Customer Reviews

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Secret of the Ooze / Turtles in Time / TMNT) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever since I started watching blu-ray last year, I had always wondered when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies would come out on blu-ray. They've been overdue for a remastering, and plus, their anniversary is this year, so what better timing? I saw this set pop up right here on Amazon and I saw that my wish had finally been fulfilled. The question is, though, did they get the remastering they deserved?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The classic that everyone knows and loves. It's darker in tone than the other three, thus capturing the original comic book feel that Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman gunned for back when they did the original comics. Of course, parents didn't like it, so the tone didn't stay in future sequels. However, the literal darkness of the film happens to be the achilles' heel of this release. There's grain all over the place. It looks as if they transferred some of it, but didn't bother to do it on some scenes. One scene where Raph wanders out in broad daylight wearing a trench coat is where the grain is at it's worst, believe it or not. The dark scenes ALL have grain all over them. Some scenes are entirely devoid of any grain, though. So, what gives Warner Bros.? Couldn't touch all of it up? Now, believe me when I say this: This is the best the movie has ever looked. However, it lacks the detail of better blu-ray releases (though some of the detail is noticeable in the costumes of the Turtles), and the grain was to be expected, considering how dark the movie originally was, and as well as it being rather low-budget when it was first shot. The animatronics still stand the test of time, and this is the best they've ever looked, but I still wish more effort was put into reducing the grain and enhancing the details in a lot of scenes. Overall, if you don't mind grain in your films, you'll be fine with it, but this could be better.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze - My personal favorite of the collection. I've watched this countless times growing up on VHS. It looked rough then, but blu-ray has done it some justice. The grain isn't nearly as bad as the first movie, which is a plus, and it's not even noticeable much at all in brighter scenes. Plus, the detail has been enhanced to a fault. It's still not quite perfect in any regards, but I was satisfied overall withe visual quality. Tokka looks great with ever little greasy detail on his scaly body, and in the opening scene in the robbery, you can actually make out the faces of the robbers through their panty hose masks. This is also the best animatronics of the three live-action movies, and is timeless in it's execution. This is the best the movie has ever looked, though there are still some steps that could be made to better the picture just a little more. I was happy with it, though.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III - I'm not typing "Turtles in Time" next to it because some idiot at Warner Bros. put that on the box. That is not the official subtitle to the movie, it's the name of the Arcade/SNES video game, and it's a very good one, at that. Anyways, this is the most hated of the series, and within good reason The plot features absolutely no key villains from the Turtles universe, the animatronics are terrible (their lips flap around like Big Mouth Billy Bass) as they weren't Jim Henson's work like the previous movies, and the plot overall is so-so. However, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I don't really remember watching it as a child, just the first two movies, so I'm really taking this viewing as a first, to my recollection. As for the transfer, it's the best of the three live-action movies by far. Besides a tiny bit of grain in the opening scene with the samurais riding in the sunrise, there's no more to be found. The Turtles looked highly detailed, right down to the pores on the costumes. The lush Japanese setting looks gorgeous in this transfer, and it really makes the movie that much more bearable to watch. While it lacks a sound plot and has laughably bad animatronics, it looks very well done. If only this much effort were put into the previous two, this would be the best package possible.

TMNT - I actually saw this in theatres the day after it came out, I owned it on DVD first day, and I got it on blu-ray last Christmas, so this is actually a triple-dip retail buy, for me. The plot is solid, though it it is reminiscent of the goofy single episode plots they used to have in the 80's cartoons, mixed in with some internal struggle amongst the Turtles, especially Raph and Leo, of course. Some say Mike and Don play nothing but mere cameos, but they make a significant enough appearance to make an impact. There's enough laughs to know that at least Mikey is around in good quantity. As for the picture quality, it looks exactly as it did before on blu-ray, and that means there's nothing wrong with it. It is blu-ray perfection. Screenshots do not do it justice. Every turtle is brilliantly detailed, you can see every hair on Splinter, every detail in every wall, and don't even get me started on one key fight over halfway through the movie that I will not reveal due to possibly spoiling the movie. This fight, which takes place in the rain, is one of the single most gorgeous pieces of CG work I have ever seen. It's brilliantly animated, just as the rest of the movie is, and the amount of detail is mind-blowing. This movie is one of the greatest showpieces for the blu-rat format you will ever find, only to be rivaled by Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, which still stands as the most gorgeous movie of all time, in my eyes. A perfect picture for a great CG movie, overall.

