The Outsiders (1983) |
BUY IT |
General | Extras | ||
Category | Drama |
Main Menu Audio Theatrical Trailer |
|
Rating | |||
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 |
|
||
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 |
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.
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.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
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.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The extras are slim.
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.
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.
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.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output |
Display | Grundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Sony STR DE-545 |
Speakers | Sony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer |