# HD:A Clockwork Orange



## toecheese (May 3, 2006)

This movie is absolutely a classic in terms of story (Orwellian), imagery and really made *sound* the differentiator. It introduced a contrast of 'ultraviolence', along with beautiful and familiar music which made you sit up and pay attention.

Nevertheless, this HD version of the movie left me disappointed. I'm not sure if it is with rose-colored glasses that I remember it originally, but the HD version didn't bring anything new to the table. If anything, it made the movie show its age because you could see with harsh detail the attempt at a futuristic future.

The wife an I did not have a consensus, so we're giving it the mean at 4/5 stars.


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## Wayde (Jun 5, 2006)

A classic indeed, one of my formative experiences. I remember the days, me and me droogies takin' on a bit o' the ole' Dremcrom and Velocet at the milkbar... errr... wait, that was a movie wasn't it?

So, Toecheese - was this one of the new Kubric HD DVD/Blu-ray discs? 

I wondered how those would look/sound, wouldn't mind getting Clockwork and 2001 SO.


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## toecheese (May 3, 2006)

This was from Blockbuster and was HD. Though it may have been double-sided, don't even remember.

2001 should be excellent, but I hope it doesn't suffer from the rose glasses too.


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## Richard W. Haines (Jul 9, 2007)

There's no question the set design and imagery is impressive but they are on all Kubrick films.
I read the book as a teen and it was later required reading in high school. The only novel that had a glossary for the slang at the end. I had purchased
a tie book on the movie which contained stills from it and the screenplay but I was too
young to see it on it's original release (X rated, later R). I caught up with it in revival cinemas in the seventies while I was at NYU film school. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The combination of classical music was great as it was in "2001", the cinematography was excellent and Malcolm McDowall was well cast. The bizarre clothing and hairstyles anticipated the punk rock movement
of the eighties. But am I the only person who thinks the other performances are way over the top hammy if not bad? The opposite of the deadpan, stiff acting in "Space Odyssey" (but which
worked within the context of the narrative). I don't think the overacting worked in this
film.


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## SteveCallas (Apr 29, 2006)

This is one of my favorite films as well, and I was spying the HD version until I saw some screen shot comparisons at that "dvd beaver" website. The SD dvd version, though softer, hides a lot of graininess and jaggies.

Willy Wonka is one of my favorites as well - hopefully the HD version is actually a nice improvement.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Does anyone know if there is an audio difference between the 2007 and 2011 version?


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> Does anyone know if there is an audio difference between the 2007 and 2011 version?


I have thoroughly reviewed both versions back to back and I own the 2007 "barebones" edition of this awesome title -- according to all press literature and information I obtained from Warner's home video division, the same master used on the 2007 release has been used on the 2011 Blu-ray. As for the audio, the 2007 release contained both a PCM and Dolby Digital 5.1 track (defaulting to the Dolby Digital mix upon playback) while the 2011 version contains a 5.1 Master Audio track. To me, this is the same "comparison" as _The Exorcist_ Blu-ray/DVD debacle between the Dolby EX mix and the BD's DTS-HD MA track...that is to say, the Master Audio of _Clockwork Orange_ sounds pretty much the same as the 2007 Blu-ray's lossy Dolby Digital mix to my ears: Kinda stuffy, front-loaded and definitely showing its age.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> I have thoroughly reviewed both versions back to back and I own the 2007 "barebones" edition of this awesome title -- according to all press literature and information I obtained from Warner's home video division, the same master used on the 2007 release has been used on the 2011 Blu-ray. As for the audio, the 2007 release contained both a PCM and Dolby Digital 5.1 track (defaulting to the Dolby Digital mix upon playback) while the 2011 version contains a 5.1 Master Audio track. To me, this is the same "comparison" as The Exorcist Blu-ray/DVD debacle between the Dolby EX mix and the BD's DTS-HD MA track...that is to say, the Master Audio of Clockwork Orange sounds pretty much the same as the 2007 Blu-ray's lossy Dolby Digital mix to my ears: Kinda stuffy, front-loaded and definitely showing its age.


I've never seen the film. I need to see it. Thanks for the into.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> I've never seen the film. I need to see it. Thanks for the into.


No problem, asere; I can't believe you never saw this awesome Kubrick film! Do you like his other work, a la _The Shining, Full Metal Jacket_ et al?

To be honest with you, save yourself some cash if you wanna pick _Orange_ up on Blu and get the original release from back in '07 because honestly it contains enough extras on the phenomenon surrounding this title and boasts the same audio and visual characteristics as the one released as part of the "Kubrick special edition" packaging that Warner gave it to add some catalog panache (the 2011 cut). 

As for _Olympus Has Fallen_, I see you saw this recently and enjoyed it -- if you saw it on Blu-ray, did you agree with my findings in the review in terms of picture and audio quality?


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

I shall get it. Yes I like Kubicks films. Full Metal Jacket was excellent too. I saw Olympus Has Fallen only on dvd. I am sure the pic and audio is nice.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> I shall get it. Yes I like Kubicks films. Full Metal Jacket was excellent too. I saw Olympus Has Fallen only on dvd. I am sure the pic and audio is nice.


