THE DVD Arriving on DVD from Razor & Tie in a 1.66:1 non-anamorphic
widescreen transfer with Dolby Digital stereo sound, the 16 mm production Biggie & Tupac is not much to look at or to listen to, although Christian Henson's eerie score sounds dynamic spread across the front mains.
You'd think all that would be enough to interest a U.S. distributor yet the 2007 release has gone straight to DVD three years later, in a decent 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer with a trailer as its only extra.
Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case and presented in solid 16 × 9
widescreen transfer with an English stereo track, The New Recruits comes to DVD unfortunately devoid of supplemental features, apart from a separate menu screen touting material available on the eponymous PBS web site.
Packaged in three slimline cases in turn housed in a cardboard slipcase, The Boondocks: The Complete First Season runs approximately 300 minutes in sum total, and is presented in a crisp, 1.78:1
widescreen transfer with an English language stereo track and optional English subtitles.
Shout Factory has released this film with a fantastic brand new 1080p
widescreen transfer with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
Not exact matches
The Quality The anamorphic
widescreen transfer looks fantastic
with some bright, vivid color (especially in the jungle of Nool) and some impressive detail,
with the opening shot being one of the most realistic pieces of computer animation I've ever seen.
While the previous
widescreen transfer looked perfectly fine, do an A / B comparison
with this new one (a feat made easily possible by one of the wonderfully informative extras included on the second disc) and you'll want to donate your previous copy to the Drink Coaster Society.
Video: The
widescreen, enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs
transfer of Into The Wild looks awesome,
with beautifully realistic colors and sharp, clear imagery.
Sufficed to say I'm not going to assess the 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer because I have no idea what consumers are getting for their ill - spent cash, though I can confirm that the DD 5.1 audio is suitably loud,
with lots of rear - atmospherics that almost, almost get your heart pumping.
Laden
with dull blacks and mild edge - enhancement, the «all - new digital» 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer fails to show off the capabilities of the format while representing a minor upgrade from the previous DVD in terms of saturation and reproduction of flesh tones.
The Blu - ray reflects the film's high enough production values,
with the sharp 2.40:1
widescreen transfer and potent 5.1 DTS - HD master audio sound mix both satisfying completely.
The DC distinguishes itself on a technical level
with the cleaner, more naturalistic 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer of the two.
THE DVD Fox checks in
with a spotty 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer of Dunston Checks In on one side of a DVD and a fullscreen pan-and-scan version on the other.
Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case
with hollowed - out spindles that are, you know, in theory better for the environment, Pretty Bird comes to DVD presented in a crisp, color - consistent
widescreen transfer,
with an English language Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio track
with optional English subtitles.
Even so, the anamorphic
widescreen transfer looked pretty good,
with solid color.
But this dual - layer DVD is filled nearly to its size limit, which means the 1.78:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer looks superb,
with striking color and contrast.
The 1080p
transfer with its
widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio holds up well and deliver the goods.
The
widescreen transfer deftly handles the cold / warm shifts in the film's colour palette
with consistently excellent shadow detail and controlled saturation.
The colors in its 1.78:1
widescreen transfer and 1080p treatment are consistent, but
with a flushed - out palette and more muted hues that eschew loud primary colors (a marker of later in the decade) and underscore the suburban ennui, which in turn stands in stark contrast to the high stakes of its spy games.
Disc One features a nice, solid, rain - streaked 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer that shows the wear of its origins (a Spanish / Italian production on minimal funds and
with time and subject limitations) yet acquits itself quite nicely and is arguably more lustrous than the Anchor Bay presentation.
The 1.78:1 16x9 - enhanced
widescreen transfer indeed dazzles and while the film's visuals aren't as stunning as some other CGI cartoons, they're easy on the eyes and filled
with vivid, pleasing colors.
The movie is
transfered in anamorphic
widescreen (1:1.85) and is available in English and French,
with optional English, Spanish and French subtitles.
«Young Detective Dee» comes to Blu - ray presented in 1080p in a 2.40:1
widescreen transfer,
with DTS - HD 5.1 and Dolby digital 2.0 audio tracks and (naturally) English subtitles.
And finally, Anchor Bay champions The Fallen Ones
with a striking 1.77:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer that makes a strong case for the company never doing anything half - assed no matter the content.
THE DVD Innerspace is available on DVD from Warner Home Video in a presentation that contains a 1.78:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer of the film along
with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound likely based off the six - track mix that accompanied 70 mm prints.
THE DVDs Fox presents A Farewell to Arms and Francis of Assisi on DVD in glorious 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfers (the latter misidentified on the box art as 1.85:1) that preserve their CinemaScope origins and, more, honour them
with popping the colours and by saturating the screen
with the curious sterility of the process.
