Friday/Next Friday (1995) |
|
Friday/Next Friday (1995) |
|
|
| BUY IT |
When the time came to release Next Friday onto the DVD sell-through market, instead of just releasing Next Friday, Roadshow Home Entertainment decided to capitalize on the opportunity and release its predecessor, Friday, as well. On VHS this has resulted in two separate tapes, but for DVD we are treated to a double feature along the lines of El Mariachi/Desperado, with a film on each side of the DVD. One thing I must say is that Roadshow Home Entertainment really should stop using C-Button style cases, as the cover slicks simply do not fit into them properly. My copy of Friday/Next Friday's slick had a terrible crease running down the back of the cover which had to be ironed out.
| Video |  |
| Audio |  |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
Friday (1995) |
|
|
|
| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Black Comedy |
Menu Audio Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain Theatrical Trailer Music Video-Friday-Ice Cube (3:42) |
|
| Rating |
|
||
| Year Of Production | 1995 | ||
| Running Time | 87:40 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Gary F. Gray |
|
Studio
Distributor |
 Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Ice Cube Chris Tucker Nia Long Tiny 'Zeus' Lister, Jr. Regina King Anna Maria Horseford Bernie Mac John Witherspoon |
| Case | C-Button-Version 1-Dual | ||
| RPI | Box | Music | Various |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0  (384Kb/s)
|
|
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
 |
||
| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Sitting through the film for the first time, I was rather bored. The film was going nowhere, and I didn't get too much of the "Hood Humour". At around the seventy minute mark, things finally started picking up, though even after the film finished I was still dissatisfied. But, oddly enough, a day later I had second thoughts about the film. Some of the lines seemed funny and Chris Tucker even started to grow on me.
Friday is a comedy that appeals to African-American society, but I still liked it, even though I didn't realize this at first.
It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
The first thing I noticed when spinning up this DVD was the black level - it was perfect. The opening credits have a black background, so this showed up immediately. After further inspection I noticed that the transfer was also sharp, but not to the point of other reference discs such as The Whole Nine Yards. In close-up shots the prominent feature in the shot looked defined but the background details exhibited lower resolution, blending together. Shadow detail was fairly good apart from a couple of close-ups of Chris Tucker while he was inhaling.
Colour was ever so slightly muted, but the colours shown were quite drab anyway, so they were probably an accurate representation of the film's colour spectrum.
Grain was noted at around 6:47. This seemed to be a problem with that specific film reel as it doesn't crop up too much during the rest of the film. Aliasing was present on the ever-so-problematic venetian blinds, especially when Smokey is robbing Deebo at 67:24. An odd artefact that I could not name was at 6:52-6:57, involving lines running vertically down Craig's face. I could not tell whether this was a reflection or a mastering artefact. Some small marks were also noticed on the film at times.
| Sharpness | |
| Shadow Detail | |
| Colour | |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
There is only the one soundtrack present here, which is a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix that has been surround encoded.
Dialogue was clear at all times, even with Chris Tucker's accent.
Audio sync was perfect and no forms of distortion were present.
The mix itself was dominated by the front soundstage. I didn't notice any use of the surround channel at all. Some imaging effects were used like the one at 9:36-10:00, but other than that the mix sounded very much front-and-central in the sound field. The lower frequencies got a slight workout from some of the bass-heavy music.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use |  |
| Subwoofer |  |
| Overall | |
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 1 version misses out on:
The video quality is above average.
The audio is acceptable, but a more lively mix would have been nice.
The extras are shallow.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-626D, using Component output |
| Display | Toshiba 34N9UXA. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to DVD player. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Yamaha CX-600 Pre-Amp, Yamaha MX-600 Stereo Power Amp for Mains, Yamaha DSP-E300 for Center, Teac AS-M50 for Surrounds. |
| Speakers | Main Left and Right Acoustic Research AR12s, Center Yamaha NS-C70, Surround Left and Right JBL Control 1s |
Next Friday (2000) |
|
|
|
| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Black Comedy |
Menu Animation & Audio Scene Selection Anim & Audio Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain Theatrical Trailer Alternate Ending Music Video-You Can Do It-Ice Cube Music Video-Money Stretch-Lil' Zane Biographies-Cast & Crew Audio Commentary-Steve Carr (Director) & Ice Cube (Producer/Writer) |
|
| Rating |
|
||
| Year Of Production | 2000 | ||
| Running Time | 94:03 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Steve Carr |
|
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Ice Cube Epps. Mike John Witherspoon Tamala Jones Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Jr. |
| Case | C-Button-Version 1-Dual | ||
| RPI | Box | Music | Terence Blanchard |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Auto Pan & Scan Encoded |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
|
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
|
||
| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Faced with a similar plot situation to that of Friday, Next Friday is a little more exciting but not a better film overall. The loss of Chris Tucker is a big one (it is also the reason why the film was moved out to the suburbs), and lowers the comedic elements of the film, with the film relying more on slapstick humour than genuine comedy. Ice Cube even mentions in the commentary that he didn't want the actors to act funny - rather he wanted the audience to appreciate the film for its story and its more scripted comedy set pieces.
Next Friday is a bit more accessible for everyone than Friday was, but Chris Tucker's loss is keenly felt. See the original first.
The sharpness level is excellent, showing fine facial details as well as background details, which blended a bit in Friday. Shadow detail is definitely the best quality of the transfer besides colour. During the later scenes, especially the outdoor ones, finer details are picked up that would normally be omitted in a transfer of lower standards than this one.
The colour is simply exemplary. The suburb presented is a very, very bright one, so colour had to be up to par. Check the scene in Pinky's for perfect reproduction of the... well... pink! Of course, no chroma noise or colour bleeding was apparent.
Grain was mostly absent from the transfer, and when it was visible it was only a minor annoyance. Some very small cases of aliasing were present. I only noticed one mark on the print which was quite pleasing.
English subtitles unfortunately defaulted to on with my DVD player.
| Sharpness | |
| Shadow Detail | |
| Colour | |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
There are three audio tracks on this side of the disc; the default English 5.1 soundtrack, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded mix and an English Audio Commentary in Dolby Digital 2.0. I listened to the 5.1 soundtrack and to the audio commentary.
Dialogue was clear at all times.
Audio sync was perfect at all times.
The surround channels were used mainly for ambience. No real split surround effects were heard, but this isn't exactly the type of film that you could expect to have a enveloping soundtrack. Also, music was pumped through the surround channels. This was backed up by the subwoofer, which was only really used for music.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use | |
| Subwoofer | |
| Overall | |
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 1 version misses out on:
The video quality is nearly perfect.
The audio is well-suited to this type of film.
The extras are interesting.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-626D, using Component output |
| Display | Toshiba 34N9UXA. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to DVD player. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Yamaha CX-600 Pre-Amp, Yamaha MX-600 Stereo Power Amp for Mains, Yamaha DSP-E300 for Center, Teac AS-M50 for Surrounds. |
| Speakers | Main Left and Right Acoustic Research AR12s, Center Yamaha NS-C70, Surround Left and Right JBL Control 1s |