the remarks made and continue the conversation. I think that shows respect towards your fans. Thanks and looking forward to your next review. Till then. Keep watching.
The prequel is about as good as 1982 one but you need to watch it few times to settle with it it have one bad cgi scene when 82’ has 2.Now we got 3 survivors from both they need to do third one and hopefully forth.
I had the Universal blu ray, which is also the same one used in the HMV steelbook. I upgraded to the Arrow 2017 release and there was a noticeable difference with colour, grain and sharpness which were all improved. The Arrow has a much more filmic warm presentation. I wouldn't be surprised if Arrow released a 4K version of their restoration at some point. I'd be really interested to hear your own opinion of the Arrow Video blu ray compared to the new 4K if you ever get the chance. Always find you videos very interesting and informative.
Arrow probably licensed the use of The Thing for a period of time Ryan so it may be that they can't press more copies now as the rights could have returned to Universal who apparently got Warner Bros. to issue the 4K. It seems the 4K that Arrow used is the one prepared or commissioned by Universal so it will just be different grading on the two and the fact that 4K has HDR applied. Turn HDR off and it may be almost impossible to see a difference without projecting them side by side on large screens. John.
People have been curious, myself included, if the 4K release is from the Arrow or the Shout Factory transfer, last time I checked nobody knows for sure.
This and Alien, are my favorite horror films. Great review. I'm glad you brought up the bottle theory, if Childs was human he wouldn't want to take the bottle not knowing if Mac is a thing. I think the 4K transfer is great, but let me also say the Shout blu-ray is amazing, it pushes that format to the limit, and I assume the arrow transfer is just as good, if not better. The difference between the Shout blu- ray and my HD DVD is like night and day. Does the 4K look better sure, but honestly it's just a slight bump in resolution and the HDR that makes a difference.
I used to struggle with the difference between Blu-ray and 4K Edward so you're not alone. The bigger you go the easier it is but our home screens are tiny as are a lot of cinema screens these days. If HDR had have been applied to standard Blu-ray then there wouldn't have been a need for 4K home video discs. However, the 4K of The Others doesn't have HDR applied and the amazing thing is that it certainly does not need it. John.
Another brilliant review - you should have your own film tv show. I too am a huge John Carpenter fan. I have got so many versions of the Thing including Video Disc, VHS, DVD. The new Universal 4K compliments previous Arrow 4K release. Thanks.
Thanks Paul. If I ever got approached by television I don't think they'd like the way I'd want to do a film programme because I'd prove it could be done with just two people! The Thing is a great film. One of many that great man John Carpenter has made but I think The Thing is a more collaborative effort than most of his other greats. Where would it have been without Rob Bottin for example? John.
Hi John, great review as always. The extras on the Arrow release are excellent, as are the extras on the Scream Factory release. The combined extras between theme are well worth having. As I mentioned previously, this 4K edition of The Thing is outstanding and it’s great to hear your recommendation.
I remember this movie scaring the daylights out of me. The effects were really amazing. Excellent review! Shawshank Yes please! Thank you for your reviews, they make my day!
I was about 18 years old when I saw this in 1982 and I was a hardened horror fan by then. I was amazed rather than scared and felt I'd seen a very special horror thriller. Hardly anyone seems to concur with me back then. How times change. John.
Hello John, Thanks for yet another brilliant review. I have the boxset now as I mentioned ordering last month. Going to watch. I remember vividly seeing this on pirate VHS, then on TV recordered on VHS. Then owning on DVD, Blu Ray and finally Blu Ray 4K Ultra. Another brilliant review John as always.
I'd actually still pay to see this film at a real cinema again even if it was a video projection of this disc and not a film. Somewhere with a big screen and not one of the modern multiplex jobs with no curtains or proper masking. Well, we can all dream but if it does ever get a theatrical re-release Gary I'll see you there. Gawd, I actually forgot.... I took my wife to the National Film Theatre in 1994 to see this on their big screen. Jeez! I should have mentioned that in the review because the NFT is the place this would get another screening. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Yes I too would love to see this at the cinema too John. It tanked at the cinema but became a cult classic. I think JC does have ideas for a sequel which would be superb. Would love to know his intention. Thanks.
@@garypeach8945 It's about time John Carpenter got back to making movies. But I hope he doesn't go down the computer effects route if a sequel to The Thing is the path he takes. Track down that Rob Bottin chap and get him to re-create those magical effects but with a proper team and more money available and we should be in for a treat. John.
Thanks for the review. I really love the atmosphere you create in your videos for appreciating film. Your voice also seems to perfectly go together with it. You are the main reason I’m buying this uhd. Thanks for your thoughts!
Kind of you to say all that Ray. I do put a lot of thought into how to approach each film and even if I don't particularly like something I don't want to rubbish it if I can possibly avoid it. This film is an undoubted classic and it's a bit of a dream to be able to have it in film quality on a home video. I do point out to everyone though to ensure they do not have their image too bright as that can do more than anything to ruin a good cine transfer. Film is not video and shouldn't be treated as such. John.
A huge admirer of your channel, have you thought about LOTR 4k Extended? as the DVD>BD there were some green casting tint issues in the BD and for the 4k used modern colourist tools such as Davinci Resolve to really allow us to see the true images of what they shot 20 years ago!
I've been working on Keith at Euphoria Pictures to do something extensive on The Lord of the Rings Oliver. I only saw the first film and it didn't appeal to me (too old by then) but I will say that even though I was in the Odeon Leicester Square it looked awful on screen and that certainly wasn't what I was used to. The downturn in image quality at cinemas had set in then and at the time I didn't understand it but I now realize it was all the low quality computer work. I do have trailers to all the films on Super 8 and they're fabulous so it can be done. Maybe the authors of these discs were able to have all the CGI re-rendered at higher quality for the 4K release so if you like the films it might be worth looking at one of them. But I've seen what you said about making them look like they did 20 years ago but that would be a backward step so I hope they've been completely re-exported. Black Magic Design Davinci Resolve is the most complicated software I've ever used but miracles can be achieved with it if you know what you're doing. John.
One small issue I've noticed with this release is not with the transfer or anything like as it looks incredible, it's more of the fact how on the back it mentions the inclusion of the 2011 'The Thing' yet after checking through both the 4k and blu ray discs, The films doesn't seem to present on either
I hadn't spotted that but thank gawd that second rate tosh isn't included. To be fair the first half or two-thirds were pretty good and then it went all modern and over the top. I pretend that film doesn't exist as a result. There was a multiple disc edition that did include the Blu-ray of the prequel but that sold out a long time ago now. John.
Ive not picked up the 4k of the Thing because I have the Arrow release which I thought was superb,I saw this at the cinema in a midnight double bill with The prophecy (which has just got a Blu-ray release) and like you said there wasn't many in the cinema. I've just bought a copy of The Shawshank Redemption myself and thought it was fantastic, Keep up the good work John 👍
Prophecy was 1979 Gary so it must have been a re-release of The Thing. People had been completely put off the film by the late 70s due to critics panning it. No one listened to me back then otherwise it would have been the biggest film of the year, including ET. John.
Watched it on my 65" E9 Lg Oled and i thought it looked superb ... what a classic , that was some decade for films, some of my favourites released then
Another excellent and highly informative review of a truly great film John. Brilliant work as always. Shame the prequel didn't reach the same tense greatness as this original but still a watchable film
The last universal 4K I bought was the blues brothers and it look fabulous! They also created a new dts:x mix for the blues brothers and it was a perfect up mix of the Dolby digital 5.1 audio that the extended cut premiered with on disc. If this is the same than the thing sure would look great. Shame they didn’t include the stereo or tracks the arrow edition has. The 2.0 & 4.0 are excellent
You could always run this 4K disc in stereo. Just needs an amplifier that can be manually controlled but I've had people tell me that digital sound on their modern AV receiver can't be fiddled with. On mine I can tell it to do anything including Dolby Stereo (i.e. ProLogic) so although it won't be identical to what was shown on 35mm prints it will be very close. Don't know how the sound was directed on 70mm but going to be close to the most modern soundtracks given the changes to 70mm for Superman and Apocalypse Now a few years earlier. John.
I don't know about the 2020 or 2021 4K release beyond what is said about it in this video but there is a 1080p release from previous years in which they effed the color grading. If is still effed in this 4K release, go and look for its first 1080p release, which I think it was in 2007 on HDVD format, that one has the correct color grading and the movie should be watched in those colors.
@@Jucelegario How would any of us know the correct colour grade without a 35mm print from 1982 to check it against? Remember the transfer for this new release came from the original camera negative so the colour and density had to be reproduced from scratch. Difficult to get it exactly the same unless a perfect print to check it against was available. They achieved it with Apocalypse Now but had Francis Coppola in the room with them and took the cine transfer from the interpositive so they had a pretty good starting point with that one. John.
Nice review! I purchased it recently but haven’t had the opportunity to watch it yet! I do have an Atmos setup, so I’m most curious to experience this soundtrack!
Helicopters should ensure it's a lot of fun Charles. It was in here through the THX system but fortunately it's not completely over the top like a modern action film. John.
I was going to watch Shawshank last night but ran out of time. Hopefully this evening which means I'll work on a review over the next couple of days. John.
Hi John. I watched this for the first time last night. Took me 35 yrs to watch it and being a fan of The Fog I was expecting something special. The special affects took my breath away and it burns on the mind like great films should.
I'm pleased you think so Danny. I saw it at the cinema in 1982 and although there was hardly anyone else in that cinema with me, I thought I'd just seen a masterpiece. Critics disagreed at the time but they were wrong, I was right! I was 18 at the time. John.
Great review of the thing I agree totally with you on picture quality I have the USA Steelbook. I see people Only compared it with the arrowe disc and not the 2 disc Scream Factory which far outweighs the arrowe disc for extras Inc a TV version. I've seen other reviews nit-picking about freezing and sound issues they need to return the disc or check there's system out. My only other gripe is Morrivone didn't score all the movie a good portion was scored by Carpenter And Howarth a lot of morricones was unused. GREAT REVIEW 👍
Morricone is credited with the main theme Phil but I'd forgotten bits had to be filled in. I wonder if the disc hanging problem is due to replication faults and it's just pot luck if you get a bad disc or perhaps it's the age old problem of not all discs being compatible with all players. DVD only ever got to about 98% compatibility in that regard. Whatever the truth it would be wrong to rubbish a release in a review for a problem because it's unlikely to be anything but a problem with your own system or your disc. I did mention the sound drifted out of synchronization briefly but I certainly wouldn't trash a release for that. In fact, I'm only too grateful to be able to own this film in film-like quality for just £20. Who cares if the sound drifts for a couple of minutes with quality like this? John.
Totally agree with you that this is a fantastic looking 4k image, John. And that those who don't, need to maybe work on their TV and/or Player settings. Yes there are the usual soft focus scenes but they are problems with the film making which cannot be corrected. This is definitely the best The Thing has ever looked. Great review. One thing to also note, I checked the bit rate on the disc as saw someone mention it goes very high and I actually saw a spike of 135Mbps and slightly lower a few times.. and stayed above 90Mbps alot. I think this release compliments the Arrow release that I have though.
It's just like running a film print as far as I'm concerned so anyone who is not happy with it must surely have something wrong. Films transferred to video are more fickle than videos put on a disc. You sometimes need to know what you're about to get the best out of them. John.
Another great review. It’s so refreshing and honest to say that you don’t want to be influenced by other reviews. What a great film this is a fitting review. Thanks, Dave
I noticed your a fan of cars in movie's, there is a movie called The Hidden (1987) it's one of my favourite Sci-Fi Movie's from the 80s and it took me 17 years to buy it, it starts off as a bank robbery and his getaway car is a black Ferrari 308 GTS. It came out on Warner Bros premium collection blu ray but the picture has a strong green tinge from the remastering but my Spanish version has a better picture.
I can't recall every having seen it Andrew. Well done for identifying the correct breed of Ferrari there because the GTS and the GTB look identical to the untrained. I always preferred the 308 GT4 which I think it absolutely beautiful. Had a wild ride in one at age 14 - 125mph on public roads! Wouldn't happen these days.
Wonderful review. I got my 4K copy now. I just need to convince the wife to watch it with me 😉 BTW John, do you have any news on a Ben Hur (1959) 4K release? Seeing as we have The Ten Commandments I thought Ben Hur wouldn't be far behind.
I suspect Ben-Hur will be an Easter release in the coming years and hopefully next year. An original 70mm release will ensure Ben-Hur will be another of the best 4K releases so far. John.
I suppose I've done five John Carpenter film reviews now so there's a binge watch opportunity for JC fanatics. Just a shame I made them as I can't bear to watch what I've done previously. Once they're done, they're done and that's it. But I do enjoy making them, particularly when they're films I love. John.
@@zero15388 They'll keep you occupied for a while Zero. I was rather pleased with my Halloween video because it was different to anything else out there... or at least, I thought it was different to anything else. John.