As for extras, you get everything previous releases got. That's it. The only difference is that there's a trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up, coming to the Wii and PS2 next month, on the first movie's disc, but it's the very first trailer released, so its nothing new. It's just mastered in hi-def, though the actual game will look nothing like it, so what's the use? Overall, Warner did a terrible job for adding any special interviews, featurettes, or commentaries to commemorate the 25th Anniversary. I could personally care less about extra features, but those that are steamed about it are within good reason.

The extras we DO get, however, is part of the packaging. As you can see in the pictures one member nicely posted, it comes in a pizza box-esque design. I love it. It's actually much sturdier than you'd think, and the discs hold into their trays rather tightly. You also get 8 collectible cards, a reproduction sketch signed by Peter Laird (though it's printed, not actually signed), a reproduction of the original comic by Eastman and Laird that is based off of the original movie, an a beanie hat, which looks like it'd fit a younger head rather than an adult head, though I haven't unpackaged it for collectible reasons. It's a nice package overall, though many have complained about it not being in normal elite cases. You can always do custom cases, but this works perfectly fine and suits the collection well.

You may be wondering "Why the 4 stars?" after the first two movies weren't done as well as they could have been, but it's simple: This is the best they've looked. If you want a better picture for all of them, this is the only way to go, and they all look better, especially the last two. I did knock off a star because they didn't go the extra mile for the release by adding extra bonus features nor remastering the first two movies as thoroughly as they should have. However, hardcore Turtle fans like me will love it, I can say that much. It's worth the $60, in my eyes, but if you're only particular of getting the first movie (which I have found many are), wait up on this release. One can hope that it will get a re-release down the line from Warner like 300 and The Matrix have gotten, and hopefully, with better quality, as it's the one that got the short end of the stick, and the one most people will likely not be that satisfied with. However, if you want Turtles II and onward, they all look good to fantastic, so it's worth the purchase.

If you're a fan of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" films, this Blu-ray set is extremely, highly recommended. Me, I would have been fine having the first film separately, but the two live-action sequels ARE relics of my past, and ones I like to dabble in every few years or so, so the fact that all the movies are bundled together isn't a huge problem for me. Plus, I kinda like that pizza box cardboard case and the goodies inside, which include:

*a mini reprinting of the full Mirage Studios 62-page black and white comic adaptation of the first film made by TMNT co-creators Peter Laird (script) and Kevin Eastman (layouts) who also ink--along with the very talented Eric Talbot--the exceptional pencils by Jim Lawson
*a black beanie with the old school cartoon and movie Ninja Turtles logo printed on the front
*an envelope with a cool drawing of the Turtles on front, the contents inside being some pretty neat character cards, but the coolest item being a small reproduction of a drawing penciled and signed by Peter Laird

But the biggest aspects of this Blu-ray set to get excited about are the quality transfers of the films, the main reason for buying a Blu-ray Disc. All four films are recreated accurately in the digital medium with a great level of grain and detail on the first three films, and an understandably sharp, grain-free image for the CGI film.

From now on I'll only focus on the first film, released in 1990, as that is by far my favorite of the four.

Taking into account the low-budget nature of this film and its use of soft light, the Blu-ray accurately brings the look of this film into the living room, as if a film reel were being projected onto your HDTV. A nice layer of natural grain, exceptional detail, accurate color reproduction, and so on--this movie looks beautiful, and alone is worth the purchase of this box set if you're a hardcore fan of the film. The review by Kenneth Brown strikes me as odd, as I do not notice grain zapping/reduction and heavy use of edge enhancing to compensate. I've seen plenty of such HD transfers, and this looks NOTHING like what the reviewer describes. The grain is very natural. And the "inconsistent contrast" and "poorly resolved blacks" are due more to the nature of the lower quality film stock as well as the soft lighting. Do these "professional" Blu-ray reviewers not know anything about film???

Being now a fan of the original Mirage Studios comics by Eastman and Laird, I appreciate this film even more now than I did as a kid considering how faithful it is to the source material. The tone is decidedly more adult, though not something that kids aren't welcomed into enjoying (most of the comics were the same way, barring some exceptions like Eastman and Simon Bisley's "Bodycount" miniseries); the story follows closely a select few issues, with any additions and changes gelling with the source material exceptionally well and being necessary for the plot to carry on without hampering (e.g., April O'Neil being a news reporter a la the cartoon series, rather than a computer programmer working for Baxter Stockman--that whole plot would not have worked here in 90 minutes for what they aimed for, and is ultimately unnecessary in this telling); Raphael is the main protagonist, with his journey to quell his anger and understand himself, standing out amongst his brothers, and his hard-shelled loyalty to his brothers and master as well as his meeting and friendship with Casey Jones driving the plot forward (after all, in the comics, Raphael in the "Return to New York" series is the one who drove the other Turtles to go after Shredder after their defeat at April's store/apartment); implementing the Turtles' and Splinter's origin story in the comics real closely with, again, some necessary changes to keep the plot and film pacing flowing; and, man, I could go on and on!

