Mars Attacks! DVD ****

Starring Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Michael J Fox, Pierce Brosnan & Sarah Jessica Parker

Directed by Tim Burton

Movie Review ***

If the film itself doesn't always hit the mark, this version of it certainly does. What a riot!

Now this, folks, is more like it. It is definitively the best picture I have yet seen on regions 1 or 2 - totally artifact-less, gorgeous solid colours and the original Panavision 2.35:1 framing. The sound is ack-ack top notch and there are no glitches whatsoever, but it's the presentation that make this the best region 2 disc available to date.

The menu comes complete with Danny Elfman's wibbly theme over it. Menu selectors are Martian lasers which fire when pressed, and the scene selector is a fire crosshair - as you select, the poor character in the picture is vapourised into a red skeleton, ha, ha! Then there's a theatrical trailer, a music-only option to appreciate all of Elfman's score, and a further option to listen to the film in "Martian". This leads to a nice gag, but sadly you can't really hear 1 hr 40 mins of "ack, ack, ack...."

Congratulations to Warner Brothers on this fine version - a director's commentary would have just bumped it up to five stars. But in the mean time, this is THE region 2 disc to show off your new toy. And they blow up congress. Ack!

 

Maverick DVD ***

Starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner

Directed by Richard Donner

Movie review *****

Each time I see Maverick, I am remined just how superb the script and acting are. This time, I remembered something else - just how fabulous it looked in the cinema. Gorgeous - and I mean GORGEOUS - locations are used throughout, and the production notes fit names to places - Lone Pine, California, gorgeous Lake Powell in Arizona and so on.

As is usual for Warner, the film is presented widescreen only - fullscreen supporters beware. But it was filmed in Richard Donner's customary Panavision 2.35:1, and seeing it like it is makes all the difference in the world. The quality itself is again excellent, and you have to squash your nose against the tube to notice anything untoward going on in the compression department. The sound is ordinary surround (no 5.1 version of this film), but is very good nonetheless. Just a shame that, production notes aside, there are no extras at all - not even a humble theatrical trailer. At least the subtitles are glitch-free.

A side by side with the pan & scan VHS should convince the most cloth-eyed Luddite that the world has moved on. And oddly, amongst these early releases, it's some of the less blockbustery films that impress the most. With the on and off screen talent on display, this DVD is for people who love cinema, not special effects.

 

A Night To Remember DVD ****

Starring Kenneth More, David McCullum & Honor Blackman

Directed by Roy Baker

Movie Review **** - Article "Titanic vs A Night To Remember"

Just as it seemed strange when "old music" came out on CD, so black and white titles from the archives initially seem strange applications for technology on DVD. Okay, there are no 5 channel surround soundtracks with which to distract you, but DVD is simply now the best way to watch ANY film. And Carlton have done this Titanic classic proud with this, one of their first releases.

The transfer is 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. This is a slightly odd decision, since the film appears to have been shot open matte - i.e. the top and bottom have been cropped compared to the VHS version. With a film this old, it's hard to ascertain how the film was originally viewed in the cinema, but the framing here does look rather cramped a few times. However, I'm extremely loathed to complain when something is in 16:9...

TVI, the authoring house, have taken great care with the transfer, spending a good deal of time cleaning the print up. It is not a complete remaster mind, and there are some visual cracks and pops at the start and reel changes. But those moments aside, it looks just beautiful - one problem with the quality of DVD here is that some of the models now look more model-like! MPEG compression is not kind to old or grainy material (and especially to "gate weave", the gentle side to side rocking motion of the picture), and a close up inspection of the image reveals the struggles the coder put up with. That said, as usual, at anything approaching a respectable viewing distance, these artifacts simply disappear. The sound too is very 1958, as you'd expect, and the whole thing is held together with (a rather miserly) eleven chapters - although bizarrely, only nine are printed on the sleeve.

But what makes this a great disc is the extras. Top of the list comes a one hour documentary, made in 1993. Largely comprised of interviews and almost unedited footage from the making of the film, with explanatory voice overs, it provides some fascinating glimpses into the world of pre-Cameron ship building. Unfortunately, the whole programme is rather crudely put together (it smacks of a local corporate video), but it won't matter to lovers of the film.

Other goodies include original UK and US theatrical trailers - quite an eye opener - and biographies of Kenneth More and Honor Blackman. Although no one element excels, this is an overall excellent package that will delight the Brit-flick's many admirers, and satisfy Titanicmaniacs - at least until that other one sails along.

 

101 Dalmatians DVD * 1/2

Starring Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Hugh Laurie & Mark Williams

Directed by Stephen Herek

Movie Review ****

This is a worry. This clearly represents the classic Disney family movie, and as such is pretty much the first region 2 DVD to be so. It was shot in the uncompromising mega-wide Panavision yet, presumably because of the family target audience, Disney have chosen only to release this in the dreaded pan & scan.