Oohhh, Shawshank Redemption please!! A great review this was and I may get this on a hmv special run. Shawshank Redemption is a top 5 film in most peoples list and mine so a review of it would be great. The Thing is one of my favourite films and had one heck of an impact on me when I first watched it on vhs as I never caught it at the cinema.
I rather went off The Thing when I saw it on television or VHS but the LaserDisc put me back onto it. This latest video release is a bit of a dream really. John.
Greetings Alex. Funny thing is that The Fog wasn't particularly well received when it was current either. I didn't think too much of it myself back then but today I think it's a classic and much better than I ever appreciated. John.
Apologies if I'm mistaken, but it looks like you're using the Panasonic UB400 4k player? If so, I was wondering if you'd considered the UB820? Virtually identical, but it has an 'HDR Optimiser'. Perhaps you weren't aware, or perhaps you were but considered such a feature pretty pointless! Wasn't sure, just curious, especially given your knowledge of AV n' all. Anyway, great video as always 👍 Thank you.
I've had the 400 almost 4 years now. It's very good but I had already decided that when one of my 4K players packs up I'll be getting the top Panny at the time. It will have to have all the audio outputs on it though because I'm fed up with av/hifi equipment not coming with all the correct outputs any longer. John.
I was not sold on this movie at all many years ago. thought it was corny. But after binging some John Carpenter films and really seeing his style along with the retro feel of the film, I found this film to be a masterpiece!!! I did not even know that it was Kurt Russell in the film. It had a sense of isolation and dread to it. A slight, modern comparison I make to this film is 30 Days of Night, which I own on blu-ray as well.
I saw it upon first release in a nearly empty cinema Andre and I immediately thought I'd just seen a masterpiece. I couldn't understand the lack of appreciation at the time but it was simply one of those times when just about everyone got it wrong for whatever reason. I know E.T. gets cited a lot but I went to see that too and I didn't give it a thought when I went in to see THE THING. It's the claustrophobic nature of the isolated location that makes it special. Add to that the music, the cast and the extra special, special effects and what you end up with is a perfect horror film. We don't get anywhere close today. John.
Great video. Keep up the great work. Your are by far the channel with the most insightful, and intelligent points of view on 4K releases. No one else even comes close. You are truly the gold standard of reviewers and always look forward to the new content you put out. Love it. I am thinking about getting into super 8 w/ sound reels from the the 70's. You have inspired me. Which super 8 w/s sound projector brand and model do you recommend? Thanks again . You rock!!!!
For Super 8 start with something fairly basic but not something that's going to scratch your films to pieces. If you're in the UK go to www.bfcc.biz and look at the Independent 8 pages. Barry will recommend something he has that won't break the bank and won't break your films. As for which films to collect initially, get Barry to supply a few that haven't faded and Walton titles are often the best in that regard. For the best in Super 8 you can spend up to £1k for a top feature such as Alien, Aliens, The Terminator, T2, Star Wars, Empire, Jedi, Predator, El Cid and a few of the other most sought after releases. Some of the later trailers are excellent though and there are some great advert reels to enable you to replicate the glory days of cinema. That's a lot of the appeal for me. John.
Ooohhh....I have the Universal edition of this. I have not been able to watch it (my wife has not the stomach for the effects), but I have been waiting for the opportunity. I absolutely trust your eye, and this makes me even more excited.
@@moviecollector5920 I watched a scene or two right after i got it, and I thought it was much better than my old Blu-Ray. I really can't wait for a evening she's out and I can soak in the whole thing. Everyone has their own esthetic, what can you do? There are people who think that atrocious "plastic people" over-DNRed transfer of PREDATOR is perfect. **shrug**
@@mpjedi212 See if you can get wifey to watch the making of documentary with you because I think you'll find that will pique her interest and she won't find the film gory after she's learned all about the workmanship that went into it. John.
Morning John. No doubt about it The Thing is a classic. It's one I've bought several times over the years on various formats. My tally so far is one laserdisc, two DVD's, two Blu-ray 's and finally this 4K disc. We're keeping John Carpenter in Marlboro cigarettes aren't we. I never noticed the length of daylight in the film until you mentioned it. Everyone was next door watching ET when you were on your own watching it on the big screen. I'm looking forward to giving my 4K a spin, I went for the set with the prequel and soundtrack chucked in. Looking back it's difficult to see why it flopped when it was first released. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Shawshank, I'm not a big fan of the film I just think it's OK, I can't understand why it get the plaudits it gets but each to there own. Don't forget to pick up A Clockwork Orange, that's a video I'm looking forward to seeing from you.
Critics didn't like The Thing and back then people must have listened to them. I didn't care because it was not only a horror film but a science fiction as well so right up my alley. Sadly there weren't enough of us to help make the film a success. Shawshank may well be the next review Steve so I may take a look at it tonight. It would have been Clockwork Orange but it wasn't in the store last week and I haven't been on their on-line shop to order it yet. John.
I was too Doug but so many people hassled me to get it that I thought I should. We both were astounded by the opening shots immediately after the white on black titles. We could see if was film quality immediately. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Thank you for the review. I'm curious to see how it compares to the very good arrow disc. I'm hoping that there'll be a colour upgrade at least. I have a fortnight off and a big stack of discs to get through. 😎 Looking forward to your next review already. 🍻
If you're referring to the prequel film then I think it was included in one of the special editions but they have no doubt all sold out a long time ago now. You might be able to find one for sale on eBay but that is a standard Blu-ray previously available and I expect you'd be able to find a copy of that for a couple of pounds now. I'd happily give you mine as I'd be pleased to get rid of it and forget it was ever made. But we're all likely to have different opinions and I know some do very much like it. John.
Bought Jaws and Alien on 4k. My first 2 buys. I will buy the Thing! Top 5 films... Raiders of the lost Ark is my favourite. You need to do a review of that John. Epic film sir.
I've owned a print of Raiders for about 30 years now so I could review the film but most people wouldn't be interested in that as it's the 4K market that generates the enthusiasm today. It's a good print but I don't know exactly how good it will look as a 4K video transfer. Won't be among the best, that's for sure, but it should be pretty good as it always looked pretty good. John.
Great to hear the video is similar to a 35mm print. Never seen The Thing maybe it’s time now. I saw some comparisons recently on TH-cam comparing The Thing with the older Blu Ray and their was a big difference same with A Clockwork Orange. Best Danny
Hello John, I own this title on 4k uhd bluray and when i saw this film in appr. 1982/1983 at my secondary school on a simple tv screen (4:3 crt tube tv of those days) , not in a cinema. and it STILL made a terific and lasting impact on me. I was about 13 then. I loved this film and it was genuinely scary too. I agree this 4k uhd transfer is very good indeed. Also agree with you on the making of documentary on this disc, being excellent. Actually, getting that docu was one of the reasons for buying this 4k disc, after reading about it in a Home Cinema magazine. But, as i said, the 4k disc itself is excellent , as is the Movie itself. One of the very best in horror/scifi cinema. I clearly remember from seeing it in 1982./1983 , wondering how the hell they made these brilliant, bizarre, and convincing effects. I later got a book on movie fx and a lot was revealed in pictures and text. The documentary on this disc is even more revealing and compelling. 10/10 for your review on this one. regards, Roland Robinson.
I sat in a virtually empty cinema when this was first released. At the end of it I felt like I'd just seen a masterpiece but people simply didn't go to see it. I suppose it was too gruesome for most but I was already anaesthetised to horror movies having seen just about everything including a visit to a south of France open air cinema to see some scary looking thing which turned out to be Cannibal Holocaust. Nothing else came close after that but I'd already seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Exorcist at an even younger age so by the time of The Thing I was able to simply enjoy the film and the startling special effects. Not the case for most people I suppose so it was a film ahead of its time and probably just took things a little too far at that time. Now we're all able to see if for the masterpiece that is always was. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Thank you for your 3 answers to my reactions. I guess I avoided some horror movies (I am not , in general, fan of too gory films, The Thing maybe being the exception) I avoided The Exorcist and the Cannibal films that were around when i grew up. But i did seee the Nightmare on Elm street films, be it not at the cinema but at home on VHS rentals (I did that a lot). But generally, I prefer scifi and scifi-horror to straight up horror genre. Tho' Jaws is still pretty awesome. And i've seen A LOT of Shark horrors and thrillers and the likes (Pirahna et al). But the "torture porn" style horror like Saw is not for me. Too gruesome. James Cameron's ALIENS is my top1 fav Film, followed,by (surprise!) the first Back to the Future. regards, Roland.
It’s a shame there’s no definite release of the film. I’ve bought not just this release for the 4K, but both the 2017 Arrow and the 2016 Shout Factory for all the glorious bonus content. The Shout Factory is noticeably different from the other two due possibly to it being taken from an interpositive. Dean Cundey supervised both Shout and Arrow, through Carpenter also supervised the Arrow.
Don't forget the LaserDisc releases and possibly the DVD's too. Sadly there was never a Super 8 but a certain projectionist friend I know has a 35mm print so there's something to aspire to. It was also released on 16mm so still quite a few home movie versions to collect there Andy. John.
Great review!. I was going to buy the 4k version of The Thing but I checked out my Arrow video version on Monday and the picture and sound Quality is brilliant and when I saw it had the same extras as the Universal blu ray I decided not to buy it because I have 3 versions on blu ray and 2 versions on dvd but I might buy it if it comes down in price next year at HMV.
When it's on sale Andrew snag it quick. But perhaps if you get a chance to look at a copy before then you can decide if it's worth splashing out again. I'll be surprised if it's not but apparently many people are claiming it's no better than the Arrow Blu-ray. I don't have the Arrow disc so can't comment but I can say that very few Blu-rays manage to look quite like this 4K of The Thing. Some have come close but 'some' is the operative word there... very few in fact. John.
I have this feeling that Arrow Video will probably re-release The Thing on 4k since the blu ray looks great and since they are selling 4k releases. PS I watched Batman Returns on 4k last week and it was a great picture but they didn't fix the scene when Batman rips off his mask and he didn't have make-up around his eyes but I preferred the first movie because of Jack Nicholson. Plus I was told by an former neighbour that their father was working at Hatfield House when they were filming Batman their doubling as Bruce Wayne's Mansion and he told me Jack Nicholson had around 10 bodyguards around him.
I can review the original Dune in a word - boring. But I haven't seen it since it's cinema release all those years ago so I may feel different today. The only film I've ever fallen asleep in a cinema while watching. I don't expect much of the remake as a result but I'll be happy to be wrong... completely wrong if we're lucky. I fear the same fate for Asimov's Foundation as these books are almost impossible to capture on film... or video! John.
No such problems here Bilko. The sound was a few frames out of synch for a couple of minutes on one of my players but most people wouldn't even notice. Fine on my second player. If there is a specific model of 4K player that is having issues then I expect a firmware update from that player will be forthcoming or should have been installed on them some time ago. I had heard that some TH-cam reviewers were saying this was not a good release but sadly for them, they're wrong. John.
Great job John 👍....yea il be picking up the 4k ina sale, IV the Arrow box set and only watched it the other week...I can hold out for a few mnts..... Yea would love to see your take on the Shawshank redemption. Thanks again.
Thank you Roy. I will have a go at a Shawshank review but may be one in an end of month compilation as I have a couple of other titles to go through that probably wouldn't generate an audience in a dedicated review. John.
Thanks for a great review of one of my favourite movies. First saw this on a taped off TV VHS at a friends during the teachers strikes back in the 80s, an have since owned it on cassette, laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray. I don’t have a 4K player yet - I wonder how much the Apple TV 4K download would suffer with bitrate loss and if on 55” TV this would be noticeable? Thanks again and I’m off to reread Anne Billson’s excellent BFI Modern Classics book seeing as 8YO is up and in charge of the TV remote!
I don't think a low quality stream of this film would be advisable Adam but they may get away with it. A 55 inch television isn't quite four feet wide so maybe it won't appear too bad. The best that can be hoped for is a mid-range between DVD and Blu-ray I suppose so maybe hang on if you can bear to. Save up for a 4K video projector just for this release! John.
Don't know how some don't see the difference between Arrow release and 4K with HDR, on my OLED 4K blows standard bluray out of the water thanks to better color grading and HDR. I'm so happy they did a great job with the transfer. Great review as always btw.
Many people don't have such good televisions and even then they've got to be able to set them up and modify the settings for different discs. It looks great on ours so we know it's a good 'un even if others may not be getting the best out of it. John.
@@moviecollector5920 agreed , also I always thought doing reviews meant you know what you're doing and talking about... or maybe I was wrong ,seems like anyone can be a "reviewer" these days , a bit sad tbh.
@@kovalveli The reason I started this Movie Collector was twofold: firstly, Covid-19 meant I couldn't do any of my work so for the first time in about 15 years I had some spare time and secondly, I couldn't find anyone on TH-cam who understood film who was reviewing the new 4K discs. Without a basic understanding of film it's difficult to come to good critical conclusions. That's my opinion anyway and it is borne out by some of the conclusions reviewers reach who have never collected film. John.
@@moviecollector5920 That's why I subscribed to your channel John, I could tell right away you're know what you're talking about , I'm not subscribed to any other film reviewer on TH-cam other than yourself and movieguy365, Shane from Spare Change too, but he does alot of A/V equipment reviews also ,so that's why. Looking forward to your next review.
Great review John, i have only watched The Thing very recently and liked it a lot and look forward to getting my 4k copy very soon, i love Shawshank Redemption one of my favorite movies as it is for a lot of other people as well, look forward to your review on that and your story of where you saw it
Glad it's good! Still been holding onto my old hd-dvd version. I've been used to crazy hdr 4ks, like hobbs and shaw, for awhile. Some discs are perfect out of the box! Some need a quick tweak.
HDR makes video collecting more akin to a real hobby which is something I rather like about it. You can't just sit there like a moron you have to think about what you're projecting just like with film. John.
Just got this 4k. So it's exactly like I thought. It's a native hdr10, not Dolby vision. So! Hdr10 is less forgiving than DV. On my projector, it's fine. Tv, I have to make sure the backlight is max. Not a fault of the disc, it's a hdr10 ditty. Not every hdr10 content does this, but it happens. Like you said, just be remotely smart about it, slight tweak, enjoy your content. This is my Christmas movie, and a fantastic transfer. I do wish there were more audio options, but this dts:x is fine.
@@tatsumaru12345 It looks first class on my video projector too. Apparently some television viewers weren't happy with it but all our systems are different so there are bound to be little foibles occasionally. John.
Great review as always John. Just wanted to say thank you for your constant hard work in producing such great video's. I and many others its seems, enjoy them greatly. Big yes for me on 4k Shawshank Redemption being next
@@Darrenlovesmovies Murder on the Orient Express is number 1. Tenet probably number 2. Ten Commandments, Spartacus, 2001 A Space Odyssey, My Fair Lady, Interstellar, Dunkirk. Can't think of any more right now but you might notice that all the films I've cited have something in common - 70mm or VistaVision/Technirama. It really is that simple but occasionally a video comes along such as Le Mans '66 or Fast & Furious 8 which look terrific. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I need to buy Murder on the Orient Express in 4k just on such a high recommendation from you. Also need to be upgrading Interstellar and Dunkirk. Thanks for the list John. Much appreciated
@@Darrenlovesmovies Anything shot on large format film basically means there is a good starting point. I felt 2001 should have been slightly better but the original negative bit the dust years ago apparently so that's why it's slightly off compared to some other 70mm releases. Murder on the Orient Express was shot on modern fine grain Kodak 65mm for 70mm release and that's the reason it looks so special. John.
That was two of us then Rob. I think there might have been half a dozen others to the screening I attended. Seems unbelievable today but it was true - people really did not flock to see this masterpiece. John.
Lovely review. Have you seen the new Rocky vs Drago trailer which is the Ultimate Director’s Cut to Rocky IV. This has been mastered from the original 35mm and is in widescreen. Available on the 12th Nov 21 on digital which I am not keen on. Just have to wait for the 4K. Thank you.
I haven't seen the re-mastered trailer but it's good that they've found a 35mm trailer to transfer after all these years. No doubt a fellow collector squirreled one away somewhere. I like all the Rocky films but the original is the one as far as I'm concerned. I'll certainly get the original on 4K disc. John.
I'm a fan and very interested in the 'Ultimate' DC but do wonder if the final result will be an objectively superior, but less enjoyable film. Nothing ventured nothing gained, but I do hope the original theatrical cut is also made available in 4K/HDR with a quality transfer.
@@MBeeching Good Day, I believe the Rocky vs Drago will be better than the original. Sly would not go back Rocky IV if did think he could make it better, he is very protective towards the character. The film was trimmed down to 88 minutes to sell tickets. It now runs for 125 minutes and an extra 40 minutes of unseen footage. Thank you.
I would love to see your review of a clockwork orange, John. I rewatched it with the commentary by Malcolm McDowell and nick redman, it was very interesting and I learnt many things from it. I need to pick up Shawshank redemption on 4K since it looks like a fantastic 4K disc and I've only seen it once on an iPhone screen. Great review John! hope you have a great day
Because of your A Clockwork Orange review Clark, I went into HMV with the intention of purchasing it along with The Thing but no banana. I thought they'd sold out but it's not actually released here until tomorrow. Bummer! Still, I'll get to it shortly. Has your box set version arrived yet?
@@moviecollector5920 sorry for my late reply. My collectors edition has not arrived yet due to shipping here takes about a month. Zavvi’s shipping is very poor. Have a great day
I have the steelbook Arrow release, the normal Arrow release, the Mondo steelbook, and now this UHD 4K release. It’s fair to say I like this film 😂 Another great review. Looking forward to the next.
I must take another flight over the filming location of The Thing! Looks like I'll review The Shawshank Redemption but it might end up being in an end of month round-up as I have the Quiet Place films to look at too and they'd probably be a waste of time as a dedicated review. John.
@@LeShark75 That's encouraging. I was thinking of putting A Quiet Place on this evening but went for the Blu-ray of Soylent Green in the end. Good fun. Hadn't seen it in about 40 years! John.
@@LeShark75 That''s one I haven't seen since I was a child. My5 has a two part documentary all about D-Day which is fabulous if you haven't seen it. Apparently it was broadcast last week as my old dad put me onto it. I don't watch television any longer but occasionally Channel 5 do something worthwhile. John.
Excellent review as usual John...can I be cheeky and ask your good self or any followers what blu ray players you would recommend ( TV is 55" Lg uhd LCD) does support arc and HDR ect....looked at a few but reviews put me off.
You can get a 4K Blu-ray for £100 but it will only have a single HDMI output on it and that's something to bear in mind. Some televisions don't put the audio through into an optical output to go to an amplifier that doesn't have HDMI inputs. If you only want to play the sound through the televsion or via a sound bar or stereo amp then no problem so get a cheapie and give it a go. You'll find the results will be fabulous. Then get yourself a 4K projector, paint the biggest screen onto your wall that you can and go to the movies several times a week! John.
Hi mate, recently stumbled on your movie reviews and they're great... You're so knowledgeable and i love your laid back style. Defiantly a Sub + Thumbs up from me. I noticed in a previous vid that you said you're in Kernow. Where about in the county are you? Helston lad here :D Thanks for another great review!
Hello Will. We're currently near Liskeard which is not exactly the nicest part of Cornwall but it's only a temporary thing probably. Not sure I've ever even visited Helston... all my travels tend to be the other way. John.
@@moviecollector5920 How interesting to read that you live in a town that goes back so many years. It's been said that Americans think a place that's been around for 100 years is old, while Europeans think something that's a couple of hundred miles away is a long distance.
@@robertromero8692 That's a good way of looking at it. Unless you're somewhere like Atlanta or Los Angeles and have the same sort of crowded roads we have in England then nowhere is a long way in the USA. John.
I only ever saw Big Trouble once and didn't like it. That was either a butchered VHS release or television broadcast so the reality is that I've not really ever seen it. The 1.33:1 pan and scan basically put me off.
Hi John. Been waiting for your review of The Thing. I think its going to be my next purchase. Please do a review of Shawshank. Such a good film. I bet it will look great in 4k
Nice one John. Wow I love your The Thing format collection. Just awesome. It's such a mind blowing film. One I definitely need to see on the big screen and preferably from a 35mm print, dirt and scratches and all for that ultra authentic Horror film experience. A super clean version would also be a great viewing experience too. I think The Shawshank Redemption is still one of the greatest films of all time. So from one of, if not the greatest horror of all time to your thoughts on The Shawshank Redemption would be a good thing. Is it more or are your videos getting shorter? Trevor
Thanks Trevor. This video was just over ten minutes and I think Interstellar was about twelve minutes so they've been a bit longer than usual. It is easier to do shorter reviews but I just write the notes and then work from them to record the video. Some need more to be said than others I suppose. It seems that Shawshank may be more popular than I thought. Review COMING SOON! John.
@@moviecollector5920 It could be that I'm used to longer videos from other channels but I do think you get in all that needs to be said. So it must just be me wanting that little bit more. Keep'em coming. I'm intrigued about your Shawshank viewing experience you teased about. Apart from the Waterloo IMAX. Is there a cinema you really get a buzz from watching films in? Like an old Realto or something that adds to the experience. My wife and I stayed at a cottage in the middle of nowhere and one night I watched a horror by myself as she doesn't like horror. The lounge and environment I was in, it's look, the open fire and that we were in the sticks really added to the viewing experience. Trevor
I was relieved to hear the audio was sorted out as I have the panasonic 9000 4k model and haven't got round to watching my collectors edition yet but did check out the bonus score within the package which was excellent. Great video keep these up. Tonight for me is shawshank redemption in 4k but my collection is expanding fast and I'm getting behind abit but will await your next release as always. Do you know if arrow are releasing the film legend in this country as a deluxe like the usa have just received ?
I haven't heard anything about Legend delboy. Can't say it's exactly my favourite Ridley Scott film. Did watch a bit of it again a few years ago and still didn't really like it much. Great to look at though as always from Mr. Scott. John.
Hi John, It's 1982 and 2 films suffered massively at the hands of a little thing called E.T. Now as much as I love Speiberg, Blade runner and The Thing are masterpieces. I also think that with a remastered blu ray you are struggling to tell the difference between that and 4k.
Very true Clive. A remastered Blu-ray is as good as a 4K for clarity on our tiny home screens so we're basically paying for HDR. Sometimes they don't get HDR right but even when they do it often has to be tailored to each film. John.
Thanks for the review! Im surely going to get this movie too. May I suggest to review The Blues Brothers 4k. I recently.bought and watched it. I have some opinions of it both good and bad. So far most reviews i read are very positive on it. Thanks for putting out these videos. I enjoy watching it.
I have to admit to not being a big fan of The Blues Brothers Vlad but I should try it again sometime. It was a 35mm shoot so it should be a good cine transfer but a lot depends on what may have gone wrong with occasional shots on the day just as happened when The Thing was shot. John.
There seems to be an issue with the disc and Panasonic UHD players, people are reporting problems over on the AVForums and all are related to Panasonic. I have 2 copies and have watched them both on my PS5 without any problems at all....
No problems on mine Andy other than the sound drifted for a couple of minutes so is that what people are saying? If I'd have stopped and come back in it probably would have been fine because I skipped through on my second system and there was no problem at that same point.
So, after work today I took a trip to my local HMV and bagged The Thing and Escape From New York on the 2 for thirty 4k deal. Watching The Thing and it really does look good to my eye, probably best I've seen it ❄️🇳🇴👽
If you didn't see it on general release in 1982, then I think it's a certainty that the 4K is the best it's ever looked since. Hardly anyone did see it at the cinema and I can't remember anything about the image quality of the general release print other than it looked impressive up on the big screen of our local cinema at the time. Enjoy Escape From New York too which is another excellent release. John.
@@zero15388 It's one of those 4K releases that is worth purchasing a 4K video projector for so you can play at being in the cinema. Don't spend too much though!
@@hzubovi1 I probably wouldn't fit in as I'd want the transfers of 35mm at 6K as that's how they did Jaws and look how well that turned out. 65mm would then be around 15K and IMAX around 45K. The studios would keep running out of disc space if I were involved. Even then I'd recommend they films only get printed on film! John.
Thanks for showing the 4k disc being loaded into the player. That helped confirm what the disc is supposed to look like and that my sealed new copy came with two Blu-ray discs and no 4k disc. That plus my UB820 is saying both discs are outputting at 1080p. It was bought months ago, so it’s going to be too late to return to HMV. 😡
Actually, going by what appears to be a dirty thumb print on one of the discs, it looks like somebody swapped out the 4k disc with a French version of the Blu-ray then re-sealed it and returned it to HMV. Thinking about it, the way that it was sealed up was different than they usually are. They’re usually cellophane wrapped but this was shrink wrapped around the slipcover. The cover might also be a reprint…
I don't know what you can do about it now that it's a few months down the line. Perhaps contact the studio who created the discs in the first place. How you go about that though will take some finding out. John.
@@moviecollector5920Thanks for the reply John. I’m 100% sure now that this isn’t a factory mix up and that somebody swapped both discs out with two older blu-rays then resealed it with shrink-wrap. The discs have different artwork on them compared to what I’ve seen in an unboxing video and their copy was sealed up how I would expect it to be, with cellophane around the plastic case - not shrink-wrap around the slipcover.
@@novardarkmatter9583 Contact HMV support via their web site. It's worth a try and they should be interested to learn what some dodgy customers get up to. John.
Well said Michael. Carpenter and Spielberg... add Ridley Scott, Clint Eastwood and Christopher Nolan onto the list and I think they're probably my favourite five film makers alive today. John.
John Carpenter's THE THING is a classic masterpiece! You nailed it when you said it truly gives you a feeling of isolation! The score is dark and perfect for this movie! Did you ever see the version that came out in 2011 also titled the "The Thing"? It's a prequel and well made imho! Anyway, another golden review John, thank you!
I have the 2011 film on Blu-ray and I like it but I do remember that like so many modern films it went over the top for about the last half an hour. Film makers today so often say they want to do something "no one has ever seen before". Well, they achieved just that in 1982 but I don't think they succeeded in 2011. I don't particularly care for computer imagery in films very often. John.
Richer Sounds have the latest Optoma 4K projectors and this one is £899 so could be worth a look: www.richersounds.com/optoma-uhd35-white.html They also have the slightly cheaper model but no price on that. If you're in the UK I recommend a trip to Richer Sounds to get a demonstration but bear in mind they'll have their demo projectors set too bright and over saturated in colour because that's what dealers do and most people fall for it but us film enthusiasts can tell if an image looks fake. We've had our Optoma projector for almost four years now and it's been wonderful in all that time. We couldn't get a demonstration of the model we bought as there were only 11 in the country at the time but we had a demo of the model that cost twice the price and could see that the specifications of both were similar. Our projector arrived two days later and it immediately projected a better image than the demonstration owing to it being setup more like film. John.
@@moviecollector5920 wow what an in depth and quick reply. So your saying my projector I got from Amazon with an inbuilt dvd player may not be the best of quality? Looking forward to your next video
@@backbackforward DVD was great... it still is great but not comparable to the latest Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray discs. Get into your nearest Richer Sounds and even if you don't buy immediately it will give you some ideas and something to work towards. Our Optoma UHD550X was £1500 which seems like a lot of money but I think it was a bargain. We are getting film quality projection off some of these 4K discs. John.
Great & insightful review of one of my top 3 favorite films of all time. Jaws & Predator being my other two, I'd be interested to see what your opinions on the Fog 4k transfer are along with the film overall. Keep up the great work.
Greetings Yvonne. I do have The Fog but on Super 8 so I have not desire to purchase it on video as it would spoil my enjoyment of the real film. I think it's a film that has improved with age. It needs to be seen on a big screen in a dark a screening room as possible to get the best out of it. It wasn't highly regarded when it was first released and I could see why at the time. Today it's a classic and it's great to be able to watch it on film. I did actually include an extract in one of my other John Carpenter film reviews but there are four of 'em so good luck finding it!!! John.
I have this on Blu ray and watched some clips on my projector and it looked amazing ,my screen size is 100inch I could only imagined what it's like on 4k. Have you watched the original b w version .
Hello Unal. The Arrow release is reportedly much better than the Universal Blu-ray so if you have that one that may be all you need. However, the HDR has made the 4K look just like a film on my projector. As for the size of screen I don't know what the diagonal measurement is in inches as I'm a film person and have only ever gone by the actual width. In our little home cinema it's about 7 feet but we do still have our 10 foot screen in the living room which we want to get back to soon but first "we're gonna' need a bigger house!" I have seen the original version of The Thing. It's a good film but not a great one like John Carpenter's. That's my opinion anyway. John.
The Thing is my favourite film of all time and to see a home presentation as good as this one really did bring a tear or two to my eyes.
I can understand that Josh. The quality of film on a home movie disc. Amazing! John.
This film is perhaps the greatest example of the Sci-Fi Horror genre ever committed to film. It's an absolute masterpiece. Nice review.
I think I agree with that braviafeed. A masterpiece for sure. John.
Probably the best reviewer on TH-cam. Indepth and knowledgeable as always. Well done sir.
Thank you Fraser. I've been reviewing Super 8 films a long time so that was my education or baptism of fire. I think you have to understand film a bit to do this video review malarkey. John.
The Thing is my favorite movie of all time. PERIOD. I saw it in the theater on its original run and I loved it. I bought it on VHS, DVD, Blu Ray, and now I will pick it up on 4K and I don't even have a 4K player. Yet.
You mean you didn't get the LaserDisc Kevin? It's never too late you know. Seriously though, the 4K is great and I hope that when you do get the equipment to play it that you enjoy it as much as I did.
John.
Lovely review of the The Thing, I purchased it and I am more than pleased with the 4k transfer of the movie. It`s a movie I really enjoy watching anyway so having it now in 4k is a huge bonus.
I don't know how many times I've seen the film over the 39 years but a lot. Cinema, television, probably VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, Blu-ray and now 4K. Ridiculous really but I'd have bought it on Super 8 too if it had have ever been released. John.
John, your videos are getting better and better and are now, IMHO, the gold standard on TH-cam.
I love this film and have owned it on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD. I’ll be getting the 4K once my bank account has recovered from my splurge in August.
Thanks for what you’re doing. I’d basically like you to review anything.
See you in Shawshank, Rob
I think one of us needs to track down a 35mm print... or even a 70mm! That might hit the bank balance a little too hard though Rob.
Hope you're fully recovered now.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 that would be fun, I wonder about the price of a 70mm projector and print. I do think that a decent 4K transfer on disc, projected, in tru 4k (4k chip on the projector versus upscaled), with HDR correctly setup, on a very large screen is as close to film as I remember. I know many don't like grain, however, I'd argue that the correct presentation of grain makes for a truly filmic experience. I have not seen "The Thing" projected through celluloid in many decades, so my memory can play tricks (I'm old @ 63). I'm doing well thanks John and walking over 3 miles a day and only 3 weeks out of hospital.
@@Celestialrob Three miles every day is wonderful Rob. You'll be entered in the London Marathon in April at this rate!
This disc of The Thing does look like a film. So many of them have done since 4K first arrived. Blu-ray rarely quite made it into the filmic look but the authors and masters of these videos on 4K discs have nailed it so often. Just a shame that most movies now are on video which rarely has such an impressive look. Le Mans' 66 (Ford Vs. Ferrari) is one exception though.
By the way, I'm old at 57 now so I'm catching up!
@@moviecollector5920 we're in a rich period for collecting physical media, with so many really great titles coming out each month. It does't matter what your taste is, there are going to be outstanding discs available. I just took delivery of "Dead Zone" and "Event Horizon" Shout Factory special editions for $20 each. If a person is fortunate to have a projector and an 84+ inch screen or larger.... you're in for a treat with both uprezzed BluRays and 4k discs. Good times!
Would definitely be interested to hear your thoughts on "The Shawshank Redemption". As well as having a superb "making of" documentary, "The Thing" also has one of the all time great commentary tracks (my other favourite is on "Conan the Barbarian") if you are interested in that kind of thing - no pun intended. Thanks for the review!
I heard that commentary track years ago Dan and have never forgotten it. I don't get the time for such things these days but it would be nice to get some time off every now and then just to indulge in such things but being self-employed means you have to put the hours in. Still, I'm managing to make the time for these reviews so that's something. John.
The Thing is such a clasic and I enjoyed the 4K transfer - had an audio dropout on my disc around 57 min mark and had to return it gonna wait and pick it up again around the Black Friday sales along with Shawshank
We had the sound synch problem but it turned out to be the player. These things happen but for £19.99 it's a bargain. We should be paying hundreds of pounds for quality like this.
John.
Watched the 4k release on my JVC RS4100. I've never seen the film look this good. The vividness of the colors was impressive. Superlative SF/Horror film.
One of my favourite films since the day I saw it in the cinema. I just wish I could remember more about the look of the general release print I was looking at but my overriding memory of that screening is that there was hardly anyone else in the cinema. Indicative of its poor performance which was a surprise to me at the time as I felt I'd just watched a masterpiece of horror. I had and time has proved me right even though I was only 17 years old at the time and hardly anyone agreed with me until years later.
John.
Movie Collector please review the 4K It Comes at Night , Logan Lucky and the Blu Ray of The Devil All the Time.
I've not actually heard of any of those John. You'd better fill me in a little more. John.
@@moviecollector5920 It Comes at Night (2017)
After an unexpected apocalypse, two families are forced to share a house in order to stay away from the threat outside. Despite the good intentions, both families end up boiling distrust and paranoia.
The Devil All the Time (2020)
A young man devoted to protecting his loved ones must face off against corruption and sinister characters in a postwar backwoods town.
Logan Lucky (2017)
The Logan brothers, Jimmy and Clyde, plan an elaborate scheme to successfully rob a racing circuit in North Carolina, USA, and evade the authorities.
@@johnuchiha5386 Tney all sound interesting John. I'll shall keep a look out for them in HMV.
I should have said that I'm using my other account right now so rest assured that last reply was from Movie Collector.
I've only seen It Comes at Night .Saw it at the theatre, and own the blu-ray, but it's a very good movie
The Arrow release was made from the same 4K master i believe and it's pretty damn good. Much better than the old Universal Blu-Ray. That might be why some reviewers didn't see as much of a difference between the Arrow Blu-Ray and the new 4K. But like you say, sometimes you gotta fiddle around with the equipment to get everything out of a 4K release, which can be annoying to many folks.
I think you've got to treat 4K more like film and that's not something video collectors have ever had to do. It's always been a push button pastime but 4K is more like a proper hobby just as film collecting is. Film collecting means you have to maintain your prints and generally work on your equipment to keep the presentation top-notch and that's what we need to accept with 4K. I actually like that about it as you have to keep your mind switched on to watch a disc rather than sit there and vegetate.
John.
I have the excellent Shout steelbook set, which includes 2K & 4K scan discs. Compared to my HD DVD release , it's like night and day. I'm going to assume the Arrow blu.ray is also excellent. Does the 4K look better yes , but it's not a big difference.
Thanks for the review, John. For several years The Thing has been my most-anticipated 4k Blu-ray release. Several John Carpenter movies had already been released on 4k Blu-ray over the years and I've always wondered why this classic had not been released yet. As The Thing is an absolute masterpiece, I had expected it to be one of the very first 4k Blu-rays to be released. Well, all of that doesn't matter anymore, now that it's finally here and maybe it's even a good thing we had to wait this long, as it gave them enough time to release something incredible, instead of quickly releasing a disappointing, rushed 4k transfer. In my opinion this movie is just a must-own. I've got the Special Edition which also includes the 2011 prequel.
I've got that 4k Blu-ray release of The Shawshank Redemption as well. Yet another classic that arrived on the format last month. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts about it.
I don't know but it's possible Universal leased the rights for the film on the home movie market for a set amount of time and that time has now expired. I don't have all the John Carpenter films on 4K (I have Halloween and The Fog on Super 8 so there's no point really) but the three others that I do have are from Studio Canal. Different studios, different licencing.
Shawshank seems to be more popular than I thought.
John.
Another excellent review, man. Your knowledge of how films should look and sound is amazing. Looking forward to Clockwork Orange!
My knowledge or ability to look at a video and gauge how good [or not] it is is all down to scrutinizing Super 8 film releases for many years for reviews in magazines/fanzines. I always put review prints on our ten foot roll down screen and I want to get back to using that for Super 8 and everything else. We're gonna' need a bigger house! John.
Hope you and the mrs are doing well John. Keep up the great work I always look forward to your chats
Thank you Mozart. We're both okay... or at least, we've not gone completely nuts yet anyway. John.
I could hear John for endless hours regarding the art of cinema screening...wait a minute..i'm already doing that!
As always thank you for your hard work showing us all the details.
Thanks JK. It's easy to talk about a film if it's a masterpiece, and this one's a masterpiece!
John.
Just to note, loving the vids you do. You’ve got me on to Cinema Retro now and I’ve subscribed for the next season in 2025, I’ll definitely be gaining back issues. Thank you for that. I really do love your Super 8 films as well. I’d love an episode that showcases your Super8 collection with plenty of footage of the reels in action. Maybe you’ve already don’t it, this is as far as I’ve gotten in your vids and havent seen what’s upcoming yet. After seeing ALOT of people talking about reviews for various formats, I really do like your approach and I feel more comfortable with your channel for quality of picture or print reviews. Thank you so much for your work here and I look forward to more in the future. Keep up the good work.
I did make a video all about 'The Super 8 Gauge' about four years ago Adam so that will show you quite a bit but I didn't exactly go through my Super 8 film collection. You will be able to pick out many of the titles on the shelves though. In more recent videos I've been featuring 4K discs that had Super 8 feature releases (Highlander, Raiders of the Lost Ark) so you'll see glimpses of the Super 8 prints running in those. I daren't show too much otherwise I'll incur the wrath of the studios which is what happened with my review of Jaws in mid-2020.
I hope you enjoy Cinema Retro. I've had it from issue 1 which was 20 years ago this month. It doesn't feel like 20 years but that's what happens as we age - time moves so much faster.
