Le Mans and Grand Prix Blu-ray | Le Mans Graphic Novel Now Available

[CodeRedR51]

Le Mans:



Grand Prix:



Hate to say it, but I have never seen either of these movies. Will have to purchase these when I get back from Silverstone.

 

[RUI]

Get them! I'm sure you wont regret it as they're probably the best two films there are about racing. Absolute classics!
And I would too, if I didn't already own both DVDs...

 

[varmintx]

Here's blu-ray.com's review of Le Mans.

 

[F1 fan]

Both great films and well worth checking out. I'd buy on dvd though. I can't imagine they'll look much better on blu ray.

 

[Azure Flare]

Want

 

[CodeRedR51]

Here's blu-ray.com's review of Le Mans.

A 4 out of 5 is enough for me to confirm a purchase. Thanks for that.

 

[Northstar]

Both great films and well worth checking out. I'd buy on dvd though. I can't imagine they'll look much better on blu ray.

Grand Prix is worth getting just so you don't have to get up half way through to put disc 2 in. Still have no clue why they did that.

But yeah, will probably pick both these up, my Blu-Ray collection is way to small consisting of Bullitt, A Clockwork Orange and Talladega Nights(It was free).

 

[F1 fan]

Grand Prix is worth getting just so you don't have to get up half way through to put disc 2 in. Still have no clue why they did that.

Ahh... Didn't think of that. I got into dvd quite early and a lot of early dvd releases either went down the 2 disc route, or the doublesided disc.

It would surprise you how many. A lot of them were under 2 hours too.

 

[gogatrs]

BluRay?
Why do you need better picture?
Crank up the volume and enjoy the roar of the Porsche 917K!

 

[CodeRedR51]

BluRay?
Why do you need better picture?
Crank up the volume and enjoy the roar of the Porsche 917K!

BluRay offers more than just a better picture.

 

[F1 fan]

BluRay offers more than just a better picture.

Yes, but on movies this old, generally it's just a straight dvd transfer. Or have I been mislead?

 

[CodeRedR51]

Yes, but on movies this old, generally it's just a straight dvd transfer. Or have I been mislead?

I think a Blu-Ray usually comes from a re-mastered version of the original film. Although I would have a hard time believing that unless they printed that right on the cover. Guess it depends on the movie. If that is the case with either of these films, I would say the video and the audio should be improved dramatically over the DVD.

 

[F1 fan]

I think a Blu-Ray usually comes from a re-mastered version of the original film. Although I would have a hard time believing that unless they printed that right on the cover. Guess it depends on the movie. If that is the case with either of these films, I would say the video and the audio should be improved dramatically over the DVD.

I would check some fan reviews first before buying an old title. A lot of my favourites have had the blu-ray makeover but according to a lot of reviews, some of them are just basically the dvd, burned onto a blu-ray disc. Escape from New York springs to mind. I'm not fully convinced. Some new films look fantastic on Blu-ray, but before I buy an older movie on blu-ray, I think I'll wait for some reviews.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Some new films look fantastic on Blu-ray, but before I buy an older movie on blu-ray, I think I'll wait for some reviews.

I know what you're saying. Did you read the review posted above? They gave it high marks all around except for the extra features, which I don't really care about on older movies. One quote from that review:

This is an incredibly strong transfer and a borderline reference-quality presentation for a title from its era.

- and -

This 7.1 track spits out the sound of revving engines and the speedy raw power of cars zipping down the racetrack with an amazing level of control that vibrates and zooms and puts the listener in the middle of the action.

 

[F1 fan]

I know what you're saying. Did you read the review posted above? They gave it high marks all around except for the extra features, which I don't really care about on older movies. One quote from that review:

TBH, not really... I just bought it on dvd and I'm currently 3000 miles away from my Blu-ray player for the near future. I didn't realize it was getting released on Blu-ray when I bought it. I was just warning people about a (potentially) lousy transfer to bd. As it happens, this is not the case, so it looks like something I'll be adding to my collection at some point.

 

[varmintx]

...and the review for Grand Prix. Shot in 70mm, the jump in quality from the DVD will be quite significant.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Good review on that one as well. Definitely picking these up when I get back from my trip. 👍

 

[DwightSchrute12]

Yes, but on movies this old, generally it's just a straight dvd transfer. Or have I been mislead?