Since all mainstream TV is moving over to widescreen in this country (yes, even some kids shows), this shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the local market. DVD is the perfect chance to get these kind of movies looking as they should for a new generation of TV watchers on a new generation of TVs - okay, the average 5 year old won't care too much about compositional intricacies, but may complain that her favourite movie has funny black lines down the side of the picture.

Pan & scan Panavision films look ridiculous on a widesceen telly, as if someone has just stuck tape over half the picture (and I don't care for the so called "smart" modes that do all sorts of strange things to the image, by the way). This is no exception - the shot of Cruella's number plate - DEV IL - meaninglessly becomes DEV, to pick one example. And to add insult to injury, there is some image blur to contend with here, most noticeable to vertical camera tilt moves. Otherwise, it's standard okay Disney picture, okay sound (no 5 channel), no features.

The message needs to get back to Burbank - in Europe we need widescreen if the film is widescreen, no matter what the title. Something I'm gonna drum into my kids before they can walk. "Dadda!" "No, little tyke! You must mean DVD!"

Maybe I've watched too many discs...

 

Outbreak DVD ***

Starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr, Kevin Spacey and Donald Sutherland

Directed by Wolfgang Peterson

Movie Review ****

Warner's policy regarding their first batch of region 2 DVDs seems pragmatic. For the majority of titles, there is not much in the way of extras, commentaries, widescreen only (for cost reasons) and no dual layer long movies. But be that as it may, when they get it right, it's quite a sight and sound to behold.

And here they get it right. The picture is excellent (the tiniest bit soft compared to the sharpest prints) with vibrant colours, and a stunning soundtrack to give any system a thorough workout. The menus are logical and the bonus notes and info nicely done. Only the annoying glitch of the subtitles defaulting to "on" lets the side down.

The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 16:9, and it looks and sounds absolutely fantastic. Which, of course, is what matters most.

 

Ransom DVD **

Starring Mel Gibson, Renee Russo & Gary Sinise

Directed by Ron Howard

Movie Review *****

Another poor excuse for a DVD from Disney, this disc contains the movie, and a couple of language options. That's it. Not even a humble production note. Even the US version contained a trailer - someone give Buena Vista a good thrashing, 'cos this really ain't good enough.

The inside track on these first discs is that they are NTSC transfers from digital videotape. If that is the case, then they are at least using the world's finest standards converters - the image displays no motion judder or other funnies and the colours, while not quite ringing 100% true, are nevertheless pretty good.

The most impressive aspect is that the anamorphic transfer (framed at 16:9), subjectively has as good a resolution as proper straight-from-film anamorphic. It's a cheat to be sure, but an effective one and this method looks far better to these eyes than the US equivalent, which is not anamorphic. A note to all film companies - use this technique on old films when you can't afford a new telecine. We in Blighty need anamorphic! Not that this is an excuse for not doing new films properly, mind.

The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1, and is fine. So if you have a code-free player and a widescreen TV, I'd recommend getting a UK rather than US version of Disney discs. Despite the contempt with which the company otherwise appears to regard DVD.

 

The Right Stuff DVD ****

Starring: Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Jeff Goldblum & Harry Shearer

Directed by: Philip Kaufman

Movie Review ****

Made in 1985, this is a print that has clearly been dusted down and cleaned up. I have never seen a DVD look so good on a film of this vintage - the image quality, anamorphically presented in the original 16:9 widescreen - is nothing short of stupendous, and the Dolby Digital 2 channel sound (far too early for 5 channel) is similarly excellent, with extensive use of the surrounds. Forget Top Gun, these whizzing planes sound damn near as good, and it's an infinitely better film.

This movie is a flipper - at half time, you have to turn over the disc to side 2. I am not a flipper fan, but this is very long and structured in a documentary-like way, so the perceived intrusion is less obnoxious than usual. Meanwhile, there are copious notes on the production and the whole Gemini space program, and we also get the original theatrical trailer thrown in for good measure.

Overall, this is an excellent package. For a film of this quality and length, with such care taken over the presentation, £15.99 seems like a bargain. One of the best region 2 discs yet made, and it will make a great companion disc to Apollo 13.

 

 

The Shawshank Redemption DVD (re-issue) ****

Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman

Directed by Frank Darabont

Movie Review *****

When this disc was originally released, VCI found themselves the first target of the UK DVD buying public's wrath. Fancy releasing such a classic - in pan and scan only! Well, they took the criticism to heart and have spent months sourcing a widescreen print to include on the disc. And here is it, now proudly dual sided, along with Hellraiser - all other future releases are to be widescreen only (where possible). Whoo - as Homer Simpson would say - hooo.

The irony of all this is that The Shawshank Redemption was filmed in the "open matte" 35mm format - in other words, the widescreen version actually has the top and bottom of the picture chopped off! Despite this, the decision is not as daft as it first appears. Firstly, this framing is what the movie going public saw in 1994. Secondly, those with widescreen TVs can enjoy this at top quality, with a third more resolution than by zooming out the fullscreen version. In short, this is the best of both worlds - choose your version depending on the shape of your set, and stop your wingeing.

The new transfer is, it has to be said, not the absolute finest word in DVD quality. But that said, most of the anomalies are to do with "blocky" backgrounds - all the movement within the frame looks squeaky clean. In practice, if you spend the entire film staring at the out of focus walls, you'll be ever so frustrated. If, on the other hand, you decide to watch the movie instead, you won't notice or care. The funnies are never actually distracting, the sparkle in Andy Dufresne's eyes is perfection, and Roger Deakins atmospheric cinematography is otherwise well rendered.

And speaking of atmosphere, the sound (although only normal surround, not 5.1) is absolutely cracking. The feet on metal corridors behind you, the THUMP of the lights out and the echo of Mozart around the compound is superb, added to the STUPENDOUS score by Thomas Newman. How he escaped getting an Oscar I'll never understand. But hey, that goes for the whole movie, losing out to Forrest Gump. A damn fine move, but... oh well.

The film is 2 minutes over DVD's "maximum" 2 1/4 hours as it is, but side one also manages to cram in a trailer, a nice little featurette and biogs, as per the original release. One silly - but actually rather important - criticism; the first shot in the video montage laid under menu would ruin the entire film for someone who hasn't seen the movie! A word to VCI - please think about not giving the entire plot away during the menus! That aside, they (and the other special features) are excellent, and the company should be justly proud in leading the way in this area over here. One unique feature to VCI releases are the "sub plots", which follow through one element of the story from beginning to end. Nice, but why on earth would anyone want to sit through all the attacks by "the Sisters" in one go?!

What else would I have liked? A running commentary, the shooting script, a music only mix, an hour long feature... basically, I can't ever get enough of this film, probably my personal absolute favourite of the nineties. But there is only so much you can fit on even a mighty dual sided DVD with widescreen and fullscreen versions. If you do love the film and want more, I recommend the Newmarket Press' Shooting Script (ISBN 1-55704-246-2), complete with director's notes, and introduction by Stephen King.

It comes to this. If you want to show off your DVD picture, buy Batman and Robin. If you want an excellent all round package of a masterpiece - spend some time in Shawshank. Almost top marks to VCI - and I mean this - for really trying.

 

Sleepers DVD ****

Starring: Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric and Minnie Driver

Directed by: Barry Levinson

Movie Review ****

Unfairly marginalised by a "yes, but is it really true" debate on its release, this powerful film makes a welcome arrival on DVD. Particularly welcome in this case, because it marks Polygram's first totally successful disc - this is almost as far removed from the Usual Suspects and Four Weddings debacles as it is possible to get.

This is a good example of how to get basic DVD right. First of all, the movie is double sided (all too rare in these early days), with a choice of widescreen or pan and scan. Considering the movie is over 2hrs 20mins long, and contains 2 5-channel Dolby Digital soundtracks, this packs considerably more than the recommended amount of information onto the disc. But here's the good news - they've done a superb job, working with a great source print. Sure, if you dust the telly then compression funnies are there to see, but from a normal viewing position the pictures are stunning - from the gorgeous warm colours of 60's New York to the faithfully rendered wrinkles on Dustin's face.

Interestingly, the anamorphic widescreen transfer is in the 16:9 aspect ratio. The film was shot on Super 35 (see the widescreen page for more info), so in the cinema it would have appeared as 2.35:1. But we lose no width here, rather gain a little picture at the bottom of frame. Occasionally the composition seems slightly odd (mainly through lack of headroom), but overall this compromise seems to work pretty well, and will no doubt please those with 4:3 TVs who still want to see the whole picture.

The sound too is excellent, marking Polygram's first foray into Dolby Digital (or AC-3 as it is somewhat anachronistically labelled here). Superb use of atmospheres and dynamics produce a genuinely unsettling experience in surround - it really does add to the movie. This is how to use multi-channel well with no exploding helicopters.

While there are no on-screen extras, the accompanying booklet (in English and German) provides biographies of the principles and director. I go against the grain here, because I like this as well as on-screen bumph - having something tangible to flick through is in some ways better than reading pages of text from across the room. And thank you Polygram for sorting out the menus - previous discs have been awfully sluggish. This disc still may not win design awards, but it is logical, clear and glitch free.

I think Polygram deserve double credit here - firstly for sticking to the superior double sided format, and secondly for answering many of the criticisms levelled at them (I understand more extras are on the way for future releases, too). At £17.99, this is a great buy, and one of Region 2's early crowning achievements.