As for LaserDisc, I really need to find a second player sometime because after more than 30 years, my Pioneer CLD-1750 is beginning to struggle a little at times. I also need to find a way of making the image quality look as good through current video projectors as it used to through older video projectors. I need to investigate genuine, capable line-doublers and a way of getting the signal converted into an HDMI output without turning it to mush. But the big thing about LaserDisc which I've only just started to appreciate recently is the fact that they come with the original theatrical soundtracks. No wonder they sound better than later home video disc releases so often. I used to think I was imagining it.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 I used to use a HDconverter, which enabled me to plug it up through to the projector via HDMI, works very well and if you get a good one, it can upscale the image very nicely without losing quality of the original. Nothing tho can beat the original type of projectors Laserdiscs were meant to be used with, just so big and expensive they are to get.
Perfect timing, John. I watched this last night, and thought it was great. I couldn't understand the negative comments about the sound. Sounded fine to me. Colors and dynamic range were very nice.
I suspect most of us are going to agree that this release is pretty terrific Robert but some people have their systems set up poorly and don't think to check prior to complaining in public. You can get away with a poor set up most of the time but 4K transfers of real films can be somewhat more fickle and this one projected too bright looked quite poor. I turned the HDR brightness down 25% and it was just like watching it as a film print. Eureka! John.
Fun fact; John Carpenter's The Thing is a "remake" of The Thing of another World based on the Novella called "Who goes there" by John W. Campbell Jr. John Carpenter's version is almost a page by page representation of the Novella. One of my favorite movies because of that.
Another top notch review.
I've never read the short story/novella but when you've got a film this good based on it, why bother?!? John.
Both films are enjoyable, but the Carpenter film is far closer to the original story.
The short story is really only 30 pages long or so. I read it in a competition of short stories that I read back in the 80s called "it came from Hollywood". Some of the other stories that were made into movies were A boy and his Dog and The Day the Earth Stood Still. What I love most about the correlation between the original story and John Carpenter's The Thing is that it took almost 30 years for the movie going public to grasp what people were reading in the 50s.
I was nine years old when I saw this during the summer of 82' at the drive-in. At that very moment, the film literally changed my course of life. At that very moment, I decided to become a filmmaker.
Wonderful. And I hope you've been enjoying being a film maker during all the years you've been doing it. I came out of the nearly empty cinema after watching The Thing thinking that I'd seen a masterpiece. Sadly, it wasn't exactly a big hit over here.
John.
Another excellent review John. I saw this movie on the big screen upon its release. The special effects were ahead of its time and were quite amazing to watch at the time. Carpenter's score was also excellent as it was in Halloween. I was thinking that when the US team went to the other camp and what they found there was a perfect setup for a prequel and sure enough one was finally made which is about the initial discovery of the alien ship in the ice and the subsequent overrunning of the scientific camp by the alien creature. Also the ending was the perfect tie in to John Carpenter's film with them chasing the sled dog and trying to shoot it before it reached the US camp. Even using Carpenter's iconic theme at the end to further tie it in. All in all both can be viewed back to back as if it were one movie. The only thing that I felt John Carpenter's film should have had was one or maybe two female characters but that is just my opinion. The prequel did have a female character. Still Carpenter's films remain a legend in screen horror over all. I wonder what The Thing's movie take in is now since it has gone to video and gained even more in its popularity among horror fans. Keep up the good reviews and yes I would like to know your take on The Shawshank Redemption. Buh bye for now.
The prequel was good up until about the last half hour when I thought it went over the top and spoiled itself. I didn't care for introducing female characters into it because although that was to appease a modern audience it made it obviously from a different era to the original. Other than that, I can't remember much about it which tells me something. Sorry if I'm contradicting your thoughts on the film Daniel but I did enjoy about the first two-thirds of it overall. I'll watch it again sometime.
Ennio Morricone did the score for Carpenter's film. I guess Mr. Carpenter had to give way when he's given a talent like Morricone to create the music.
Bye-bye for now!
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Oh, okay. Yes, lucky indeed to have Morricone do the film score, He's such a masterful film composer. After your review I do plan on getting the upgrade along with other horror classics such as The Shining. I already have two of Hitchcock's classics on 4K now. The Birds and Psycho. Psycho was the best transfer. The Birds seemed to have brought out the failings of the photography as some scenes were badly focused but still worth the upgrade in my opinion. Yes, I do like reading different opinions on movies as long as people keep it respectful. I like the fact that you reply to all the remarks made and continue the conversation. I think that shows respect towards your fans. Thanks and looking forward to your next review. Till then. Keep watching.
The prequel is about as good as 1982 one but you need to watch it few times to settle with it it have one bad cgi scene when 82’ has 2.Now we got 3 survivors from both they need to do third one and hopefully forth.
I had the Universal blu ray, which is also the same one used in the HMV steelbook. I upgraded to the Arrow 2017 release and there was a noticeable difference with colour, grain and sharpness which were all improved. The Arrow has a much more filmic warm presentation. I wouldn't be surprised if Arrow released a 4K version of their restoration at some point. I'd be really interested to hear your own opinion of the Arrow Video blu ray compared to the new 4K if you ever get the chance. Always find you videos very interesting and informative.
Arrow probably licensed the use of The Thing for a period of time Ryan so it may be that they can't press more copies now as the rights could have returned to Universal who apparently got Warner Bros. to issue the 4K. It seems the 4K that Arrow used is the one prepared or commissioned by Universal so it will just be different grading on the two and the fact that 4K has HDR applied. Turn HDR off and it may be almost impossible to see a difference without projecting them side by side on large screens. John.
People have been curious, myself included, if the 4K release is from the Arrow or the Shout Factory transfer, last time I checked nobody knows for sure.
This and Alien, are my favorite horror films. Great review. I'm glad you brought up the bottle theory, if Childs was human he wouldn't want to take the bottle not knowing if Mac is a thing. I think the 4K transfer is great, but let me also say the Shout blu-ray is amazing, it pushes that format to the limit, and I assume the arrow transfer is just as good, if not better. The difference between the Shout blu- ray and my HD DVD is like night and day. Does the 4K look better sure, but honestly it's just a slight bump in resolution and the HDR that makes a difference.
I used to struggle with the difference between Blu-ray and 4K Edward so you're not alone. The bigger you go the easier it is but our home screens are tiny as are a lot of cinema screens these days. If HDR had have been applied to standard Blu-ray then there wouldn't have been a need for 4K home video discs. However, the 4K of The Others doesn't have HDR applied and the amazing thing is that it certainly does not need it.
John.
Another brilliant review - you should have your own film tv show. I too am a huge John Carpenter fan. I have got so many versions of the Thing including Video Disc, VHS, DVD. The new Universal 4K compliments previous Arrow 4K release.
Thanks.
Thanks Paul. If I ever got approached by television I don't think they'd like the way I'd want to do a film programme because I'd prove it could be done with just two people! The Thing is a great film. One of many that great man John Carpenter has made but I think The Thing is a more collaborative effort than most of his other greats. Where would it have been without Rob Bottin for example?
John.
Hi John, great review as always. The extras on the Arrow release are excellent, as are the extras on the Scream Factory release. The combined extras between theme are well worth having. As I mentioned previously, this 4K edition of The Thing is outstanding and it’s great to hear your recommendation.
This one's a great cine transfer Ian. Don't really understand why there have apparently been some moaning minnies out there. John.
I remember this movie scaring the daylights out of me. The effects were really amazing. Excellent review! Shawshank Yes please! Thank you for your reviews, they make my day!
I was about 18 years old when I saw this in 1982 and I was a hardened horror fan by then. I was amazed rather than scared and felt I'd seen a very special horror thriller. Hardly anyone seems to concur with me back then. How times change. John.
Hello John, Thanks for yet another brilliant review. I have the boxset now as I mentioned ordering last month. Going to watch. I remember vividly seeing this on pirate VHS, then on TV recordered on VHS. Then owning on DVD, Blu Ray and finally Blu Ray 4K Ultra. Another brilliant review John as always.
I'd actually still pay to see this film at a real cinema again even if it was a video projection of this disc and not a film. Somewhere with a big screen and not one of the modern multiplex jobs with no curtains or proper masking. Well, we can all dream but if it does ever get a theatrical re-release Gary I'll see you there. Gawd, I actually forgot.... I took my wife to the National Film Theatre in 1994 to see this on their big screen. Jeez! I should have mentioned that in the review because the NFT is the place this would get another screening. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Yes I too would love to see this at the cinema too John. It tanked at the cinema but became a cult classic. I think JC does have ideas for a sequel which would be superb. Would love to know his intention. Thanks.
@@garypeach8945 It's about time John Carpenter got back to making movies. But I hope he doesn't go down the computer effects route if a sequel to The Thing is the path he takes. Track down that Rob Bottin chap and get him to re-create those magical effects but with a proper team and more money available and we should be in for a treat.
John.
Thanks for the review. I really love the atmosphere you create in your videos for appreciating film. Your voice also seems to perfectly go together with it. You are the main reason I’m buying this uhd. Thanks for your thoughts!
Kind of you to say all that Ray. I do put a lot of thought into how to approach each film and even if I don't particularly like something I don't want to rubbish it if I can possibly avoid it. This film is an undoubted classic and it's a bit of a dream to be able to have it in film quality on a home video. I do point out to everyone though to ensure they do not have their image too bright as that can do more than anything to ruin a good cine transfer. Film is not video and shouldn't be treated as such. John.
A huge admirer of your channel, have you thought about LOTR 4k Extended? as the DVD>BD there were some green casting tint issues in the BD and for the 4k used modern colourist tools such as Davinci Resolve to really allow us to see the true images of what they shot 20 years ago!
I've been working on Keith at Euphoria Pictures to do something extensive on The Lord of the Rings Oliver. I only saw the first film and it didn't appeal to me (too old by then) but I will say that even though I was in the Odeon Leicester Square it looked awful on screen and that certainly wasn't what I was used to. The downturn in image quality at cinemas had set in then and at the time I didn't understand it but I now realize it was all the low quality computer work. I do have trailers to all the films on Super 8 and they're fabulous so it can be done. Maybe the authors of these discs were able to have all the CGI re-rendered at higher quality for the 4K release so if you like the films it might be worth looking at one of them. But I've seen what you said about making them look like they did 20 years ago but that would be a backward step so I hope they've been completely re-exported. Black Magic Design Davinci Resolve is the most complicated software I've ever used but miracles can be achieved with it if you know what you're doing.
John.
One small issue I've noticed with this release is not with the transfer or anything like as it looks incredible, it's more of the fact how on the back it mentions the inclusion of the 2011 'The Thing' yet after checking through both the 4k and blu ray discs, The films doesn't seem to present on either
I hadn't spotted that but thank gawd that second rate tosh isn't included. To be fair the first half or two-thirds were pretty good and then it went all modern and over the top. I pretend that film doesn't exist as a result. There was a multiple disc edition that did include the Blu-ray of the prequel but that sold out a long time ago now. John.
Ive not picked up the 4k of the Thing because I have the Arrow release which I thought was superb,I saw this at the cinema in a midnight double bill with The prophecy (which has just got a Blu-ray release) and like you said there wasn't many in the cinema.
I've just bought a copy of The Shawshank Redemption myself and thought it was fantastic, Keep up the good work John 👍
Prophecy was 1979 Gary so it must have been a re-release of The Thing. People had been completely put off the film by the late 70s due to critics panning it. No one listened to me back then otherwise it would have been the biggest film of the year, including ET. John.
Watched it on my 65" E9 Lg Oled and i thought it looked superb ... what a classic , that was some decade for films, some of my favourites released then
Jaws in 1975 and then for about the next 25 years was a golden age. There are still good films today but seem to be fewer than back then. John.
Another excellent and highly informative review of a truly great film John.
Brilliant work as always.
Shame the prequel didn't reach the same tense greatness as this original but still a watchable film
The prequel wasn't too bad really John. Just went a bit off the wall in the last half an hour as I recall. John.
The last universal 4K I bought was the blues brothers and it look fabulous!
They also created a new dts:x mix for the blues brothers and it was a perfect up mix of the Dolby digital 5.1 audio that the extended cut premiered with on disc.
If this is the same than the thing sure would look great. Shame they didn’t include the stereo or tracks the arrow edition has. The 2.0 & 4.0 are excellent
You could always run this 4K disc in stereo. Just needs an amplifier that can be manually controlled but I've had people tell me that digital sound on their modern AV receiver can't be fiddled with. On mine I can tell it to do anything including Dolby Stereo (i.e. ProLogic) so although it won't be identical to what was shown on 35mm prints it will be very close. Don't know how the sound was directed on 70mm but going to be close to the most modern soundtracks given the changes to 70mm for Superman and Apocalypse Now a few years earlier.
John.
Another great review.👏 I've only seen The Thing once, and was suitably repulsed.😱 Might be worth a rewatch though. Cheers, Simon.😀
It's a film that plays better the older it gets Simon. John.