I'm assuming the DVD contained a Dolby Digital track? Was it aggressive? Are you running a full surround setup?


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> I'm assuming the DVD contained a Dolby Digital track? Was it aggressive? Are you running a full surround setup?


Yes a 5.1 set up. The film was DD. I thought the lfe was good but I've yet to try it loud . kinda hard when family is in the house.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

I understand.

I didn't find the LFE all that wall-rattling on the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio track, per my review; there was one moment that made my sub pop when the helicopter blows up towards the end (that's supposed to be carrying the President and remaining hostages) because I had my master volume WAY up compared to other titles I normally watch...and thus introduced yet another issue I had with this soundtrack which was way too "compressed" of a sound.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> I understand.
> 
> I didn't find the LFE all that wall-rattling on the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio track, per my review; there was one moment that made my sub pop when the helicopter blows up towards the end (that's supposed to be carrying the President and remaining hostages) because I had my master volume WAY up compared to other titles I normally watch...and thus introduced yet another issue I had with this soundtrack which was way too "compressed" of a sound.


I agree even though I only watched it on dvd and at moderate volume level the audio could have been better.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Ahhh...so apparently the DVD's technical presentation -- in the audio at least -- is similar to what the BD exhibits...

Being that I have the combo pack with both Blu-ray and DVD, I'll have to run a comparison test one night...


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> Ahhh...so apparently the DVD's technical presentation -- in the audio at least -- is similar to what the BD exhibits...
> 
> Being that I have the combo pack with both Blu-ray and DVD, I'll have to run a comparison test one night...


Isn't bluray audio always better?


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> Isn't bluray audio always better?


This is very, very debatable asere and I don't even think we have the bandwidth to discuss all the possibilities here...:unbelievable: :doh: :rubeyes:

In theory, of course high resolution audio -- the "lossless" formats found on Blu-ray and some HD DVDs when they were still being made -- should sound heads and shoulders better than the "lossy," "legacy" formats on DVD (DTS & Dolby Digital). In practice, I have found some Blu-ray audio tracks to sound somewhat "worse" than some DVD tracks whether it's the same title or comparing and talking about different ones...:rubeyes:


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> This is very, very debatable asere and I don't even think we have the bandwidth to discuss all the possibilities here...:unbelievable: :doh: :rubeyes:
> 
> In theory, of course high resolution audio -- the "lossless" formats found on Blu-ray and some HD DVDs when they were still being made -- should sound heads and shoulders better than the "lossy," "legacy" formats on DVD (DTS & Dolby Digital). In practice, I have found some Blu-ray audio tracks to sound somewhat "worse" than some DVD tracks whether it's the same title or comparing and talking about different ones...:rubeyes:


Interesting. I just might get the bluray triple pack with 2001, a clockwork orange and the shining.


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

asere said:


> Isn't bluray audio always better?


pretty much always. I'm a NUT about audio and there's VERY few (like I can count them on two hands) titles that actually aren't an improvement in depth, range and clarity due to the increased bandwidth even in 640kpbs Dolby Digital


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> Interesting. I just might get the bluray triple pack with 2001, a clockwork orange and the shining.


Interestingly enough, I took my 2007 release of _Clockwork_ off the shelf last night to revisit and as always it made me chuckle at the "specific rhetoric" shared between the characters ("Bouncy Yarblockos To You!" and "Doo-Be-Do...Bed Ways The Right Ways Now, Right Right?" and "Viddy Well, Little Brother...Viddy Well" etc.); there's actually a film fanatic dictionary source that cites the references Kubrick and the writers used in this wild, psychadelic dialogue that fuses Russian dialect with other "stuff."

While some professional media reviewers -- some of which I know -- found the master Warner used on the 2007 edition of this film (a new restored print was run at the Cannes Film Festival not too long ago) to be "dated" and "unimpressive" with too much "digital tampering" occuring, I happen to like the look of this transfer. Sure you can see where perhaps some mild noise reduction smoothed out certain areas and edges, but the high definition look is there in spades at certain moments -- one that really jumped out at me was the moment (I know you haven't seen this yet) when Malcom McDowell and his "droogs" (gang) harass and beat up an old homeless guy in the beginning...the shots Kubrick used here depicting McDowell's "point of view" of the bum as he holds a heavy walking stick on him so he can't move while he's acosted showed tremendous detail and high def-like qualities that were impressive. Can this picture use a full restoration -- like what I've been arguing about with regard to _The Exorcist_? -- sure. But this isn't as "bad" as some reviews would lead you to believe...

I believe the Digibook package of the film carries the same video transfer as all editions of _Clockwork_ that had come before it, including those in "Kubrick" collections that Warner has issued; if you're a fan of the ones you mentioned earlier (_The Shining_, et al), I don't see a reason not to pick it up.

Respectfully, I am going to have to disagree with Mike on the "high resolution audio is almost always better compared to legacy formats" debacle; I too am an absolute fanatic when it comes to sound quality and I have always held to the fact that the jump in quality between DVD's lossy audio stems and Blu-ray's lossless tracks are nowhere near as dramatic, on the whole, as the jump in picture quality between 480 resolution and true, pristine 1080p video material. The improvements just _aren't_ the same.


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