The 1.66 anamorphic
widescreen transfer is, then, wholly at the service of the film, which is as it should be, while the German DD 2.0 mono audio is similarly fulsome, replicating Popol Vuh's hallucinogenic score
with fidelity.
Found footage movies are supposed to look real, not great and Deborah Logan aspires to that
with its jerky video that is capably but unremarkably presented in the DVD's 1.78:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer.
A 2.35:1, anamorphically - enhanced
widescreen video
transfer, after a few line flaws on the negative during the opening credit sequence, is remarkably clear and saturated
with the deep greens of Argento's moody colour palette.
It plays under a crisply - detailed, well - compressed anamorphic
widescreen transfer that for no explicable reason dispenses
with the Super35 film's projected aspect ratio of 2.35:1 in favour of its negative aspect ratio of 1.78:1.
The film over which this is heard is exhibited in both 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen and fullscreen
transfers on opposite sides of the platter; although the picture was shot in Super35 (as opposed to «scope), there is more horizontal information restored and less vertical information cropped than usual for the format, making the decision to stick
with letterbox a definite no - brainer.
Not much to report on either end of the A / V spectrum here: the perfunctory - feeling, windowboxed 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer reproduces Kondo's muted colour palette
with some fidelity, while music is the only thing giving the rear speakers any kind of workout as far as the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is concerned.
The newly - struck 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer is bright and beautiful, however,
with light edge - enhancement in a few early scenes fading admirably long about the evening picnic.
The
transfer looks stunning
with its 16X9
widescreen aspect ratio.
The print used for the 1.78:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer is free of debris, but it looks worn all the same,
with fleshtones on the pink side and an absence of deep blacks.
THE DVD Fox releases Dying Young on DVD in a vanilla 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen presentation long on Schumacher's over-saturated colours and short on subtlety, which is, of course, not the
transfer's fault; its softness — that impression that the lens has been smeared
with Vaseline, «Glamor Shots» - style — is something you can't really win by being faithful to.
At least the feature presentation makes a strong impression,
with a terrific soundtrack and an imperfect but highly pleasing
widescreen transfer.
THE DVD by Bill Chambers Hitting DVD in world - class 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen and pan-and-scan
transfers (sandwiched together on the same side of a dual - layer platter) from Columbia TriStar, Identity aims to please its fans on disc via the debut of a special extended version that cohabits
with the theatrical version through the miracle of seamless branching.
THE DVD by Bill Chambers MGM has assembled a fine DVD package for Undertow, starting
with a marvellous 1.82:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer.
The 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer is borderline perfect,
with an inconsistent black level the only bad I can think to say about it after much deliberation.
Genius - level cinematographer Vittorio Storaro receives due treatment from not only Harlin (who implies that the chance to work
with Storaro was one of his main reasons for agreeing to do the film), but also the folks in mastering: The 2.36:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer * is incredibly rich from beginning to end,
with shadow detail occasionally collapsing into inky pools of black on purpose, if I'm to parse Harlin's notes on the digital grading correctly.
Its 16:9
widescreen transfer looks overly compressed,
with edge ringing, grain, and mosquito noise rendering certain scenes near unwatchable.
There are interesting side - by - side storyboard / finished scene comparisons for the film's more visually complex sequences; a selection of rather understandably deleted scenes that can be viewed
with commentary by director and producer as well as within the context of the film (albeit in rather cumbersome fashion); a largely useless montage of still photos from the production cut to a cue of John Murphy's score; the usual cast and crew filmographies and production notes; plus a full - frame version of the film to go
with the nicely
transferred anamorphic
widescreen one.
Making his feature debut, director Richard Wong shot on digital video but
transferred the final product to a 2.35:1
widescreen frame, and he uses it
with amazing finesse, emphasizing wide, empty spaces and dramatic positioning within.
Besides a superb 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer that gets the soft, greyish Bill Butler look just right and a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that fills the room
with abstract thunder during each of Dad's «visions,» the disc features three good commentary tracks and more.
The film is being released in two separate DVD packages, one
with a full - frame
transfer and the other
widescreen.
Presented in a
widescreen video
transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio soundtrack, the «Man on Fire» DVD includes two full - length audio commentary tracks (the first by director Tony Scott, and the other
with producer Lucas Foster, screenwriter Brian Helgeland and star Dakota Fanning), as well as deleted scenes and an alternate ending (also featuring optional director commentary).
The picture remains clean on the 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer, but very soft and
with an out - of - focus look to which you must adjust.
With the sharp focus on whites and the lovely setting of a lake in the country, Funny Games is a feast for the eyes and it
transfers well to the small screen, especially in the
widescreen version (both wide - and full - screen versions are included on this disc).
New high - definition digital
transfer, supervised by director of photography Raoul Coutard,
with restored image and sound and enhanced for
widescreen televisions