Definitely worth a rematch now you know what you are in for.
I don't know about the 2020 or 2021 4K release beyond what is said about it in this video but there is a 1080p release from previous years in which they effed the color grading. If is still effed in this 4K release, go and look for its first 1080p release, which I think it was in 2007 on HDVD format, that one has the correct color grading and the movie should be watched in those colors.
@@Jucelegario How would any of us know the correct colour grade without a 35mm print from 1982 to check it against? Remember the transfer for this new release came from the original camera negative so the colour and density had to be reproduced from scratch. Difficult to get it exactly the same unless a perfect print to check it against was available. They achieved it with Apocalypse Now but had Francis Coppola in the room with them and took the cine transfer from the interpositive so they had a pretty good starting point with that one. John.
Nice review! I purchased it recently but haven’t had the opportunity to watch it yet! I do have an Atmos setup, so I’m most curious to experience this soundtrack!
Helicopters should ensure it's a lot of fun Charles. It was in here through the THX system but fortunately it's not completely over the top like a modern action film. John.
Best Practical effects and prosthetics as per Classic movie. Ennis morricone music was haunting and memorable.
A great film all around but certainly the effects and score are a great part of its success. John.
Well said Dan I too would appreciate a Shawshank review Thank You
I was going to watch Shawshank last night but ran out of time. Hopefully this evening which means I'll work on a review over the next couple of days. John.
Hi John. I watched this for the first time last night. Took me 35 yrs to watch it and being a fan of The Fog I was expecting something special. The special affects took my breath away and it burns on the mind like great films should.
I'm pleased you think so Danny. I saw it at the cinema in 1982 and although there was hardly anyone else in that cinema with me, I thought I'd just seen a masterpiece. Critics disagreed at the time but they were wrong, I was right! I was 18 at the time.
John.
Great review of the thing I agree totally with you on picture quality I have the USA Steelbook. I see people Only compared it with the arrowe disc and not the 2 disc Scream Factory which far outweighs the arrowe disc for extras Inc a TV version. I've seen other reviews nit-picking about freezing and sound issues they need to return the disc or check there's system out. My only other gripe is Morrivone didn't score all the movie a good portion was scored by Carpenter And Howarth a lot of morricones was unused. GREAT REVIEW 👍
Morricone is credited with the main theme Phil but I'd forgotten bits had to be filled in. I wonder if the disc hanging problem is due to replication faults and it's just pot luck if you get a bad disc or perhaps it's the age old problem of not all discs being compatible with all players. DVD only ever got to about 98% compatibility in that regard. Whatever the truth it would be wrong to rubbish a release in a review for a problem because it's unlikely to be anything but a problem with your own system or your disc. I did mention the sound drifted out of synchronization briefly but I certainly wouldn't trash a release for that. In fact, I'm only too grateful to be able to own this film in film-like quality for just £20. Who cares if the sound drifts for a couple of minutes with quality like this?
John.
Totally agree with you that this is a fantastic looking 4k image, John. And that those who don't, need to maybe work on their TV and/or Player settings. Yes there are the usual soft focus scenes but they are problems with the film making which cannot be corrected. This is definitely the best The Thing has ever looked. Great review.
One thing to also note, I checked the bit rate on the disc as saw someone mention it goes very high and I actually saw a spike of 135Mbps and slightly lower a few times.. and stayed above 90Mbps alot.
I think this release compliments the Arrow release that I have though.
It's just like running a film print as far as I'm concerned so anyone who is not happy with it must surely have something wrong. Films transferred to video are more fickle than videos put on a disc. You sometimes need to know what you're about to get the best out of them. John.
Another great review. It’s so refreshing and honest to say that you don’t want to be influenced by other reviews.
What a great film this is a fitting review. Thanks, Dave
The Thing is one of the best Dave so it's easy to review a film that's this good. John.
I have the Arrow Films Bluray, which is fantastic. Might have to get this too though...
We're really paying for HDR with these 4K discs but I'd say this one is worth a few hundred pounds! And all we're being charged is £19.99!!! John.
I noticed your a fan of cars in movie's, there is a movie called The Hidden (1987) it's one of my favourite Sci-Fi Movie's from the 80s and it took me 17 years to buy it, it starts off as a bank robbery and his getaway car is a black Ferrari 308 GTS. It came out on Warner Bros premium collection blu ray but the picture has a strong green tinge from the remastering but my Spanish version has a better picture.
I can't recall every having seen it Andrew. Well done for identifying the correct breed of Ferrari there because the GTS and the GTB look identical to the untrained. I always preferred the 308 GT4 which I think it absolutely beautiful. Had a wild ride in one at age 14 - 125mph on public roads! Wouldn't happen these days.
Wonderful review. I got my 4K copy now. I just need to convince the wife to watch it with me 😉 BTW John, do you have any news on a Ben Hur (1959) 4K release? Seeing as we have The Ten Commandments I thought Ben Hur wouldn't be far behind.
I suspect Ben-Hur will be an Easter release in the coming years and hopefully next year. An original 70mm release will ensure Ben-Hur will be another of the best 4K releases so far. John.
Brilliant !! Been hoping for a Carpenter special
I suppose I've done five John Carpenter film reviews now so there's a binge watch opportunity for JC fanatics. Just a shame I made them as I can't bear to watch what I've done previously. Once they're done, they're done and that's it. But I do enjoy making them, particularly when they're films I love. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Ah, sorry, will have to go back and rewatch, thank you, great reviews as always
@@zero15388 They'll keep you occupied for a while Zero. I was rather pleased with my Halloween video because it was different to anything else out there... or at least, I thought it was different to anything else. John.
Oohhh, Shawshank Redemption please!! A great review this was and I may get this on a hmv special run. Shawshank Redemption is a top 5 film in most peoples list and mine so a review of it would be great. The Thing is one of my favourite films and had one heck of an impact on me when I first watched it on vhs as I never caught it at the cinema.
I rather went off The Thing when I saw it on television or VHS but the LaserDisc put me back onto it. This latest video release is a bit of a dream really. John.
Great stuff! It's hard to decide on a favorite Carpenter, I'd say The Fog but this is a close second!
Greetings Alex. Funny thing is that The Fog wasn't particularly well received when it was current either. I didn't think too much of it myself back then but today I think it's a classic and much better than I ever appreciated. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Seems to the be MO with Carpenter!
Apologies if I'm mistaken, but it looks like you're using the Panasonic UB400 4k player? If so, I was wondering if you'd considered the UB820? Virtually identical, but it has an 'HDR Optimiser'. Perhaps you weren't aware, or perhaps you were but considered such a feature pretty pointless! Wasn't sure, just curious, especially given your knowledge of AV n' all. Anyway, great video as always 👍 Thank you.
I've had the 400 almost 4 years now. It's very good but I had already decided that when one of my 4K players packs up I'll be getting the top Panny at the time. It will have to have all the audio outputs on it though because I'm fed up with av/hifi equipment not coming with all the correct outputs any longer. John.
I was not sold on this movie at all many years ago. thought it was corny. But after binging some John Carpenter films and really seeing his style along with the retro feel of the film, I found this film to be a masterpiece!!! I did not even know that it was Kurt Russell in the film. It had a sense of isolation and dread to it. A slight, modern comparison I make to this film is 30 Days of Night, which I own on blu-ray as well.
I saw it upon first release in a nearly empty cinema Andre and I immediately thought I'd just seen a masterpiece. I couldn't understand the lack of appreciation at the time but it was simply one of those times when just about everyone got it wrong for whatever reason. I know E.T. gets cited a lot but I went to see that too and I didn't give it a thought when I went in to see THE THING. It's the claustrophobic nature of the isolated location that makes it special. Add to that the music, the cast and the extra special, special effects and what you end up with is a perfect horror film. We don't get anywhere close today. John.
Great video. Keep up the great work. Your are by far the channel with the most insightful, and intelligent points of view on 4K releases. No one else even comes close. You are truly the gold standard of reviewers and always look forward to the new content you put out. Love it. I am thinking about getting into super 8 w/ sound reels from the the 70's. You have inspired me. Which super 8 w/s sound projector brand and model do you recommend? Thanks again . You rock!!!!
For Super 8 start with something fairly basic but not something that's going to scratch your films to pieces. If you're in the UK go to www.bfcc.biz and look at the Independent 8 pages. Barry will recommend something he has that won't break the bank and won't break your films. As for which films to collect initially, get Barry to supply a few that haven't faded and Walton titles are often the best in that regard. For the best in Super 8 you can spend up to £1k for a top feature such as Alien, Aliens, The Terminator, T2, Star Wars, Empire, Jedi, Predator, El Cid and a few of the other most sought after releases. Some of the later trailers are excellent though and there are some great advert reels to enable you to replicate the glory days of cinema. That's a lot of the appeal for me.
John.
Ooohhh....I have the Universal edition of this. I have not been able to watch it (my wife has not the stomach for the effects), but I have been waiting for the opportunity.
I absolutely trust your eye, and this makes me even more excited.
It's a great release Mark. Apparently some have been moaning about it but they're simply wrong. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I watched a scene or two right after i got it, and I thought it was much better than my old Blu-Ray. I really can't wait for a evening she's out and I can soak in the whole thing.
Everyone has their own esthetic, what can you do? There are people who think that atrocious "plastic people" over-DNRed transfer of PREDATOR is perfect. **shrug**
@@mpjedi212 See if you can get wifey to watch the making of documentary with you because I think you'll find that will pique her interest and she won't find the film gory after she's learned all about the workmanship that went into it. John.
Morning John. No doubt about it The Thing is a classic. It's one I've bought several times over the years on various formats. My tally so far is one laserdisc, two DVD's, two Blu-ray 's and finally this 4K disc. We're keeping John Carpenter in Marlboro cigarettes aren't we. I never noticed the length of daylight in the film until you mentioned it. Everyone was next door watching ET when you were on your own watching it on the big screen. I'm looking forward to giving my 4K a spin, I went for the set with the prequel and soundtrack chucked in. Looking back it's difficult to see why it flopped when it was first released. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Shawshank, I'm not a big fan of the film I just think it's OK, I can't understand why it get the plaudits it gets but each to there own. Don't forget to pick up A Clockwork Orange, that's a video I'm looking forward to seeing from you.
Critics didn't like The Thing and back then people must have listened to them. I didn't care because it was not only a horror film but a science fiction as well so right up my alley. Sadly there weren't enough of us to help make the film a success.
Shawshank may well be the next review Steve so I may take a look at it tonight. It would have been Clockwork Orange but it wasn't in the store last week and I haven't been on their on-line shop to order it yet.
John.
Damn, John. I was trying to hold off watching this for a while but you've got me! Cheers.
I was too Doug but so many people hassled me to get it that I thought I should. We both were astounded by the opening shots immediately after the white on black titles. We could see if was film quality immediately. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Thank you for the review. I'm curious to see how it compares to the very good arrow disc. I'm hoping that there'll be a colour upgrade at least.
I have a fortnight off and a big stack of discs to get through. 😎
Looking forward to your next review already. 🍻
Where is the 2011 thing on it ? I’ve been trying to find it and can’t find it
If you're referring to the prequel film then I think it was included in one of the special editions but they have no doubt all sold out a long time ago now. You might be able to find one for sale on eBay but that is a standard Blu-ray previously available and I expect you'd be able to find a copy of that for a couple of pounds now. I'd happily give you mine as I'd be pleased to get rid of it and forget it was ever made. But we're all likely to have different opinions and I know some do very much like it.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 I haven’t seen it but I am wanting to see it. I spent a while looking for it on the Blu ray and 4K disc earlier.
Bought Jaws and Alien on 4k. My first 2 buys. I will buy the Thing! Top 5 films... Raiders of the lost Ark is my favourite. You need to do a review of that John. Epic film sir.
I've owned a print of Raiders for about 30 years now so I could review the film but most people wouldn't be interested in that as it's the 4K market that generates the enthusiasm today. It's a good print but I don't know exactly how good it will look as a 4K video transfer. Won't be among the best, that's for sure, but it should be pretty good as it always looked pretty good. John.
Great to hear the video is similar to a 35mm print. Never seen The Thing maybe it’s time now. I saw some comparisons recently on TH-cam comparing The Thing with the older Blu Ray and their was a big difference same with A Clockwork Orange. Best Danny
It's a great film Danny and you're in for a treat if you haven't seen it. John.
Hello John,
I own this title on 4k uhd bluray and when i saw this film in appr. 1982/1983 at my secondary school on a simple tv screen (4:3 crt tube tv of those days) , not in a cinema. and it STILL made a terific and lasting impact on me. I was about 13 then. I loved this film and it was genuinely scary too. I agree this 4k uhd transfer is very good indeed. Also agree with you on the making of documentary on this disc, being excellent. Actually, getting that docu was one of the reasons for buying this 4k disc, after reading about it in a Home Cinema magazine. But, as i said, the 4k disc itself is excellent , as is the Movie itself. One of the very best in horror/scifi cinema. I clearly remember from seeing it in 1982./1983 , wondering how the hell they made these brilliant, bizarre, and convincing effects. I later got a book on movie fx and a lot was revealed in pictures and text. The documentary on this disc is even more revealing and compelling. 10/10 for your review on this one.
regards, Roland Robinson.
