Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce & Michelle Yeoh
Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode
Movie review ****
MGM Region 1
(does not play on pin-snipped region 2)
Now then, pay attention Disney - THIS is now to do a basic, no frills DVD. You take your pick of widescreen or pan and scan via a nice graphical menu, positively begging you to pick the widescreen - so much so that my A100 took some persuading to go into pan & scan mode. Even more groovy than this, when you select the "scene selections" option from the flashy animated menu, Bond walks out from the side, turns and shoots at you, wiping the scene selections onto the screen! Fab, and gloriously tacky, as befitting a Bond movie.
The transfer itself (full on Panavision this, like all Bonds, so widescreen really is the only one to watch) is highly detailed and full of glorious colour. For some reason though, the old "pull down frame" effect of the NTSC film-video transfer is more noticeable here than on other discs - lots of jerky tilts and pans. Goodness only knows why, but despite this the whole effect is very good. The sound too is everything you'd expect, right from a surround sound workout opening onwards.
It can't ultimately distract you from the realisation that, as a film, this is far inferior to GoldenEye, but you probably know that already. An even more distracting special edition is rumoured to be on the way, full of all the "making of" stuff. But for the meantime, this is a really well presented package, complete with colourful booklet. Lovely.
Tremors: Collector's Edition ***
Starring Kevin Bacon & Fred Ward
Directed by Ron Underwood
Movie review *****
Universal
region 1 (does not play on pin-snipped A-100)
What a happy decision it was to drag this little seen but much loved gem from the Univesral archives. Being somewhat of age, we don't get an anamorphic transfer (films made before 1994 need a complete - and very expensive - remaster for this), but it's otherwise a lovely job with gorgeous colours showing the Californian deserts in all their glory. However, a close inspection reveals the letterboxing to simply crop top and bottom of the 4:3 image! Still, that's how it was shot, so there we go.
Similarly there is no 5 channel digital surrouund, just ye olde Dolby Surround. But it's the extras that you're here for, and it's here that it's hard not to feel a twinge of disappointment. The main freebie is the 50 minute documentary, filled out largely with lazily edited interviews with director Underwood and the writer/producers, and conspicuously lacking in footage not actually of the film itself. One exception is the original ending - it is buried way here, not in the outtakes as stated on the packaging. Speaking of "outtakes", they are 4 rough cut scenes deleted from the final movie - the first two are interesting, the third and fourth kind of pointless. But I really did miss a director (and cast) commentary on this - the cast in particular are sorely missed from this DVD.
Nevertheless, this is one for the fans of one of the greatest monster movies ever made - and certainly one of the (intentionally) funniest. It's just a shame that somehow the riotous sense of fun evident in the finished film fails to translate to the extras on the disc.
Starring: Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore
Directed by Frank Coraci
Movie Review ****
New Line region 1
Double sided, single layer (anamorphic 16:9 widescreen or pan & scan)
English or French Dolby Digital 5.1, English, French or Spanish subtitles
5 80's Karaoke songs
80's music trivia quiz
Full animated menus with music
Biographies and filmographies
Photo gallery
This is so, so wonderful. Simply because it proves that a movie doesn't need to have feature a giant AK-47 weilding exploding mosquito as the hero to make for a cool DVD.
No-one - not even Warner Brothers - does DVD better than New Line. The movie looks and sounds perfect in whichever version you chose, plain and simple. But it is of course the extras that make this a bundle of pure joy.
The package is held together by a themed menu, which plays (of course) Billy Idol at you. As you select your option, you spin round in a virtual wedding reception and go through the door of your choice. To pick a scene from the film, for example, you are faced with a full motion animated wedding cake, with each teir playing part of the scene in question! Yum. The Karaoke bar meanwhile, offers hits from (again) Billy Idol, The Police, The Thompson Twins, Culture Club and, most fun of all, Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang. After a count in, the lyrics appear in true Karaoke style word by word, and you get the option (although not advertised) to turn the vocals on or off as you go by pressing the "audio" button.
Once you've embarrassed yourself with these big hits, it's time to really test your 80's knowledge in the lyric trivia quiz. It's quite endless. Although US biased (fogiveable on a US disc), with some of the songs obscure to say the least, it's a fine party game. But beware, if you finally DO manage to get to the end of it all, you are rewarded by the final scene of the film - best play this one trough after you've seen the film...
Some real fun and imaginative thought has gone into this. While Universal pack their Special Edition discs with extras, it's all a bit formula and dull to look at it. New Line have done something better than make DVD impressive - they've made it FUN. Thank you, thank you, thak you...
All reviews / articles copyright Guy Rowland (1998).