From Dusk Till Dawn

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General		Extras
Category	Vampire	Theatrical Trailer(s)	None
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	None
Year Released	1997	Commentary Tracks	None
Running Time	103.27 minutes (not 108 per case)	Other Extras	None
RSDL/Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Movie
Region	2,4	Director	Robert Rodriguez
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Harvey Keitel George Clooney Quentin Tarantino Juliette Lewis Cheech Marin Fred Williamson Salma Hayek
Case	Amaray
RRP	$34.95	Music	Graeme Revell

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	MPEG	None
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Dolby Digital	5.1
16x9 Enhancement	Yes	Soundtrack Languages	English (Dolby Digital 5.1) French (Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Theatrical Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Macrovision	?
Subtitles	English French English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes

    They take a family on their way to Mexico hostage; Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel), Kate Fuller (Juliette Lewis), and Scott Fuller (Ernest Liu) and end up at a sleazy Mexican bar waiting for their Mexican rendezvous to meet them. Unfortunately, the bar is considerably more sleazy than they first thought...

    As with all films involving Quentin Tarantino, the actual plot of the movie is secondary to the unusual characters that we meet on the way there. There is a lot of black humour in this movie. There is also a lot of great acting, especially from George Clooney who plays a bad guy very convincingly. Even Quentin Tarantino himself is well-cast as Richard.

    Cheech Marin adds some excellent humour playing various roles, including the spruiker outside the bar.

    All-in-all, this is an excellent movie. Bear in mind that it is R-rated for the very graphic violence it portrays - it deserves its rating.

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced. This looks like a true 16x9 transfer rather than an interpolated one.

    The transfer was sharp and clear. Shadow detail was good, and there was no low level noise.

    The colours were rich and vivid, almost tending towards oversaturation at times.

    No MPEG artefacts were seen. Film-to-video artefacts went unnoticed, and film artefacts were acceptably rare.

Audio

    Dialogue was always clear and audible.

    Audio sync problems were a major issue with this disc, with frequent scenes being marginally out of sync. I would estimate that approximately 20% of this film is noticeably out of sync. There have been reports that this is as much a characteristic of Pioneer DVD players as it is a fault with the transfer, Pioneer DVD players apparently having the audio two frames behind the video at all times to begin with. Nonetheless, it is somewhat distracting at times.
[Addendum 9th August 1999: This problem has been reported to occur on all players, so it is not a player-specific problem.]

    The musical score was by Graeme Revell. It is excellent at setting the appropriate mood for the movie, which is very laid back and laconic in its nature.

   The surround channels were used surprisingly often for explosions and gunshots, and pleasingly frequent ambient sounds. Aside from the audio sync issue, the soundtrack is superbly enveloping and exciting.

   The .1 channel received moderate use from the soundtrack to support the special effects.

What's Missing / What's Extra

Menu

    The video quality is excellent.

    The audio quality is excellent except for the audio sync issues, which may not affect your player.

    The extras are non-existent.

Video
Audio
Extras	nil
Plot
Overall

© Michael Demtschyna
5th June 1999
Amended 9th August 1999