You have been mislead, for the most part. It's usually re-mastered from the source print. However, some studios get a bit lazy and do a half-ass job with it. But as you can see from early impressions from LeMans, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Old films have resolutions at about "4000p", if you will, so 1080p doesn't even scrape the icing off the cake and a film from 1956 still has a higher resolution than the HD video you know of today. The reason you see/hear of some older movies not looking good is that most films before 1980 or so need a proper restoration from the studio, which takes time and money. This often entails going through each frame and looking for scratches, dirt, shrinking or general problems with the negatives. However some studios just re-scan them in a higher bit-rate and pump it out onto a disc. So in the end, you just need to do a bit of research on review sites (like blu-ray.com) and see how good a film is.

You'd be really surprised at how good some older movies look. It's one thing to spring for the DVD if you're saving 10 bones, but to say it's because the blu-ray quality is the same is, most of the time, quite ludicrous. The majority of consumers are quite ignorant and think older movies can't possible look as good since "HD was just invented" but that's beyond false.

P.S. Hope you understand this garble, and what I actually wrote makes sense, I'm typing this up as I fall asleep...

 

[Antonisbob]

Sweet! I own Le Mans on DVD, haven't watched it yet. Should get Grand Prix on Blu-ray when it comes out. You do notice the difference. Vanishing point sure looks good in 1080p for a film from 1971.

 

[a6m5]

P.S. Hope you understand this garble, and what I actually wrote makes sense, I'm typing this up as I fall asleep...

Good explanation though. I like the classics as well. 👍

I liked the Grand Prix so much, I waited forever for it to come out on DVD(not Blu-ray, DVD). I finally get it, pretty much at the release, but still haven't seen it. I think I'll pass on the Blu-ray version.

I've yet to see Le Mans. I might rent that one.

 

[F1 fan]

You have been mislead, for the most part. It's usually re-mastered from the source print. However, some studios get a bit lazy and do a half-ass job with it. But as you can see from early impressions from LeMans, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Old films have resolutions at about "4000p", if you will, so 1080p doesn't even scrape the icing off the cake and a film from 1956 still has a higher resolution than the HD video you know of today. The reason you see/hear of some older movies not looking good is that most films before 1980 or so need a proper restoration from the studio, which takes time and money. This often entails going through each frame and looking for scratches, dirt, shrinking or general problems with the negatives. However some studios just re-scan them in a higher bit-rate and pump it out onto a disc. So in the end, you just need to do a bit of research on review sites (like blu-ray.com) and see how good a film is.

You'd be really surprised at how good some older movies look. It's one thing to spring for the DVD if you're saving 10 bones, but to say it's because the blu-ray quality is the same is, most of the time, quite ludicrous. The majority of consumers are quite ignorant and think older movies can't possible look as good since "HD was just invented" but that's beyond false.

P.S. Hope you understand this garble, and what I actually wrote makes sense, I'm typing this up as I fall asleep...

My bad. I was semi-aware that old films could be made to look better on Blu-Ray, but going by a few bad reviews for some of my favourite classic films, I'd been under the impression that many studios either would not due to greed or could not due to reasons you say like scratches etc.

Good to know and it would make me appreciate any Blu-Ray release where a lot of effort has gone into restoring a classic. Still a good idea to be sceptical about each release though. Thanks for the knowledge. It did make perfect sense.

Still doesn't make me feel better about being 3000 miles away from my ps3 and blu ray player though. Have not played ps3 for 4 months... Didn't think I could go this long. lol.

 

[varmintx]

Here's an article from blu-ray.com about the history of the Le Mans race and the production of the film.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Wasn't sure what thread to put this in, so I will put it here.

Steve McQueen Returns To Le Mans In Graphic Novel Form

 

[doblocruiser]

It would be nice to see a racing game done in that novel form . Novel looks great but €32,- for 64 pages...

 

[05XR8]

Capcom could do it.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

It would be nice to see a racing game done in that novel form . Novel looks great but €32,- for 64 pages...

As 05XR8 said, Capcom got you covered

 

[05XR8]

One of the most fun racing games ever.

 

[doblocruiser]

It surely was a great game to play 👍