I sat in a virtually empty cinema when this was first released. At the end of it I felt like I'd just seen a masterpiece but people simply didn't go to see it. I suppose it was too gruesome for most but I was already anaesthetised to horror movies having seen just about everything including a visit to a south of France open air cinema to see some scary looking thing which turned out to be Cannibal Holocaust. Nothing else came close after that but I'd already seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Exorcist at an even younger age so by the time of The Thing I was able to simply enjoy the film and the startling special effects. Not the case for most people I suppose so it was a film ahead of its time and probably just took things a little too far at that time. Now we're all able to see if for the masterpiece that is always was.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Thank you for your 3 answers to my reactions. I guess I avoided some horror movies (I am not , in general, fan of too gory films, The Thing maybe being the exception) I avoided The Exorcist and the Cannibal films that were around when i grew up. But i did seee the Nightmare on Elm street films, be it not at the cinema but at home on VHS rentals (I did that a lot). But generally, I prefer scifi and scifi-horror to straight up horror genre. Tho' Jaws is still pretty awesome. And i've seen A LOT of Shark horrors and thrillers and the likes (Pirahna et al). But the "torture porn" style horror like Saw is not for me. Too gruesome. James Cameron's ALIENS is my top1 fav Film, followed,by (surprise!) the first Back to the Future.
regards,
Roland.
Great review. I just ordered this following your review. Thanks. btw Zavvi have 3 4k movies for £30!
Thanks Terry. I snagged 3 for £30 from Fopp and that will be in the next video.
John.
It’s a shame there’s no definite release of the film. I’ve bought not just this release for the 4K, but both the 2017 Arrow and the 2016 Shout Factory for all the glorious bonus content. The Shout Factory is noticeably different from the other two due possibly to it being taken from an interpositive. Dean Cundey supervised both Shout and Arrow, through Carpenter also supervised the Arrow.
Don't forget the LaserDisc releases and possibly the DVD's too. Sadly there was never a Super 8 but a certain projectionist friend I know has a 35mm print so there's something to aspire to. It was also released on 16mm so still quite a few home movie versions to collect there Andy. John.
Great review!. I was going to buy the 4k version of The Thing but I checked out my Arrow video version on Monday and the picture and sound Quality is brilliant and when I saw it had the same extras as the Universal blu ray I decided not to buy it because I have 3 versions on blu ray and 2 versions on dvd but I might buy it if it comes down in price next year at HMV.
When it's on sale Andrew snag it quick. But perhaps if you get a chance to look at a copy before then you can decide if it's worth splashing out again. I'll be surprised if it's not but apparently many people are claiming it's no better than the Arrow Blu-ray. I don't have the Arrow disc so can't comment but I can say that very few Blu-rays manage to look quite like this 4K of The Thing. Some have come close but 'some' is the operative word there... very few in fact. John.
I have this feeling that Arrow Video will probably re-release The Thing on 4k since the blu ray looks great and since they are selling 4k releases. PS I watched Batman Returns on 4k last week and it was a great picture but they didn't fix the scene when Batman rips off his mask and he didn't have make-up around his eyes but I preferred the first movie because of Jack Nicholson. Plus I was told by an former neighbour that their father was working at Hatfield House when they were filming Batman their doubling as Bruce Wayne's Mansion and he told me Jack Nicholson had around 10 bodyguards around him.
Would love you too do a double review on Dune. The David Lynch 4k as well as the Denis Villeneuve cinema release later this month.
I can review the original Dune in a word - boring. But I haven't seen it since it's cinema release all those years ago so I may feel different today. The only film I've ever fallen asleep in a cinema while watching. I don't expect much of the remake as a result but I'll be happy to be wrong... completely wrong if we're lucky. I fear the same fate for Asimov's Foundation as these books are almost impossible to capture on film... or video! John.
Great review as always. One of my favourite films. I hear issues of the disc freezing on some players.
No such problems here Bilko. The sound was a few frames out of synch for a couple of minutes on one of my players but most people wouldn't even notice. Fine on my second player. If there is a specific model of 4K player that is having issues then I expect a firmware update from that player will be forthcoming or should have been installed on them some time ago. I had heard that some TH-cam reviewers were saying this was not a good release but sadly for them, they're wrong.
John.
I should have said that I was working in my original account when I replied Bilko. Rest assured that last reply was from me. John.
@@moviecollector5920 ha ha, that's OK. I have ghe disc, not had chance to watch yet. By yhe time I get the kids yo bed I'm too tired.
@@moviecollector5920 ha ha, that's OK. I have ghe disc, not had chance to watch yet. By yhe time I get the kids yo bed I'm too tired.
@@bilkoprince4222 Just have the kiddies watch it with you... that'll help 'em sleep!
Great review. The blob 1988 is close to the thing in effects quality.
I've never seen that one popey. I don't even remember the original version of The Blob now but I must have seen it sometime.
John.
Great job John 👍....yea il be picking up the 4k ina sale, IV the Arrow box set and only watched it the other week...I can hold out for a few mnts..... Yea would love to see your take on the Shawshank redemption. Thanks again.
Thank you Roy. I will have a go at a Shawshank review but may be one in an end of month compilation as I have a couple of other titles to go through that probably wouldn't generate an audience in a dedicated review. John.
Thanks for a great review of one of my favourite movies. First saw this on a taped off TV VHS at a friends during the teachers strikes back in the 80s, an have since owned it on cassette, laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray. I don’t have a 4K player yet - I wonder how much the Apple TV 4K download would suffer with bitrate loss and if on 55” TV this would be noticeable? Thanks again and I’m off to reread Anne Billson’s excellent BFI Modern Classics book seeing as 8YO is up and in charge of the TV remote!
I don't think a low quality stream of this film would be advisable Adam but they may get away with it. A 55 inch television isn't quite four feet wide so maybe it won't appear too bad. The best that can be hoped for is a mid-range between DVD and Blu-ray I suppose so maybe hang on if you can bear to. Save up for a 4K video projector just for this release! John.
Don't know how some don't see the difference between Arrow release and 4K with HDR, on my OLED 4K blows standard bluray out of the water thanks to better color grading and HDR. I'm so happy they did a great job with the transfer.
Great review as always btw.
Many people don't have such good televisions and even then they've got to be able to set them up and modify the settings for different discs. It looks great on ours so we know it's a good 'un even if others may not be getting the best out of it. John.
@@moviecollector5920 agreed , also I always thought doing reviews meant you know what you're doing and talking about... or maybe I was wrong ,seems like anyone can be a "reviewer" these days , a bit sad tbh.
@@kovalveli The reason I started this Movie Collector was twofold: firstly, Covid-19 meant I couldn't do any of my work so for the first time in about 15 years I had some spare time and secondly, I couldn't find anyone on TH-cam who understood film who was reviewing the new 4K discs. Without a basic understanding of film it's difficult to come to good critical conclusions. That's my opinion anyway and it is borne out by some of the conclusions reviewers reach who have never collected film. John.
@@moviecollector5920 That's why I subscribed to your channel John, I could tell right away you're know what you're talking about , I'm not subscribed to any other film reviewer on TH-cam other than yourself and movieguy365, Shane from Spare Change too, but he does alot of A/V equipment reviews also ,so that's why.
Looking forward to your next review.
Great review John, i have only watched The Thing very recently and liked it a lot and look forward to getting my 4k copy very soon, i love Shawshank Redemption one of my favorite movies as it is for a lot of other people as well, look forward to your review on that and your story of where you saw it
Shawshank Redemption review COMING SOON! John.
Glad it's good! Still been holding onto my old hd-dvd version.
I've been used to crazy hdr 4ks, like hobbs and shaw, for awhile. Some discs are perfect out of the box! Some need a quick tweak.
HDR makes video collecting more akin to a real hobby which is something I rather like about it. You can't just sit there like a moron you have to think about what you're projecting just like with film. John.
Just got this 4k.
So it's exactly like I thought.
It's a native hdr10, not Dolby vision. So! Hdr10 is less forgiving than DV. On my projector, it's fine. Tv, I have to make sure the backlight is max.
Not a fault of the disc, it's a hdr10 ditty. Not every hdr10 content does this, but it happens. Like you said, just be remotely smart about it, slight tweak, enjoy your content.
This is my Christmas movie, and a fantastic transfer.
I do wish there were more audio options, but this dts:x is fine.
@@tatsumaru12345 It looks first class on my video projector too. Apparently some television viewers weren't happy with it but all our systems are different so there are bound to be little foibles occasionally. John.
Great review as always John. Just wanted to say thank you for your constant hard work in producing such great video's. I and many others its seems, enjoy them greatly. Big yes for me on 4k Shawshank Redemption being next
Seem to be getting a lot of approval for a Shawshank review Darren. Looks like it's a goer then. John.
@@moviecollector5920 would love a top 5 of 10 of 4k blu rays that you've seen at some point John
@@Darrenlovesmovies Murder on the Orient Express is number 1. Tenet probably number 2. Ten Commandments, Spartacus, 2001 A Space Odyssey, My Fair Lady, Interstellar, Dunkirk. Can't think of any more right now but you might notice that all the films I've cited have something in common - 70mm or VistaVision/Technirama. It really is that simple but occasionally a video comes along such as Le Mans '66 or Fast & Furious 8 which look terrific. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I need to buy Murder on the Orient Express in 4k just on such a high recommendation from you. Also need to be upgrading Interstellar and Dunkirk. Thanks for the list John. Much appreciated
@@Darrenlovesmovies Anything shot on large format film basically means there is a good starting point. I felt 2001 should have been slightly better but the original negative bit the dust years ago apparently so that's why it's slightly off compared to some other 70mm releases. Murder on the Orient Express was shot on modern fine grain Kodak 65mm for 70mm release and that's the reason it looks so special. John.
Uk 1982 went to the pictures to watch this fantastic movie.
That was two of us then Rob. I think there might have been half a dozen others to the screening I attended. Seems unbelievable today but it was true - people really did not flock to see this masterpiece. John.
I really value your reviews - keep them coming please! :-)
That's the plan Dave. Might be Shawshank 4K next. John.
"A Barrage of requests" ... oops my bad. Thanks for doing The Thing! Great review!
A Clockwork Orange is next Kyle although that hasn't exactly had a barage of requests. John.
Lovely review. Have you seen the new Rocky vs Drago trailer which is the Ultimate Director’s Cut to Rocky IV. This has been mastered from the original 35mm and is in widescreen. Available on the 12th Nov 21 on digital which I am not keen on. Just have to wait for the 4K. Thank you.
I haven't seen the re-mastered trailer but it's good that they've found a 35mm trailer to transfer after all these years. No doubt a fellow collector squirreled one away somewhere. I like all the Rocky films but the original is the one as far as I'm concerned. I'll certainly get the original on 4K disc. John.
I'm a fan and very interested in the 'Ultimate' DC but do wonder if the final result will be an objectively superior, but less enjoyable film.
Nothing ventured nothing gained, but I do hope the original theatrical cut is also made available in 4K/HDR with a quality transfer.
@@MBeeching Good Day, I believe the Rocky vs Drago will be better than the original. Sly would not go back Rocky IV if did think he could make it better, he is very protective towards the character. The film was trimmed down to 88 minutes to sell tickets. It now runs for 125 minutes and an extra 40 minutes of unseen footage. Thank you.
I would love to see your review of a clockwork orange, John. I rewatched it with the commentary by Malcolm McDowell and nick redman, it was very interesting and I learnt many things from it. I need to pick up Shawshank redemption on 4K since it looks like a fantastic 4K disc and I've only seen it once on an iPhone screen. Great review John! hope you have a great day
Because of your A Clockwork Orange review Clark, I went into HMV with the intention of purchasing it along with The Thing but no banana. I thought they'd sold out but it's not actually released here until tomorrow. Bummer! Still, I'll get to it shortly. Has your box set version arrived yet?
@@moviecollector5920 sorry for my late reply. My collectors edition has not arrived yet due to shipping here takes about a month. Zavvi’s shipping is very poor. Have a great day
I have the steelbook Arrow release, the normal Arrow release, the Mondo steelbook, and now this UHD 4K release. It’s fair to say I like this film 😂
Another great review. Looking forward to the next.
What? No LaserDisc? You'll have to do better Sonny!
John.
Brilliant as always John, really good to get your thoughts on this and yes please re Shawshank.