 

Sphere DVD *****

Starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone & Samuel L Jackson

Directed by Barry Levinson

Movie Review **

If ever there was a chance to understand what is going on in Sphere, watching it a second time on DVD - and then listening to the commentary - should do the trick. As it turned out, just watching it again was enough. It's true - Sphere is so riddled with internal inconsistency on the part of character and plot, seeking a deeper understanding of the story becomes a futile waste of time. A real shame, since in all other ways, this is one of the very best DVDs yet.

The picture quality is quite superb, with the MPEG encoding having to jump through hoops during all those underwater scenes with floating bits all over the place. It succeeds - spreading itself leisurely over two sides (mid point just before 67 minutes in a tidy changeover), the image quality never falls below excellent. The sound too is reference standard, with good use of acoustics and dynamics - it almost makes the unbelievable believable.

The documentary is not the world's greatest, mainly of interest to both DVD owners actually seeking full-time employment in the special effects industry - there's plenty of advice on hand for those looking for a way in. The quality of the programme is not that good, with smearing particularly evident on the vertical pans of the storyboards. It looks like a transfer from NTSC video, but considering it's a relatively inconsequential extra, it's falls a tad below world hunger in the Serious Problem stakes.

Now to the commentary. This is by two of the three leads, and suffers because both Jackson and Hoffman recorded their contributions separately - these things tend to spark into life when people bounce off each other. Jackson has the lion's share of the yakking, and among the "working with Dustin" eulogies a few choice nuggets are there to be found (Girls! They dropped his "Mel Gibson" butt shot!) While Jackson seems happy with the movie, Hoffman seems more aware that it doesn't really work, and struggles constantly to find an explanation. His revelation that his favourite collaborator Levinson never at any time before or during the shoot "had a clear vision about what the film should be" was interesting, along with the discovery that cast apparently had a huge amount of input on script changes. With a less than coherent screenplay, and a director without a clear vision... was this entirely wise?

Meanwhile, Sphere is placed into some kind of historical context in the History of Sci-Fi, a text based article. The overview is quite eclectic and well-informed, though containing a few contentious points just to get the aficionados going. Along with the usual notes, it's a welcome addition.

So there's a lot here to wade through, and congratulations to Warner Brothers on coming up with the goods. In the States, the movie underperformed at the box office, and so the company released this feature packed disc at a reduced RRP of $20. There's little doubt that this combination has shifted a helluva lot more copies than the movie maybe ever deserved, but you can't criticize Warner for that.

Stargate DVD ***

Starring James Spader & Kurt Russell

Directed by Roland Emmerich

Movie Review ***

This earns itself a small place in DVD history as the first UK Dual Layer title to be released. Dual layer is the technically incredible feat of being able to automatically switch between 2 layers on the disc, giving up to a buttock clenching 4 hours of movie time.

Which makes this release all the more perplexing. The film runs at only 116 minutes - Sleepers, by contrast, is over 140 mins and fits on one side with 2 5 channel soundtracks! Perhaps an explanation is that Pioneer have chosen not to go down the road of the major studios and release several different versions of their titles across Europe - there are no less than 6 audio tracks here (one in Dolby Digital 5.1) and 9 subtitles, from Spain to Scandinavia.

You may be thinking that, given the short running time and massive storage capacity, there may be loads of extras or stunning picture quality. Well, sadly not - there are no extras at all (not even a biography of Independence Day and Godzilla meisters Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich). The picture quality - whilst being anamorphic and full-on 2.35:1 - suffers a bit also, largely due to a source print blessed with quite a bit of grain and crackles. Dark scenes suffer the most, with some compression funnies evident in the blacks on inspection.

The sound, however, is excellent. It is unusual to have a 5 or 2 channel option - the MPEG 2 channel variant is tonally more upfront and louder, which suited my slightly hissy Pro-logic amp down to the ground.

The layer change happens around 58 minutes in, between chapters 8 and 9 (incidentally, you cannot dial a time value in directly on this disc for some reason), and was none too elegantly performed on the Panasonic A100 - the sound disappears for a couple of seconds, before the picture freeze. Also, it occurred after a loud action sequence, emphasising it more. The animated menu too suffers a glitch - there is a lovely swirly ripply effect which then goes black for a second before letting you change the selection. I have heard that the title won't play at all on Sony and Philips machines - it goes without saying that if you find it won't play properly, take it back!

Despite the niggles (and assuming you can get it working), this is a movie you can just sit back and enjoy. At the usual viewing distance, the picture funnies disappear, and the sound is a wowser. Whilst Pioneer may have a little way to go before they have this whole DVD thing down pat, it is still a great whizz bang movie to impress the mates.

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All reviews / articles copyright Guy Rowland (1998).