What I'm trying to say is, it's faithful to the source material, it doesn't pander to the kiddies (though again is a great movie for kids) unlike the two live-action sequels did, and in addition to that, it's written, directed, acted, photographed, scored, and edited exceptionally well. There's also those cuh-ray-zee special effects by Jim Henson and company, which are a marvel to behold.

1990's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is an incredibly well-made low-budget film which became a smashing success, understandably so due to the popularity of the Turtles at the time, but I believe also because of how competently made it is. Call me crazy, but I think it's one of the absolute finest films ever made, and I thought that even before I got all nutty over the original Mirage comics. It's not just some old flick to enjoy for nostalgia factor or to tout around on college campus while wearing a TMNT T-shirt, fondly joking about how "Radical!" the Turtles are; this is expert filmmaking at its finest, and the Blu-ray of the film is beautiful and totally faithful to the low-budget film source.

One thing that I'm a little disappointed about--and this isn't enough to bring it down a star or anything, it's still a 5-star product regardless--is that there are no alternate or deleted scenes. The movie was originally supposed to end differently, and there were some censorship issues as well. These missing scenes and edits would be great to see. I love having the theatrical cut of the film, but I hope that someday in the future we'll see a proper Steve Barron director's cut.

As said in the beginning: Extremely, highly recommended! While I'm not as big of a fan of the other movies, and really kind of despise the third, I'm happy to own all four of them in the best quality possible; and really, the rest of the three look as faithful as the first.

If you're familiar with the live-action films but not the CGI one and are looking for an opinion on that: It's a good film. If you follow the 2003 cartoon series at all, it's a welcome addition to that, with some cool designs and animation. It's a whole lotta fun, and definitely my second favorite Ninja Turtles movie (with third being "Turtles Forever", fourth "Secret of the Ooze", and fifth the dreaded turd/third movie).

Ok, I admit, I'm a bit biased as I grew up watching TMNT on saturday mornings, playing with the action figures, and dressing up as Mikey on halloween. Yes, I'm a teenage mutant ninja turtles fan-boy. This package is everything a turtle fan could ask for. All films look great on Blu-ray, especially TMNT (when Raph and Leo are fighting in the rain, the detail is amazing!). You even get some cool gear like a comic, photos, pictures, even a beanie hat! But that's all just icing on the cake. Just all 4 movies on blu-ray is awesome enough. Buy it, you won't be disappointed. Turtle power!

This set is awesome, however I think it could have been better. The picture quality is better than the dvds, but not by much.(Excluding the 200? TMNT movie, which looks great, but who cares about that crappy movie?)I have no problem with film grain, but these movies still have that blur to them.I don't think they put full effort and financing into remastering these movies in hd, because I've seen much older films look much better on blu-ray. You do get an awesome pizza box set and some cool TMNT cards and beanie, but those just a nice bonuses.
I suggest buying the newline 4 dvd pack which is probably like 8 bucks or less.They are widescreen, and upscaled look pretty much as good.

I think almost everyone loves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The TMNT are cool and funny. Now people get to own the TMNT movies on Blu-ray in one set. These movies do look and sound better than the DVD versions. One thing is in the first movie I still saw some grainy textures in some scenes. Which is kind of disapointing because I expected more out of a HD transfer. I also noticed that some of the colors in scenes were changed a little too. In the first movie where the sewer scenes are shown the surrounding is supposed to be more orangish, on the BD one it looks kind of like a regular place. I don't know if they changed it because they didn't like it or maybe that's how the movie supposed to look like. Too bad there isn't any special features for the first 3 films. If there was this collection would be much better. People also get a comic book, sketch, and character cards too. If you loved all the TMNT movies then you have to buy this collection. Cowabunga dudes!

When I showed this off at work, I was surprise to hear the responses I heard.
The best one was "Is that really on Blu-ray?"
Watching it was a blast! You dont care about the grain(which there isnt a whole lor of considering the film is OLD)
but this was great to watch and My wife who doesnt go near this stuff was having a blast.
My two year old loved it. This made my family movie night collection.......

I just had my entire childhood rush back to me. Turtles on Blu-ray, TURTLE POWER!!!!

