The Fifth Element (Remaster): Blu-ray

[Pirate]

Sony has yet to issue a formal announcement, but retailers are reporting that the studio plans to issue a remastered version of the much-maligned Blu-ray edition of 'The Fifth Element' on July 17.

Rumor has it that Sony also plans to offer a disc replacement program for consumers who were unsatisfied with the initial Blu-ray version first released back in June of 2006.

That disc received exceptionally poor reviews for both image quality and its almost complete lack of bonus features, which many (including High-Def Digest's own Peter Bracke) felt were not up to snuff for a premiere high-def release.

We contacted Sony for comment on this story, which has been floating around in the forums for several weeks now, but they could not confirm the release, saying only that no such disc has yet been announced.

We should note that retail announcements (such as those reported in this case) usually precede the official confirmation of a new disc release, and are sometimes subject to change.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...ng_in_July/640

[tomdkat]

Well, that's good to hear. I wonder if they will stick with MPEG-2 or use VC-1 this time around.

Peace...

["The Dude"]

Coolio. I got this title during BB buy 1, get 1 free sale. I figured it was free, so what the hell. To be honest, I don't think that TFE is as bad as everyone says it is. It is at the beginning of the film but doesn't last that long. I've seen ALOT worse on other HD titles Like T2( BD), An American Werewolf in London, Caddyshack (hd-dvd). Granted, the last two are old titles, but still, they look horrid, especially AWIL. My wish is for studios to actually evaluate the titles to see if any clean-up is needed before releasing them in HD. What's the point if they don't look any better than the sd counterparts?

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by The Dude

To be honest, I don't think that TFE is as bad as everyone says it is. It is at the beginning of the film but doesn't last that long. I've seen ALOT worse on other HD titles Like T2( BD),

wow, you thought t2 looked worse than TFE???? I have to disagree with you. T2 could have been even better with LPCM, but I thought it was a great transfer except for some minor grain in some areas.

I hope we get a refund, but even if we don't, I will probably still get this one.

[Derb]

I'm guessin' AVC

The HD transfer could be improved & would be the first double-dip for either format.

I am satisfied with my copy so I'll pass.

[cadmium red]

I want to see what a remaster looks like. I've seen the original Blu Ray version on Demo at Best Buy and other home theatre places. To me it looks pretty bad. I didnt see a great night and day difference like they advertise. I just noticed the enhanced film grain.

There is one scene, where Chris Tucker's character makes his first appearance. There were all these black specks and dirt flickering in and out. It looked like it was in the movie itself. Does anyone know what i'm talking about? It looked pretty bad to me.

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by ganthc

wow, you thought t2 looked worse than TFE???? I have to disagree with you. T2 could have been even better with LPCM, but I thought it was a great transfer except for some minor grain in some areas.

Yup, that's what I'm saying. I wasn't impressed with T2 at all, in fact, it didn't last long in my collection. I was ok with most of the grain, it was the colors that disappointed me the most. It just wasn't consistant at all. Some scenes it look great, the others it seemed lacking any depth and the colors looked washed out. I'll stick with my UE on SD upconverted on the XA2 until a better transfer comes along.

Maybe my expectations were low enough on TFE to that I didn't think it was bad as everyone else, I don't know. But yah, I would put it ahead of T2.

To each his own I guess.

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by cadmium red

I want to see what a remaster looks like. I've seen the original Blu Ray version on Demo at Best Buy and other home theatre places. To me it looks pretty bad. I didnt see a great night and day difference like they advertise. I just noticed the enhanced film grain.

There is one scene, where Chris Tucker's character makes his first appearance. There were all these black specks and dirt flickering in and out. It looked like it was in the movie itself. Does anyone know what i'm talking about? It looked pretty bad to me.

Yep, that's why it was pretty much panned by everyone. It was a dirty transfer.

[Pirate]

Up for pre-order:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...nandscathed-20

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

Up for pre-order:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...nandscathed-20

I'm going to wait for the review on that one before buying.

[CompressedGravy]

wow, you thought t2 looked worse than TFE???? I have to disagree with you. T2 could have been even better with LPCM, but I thought it was a great transfer except for some minor grain in some areas.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!

how could you think this was a GREAT transfer ???? i can't even begin to get my head around that. wow !

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by CompressedGravy

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!

how could you think this was a GREAT transfer ???? i can't even begin to get my head around that. wow !

Well, I'll rewatch it again, but I was very satisfied with the transfer. Definitely moreso than with The Fifth Element, or with Stargate. I didn't think it was terrible at all.

[Derb]

Gave both The Fifth & T2 the same rating.

There was a bit of grain shown on the theatrical print, but not THAT much.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by ganthc

I hope we get a refund, but even if we don't, I will probably still get this one.

Good news ganthc.....refund info.

As many of you know The Fifth Element was a disapointment on Blu-Ray, well it seems that Sony listened to the complaints & will re-release a remastered version that should be of much better quality & will exchange your original copy for the remastered version.

Here is the post made by Paidgeek (a Sony employee?) on the AVS forums about the excghange program.

Please see below for the contact information to exchange your original copy of "The Fifth Element". The new disc can be easily identified by the additional information on the top edge of the disc which states "BD RMSTRD".

Our customer service department has been notified about this program and will assist you. Please be patient if you cannot get through right away (this sort of program is out of the ordinary), or better still, use email as the phone lines may be very busy for the first day or so.


Phone: 800-860-2878
Email: consumer@sphecustomersupport.sony.com

Amazon.com has The remastered version avalible for pre order with a July 17 release date.

