The Forsyte Saga-Series 1 (Shock) (2002) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Drama | Main Menu Audio & Animation | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2002 | ||
Running Time | 433:56 (Case: 440) | ||
RSDL / Flipper |
RSDL (27:23) Multi Disc Set (3) |
Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By |
Christopher Menaul Dave Moore |
Studio
Distributor |
Shock Entertainment |
Starring |
Damian Lewis Rupert Graves Gina McKee Corin Redgrave Ioan Gruffudd |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual | ||
RPI | $39.95 | Music | Geoffrey Burgon |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Pan & Scan | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.59:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
As with a number of other recent releases from Time Life, The Forsyte Saga (2002) is a re-release of a previously released title from a different distributor. The original review is available here. This new release is quite different despite containing the same material. The differences are summarised below.
| Original Universal Release | Time Life / Shock Release |
Video | 1.78:1 16x9 enhanced OAR | 1.59:1 4x3 Not OAR |
Audio | DD 2.0 Stereo 192 Kb/s issues with clicks and pops | DD 2.0 Stereo 192 Kb/s. No issues. |
Extras | One featurette | Nothing |
No of Discs/Episodes | 6x80 minute episodes over 2 discs. | Recut to 8x54 minute episodes over 3 discs |
On the basis of these differences it is very hard to recommend buying this new version if you have the old one unless you find the audio issue on the original release very annoying. The change of aspect ratio is quite annoying and it is obvious that some of the picture is missing in some scenes. The recutting into 8 episodes is a bit odd but I can only assume this was done for a different television showing, possibly along with the cropping. The total run time is quite close and can probably be explained by extra credits and a long Granada logo at the end rather than any change in the material itself, although I cannot say this categorically.
In terms of the program itself, the previous review includes an excellent plot synopsis. In my opinion this is a very well made series with excellent acting and some wonderful use of music. The material is highly recommended. I enjoyed it despite having seen it before.
The video quality is average and at the wrong aspect ratio.
The feature is presented in a 1.59:1 aspect ratio non 16x9 enhanced which is not the original aspect ratio. I will remove one star from the overall video rating due to this incorrect aspect ratio.
The picture was of average sharpness and clarity and sometimes, such as at 39:00 in episode 3, became significantly worse. There was light grain throughout which also became worse in spots. There was no evidence of low level noise. I did notice some very minor macro-blocking in backgrounds. Shadow detail was also average.
The colour was not overly bright considering how new this production is and some colour bleeding was evident.
There was quite a bit of edge enhancement to be seen along with some minor aliasing here and there.
There are no subtitles.
The layer changes occurred at 27:23 in Episode 2 and 28:43 in Episode 5. Both caused bad pauses..
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is decent but somewhat quiet.
This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.
Dialogue was mostly clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync. Some accents and a bit of mumbling made some lines of dialogue hard to decipher. Subtitles would have been a great help.
The score of this series is by Geoffrey Burgon and some other classical works are also used. The theme song is sung by Bryn Terfel. The combination of music is excellent and very well used.
The surround speakers added some mild atmosphere when played with Pro Logic II.
The subwoofer occasionally added some bass due to my amp's bass management.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
None
The menu included motion and music and does its job quite well.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on: The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on:
Region 1 is the pick here.
The video quality is average and in the wrong aspect ratio.
The audio quality is decent.
No extras.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output |
Display | Sony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC). |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Yamaha YST SW90 subwoofer |