Dead Presidents (Remastered) (1995)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Action	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1995
Running Time	114:33 (Case: 117)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (63:55)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Albert Hughes Allen Hughes
Studio Distributor	Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.	Starring	Larenz Tate Keith David Chris Tucker Freddy Rodríguez Rose Jackson N'Bushe Wright Alvaleta Guess James Pickens Jr. Jenifer Lewis Clifton Powell Elizabeth Rodriquez Terrence Dashon Howard Ryan Williams
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$19.95	Music	James Brown Danny Elfman Kenny Gamble

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired French German Swedish Norwegian Danish Finnish	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Dead Presidents is pitched as a robbery tale by the DVD blurb, but is in fact a detailed - almost epic - tale about a group of young friends growing up in the Bronx, the Vietnam War and the desperation that sets in when the war is over. The very strong story is somewhat unusual for a war/crime film as it features a mainly black cast and focuses on the issues faced not by middle-class white boys, but on ordinary African American characters who are usually little more than an afterthought in such tales.

    Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate) has just finished High School in the late 1960s New York Bronx. He spends much of his time hanging around with his friends Skip (an impressive Chris Tucker) and Jose (Freddy Rodriguez), whilst making some extra money working for the not quite law abiding, one-legged Kirby (Keith David). His life is rounded out by a blossoming, but brief, sexual relationship with Juanita (Rose Jackson) Despite his mother's intention that he attend college like his older brother, he decides to follow in his father's footsteps and signs up for the US Marine Corps.

    The middle part of the film is a well realised and rather gory Vietnam War tale. Anthony fits the life reasonably well, and manages to become decorated and rises to the rank of Sergeant. Chris spends much of his wartime in a drug-induced haze and Jose returns home with a damaged hand after his stint in a demolitions unit. When Anthony returns, he finds that Juanita has given birth to his daughter and the three soon begin living together as a family.

    When times start to get financially tough, and Anthony loses his job as a butcher, he turns to drink to avoid his problems. Before too long, Kirby, Chris, Jose and Anthony decide that there must be an easier way to make a living, and with the help of Juanita's militant sister Delilah (N'Bushe Wright), they plan a brazen daylight robbery. When an armoured car turns up at the bank to collect the worn-out bills for destruction, Anthony and his crew will be waiting to grab their own share of "dead presidents".

    This film is slightly let down, after a craft-filled and intelligent build-up, by the slightly rushed, albeit very stylish, heist ending. The initial set-up, which is a worthy character study of growing up in the Bronx in the late 1960s, leads nicely into an action-packed Vietnam War story which is visceral and exciting. Anthony's sudden transformation from decorated ex-serviceman to armed robber feels a little jarring, however. The striking make up and fumbling violence of the armoured truck robbery makes for a great set-piece and presents a truly memorable climax to a film - just not this film. Nevertheless, with some strong acting, believable characters and a novel setting, Dead Presidents provides a couple of worthwhile hours viewing and is certainly worth a rental.

Video

    The video quality of this transfer is pretty good.

    Sharpness is generally fine (particularly in the better lit, outdoor shots) and there is little in the way of pixelization or film grain to cloud the transfer. The film is presented 16x9 enhanced in a ratio of 2.39:1, which is the original theatrical aspect ratio.

    Black levels are deep and shadow detail is generally good, which is useful as many scenes are shot in dimly lit clubs and homes and the film has quite a gloomy feel at times. Colours are at times a little muted in New York (which is probably intentional) but become a little more vibrant amongst the rice paddies and palms of Vietnam. Overall they come across as natural and realistic. Colour bleeding is never a problem.

    There are no significant compression artefacts in evidence. There is no significant edge enhancement or aliasing present.

    The transfer does feature a fair number of film artefacts (both positive and negative) but whilst noticeable, they are generally fleeting and rarely distracting.

    The English subtitles for the Hard of Hearing are well timed and legible. They do omit lines of dialogue, particularly during rapid-fire exchanges, but do provide an (at times necessary) acceptable translation of the main dialogue.

    The earlier release of this movie was a flipper, but this time around it is provided on an RSDL formatted disc. The layer change is noticeable, but not overly distracting and is located at 63:55.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The overall audio transfer is fairly good.

    The English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is encoded at 448 kbps. It is free from major defects such as pops and hiss. The French and German Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are encoded at the lower rate of 384 kbps. Dialogue was quite frequently impenetrable. This is not a defect of the audio transfer, rather the price to be paid for using extremely thick New York accents and the frequent "jive" talked by the characters. I had to resort to subtitles at several points to determine exactly what was being said. I noticed no problems with audio sync.

    The film features a number of Soul/R&B songs which are highly evocative of the period, from the likes of Otis Redding, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. The original music has deep, booming bass, rumbling drums and staccato strings littered with a strange and haunting effect which sounds a little like wind whistling through a pipe. It builds tension tremendously well. This is a great piece of work, and I was unsurprised to find it credited to someone of the calibre of Danny Elfman (Edward Scissorhands, Men In Black and Spider-Man amongst innumerable other scores).

    The soundstage is only mildly enveloping at the outset, particularly during the earlier character development scenes. During the action scenes however - in Vietnam, and during the robbery in the final reel - the surround speakers spring into much more forceful use. They carry some background ambience and musical activity throughout, but when the bullets start flying and the mortars start dropping they come into their own. There is evidence of front to rear panning and localised sound effects and the soundstage becomes very lively indeed.

    The subwoofer is in use throughout the film to support the musical track without drawing undue attention to itself. During the action scenes - particularly the Vietnam battles - it is used quite significantly with numerous window-rattling bursts of deep bass. This is a nice example of the subwoofer supporting the film without overpowering it.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    There are no extras present.

Menu

    The main menu is a silent photograph of the striking cover art. It is rather minimalist, allowing the options of playing the feature, selecting one of twenty chapter stops or selecting audio tracks and subtitles.

    The Region 1 release is a similarly bare-bones effort but is not 16x9 enhanced, making the Region 4 release a clear winner.

    Dead Presidents has an impressive tale to tell. It manages to take a different look into the lives of African Americans, rather than the endless 'hood and ghetto crime tales which are churned out with regularity nowadays. This is first and foremost a tale of ordinary people whose lives are changed by the Vietnam War, who find that the country they return to has little interest in their plight and who resort to alcohol, drugs, and ultimately crime as an escape. For those who have not seen it, this film is a visceral tale which manages to avoid many of the stereotypes commonly found in flicks which mainly feature a cast of black characters. Whilst not perfect, due to the slightly incongruous feel of the armed robbery, it can certainly be recommended as a rental.

    The video quality is quite good.

    The audio transfer is quite good.

    There are no extras present.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall