Post
by BrollysKin » Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:17 am
This guy on Amazon wrote an article on the Amazon website. Is it correct?
I can't believe what I am reading here. The people writing these reviews are the most uneducated fools I've ever seen. Everyone here complaining about the widescreen, that it's supposedly "ruining" the original format, doesn't know one damn thing about what they are talking about.
Pay attention, everyone who's reading this, please: Despite what you have read on here about DBZ being filmed originally in full screen, know that the people saying this haven't one clue on Earth what they are talking about.
The remastering, as it's CLEARLY explained on the DVD set, if any of these morons bothered to actually *watch* that featurette, was done from the ORIGINAL FILM PRINTS of DBZ. You see, DBZ, amazingly, was recorded not on video, or digitally like we would have now. It was recorded on FILM. The original aspect of film is *not* full screen. What you are seeing in this transfer is the *FULL* picture, not cropped, not changed, but presented *fully* in all of its original glory FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. Film, whether they used 35mm or super 16mm prints, is only *able* to record in 1.85:1, or 1.66:1, respectively, aspect ratio, or WIDESCREEN. If it's super 16 (audio tracks removed on the negative in order to take full advantage of spreading the picture frame almost as wide as 35mm), which it seems to be given it's not *wide* widescreen but wider than your TV can naturally handle, then it's the later ratio. There is no, repeat *no* format of film that records in full screen. None. Even 8mm is more than the original 1.37:1 Academy standard of movies before the 50's. Your normal TV is 1.33:1 and all film is cropped to be broadcast on it, or undergoes "pan and scan" or finally, is presented in its full proportions with the missing black bars on top and bottom because the image has to be shrunk on the TV in order for it to fit. An HD widescreen TV will have no problem showing the full image, without much shrinkage, depending on the aspect ratio. From the aspect ratios I've mentioned, you only get more wide but never less.
I can't gather my brain around the fact that not only are people writing these reviews not knowing this basic fact, not paying attention to the fact that its explained right there on their DVD set in that featurette for them, and having the nerve to write this up for a 1 star based solely on the fact they think, quite stupidly, that this series was *cropped* to *make* it wisescreen... It's literally unbelievable. This series shouldn't suffer bad reviews from total fools like this, imo.
Ok, now onto the review of this great new transfer. It's absolutely amazing. Not only have they restored the video and enhanced the original mono audio as best they could in 5.1 surround, but they've also reworked the translation a bit, added previously cut entire episodes, and the end result is that the story is much more engaging and concise. It feels like it should have from the start. The violence isn't dumbed down. The language isn't either, and the whole flow is much more geared to an adult storyline this series was intended for. The power and emotion of the English voice talent is top on their game in this as well. I hope that they've reworked some of their original dialogue for the Frieza sagas as well to match this, and beyond.
If you've always loved this series, truly, this is the best of that series, imo. It's the most visceral, most powerful storyline from start to finish in the entire Dragonball or Dragonball Z span. When it comes down Nappa picking apart and killing, after torturing, each fighter one by one, or later to Vegeta and Goku going at it, and neither will give up, both are pushing to their absolute breaking point, the entire planet might be destroyed by it, and then some true pain starts getting dished out on *everyone,* if you liked seeing this before, you will definitely feel the intensity has risen ten fold. It should be noted also for purists that the original Japanese dialogue and mono sound is also available, along with the original stereo English TV broadcast with the new music and sound effects added. So, no matter which way you'd want to hear DBZ, in what translation, it's there. And, once more, for the final time: this is presented COMPLETELY UNCUT IN ITS ORIGINAL VISUAL FORMAT and there is nothing taken away, cropped, or fudged to make this widescreen, beautifully remasted version look the way it does. It is totally and completely unaltered from its original formatting. You are seeing far *MORE*of the screen, is all, than ever before and that's something to praise, *not* criticize foolishly.
BTW, whomever it is that's written the review up there on this site with the plot summary, not the fan reviews here or the editorial review, should learn how to spell the characters' names right. From what I can see, they've miss-matched the Japanese original names and the English versions in this hodge-podge that ultimately is wrong. Goku doesn't have two "u"'s in his name, no matter which language you choose. *sigh*
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