As part of the new apartment celebration, I am purchasing a 30" widescreen (theater ratio) TV. The theory here is that I don't watch that much actual TV and watch more DVDs. I am a firm believer in initiating new objects into my life properly. I am currently entertaining suggestions as to what should be the first movie for my lovely new television. It'll also be the first movie for my new apartment. I have a few ideas, but will leave them out so as not to taint your suggestions.
Ideas?
--Enigmatic
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Barney: Extended Edition Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
I suggest:
LOTR Extended Edition Marathon
or
What Dreams May Come (okay, not a great movie, but visually stunning and it'll make your screen happy).
or
The Cell (also not a great movie, but visually really cool)
You know, I never thought of this before, but there's really NOT a quintessential "play this first" movie for new video systems like there are priority plays for new audio systems.
Like, I've broken in EVERY new sound system by playing Steely Dan's Aja album first. But a movie...I'm not sure.
Oh well.
Good luck.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
You shouldn't be buying a TV at all, they are evil. Get a membership in a gym, or if you already have one, get a bike.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
I don't think they make Barney in widescreen, which kind of defeats the point. Brat.
I'd probably do the LOTR extendeds if I didn't have so much else to do this weekend. Oh, who am I kidding? I may do it, anyway.
--Enigmatic
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
My suggestions:
Remember the Titans
Jurassic Park
Finding Nemo
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Princess Bride
The Iron Giant Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
I like the idea of a movie marathon.
The Money Pit.
Pacific Heights.
Single White Female.
Apartment Zero.
The Apartment Complex.
Joe's Apartment.
Apartment Story.
Jericho Mansions.
It's a theme. Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I think it depends on the type of movie you want to see first. Visually stunning? A damn good movie overall? Horror? Cult-classic? Drama?
Man, so much.
Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 7612) on :
While I'm pretty much disappointed with the new Star Wars films, the podrace sequence in The Phantom Menace is a great way to showcase a new home theater. Great visuals with lots of vibrant colors and excellent surround sound with lots of different harmonics for each of the pod's engines.
After that, I'm with Bob_Scopatz:
Extended Edition LotR marathon.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
I like your thinking, Kayla, though a few of those are better for a new house than an apartment.
One of the ones I've been considering is The Shining because the hallways in my new building remind me of it. I think it's the carpet that does that.
--Enigmatic
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
quote:After that, I'm with Bob_Scopatz
*Looks around quickly*
No you're not.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
quote:Originally posted by Enigmatic: One of the ones I've been considering is The Shining because the hallways in my new building remind me of it. I think it's the carpet that does that.
*decides not to invite herself over for the show*
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
The Iron Giant
The LOTR Trilogy
And, since I don't see it here yet:
The Matrix (the first one)
--j_k
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
2001: A Space Odyssey
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
You trying to put him to sleep? (I've never managed to make it through that movie, though I've tried several times.) Snore.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Me too! It's not even that I'm bored by it, it's more like there's some subliminal hypnosis in the opening scene that puts me out like a light.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
You've Got Mail.
That's what I would pick.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Exactly!
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Blade Runner Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
There is no film more soporific that "Koyaanisqatsi". I saw it in the cinema on a first date. It caused me not only to sleep with a guy on the first date, it caused me to sleep with a theater full of other people, too.
A chorus of snores rose from the audience. No kidding.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
2001: A Space ....zzzzzzz
I'm so conditioned by that movie that the opening bars of Also Sprach Zarathustra will send me into an 8 hour coma.
It's the movie equivalent of tryptophan.
I woke up once towards the end of that movie and realized I'd never actually seen that part, even though I'd watched the thing at least a dozen times.
I think anyone who would design a computer without an off switch gets what they deserve.
There's no way I'd go onto a ghost spaceship filled with human blood and tissue floating in zero G and then take off my space suit after a finite amount of time and air scrubbing. Bleccchh.
