I popped in my free “Chronicles of Riddick” HD DVD disc that I got from the Toshiba 5-Free disc offer. It wasn’t on my high definition “to buy” list since I already owned both the theatrical and director’s version of the DVD. But being that it was free and all, it was a good addition to the collection.
The menu came on and immediately the content looked so much richer than I had seen from the standard definition disc. In high definition you get a far better rendition of what the film makers were working towards. Camera angles were much more relevant to the film. The use of depth-of-field (meaning, some parts of an image are left sharp, others blurry) was much more visible. It was also much easier to see the craft and expertise in colorizing, set design and 3d modeling.
The opening scene on U.V. System Planet 6 is introduces you to the potential of high def. The icy planet looks better blown up than in smaller format. This is in contrast to many sci-fi films that lose their realism as they are enlarged. Details are revealed in a way so realistic that it looks more like reality than a
Watching a movie in 16.9 in high definition is just like experiencing a film in the theater, with the benefit of being able to freeze action and replay scenes whenever you want. Of course, seeing a film at home on your 40”, 50” or even 60” set will never match the beauty of the theater widescreen, but if you can afford the $70,000 Panasonic 103” plasma, you’ll be pretty darn close.
Chronicles of Riddick” on HD DVD — this is one movie that you want to take a look at in high definition.