I must take another flight over the filming location of The Thing! Looks like I'll review The Shawshank Redemption but it might end up being in an end of month round-up as I have the Quiet Place films to look at too and they'd probably be a waste of time as a dedicated review. John.
Put the flask up John, it gets cold up there Sir. A Quiet Place is brilliant, we enjoyed the 2nd movie too but not quite as much as the first.
@@LeShark75 That's encouraging. I was thinking of putting A Quiet Place on this evening but went for the Blu-ray of Soylent Green in the end. Good fun. Hadn't seen it in about 40 years! John.
A Bridge To Far on Blu for me this evening.
@@LeShark75 That''s one I haven't seen since I was a child. My5 has a two part documentary all about D-Day which is fabulous if you haven't seen it. Apparently it was broadcast last week as my old dad put me onto it. I don't watch television any longer but occasionally Channel 5 do something worthwhile. John.
Excellent review as usual John...can I be cheeky and ask your good self or any followers what blu ray players you would recommend ( TV is 55" Lg uhd LCD) does support arc and HDR ect....looked at a few but reviews put me off.
You can get a 4K Blu-ray for £100 but it will only have a single HDMI output on it and that's something to bear in mind. Some televisions don't put the audio through into an optical output to go to an amplifier that doesn't have HDMI inputs. If you only want to play the sound through the televsion or via a sound bar or stereo amp then no problem so get a cheapie and give it a go. You'll find the results will be fabulous. Then get yourself a 4K projector, paint the biggest screen onto your wall that you can and go to the movies several times a week!
John.
Hi mate, recently stumbled on your movie reviews and they're great... You're so knowledgeable and i love your laid back style. Defiantly a Sub + Thumbs up from me. I noticed in a previous vid that you said you're in Kernow. Where about in the county are you? Helston lad here :D
Thanks for another great review!
Hello Will. We're currently near Liskeard which is not exactly the nicest part of Cornwall but it's only a temporary thing probably. Not sure I've ever even visited Helston... all my travels tend to be the other way. John.
@@moviecollector5920 How interesting to read that you live in a town that goes back so many years. It's been said that Americans think a place that's been around for 100 years is old, while Europeans think something that's a couple of hundred miles away is a long distance.
@@robertromero8692 That's a good way of looking at it. Unless you're somewhere like Atlanta or Los Angeles and have the same sort of crowded roads we have in England then nowhere is a long way in the USA. John.
Really would love to see a big trouble in little China 4k release
I only ever saw Big Trouble once and didn't like it. That was either a butchered VHS release or television broadcast so the reality is that I've not really ever seen it. The 1.33:1 pan and scan basically put me off.
Hi John. Been waiting for your review of The Thing. I think its going to be my next purchase. Please do a review of Shawshank. Such a good film. I bet it will look great in 4k
Looks like a lot of people like Shawshank so I'll do that one soon. John.
Watched it last night, absolutely stunning disc.
Most of us seem to be rather pleased with it Colin. Glad you are too. John.
Love your reviews!
Thanks Matt. John.
Nice one John. Wow I love your The Thing format collection. Just awesome.
It's such a mind blowing film. One I definitely need to see on the big screen and preferably from a 35mm print, dirt and scratches and all for that ultra authentic Horror film experience. A super clean version would also be a great viewing experience too.
I think The Shawshank Redemption is still one of the greatest films of all time. So from one of, if not the greatest horror of all time to your thoughts on The Shawshank Redemption would be a good thing.
Is it more or are your videos getting shorter?
Trevor
Thanks Trevor. This video was just over ten minutes and I think Interstellar was about twelve minutes so they've been a bit longer than usual. It is easier to do shorter reviews but I just write the notes and then work from them to record the video. Some need more to be said than others I suppose.
It seems that Shawshank may be more popular than I thought. Review COMING SOON!
John.
@@moviecollector5920 It could be that I'm used to longer videos from other channels but I do think you get in all that needs to be said. So it must just be me wanting that little bit more.
Keep'em coming. I'm intrigued about your Shawshank viewing experience you teased about.
Apart from the Waterloo IMAX. Is there a cinema you really get a buzz from watching films in? Like an old Realto or something that adds to the experience.
My wife and I stayed at a cottage in the middle of nowhere and one night I watched a horror by myself as she doesn't like horror. The lounge and environment I was in, it's look, the open fire and that we were in the sticks really added to the viewing experience.
Trevor
I was relieved to hear the audio was sorted out as I have the panasonic 9000 4k model and haven't got round to watching my collectors edition yet but did check out the bonus score within the package which was excellent. Great video keep these up. Tonight for me is shawshank redemption in 4k but my collection is expanding fast and I'm getting behind abit but will await your next release as always. Do you know if arrow are releasing the film legend in this country as a deluxe like the usa have just received ?
I haven't heard anything about Legend delboy. Can't say it's exactly my favourite Ridley Scott film. Did watch a bit of it again a few years ago and still didn't really like it much. Great to look at though as always from Mr. Scott.
John.
Good one this. Yes please for The Shawshank Redemption 4K review.
Shawshank might end up in an end of month round-up review as I'm not sure it will be very popular on its own but I'll see how things go. John.
Hi John, It's 1982 and 2 films suffered massively at the hands of a little thing called E.T. Now as much as I love Speiberg, Blade runner and The Thing are masterpieces. I also think that with a remastered blu ray you are struggling to tell the difference between that and 4k.
Very true Clive. A remastered Blu-ray is as good as a 4K for clarity on our tiny home screens so we're basically paying for HDR. Sometimes they don't get HDR right but even when they do it often has to be tailored to each film. John.
Thanks for the review! Im surely going to get this movie too. May I suggest to review The Blues Brothers 4k. I recently.bought and watched it. I have some opinions of it both good and bad. So far most reviews i read are very positive on it. Thanks for putting out these videos. I enjoy watching it.
I have to admit to not being a big fan of The Blues Brothers Vlad but I should try it again sometime. It was a 35mm shoot so it should be a good cine transfer but a lot depends on what may have gone wrong with occasional shots on the day just as happened when The Thing was shot. John.
There seems to be an issue with the disc and Panasonic UHD players, people are reporting problems over on the AVForums and all are related to Panasonic.
I have 2 copies and have watched them both on my PS5 without any problems at all....
No problems on mine Andy other than the sound drifted for a couple of minutes so is that what people are saying? If I'd have stopped and come back in it probably would have been fine because I skipped through on my second system and there was no problem at that same point.
So, after work today I took a trip to my local HMV and bagged The Thing and Escape From New York on the 2 for thirty 4k deal. Watching The Thing and it really does look good to my eye, probably best I've seen it ❄️🇳🇴👽
If you didn't see it on general release in 1982, then I think it's a certainty that the 4K is the best it's ever looked since. Hardly anyone did see it at the cinema and I can't remember anything about the image quality of the general release print other than it looked impressive up on the big screen of our local cinema at the time. Enjoy Escape From New York too which is another excellent release.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 only ever caught it on TV as a kid, or VHS copies, seeing it last night like that was an absolute treat !
@@zero15388 It's one of those 4K releases that is worth purchasing a 4K video projector for so you can play at being in the cinema. Don't spend too much though!
Great review, thank you 👍
Thank you Robert. John.
Thanks for the review. Shawshank would be awsome!
Just uploaded it last night hzubovi1. Not quite up to the quality of The Thing but another terrific 4K disc.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 You should get employed as one of the people who restore theses films :D
@@hzubovi1 I probably wouldn't fit in as I'd want the transfers of 35mm at 6K as that's how they did Jaws and look how well that turned out. 65mm would then be around 15K and IMAX around 45K. The studios would keep running out of disc space if I were involved. Even then I'd recommend they films only get printed on film! John.
Thanks for showing the 4k disc being loaded into the player. That helped confirm what the disc is supposed to look like and that my sealed new copy came with two Blu-ray discs and no 4k disc. That plus my UB820 is saying both discs are outputting at 1080p. It was bought months ago, so it’s going to be too late to return to HMV. 😡
Actually, going by what appears to be a dirty thumb print on one of the discs, it looks like somebody swapped out the 4k disc with a French version of the Blu-ray then re-sealed it and returned it to HMV. Thinking about it, the way that it was sealed up was different than they usually are. They’re usually cellophane wrapped but this was shrink wrapped around the slipcover. The cover might also be a reprint…
Good grief. The packs are assembled by machines so there's probably a whole load of them out there with the same issue.
John.
I don't know what you can do about it now that it's a few months down the line. Perhaps contact the studio who created the discs in the first place. How you go about that though will take some finding out.
John.
@@moviecollector5920Thanks for the reply John. I’m 100% sure now that this isn’t a factory mix up and that somebody swapped both discs out with two older blu-rays then resealed it with shrink-wrap. The discs have different artwork on them compared to what I’ve seen in an unboxing video and their copy was sealed up how I would expect it to be, with cellophane around the plastic case - not shrink-wrap around the slipcover.
@@novardarkmatter9583 Contact HMV support via their web site. It's worth a try and they should be interested to learn what some dodgy customers get up to. John.
Great review as always John!
Thanks Peter.
Thank YOU for a brilliant review. Many hailed him as the new Spielberg... he's not. He is John Carpenter. Michael -SA
Well said Michael. Carpenter and Spielberg... add Ridley Scott, Clint Eastwood and Christopher Nolan onto the list and I think they're probably my favourite five film makers alive today. John.
John Carpenter's THE THING is a classic masterpiece! You nailed it when you said it truly gives you a feeling of isolation! The score is dark and perfect for this movie! Did you ever see the version that came out in 2011 also titled the "The Thing"? It's a prequel and well made imho! Anyway, another golden review John, thank you!
I have the 2011 film on Blu-ray and I like it but I do remember that like so many modern films it went over the top for about the last half an hour. Film makers today so often say they want to do something "no one has ever seen before". Well, they achieved just that in 1982 but I don't think they succeeded in 2011. I don't particularly care for computer imagery in films very often. John.
Another cracking review, and yes, do a review of Shawshank.
Okey dokey. Thanks Mark. John.
3:35
Yes!
We're living through paranoid times like that now; Do you know who is infected?
Just that bloody wolf that's prowling around outside right now!!!
Can you recommend any reasonably priced projectors? Or tips what to look out for
Richer Sounds have the latest Optoma 4K projectors and this one is £899 so could be worth a look: www.richersounds.com/optoma-uhd35-white.html They also have the slightly cheaper model but no price on that. If you're in the UK I recommend a trip to Richer Sounds to get a demonstration but bear in mind they'll have their demo projectors set too bright and over saturated in colour because that's what dealers do and most people fall for it but us film enthusiasts can tell if an image looks fake. We've had our Optoma projector for almost four years now and it's been wonderful in all that time. We couldn't get a demonstration of the model we bought as there were only 11 in the country at the time but we had a demo of the model that cost twice the price and could see that the specifications of both were similar. Our projector arrived two days later and it immediately projected a better image than the demonstration owing to it being setup more like film.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 wow what an in depth and quick reply. So your saying my projector I got from Amazon with an inbuilt dvd player may not be the best of quality? Looking forward to your next video
@@backbackforward DVD was great... it still is great but not comparable to the latest Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray discs. Get into your nearest Richer Sounds and even if you don't buy immediately it will give you some ideas and something to work towards. Our Optoma UHD550X was £1500 which seems like a lot of money but I think it was a bargain. We are getting film quality projection off some of these 4K discs. John.
Great & insightful review of one of my top 3 favorite films of all time. Jaws & Predator being my other two, I'd be interested to see what your opinions on the Fog 4k transfer are along with the film overall.
Keep up the great work.
Greetings Yvonne. I do have The Fog but on Super 8 so I have not desire to purchase it on video as it would spoil my enjoyment of the real film. I think it's a film that has improved with age. It needs to be seen on a big screen in a dark a screening room as possible to get the best out of it. It wasn't highly regarded when it was first released and I could see why at the time. Today it's a classic and it's great to be able to watch it on film. I did actually include an extract in one of my other John Carpenter film reviews but there are four of 'em so good luck finding it!!! John.
@@moviecollector5920 Thank-you, I will give them a watch now, keep up the great work.
@@yvonnehudson7100 I hope you enjoy it Yvonne. I have a great time with The Fog every time I see it now. It is sooooo atmospheric.
I have this on Blu ray and watched some clips on my projector and it looked amazing ,my screen size is 100inch I could only imagined what it's like on 4k. Have you watched the original b w version .
Hello Unal. The Arrow release is reportedly much better than the Universal Blu-ray so if you have that one that may be all you need. However, the HDR has made the 4K look just like a film on my projector. As for the size of screen I don't know what the diagonal measurement is in inches as I'm a film person and have only ever gone by the actual width. In our little home cinema it's about 7 feet but we do still have our 10 foot screen in the living room which we want to get back to soon but first "we're gonna' need a bigger house!"
I have seen the original version of The Thing. It's a good film but not a great one like John Carpenter's. That's my opinion anyway.
John.