I have read this review of a guy that said that this collection had no extras and thats not true for starters the Blu-ray pakage has:All 4 Films with Extras and Collectibles like Comic Book, Sketch with Co-Creator Peter Laird's Autograph, Radical Beanie Hat and 8 TMNT Character Cards, plus extra content.

So I dont know if this guy got the DVD version of it (I dont know what does this one has in it), but the blu-ray certanly does has extras.

I'm absolutely thrilled that the original live-action TMNT (1990) movie is being offered on Blu-Ray, and the other 3 films are an extra bonus, may be not as good as the first one but hey! This are good turtle films none the less.

If you are a BIG turtle fan you will certanly enjoy this colection, if not buy the TMNT (1990) movie on DVD because Im sure they wont sellit on Blu-ray alone.

This box set is intended to conmemorate the 25th anniversary, and some rumors said that this box set will be available for a short period of time, so If you are/were a fan this is a must have.

Enjoy!

Honestly never expected turtles to get Bluray treatment. Got my Bluray set in the mail Tuesday and just got around to watching all 4 in a marathon. My girlfriend and I got a pizza and powered through them all. The set is awesome, comes with some cool stuff. I have the comic and I don't wear beanies but it was still a nice addition. I like the box a lot as well, I didn't at first but it's cooler in person. The little post cards are neat. The turtles look horrible on them though.

The first movie is odd it goes from looking good to bad. The darker scenes really suffer from grain. Still fun to watch and even after all these years I still enjoy the film. I was afraid the high def would take away from the film but it didn't. The costumes still hold up quite well.

The second movie looks the same all the way through. It looks good but nothing amazing. Still my favorite film out of the series. I caught a few things I never saw before, like on Tokka's costume I could see the actors head in the neck in a few scenes. Nothing that took away from my enjoyment of the movie though.

The third movie looks pretty good but everything in it is extremely bad. Some how the high def makes it look even worse. The lip syncing is super off half the time. I just couldn't handle it. I made it about 30 minutes in and I had to turn it off. I hadn't seen it in 12+ years and I had no expectations and it was still some how so bad I couldn't bare watching it.

The fourth movie of course looked good. It's also the only one that's not anamorphic so it has widescreen bars. I'd seen it so many times I just kinda glanced over it. I can take or leave the movie, typically leave.

Great set though, totally worth the cash. Cool box art and the transfers only favor the films in most cases. The menus could have used a little work. The menu for the first film probably looks the best.

Fun things I never noticed when watching it before in standard def. Danny has a Gizmo comic in the first scene in April's apartment. Also the warehouse has Archie comic boxes all over it. This is probably stuff other people have seen already before but it was new to me.

this set comes with a beanie, a comic book of the first movie and some cool cards, all in one box, oh and the blu rays. the biggest question people will have about purchasing this set is the blu ray quality, how does the old films look in 1080p .

quality: the blu ray does enhance the image especially in turtles 3, the turtles look really sharp and you can see the scale on their skin, seems like the turtles got a lot of work in this one, but not necessarily the people in the movie. the people in the movie quality is not as good as the turtles. as for the first and second ones, their is an increase from their dvd counter parts, nice widescreen view, a bit more detailed than the dvds. nothing super spectacular but it works, turtles 1 & 2 video quality 4/5 turtles 3 4.5/5 , tmnt, video qualit 4.7/5. i must dock off points for the tmnt blu ray realese. what is up with developers releasing BLU RAYS IN LETTERBOX(black bars above and below) , shouldnt blu ray always be non letterboxed, most people that have widescreen tvs want their widescreen no black bars. its acceptable for a dvd but not a blu ray. lots of pixels are bing taken away, so tmnt i would say is not technically 1080p; however, the quality of the film is still good and is obviously the best quality of the 4 in terms of picture. the first 3 should fill your wide screen tv perfectly.

4.5/5 video quality

extra content : sorry turtle fans you wont be seeing any cut scenes from the original movies. disappointing. basically its just the movies in the first 3 and in tmnt 4 bascially the dvd content.

1.5/ 5


collectors value : beanie comic bool, pizza like box, cards and the blu rays. only negative here, is that the blu rays are stacked together i personally prefer them with a different case

4/5

sound quality : good and clear 5/5

overrall sore

3.5/5

OK I have all 4 on DVD already but I could not resist the urge to seeing this in High Def

This box set contains all 4 films and a few cool items in the box the only bad thing about this box set is that there are no Blu Ray extra but it don't matter if you are a life long TMNT fan like myself then pick this up now.