|
|
|
|
||
Category | Drama | Theatrical Trailer(s) | No |
Rating | Other Trailer(s) | No | |
Year Released | 1994 | Commentary Tracks | No |
Running Time |
(not 131 mins) |
Other Extras | No |
RSDL/Flipper | FLIPPER (66:42) |
|
|
Start Up | Movie | ||
Region | 2,4 | Director | Robert Redford |
Distributor |
Warner Home Video |
Starring | John Turturro
Rob Morrow Ralph Fiennes David Paymer Paul Scofield |
RRP | $34.95 | Music | Mark Isham |
|
|
||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | No | MPEG | None |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Dolby Digital | 2.0 |
16x9 Enhancement | Yes | Soundtrack Languages | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 ,
192 Kb/s)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s) Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s) |
Theatrical Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 |
|
|
Macrovision | Yes | Smoking | Yes |
Subtitles | English
Dutch Portuguese English For The Hearing Impaired |
Annoying Product Placement | No |
Action In or After Credits | Yes |
This movie raises some very strong moral questions, and you will have to solve them yourselves - without anyone telling you the right answer. A strong cast and a good movie. Ralph Fiennes plays innocence turned in a relaxed manner, and I felt a little more depth to his character would have aided in the drama, but that might be being picky. Watch out for a small bit part from Martin Scorsese as the ever tight-lipped sponsor.
The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and it is 16x9 enhanced.
Sharpness was at all times very high, whilst at the same time having a "soft" look to it. This gave the image a film-like appearance, and is a quality which agrees with me and seems to be the norm for Hollywood Pictures productions. Shadow detail is extremely good, and there is not a hint of low-level noise.
The rendering of colours is quite superb, having a wonderfully natural look. It is a perfect colour balance, and skin tones are very realistic.
Unfortunately for me, I am cursed with a condition which allows me to pick the slightest MPEG artefacting from 100 paces blindfolded, and I found it here. It is subtle, and consists of macro-blocking in background scenes, especially noticeable during panning. However, this is being very picky and it only slightly distracts from the otherwise high-quality compression. Film artefacts are very rare and are trivial at best. To round off the excellent presentation there are absolutely NO film-to-video artefacts.
This disc is a dreaded FLIPPER, with the turn-over point occurring at 66:42 minutes. It must be said, however, that this is a perfect spot for this, and it is not intrusive to the flow of the movie.
Dialogue was at all times clear and easy to understand, but was often coarse-sounding, and sometimes distorted as a result.
There were only occasional problems with audio sync during the movie, the result of sloppy ADR work.
The music is generally unremarkable, although there are some good classic pieces. A particular favourite of mine "Mac The Knife" begins the movie, and that immediately started it off on a high note with me! The front sound-stage is wide and clear.
This is a stunningly good surround mix, and one of the best I have heard. Whilst the surrounds are not aggressive, they are used frequently and to excellent effect. Of particular note are the courtroom scenes towards the end of the movie - here is the finest use of matrix encoding you will find, and it almost has a 5.1 feel to it with the rears being surprisingly discrete.
The subwoofer was used frequently for music, and also for sound effects. This rounded off the frequency of the mix, and made up somewhat for the shrill upper register from the vocals.
The video quality is very good.
The audio is only matrix surround, but is nonetheless excellent.
Extras? Huh?
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
|
|
DVD | Panasonic A350A S-Video output |
Display | Pioneer SD-T43W1 125cm Widescreen 16x9 |
Audio Decoder | Internal Dolby Digital 5.1 (DVD Player) |
Amplification | Sony STRDE-525 5x100 watts Dolby Pro-Logic / 5.1 Ready Receiver; 4 x Optimus 10-band Graphic EQ |
Speakers | Centre: Sony SS-CN35 100 watt; Main & Surrounds: Pioneer CS-R390-K 150-watt floorstanders; Subwoofer: Optimus 100-watt passive |