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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Outsiders (1983)

The Outsiders (1983)

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Released 14-Apr-2003

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Main Menu Audio
Theatrical Trailer
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1983
Running Time 87:45
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Francis Ford Coppola
Studio
Distributor

Universal Pictures Home Video
Starring C Thomas Howell
Matt Dillon
Ralph Macchio
Patrick Swayze
Rob Lowe
Emilio Estevez
Tom Cruise
Diane Lane
Leif Garrett
Case ?
RPI $34.95 Music Carmine Coppola


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders is an absorbing youth-culture tragedy on a pretty ordinary DVD.

    Based on S.E.Hinton's novel, The Outsiders tells the story of a gang of young men, known as 'Greasers'. These are the poor kids "from the South-Side". They are locked in an eternal battle with "The Socs" -- the society kids of some privilege. After a random gang attack leaves a Soc dead, two Greasers have to flee their town and hide out. While there, the boys assess their lives and their dreams, and find their current existence lacking. The problem is, as for many underprivileged kids, there's no positive role models in their life, and no direction for changing their miserable situation.

    While a story exploring teen angst and underprivilege is not new, the sensitive treatment of the boys and their feelings is very thoughtful. Robert Frost's poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is referred to in the movie, and it perhaps best sets the theme for the plot. Frost's poem was written about nature, but applies equally to human life:

    Nature's first green is gold,
    Her hardest hue to hold.
    Her early leaf's a flower;
    But only so an hour.
    Then leaf subsides to leaf.
    So Eden sank to grief,
    So dawn goes down to day.
    Nothing gold can stay.

    This movie reminds me that there must be countless youths, potential Mozarts, Einsteins, Shakespeares, Newtons, Fords, or Wrights who never got their opportunity to contribute positively to our society due to lack of opportunity, motivation, or development. I imagine that plenty of human "gold" is wasted every generation.

    Of course, like anyone who has seen this movie, I cannot help but mention the cast. If you look at the cast list above, you can see that this ensemble piece really does have an all-star cast.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The movie is now about twenty years old, and time appears to have been unkind to it. The grainy, artefact-laden transfer reflects this.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced.

    The sharpness of the image is acceptable, but not great. The shadow detail is poor throughout. There is some severe edge enhancement at times, such as at 39:51.

    The colour is very muted, but this might have been an artistic choice.

    MPEG artefacts appear in the form of pixelization throughout, and even a MPEG smear at times, such as at 42:08. Film-to-video artefacts such as aliasing or telecine wobble were never a problem. Film artefacts appear throughout, in a variety of ways. Fortunately, most are small and not distracting.

    There are no subtitles on this single-sided, single-layered disc.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Originally released theatrically in Dolby Stereo-Surround, the only audio option on this disc is English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded (224Kb/s).

    The audio quality is generally quite flat, and there are a few problems with the dialogue quality and audio sync.

    The musical score is credited to Carmine Coppola, and it is fairly sparse, but effective.

    There is minimal surround presence and activity. Very rarely, the rear speakers are used effectively to help carry the score and provide ambience. The subwoofer is left alone, but for a few sound effects, such as the thunder at 71:01.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    The extras are slim.

Menu

    A very simple menu, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Theatrical Trailer (1:22)

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital stereo audio.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Outsiders has been released on DVD in Region 1, with pretty similar specs.

    The Region 4 DVD misses out on:

    The Region 1 DVD misses out on:

    Considering that I would never watch the full-screen version, or use the subtitles, I would call it even.

Summary

    The Outsiders is a simple movie which is well executed.

    The video quality is slightly disappointing but still very watchable.

    The audio quality is acceptable.

    The extras are slim.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Brandon Robert Vogt (warning: bio hazard)
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-535, using S-Video output
DisplayGrundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationSony STR DE-545
SpeakersSony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer

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