Outspoken director Michael Bay is once again singing the praises of Blu-ray, this time in celebration of the recent Blu-ray successes. At the Visual Effects Society's sixth annual award show, where he presented the award for animated character in a motion picture, he remarked, "Blu-ray's better, and I told everyone. I was very vocal about it. I knew HD [DVD] was not going to make it."
Bay has personally supervised Blu-ray transfers for his films 'The Rock' and 'Pearl Harbor' and says it has resulted in a sharper image that is "closer to what it should look like." He also isn't afraid of grain: "Yeah, there's some grain, pushing film, shooting at night. There's actually some grain in 'Transformers'. We pushed it just a little too much. I don't mind grain. Grain has a vibe."
He also spoke about the prospects of bringing his film 'Armageddon' to Blu-ray, but mentioned that it would need a brand new master. "The Armageddon [master] was burned in a fire apparently, so we've got to re-master the whole movie," noted Bay.
Richard. You took the words out of my mouth.
Armageddon master burnt in a fire. Ironic. Seriously I hope they can work on that film, as I love it. Have the Criterion version.
We have Bay to thank for helping persuade public adoption toward the Blu-ray format. He's been a fantastic supporter, and here's offering our thanks to Bay for being a dude. Can't wait to buy Transformers on Blu-ray with a lossless audio track!
It is always nice the hear unbiased support from a high profile professional in the movie industry. Gives added credibility to the blu ray movement when we know we are fighting for, and getting, the best possible 1080P picture.
This is too funny. I usually find myself having to defend Bay on most movie forums, but luckily this is the blu-ray forum where he praised, albeit for different reasons.
this outspoken director amuse and amaze me. keep up the good work of spreading the word of blu-ray, Bay. And thank you for all of the support. Transformer will be on BD one day. Make sure next time, you pull out deals just like spielberg (whose movie can't be released on DUD
Armageddon is an atrocious film with bad science, bombastic music, implausible action and ropey affects. The same story could have been told a lot better. The physical media the movie is on will not make a difference to that.
Mmm, I'd definitely have to get The Island on Blu-ray...that was an enjoyable underrated flick from 2005, and Scarlett in high def....oh yeah. Jordan Two-Delta is the hottest clone ever.
tru blu, there is always a certain suspension of disbelief in movies. That doesn't mean a movie should just toss out all of the laws of physics and fill it with nonsense. Compare and contrast how Armageddon & Deep Impact approached their physics. Deep Impact certainly did some dumb things but it still stayed within the bounds of reality. BTW I'm not saying DI is a classic either but it shows you can have a story about a crew planting a bomb on asteroid that is somewhat plausible.
Physics were just part of the reason Armageddon was bad. Bad acting, dull characters, a bad script, loud music and ADHD direction meant it was a dumb and unredeeming movie. Whether the director supports one storage format or not cannot change that fact.
Lol, anyone forget how Bay switched back to HD-DVD after his first comment about blu? So he told everyone blu was better yet pulled a 180 at the start.
DrXym, just because you felt the film was "dumb and unredeeming" doesn't make it a fact. That's your opinion, NOT a stated fact. I think it was the perfect popcorn flick, dumb perhaps, but far from unredeeming. I left the theater entertained, and so did most of the people around me. Bay did his job as far as that's concerned.
Nice to see he's still a vocal supporter of blu-ray. The news about the Armageddon master is disappointing though. I hope they consider the exra effort to re-master it, worth it. It's one of the titles I've really been looking forward to on blu-ray.
I think HD-DVD is not a theater expierence disc. Without grain, it's crap. Grain is a vibe for theaters and Blu-ray maintains that vibe. HD-DVD supporters can say that but then, there won't be a lot but the end of the year.
Personally, even though I like Michael Bay's movies, he kind of sounds like a band wagon director to me. Just before Transformers came out, when Dreamworks/Paramount announced their DUD exclusivity and when it seemed like DUD was (briefly) pulling ahead of Blu, he praised DUD like it was the next best thing. Now that Blu is winning, he's backing it 100%. Sounds a little two-faced if you ask me. As for Transformers coming to Blu, I'd love to see it happen, but until Dreamworks/Paramount concedes that Blu is the the way to go, it's just not going to happen. Eventually it will, but I think it'll take a while. Industry powerhouses like that don't like to admit they're wrong and they'll hang on to the dying format as long as possible.
Am I alone in thinking that Blu-Ray version of Bad Boys I & II would be pretty nice with all the gunplay and action shots? No word on these that I can find...
Bay is a classless, big mouth idiot. First he disses HD DVD, but then he recounts when Transformers is exclusively released on that format and says he was drunk when he made the comments. After the WB announcement, he goes on another anti-HD tirade. Make up your mind, pal.
Spielberg has supported BD from day one, but had the decency to just support the format and not talk crap about the other one.
Bay has been consistently outspoken against HD DVD the whole time. His employers forced him to recant (not "recount" BTW) his initial statements but he has made his true feelings known repeatedly. Too bad you can't appreciate bold condor. I guess you'd prefer a nation of cowards who march to the man's beat.