If I ever see an obelisk land on any planet of mine, I'll beat it to pulp with the nearest femur. Oook!
It's full of stars, my ass! The cast was "B" at best.
Space stewardesses should not wear soft sculpture bubble hats, even if they do have to walk upside down and wear velcro-soled booties!
The PanAm space plane was cool and I'm really sorry they went bankrupt before starting that service.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
I'm a firm supporter of the LOTR Trilogy marathon.
Other suggestions include-
Original Star Wars Trilogy marathon (they added surround sound in the DVD edition, and it's, as we all know, a lot better than the new movies)
And thats about it.
But I'd have to go with LOTR, seeing how it's the perfect set of movies to exhibit for a quality audio-video system. Well with all the amazing visuals and intresting sounds.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Metropolis (directed by Fritz Lang)? Hunchback of Notre Dame (the one with Charles Laughton)? Ruggles of Red Gap (Charles Laughton fan, I guess)? The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin)?
I haven't seen a lot of movies lately. But I remember that those were pretty good. If you are looking for very high fidelity sound quality, you might want to stay away from Metropolis and The Gold Rush, however.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
quote:There's no way I'd go onto a ghost spaceship filled with human blood and tissue floating in zero G and then take off my space suit after a finite amount of time and air scrubbing. Bleccchh.
...
It's full of stars, my ass! The cast was "B" at best.
Weren't those from 2010?
In any case, I love 2001 and Koyaanisqatsi. If I were in your position, those would be at the top of my list.
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
I still think The Iron Giant sounds like a good choice. Or maybe The Day the Earth Stood Still .
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Speed. Could be. I half remember them.
Too bad too. The books aren't bad, but the movie!!!
I felt like I was hit upside the head with a Kubrick.
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
quote:I felt like I was hit upside the head with a Kubrick.
Edit: I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to watch the Iron giant , which is how it is written on the movie case, right now.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I second Joe's Apartment. Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 7612) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Pixiest: I second Joe's Apartment.
The only part of that film that was worth anything was when he gets mugged like four times in 60 seconds.
The rest was pure...um...I can't say without violating forum rules. Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 7612) on :
quote:Originally posted by Bob_Scopatz: It's full of stars, my ass! The cast was "B" at best.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
If you've got home theatre audio to go along with your tv, and wanna invite a few folks to make the video premier into a housewarming, try burning down the house with Stop Making Sense.
Guaranteed you'll be dancing.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
Raiders of the lost ark
Spielberg, Lucas, Ford at their best.
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
All movies should break in your TV. There's just not room for them whole.
If movies are breaking in your TV, you should try putting them into the VCR or DVD player.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Army of Darkness
The Bruce is all.
Posted by Angiomorphism (Member # 8184) on :
"The Cube". most pointless but also incredibly creative movie ever
Posted by Angiomorphism (Member # 8184) on :
"The Cube". most pointless but also incredibly creative movie ever
Posted by CT (Member # 8342) on :
Edit: Well, this way you could guarantee that you'll never, ever see a worse movie on it. 'Twould only go up from there.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
quote: Edit: Well, this way you could guarantee that you'll never, ever see a worse movie on it. 'Twould only go up from there.
Bah, if I was going to do THAT, I already own a copy of Ed Wood's Orgy of the Dead. Unfortunately (or maybe not) it isn't widescreen, so that's no good for these purposes. No good for any other purposes, really, except inflicting upon unsuspecting, and soon to be former-, friends.
--Enigmatic (First post from new apartment! I have teh intarnets!)
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
quote: The only part of that film that was worth anything was when he gets mugged like four times in 60 seconds.
The singing cockroaches crack me up, but it was really much better as a 5 minute short than a movie. The movie was really... really... bad.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Lawrence of Arabia
Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
Jingle All the Way
The fully saturated colors and fine film grain make this an eye-popping experience.
Finding Nemo would be a good second choice for a TV workout.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
In case anyone cares, the actual first movie for the new tv was Labyrinth. I, uh... have my reasons.
--Enigmatic
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
*is curious*
Labyrinth is delightful. Good choice!!
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
So, you decided to shy away from the visual grandeur and special effects that is Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". Well, no accounting for taste. Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
My copy of Metropolis is not widescreen aspect ratio, defeating the purpose for this exercise. Now that I think about it, I don't think my copy of the original Nosferatu is, either. Was the wide ratio introduced later? Any movie history folks know this?
Narnia, a careful search of Hatrack for things related to Labyrinth should reveal my reasons. Sure, I could just tell you, but then I wouldn't be
--Enigmatic
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
[guess]Because you like watching David Bowie wear tight leather pants?[/guess]
Posted by theamazeeaz (Member # 6970) on :
What no firefly?
Posted by Lucky4 (Member # 1420) on :
If your reason has anything to do with the budding starlet Labyrinth features, then you have my full blessing. Excellent selection.
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
Yeah, would have been Firefly for me.
Ni!
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Firefly's a TV show. = Not wide screen = defeating the purpose when he wants to break in his new widescreen TV.
I know why he chose Labyrinth. But I'm guessing I'm not allowed to play. Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Firefly is wide screen; it, like several other recent tv shows, is shown in that (far superior) format.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: [guess]Because you like watching David Bowie wear tight leather pants?[/guess]
None of those pants were leather. Leather would have been thicker than that.
--Enigmatic
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
yeah, it was a scarily thin, lavendar spandex. *shudders* Didn't Abby say that she saw that David Bowie's package actually made the cast list of that movie?
Enigmatic, I'm too lazy to search, but if it was for Jennifer, there are many other movies where she's much cuter. Unless you admire her more when she's still jailbait. You're entitled to that I suppose.
Posted by Samarkand (Member # 8379) on :
Hero. Definitely Hero.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
Goodness no. I do not select movies to watch based on female eyecandy, and I actually despise that habit. It allows terrible movies to be successful, a la Tomb Raider. My opinion is if the only reason you're watching a movie is to drool over the actress, stop being a wimp about it and just go watch full pornography. TheCrowsWife's guess was much closer.
And I agree, Connoly is much hotter in Dark City.
Also, I don't think the package is in the credits, but there was a guy whose job it was to play with David Bowie's balls on camera. (The crystal ones! Honestly, you people.)
--Enigmatic
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
quote:None of those pants were leather. Leather would have been thicker than that.
Ah. Guess I didn't look closely enough. It has been a few years since I saw that movie.
And that guess was totally in jest. It scares me that it is somewhat close to your real reason...
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
You like David Bowie's fantastic wardrobe? His hair? I'm stumped!
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
Pie are squared.
--Enigmatic
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
A mighty belated Amen! to Blade Runner, Corwin My favorite film, if only Ridley had ever surpassed it.
quote:Originally posted by Enigmatic: My copy of Metropolis is not widescreen aspect ratio, defeating the purpose for this exercise. Now that I think about it, I don't think my copy of the original Nosferatu is, either. Was the wide ratio introduced later? Any movie history folks know this?
Yes, the "Academy aspect ratio" of 1.33 : 1 or 4 : 3 was adopted for film in 1932 by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was used for the aspect ratio in early television. This gave way in film in the 50s with the introduction of Cinerama ( 2.8:1), Panavision (2.35:1), and other early widescreen formats. TV has been much slower to evolve, but a 16:9 ratio will probably be the new standard.
quote: So to summarise, the early history of film gave us the academy ratio of 1.33:1or 4:3, (see Aspect Ratio.) When television began in the 1940s it adopted the same ratio of 4:3. Movies transformed to the television screen without any problem. In the 1950s, when Hollywood introduced Anamorphic widescreen movies with a ratio 2.35:1, these did not translate well to television, with up to 43% of the original image being lost to the viewer at home when a CinemaScope film was shown, due to the Pan & Scan method used
My brother's an even bigger Blade Runner fan than I am and in consequence we now have the director's cut too. Haven't seen it yet, but I'm planning to in the near future.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
I think (not positive) the main difference between the DC and the regular version is the DC cuts out a lot of Deckker's voice-overs. After seeing it with VOs, I didn't miss them.
