This review is from: Wallace And Gromit The Complete Collection [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
It’s not really the ‘complete’ Wallace and Gromit- no “Curse Of The Wererabbit” (available separately), no “Cracking Contraptions” (now hard to find), and none of their advertising and commercial appearances.
That aside though, you get all four of the half-hour Wallace & Gromit movies. The first three, originally shot on film, have been remastered for HD and done absolutely beautifully. They’ve been cleaned up very carefully, a lot of old movies don’t look as good on Blu-ray as these do. Watching in HD, instead of exposing any problems with the puppets or sets, actually makes the whole thing more stunning. The attention to detail is captivating.
Each film has a commentary, as well as a ‘making of’ which charts the changes in technology and budget between the first and most recent films. A couple of other brief extras such as a photo gallery and a behind-the-scenes on the W&G Harvey Nichols poster campaign help fill the disc.
Ideally a ‘complete’ collection would have been a box set featuring “Cracking Contraptions”, but what you do get is still beautiful animations with wit and charm.
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This review is from: Wallace And Gromit The Complete Collection [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Marking 20 years of ‘Wallace and Gromit’, ‘The Complete Collection’ brings together all four of the dynamic duo’s television films – ‘A Grand Day Out’, ‘The Wrong Trousers’, ‘A Close Shave’ and ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’ is glorious HD – for the very first time, in the case of the first three. There’s little that can be said about the films themselves that hasn’t been said already – they’re all brilliant, and have all garnered a plethora of richly-deserved awards to reflect that. The question is – what is the Blu Ray like?
Picture and sound quality on this release is excellent, particularly on ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’, but even the earliest film, ‘A Grand Day Out’, looks impressive. The high definition presentation highlights a few visual elements that perhaps weren’t so obvious in SD – obviously painted backdrops, thumb-prints in the plasticine figures, and so on – but none of these detract from the films themselves, and to some extent actually enhance them, as it gives you a better sense of the sheer amount of work that has gone into even the smallest scenes. HD is also great for spotting little visual gags that Nick Park and co. have left scattered throughout the background. All the films are accompanied by commentaries, and there’s a wealth of behind the scenes material too – though unfortunately this is all presented in SD.
I’ve seen these films countless times down the years, but the Blu Ray release really does give them a new lease of life – and compared with the standalone release of ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’, it’s terrific value for money too.
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This review is from: Wallace And Gromit The Complete Collection [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
The four excellent short adventures on one BD. Seeing the four together in HD you can see the development of technique, however the first stories are as clever and funny as ever.
Only one real complaint, the music in “The Wrong Trousers” has been changed. Both the birthday card and the Penguin’s radio. Just sounds does not sound right with the new tunes.
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Not ‘complete’ but otherwise brilliant,
It’s not really the ‘complete’ Wallace and Gromit- no “Curse Of The Wererabbit” (available separately), no “Cracking Contraptions” (now hard to find), and none of their advertising and commercial appearances.
That aside though, you get all four of the half-hour Wallace & Gromit movies. The first three, originally shot on film, have been remastered for HD and done absolutely beautifully. They’ve been cleaned up very carefully, a lot of old movies don’t look as good on Blu-ray as these do. Watching in HD, instead of exposing any problems with the puppets or sets, actually makes the whole thing more stunning. The attention to detail is captivating.
Each film has a commentary, as well as a ‘making of’ which charts the changes in technology and budget between the first and most recent films. A couple of other brief extras such as a photo gallery and a behind-the-scenes on the W&G Harvey Nichols poster campaign help fill the disc.
Ideally a ‘complete’ collection would have been a box set featuring “Cracking Contraptions”, but what you do get is still beautiful animations with wit and charm.
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|A Treat In HD,
Marking 20 years of ‘Wallace and Gromit’, ‘The Complete Collection’ brings together all four of the dynamic duo’s television films – ‘A Grand Day Out’, ‘The Wrong Trousers’, ‘A Close Shave’ and ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’ is glorious HD – for the very first time, in the case of the first three. There’s little that can be said about the films themselves that hasn’t been said already – they’re all brilliant, and have all garnered a plethora of richly-deserved awards to reflect that. The question is – what is the Blu Ray like?
Picture and sound quality on this release is excellent, particularly on ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’, but even the earliest film, ‘A Grand Day Out’, looks impressive. The high definition presentation highlights a few visual elements that perhaps weren’t so obvious in SD – obviously painted backdrops, thumb-prints in the plasticine figures, and so on – but none of these detract from the films themselves, and to some extent actually enhance them, as it gives you a better sense of the sheer amount of work that has gone into even the smallest scenes. HD is also great for spotting little visual gags that Nick Park and co. have left scattered throughout the background. All the films are accompanied by commentaries, and there’s a wealth of behind the scenes material too – though unfortunately this is all presented in SD.
I’ve seen these films countless times down the years, but the Blu Ray release really does give them a new lease of life – and compared with the standalone release of ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’, it’s terrific value for money too.
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|Cracking Collection – but not original music,
The four excellent short adventures on one BD. Seeing the four together in HD you can see the development of technique, however the first stories are as clever and funny as ever.
Only one real complaint, the music in “The Wrong Trousers” has been changed. Both the birthday card and the Penguin’s radio. Just sounds does not sound right with the new tunes.
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