Transformers: The Movie Comparison – Which is Superior? The Anniversary Blu-ray, The Metrodome Blu-ray or the Ultimate Edition DVD

Throughout the past thirty years The Transformers Movie has received countless releases since its theatrical debut in 1986 and now, for it’s 30^th Anniversary, Manga Entertainment UK have teamed-up with Shout Factory to provide fans with a new High Definition Blu-ray release of the film.

For fans of The Transformers Movie it is incredibly exciting news; partly because the previous Blu-ray release of the film, which was distributed by Metrodome / TV Loonland in 2007, has long since gone out of print (although the transfer they used in that version can be found on Madman Entertainment’s Australian Blu-ray release), but mostly because this newer release of the film has been mastered in 4K High Definition and digitally restored to correct any issues discovered in the original film. What’s more important is that this ‘30^th Anniversary Edition’ will also contain both 4:3 and 16:9 versions of the film; with each version reciving the clean-up treatment.

With this being said then; which version of the film is superior? Is the newer 30^th Anniversary Edition better than the previous Metrodome Blu-ray release and more importantly how does it stand-up to the previous ‘Ultimate Edition’ and ‘Original’ DVD releases of the film? Well today we will find out in our latest comparison. A word of warning though; some spoilers may occur.

Comparison One:

The first comparison we will take a look at is the iconic scene in which Optimus Prime confronts Megatron in Autobot City; a confrontation which sparks one of the most memorable lines in the franchise.

30^th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (Widescreen):

30^th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (Full Frame):

Metrodome Blu-ray:

Ultimate Edition DVD:

Original DVD:

Comparison Two:

The second comparison is when Unicorn meets Megatron in space and begins to reconstruct him into Galvatron; to which not only do we see the beloved villian replaced by a new enemy threat but amazing detailed in the amount of lines drew for the insides of Megatron.

30^th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (Widescreen):

30^th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (Full Frame):

Metrodome Blu-ray:

Ultimate Edition DVD:

Original DVD:

Comparison Three:

The third, and for this article final, comparison shot is when the Autobots attempt to flee from Autobot City.

30^th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (Widescreen):

30^th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (Full Frame):

Metrodome Blu-ray:

Ultimate Edition DVD:

Original DVD:

The biggest difference can be seen between the Blu-ray and DVD Variations of the film; especially when you compare the Blu-rays against the Original ‘Standard’ DVD release of the film as not only is the quality much higher but so is the brightness; however when you compare the newer 30th Anniversary Edition with the previous Blu-ray released by Metrodome you’ll notice that the Anniversary Edition is darker than the Metrodome version. The brighter colours in the Metrodome Blu-ray (and in turn Ultimate Edition DVD) do make the film stand-out-more; however the darker colours do provide that much needed ‘realism’ that it lacked plus the ‘Ultimate Edition DVD’ offers that darker tone which the Metrodome Blu-ray did not feature.

When comparing all of these together its easy to see that the 30th Anniversary Edition features the most realistic colours; however at times the previous Metrodome Blu-ray does look better – such as the opening of the film when Unicron makes his appearence.Other notable differences between the different versions include the use of cropping, whereby a 4:3 imaged was cropped to 16:9, however as the Anniversary Edition includes both original widescreen and full frame versions you won’t have to worry about missing out. Previously I had only ever watched the film in forced wide-screen; but after seeing the detail of the Full Frame variation, and the extended picture range at top and bottem of the screen, I may end up watching the full frame version from now on.

In short the Anniversary Edition of The Transformers: The Movie is the ‘BEST’ version of the film released thus far; not because the improved visual quality or the realistic colours but because the 4:3 (Full Frame) version of the film has also received the HD treatment – a version of the film which has never been remastered before (unless you include the Metrodome Reconstructed version of the film). Another important thing to note is the audio in this Anniversary Edition also seems to be fixed; as certain scenes in the Metrodome Blu-ray would see the audio drop-out slightly whereas this 30th Anniversary Edition features no such drop.

Transformers: The Movie will be available as a Limited Edition Steelbook set on the 12th December 2016; which is exactly thirty years from when the film received it’s UK debut in cinemas.