Have you heard of the Blade Runner Curse? Several of the companies that have giant billboard ads in the flying scenes went belly-up after the film was released. Pan-Am is the only one I remember.
I am probably going to get the DC version next month on DVD. I can't wait! Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Blade Runner Curse?! Hehe, never heard of that!
And we'll see soon enough what the DC version's all about, won't we?
I still like the book way better than the movie, but that's just 'cause the book is "teh awesome", not because the movie isn't an excellent one!
Posted by calaban (Member # 2516) on :
Ronin, The Professional, Last Man Standing, Toombstone, Empire Strikes Back, the entire Clint Eastwood Pasketti Western Collection. so many movies so little time.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
Thread Redirect Starting Here!
So, my house is getting decidely more ostentatious on Monday. That's when my HDTV will arrive. No, I didn't pay near that much for it. So don't bother planning to mug me; you'll go away disappointed. And bloody.
Anyhoo, along with the TV I just bought an upconversion DVD player (with an ungodly expensive HDMI cable -- why in the dickens does a 6 ft cable cost $54?). The new TV and DVD player will be integrated into my old 5.1 surround sound.
I need a movie to break it in. Now, while a lot of the movies previously suggested would work fine, a lot of movies have come out since then.
So tell me what you think. Right now I'm thinking about Star Wars (the original, and maybe my all-time favorite movie), Batman Begins, Bad Boys II, Serenity, or The Incredibles.
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
The Galactica miniseries would be cool. Lots of big scary noises and special effects there
Of the choices you mentioned, I'd pick Batman Begins. I have no real reason why.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Amazingly, one of the films that looks best on our big HDTV is Finding Nemo. It's an excellent color-test.
Although I find that comparing it to other Disney films makes them all seem rather drab by comparison, which is a real shame. For example, The Little Mermaid -- which at the time was visually stunning -- uses much lower contrast values; the blacks are rarely truly black and the whites are rarely perfectly white, which means that it looks considerably less "punchy" next to anything by Pixar. Rather weird, now that I think about it.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
What'd you guys use to set up the contrast, bright, and sharpness on you HDTV, Tom?
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
Can I borrow this thread too to ask a question about DVD choices?
OK, so I'm trying to get the LoTR DVDs. To buy the regular movies is $10 each (so it'd be $30 I guess for all 3 togethor). To buy the extended edition of the 3 movies is $60. Twice the price. To those that own the extended edition or seen it, is it really worth that much more?
Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
No. It isn't. I suggest, that you spend the normal amount of money, and get the regualar versions. Hope that helped Gaal! Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
The extended versions are so much better, I can't even watch the cinema cuts anymore.
It was obvious to me, even before I watched the extended versions, where the cuts were, and it annoyed me.
Spend the extra money. It's worth it.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
62"? Wow.
Posted by sweetbaboo (Member # 8845) on :
El JT, I vote Serenity.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
It depends, Gaal, on how long you like your movies. The content added to the extended versions is good, but it slows down their pace and makes them much longer.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
ElJay, I know. It's huge. I was looking at a 52", but since I bought this one refurbished it was $350 cheaper than the 52" one.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Hahaha. What's great is I came in here to suggest Labyrinth.
Obviously a 30-inch David Bowie package is worth breaking in a new TV.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Ryuko, that might be more than I could handle... {swoon}
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Me too! It's not even that I'm bored by it, it's more like there's some subliminal hypnosis in the opening scene that puts me out like a light.
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
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![[Monkeys]](graemlins/monkeys.gif)
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You're entitled to that I suppose.