[ganthc]

And here are some additional specs from bluray.com on the remaster:

The Fifth Element Exchange Program
Posted June 14, 2007 by Josh

When Blu-ray first launched, there were great expectations for the titles released. That was especially true for 'The Fifth Element', which had been a home theater enthusiast favorite on DVD. Unfortunately, the results were less than stellar, but Sony is here to atone! Those who purchased 'The Fifth Element' in its current form can exchange the disc for the new, cleaned up version of the film, due out July 17th.

The disc will come as a BD-50, encoded with AVC, and have two lossless/uncompressed audio tracks: the same PCM track from the original release (which was quite excellent) and a 20-bit Dolby TrueHD track. The extras remain the same, but the film has been remastered for a cleaner/crisper video experience.

Right now, Sony is taking down your name, mailing address, and phone number and will contact you closer to the release of the remastered version on how to exchange your disc. When you call, have that information ready, or if you are emailing, make sure to place it in your message. Here is the contact information:

Phone: 800-860-2878
Email: consumer@sphecustomersupport.sony.com

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=252

[Derb]

If Sony will double-dip The Fifth Element, maybe other studio's can follow suit as well. These need to be re-tooled too

Sony should double-dip these,

S.W.A.T.
Silent Hill
Stealth
House of Flying Daggers
xXx
Revenge
Closer

20th Century should double-dip these,

Flight of the Phoenix
Alien vs. Predator
Kiss of the Dragon
Broken Arrow
Chain Reaction
Entrapment
Rising Sun

Disney should double-dip these,

Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back
Sky High
G.I. Jane

Lionsgate should double-dip these,

The Terminator
Terminator 2
Saw
Saw II
The Transporter
Total Recall
Stargate
American Psycho

MGM should double-dip these,

Rocky
The Usual Suspects
Species
Windtalkers
Hoosiers

[ganthc]

I just called Sony, and they did confirm this. I will send them my old disc (I keep the case), and on July 17th, they will send me back the remastered copy. Sounds like a fair deal to me.

Derb, I will say that I disagree with you on the following:

Stealth
Closer
Flight of the Phoenix
Terminator 2

The rest I can't comment on because I haven't really seen them, or they do suck.

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by Derb

Disney should double-dip these,Sky High

There's nothing wrong with Sky High, certainly nothing that would warrant a new disc. In fact it's one of the better of the early blu-ray discs. Nice pop to it and only a few compression issues.

[Derb]

Just my opinion.

Why though of all the crappy films, does The Fifth Element deserve the re-master?

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Derb

Why though of all the crappy films, does The Fifth Element deserve the re-master?

Because it was the most protested.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by ganthc

Terminator 2

Apparently this was, in fact, pretty poor. The French/UK HD DVD is apparently head and shoulders better.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

Because it was the most protested.

Well than, I like the specs (not of dirt) this re-master has. Wish some people we're more inclined to protest more often than.

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by Derb

Why though of all the crappy films, does The Fifth Element deserve the re-master?

Because The Fifth Element is known as Sony's big gun reference disc on dvd, so to be subpar on their new miracle format they're touting is embarassing for them. They know it's a title the HT people love to get to show off their systems, so they'll probably sell a ton of the new remastered disc.
Personally I hate the film. I got the disc for free with my blu-ray player, and not only have I not bothered watching it, I still want my money back from it.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by dugpa

Because The Fifth Element is known as Sony's big gun reference disc on dvd, so to be subpar on their new miracle format they're touting is embarassing for them.

Bingo!

Peace...

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Apparently this was, in fact, pretty poor. The French/UK HD DVD is apparently head and shoulders better.

Um, no, it wasn't. I own it and don't believe it's terrible or in need of a remaster. At worst, there is film grain in it, but that is subjective as to whether that is a negative. At best, it could be better served with a 7.1 LPCM track. As far as the hd-dvd version, I can't really comment.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by ganthc

Um, no, it wasn't. I own it and don't believe it's terrible or in need of a remaster. At worst, there is film grain in it, but that is subjective as to whether that is a negative.

Well, you are apparently in the minority on this.

Don't you remember when the first Blu-Ray player from Samsung came out and there was all that controversy over whether the poor video performance was the player or the Fifth Element (other Blu-Ray releases were being discussed as well) disc itself? Then all the MPEG-2 vs VC-1 debate raged which spilled into BD-25 vs BD-50 vs HD-15 & HD-30 discs and the "need" for space for MPEG2 to produce video quality comparable to VC-1 and so on. Don't you remember any of this?

You, and others, might like the original Fifth Element Blu-Ray release but the general consensus is/was it basically sucked and if it's being remastered, Sony doesn't dispute this. Now, wouldn't it be hilarious if Sony released the EXACT same version with a "newly remastered" label on the case and people started praising the new release?

Peace...

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

Well, you are apparently in the minority on this.

Don't you remember when the first Blu-Ray player from Samsung came out and there was all that controversy over whether the poor video performance was the player or the Fifth Element (other Blu-Ray releases were being discussed as well) disc itself? Then all the MPEG-2 vs VC-1 debate raged which spilled into BD-25 vs BD-50 vs HD-15 & HD-30 discs and the "need" for space for MPEG2 to produce video quality comparable to VC-1 and so on. Don't you remember any of this?

You, and others, might like the original Fifth Element Blu-Ray release but the general consensus is/was it basically sucked and if it's being remastered, Sony doesn't dispute this. Now, wouldn't it be hilarious if Sony released the EXACT same version with a "newly remastered" label on the case and people started praising the new release?

Peace...

Tom, we were talking about T2.