So that's what HD is all about...

OK, OK, I get it now - I know why I have Sky HD, writes Andrew Everard.

Sat down last night and watched The Italian Job - the 1969 original, not the ridiculous remake - on Sky Movies 2 HD, and it looked just fab.

It was shown as part of the Michael Caine 75th birthday retrospective on Sky, and was on TV for the first time ever in high definition.

And just in case anyone thought only bang up to the minute CGI-fests make great HD, this one looked amazing, from those big Alpine shots at the beginning to the high speed Mini stuff in the streets of Turin. Crisp, clean and smooth, with beautifully vibrant colours and bags of detail. Sounded good, too.

It took forever for the movie to make it onto DVD, with Paramount waiting until 2003 to launch a remastered edition. Now it's looking this good in HD, any chance of a fairly rapid Blu-ray release, chaps...?

Technorati Tags: Michael Caine, Mini, only supposed to blow the bloody doors off, Sky HD, Un colpo all' Italiana

Andrew has written about audio and video products for the past 20+ years, and been a consumer journalist for more than 30 years, starting his career on camera magazines. Andrew has contributed to titles including What Hi-Fi?, GramophoneJazzwise and Hi-Fi CriticHi-Fi News & Record Review and Hi-Fi Choice. I’ve also written for a number of non-specialist and overseas magazines.