From Dusk Till Dawn: Special Edition (1996) |
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From Dusk Till Dawn: Special Edition (1996) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Action |
Menu Animation & Audio Audio Commentary-Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino Outtakes Featurette-Hollywood Goes To Hell Theatrical Trailer Music Video-After Dark-Tito & Tarantula Music Video-She's Just Killing Me-ZZ Top Gallery-Photo Featurette-The Art Of Making The Movie (4) Deleted Scenes Featurette-On The Set Biographies-Cast & Crew DVD Credits Scene Selection Anim & Audio |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 1996 | ||
| Running Time | 103:34 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
RSDL (103:32) Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Robert Rodriguez |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Walt Disney Studios Home Ent. |
Starring |
Harvey Keitel George Clooney Quentin Tarantino Juliette Lewis Ernest Liu Salma Hayek Cheech Marin Danny Trejo Tom Savini Fred Williamson |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
| RPI | $34.95 | Music | Graeme Revell |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English for the Hearing Impaired English |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
In From Dusk Till Dawn, two bank robbers must avoid the authorities while making their way to Mexico to meet their contact and reach safety the next morning. Unfortunately, they face some strong and unusual opposition along the way.
Seth (George Clooney) and Richie Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) are brothers that have just robbed a Texan bank and killed numerous police officers, Texas Rangers and civilians. The brothers must avoid the massive manhunt and make their way to Mexico where they will meet Carlos, their contact, the next morning. To help cross the border, the brothers take a preacher (Harvey Keitel) and his two children hostage and they make their way to a bar where they will meet Carlos the next morning. While relaxing in the bar, the situation suddenly changes and the group faces a new collection of adversaries.
This movie stars and was written by Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction) and was directed, edited and shot by Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Desperado). These men met on the film festival circuit, quickly became good friends and decided to make a film together. From Dusk Till Dawn was the result. When I fist saw this film, I was lucky enough to have avoided all the publicity and consequently the second half of this film came as a surprise. This was the feature film debut for George Clooney who had previously risen to fame with his role on E.R. and his performance in this film proved that he was able to easily handle a leading role.
This Special Edition release replaces the original bare bones Region 4 DVD release.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer is quite sharp throughout but occasional scenes appear slightly softer. These minor changes in sharpness are due to the original source material and are never disruptive to the viewer. Excellent levels of shadow detail are always visible during the numerous dark scenes in the transfer. No low-level noise was detected at any time during the transfer.
The colour palette displayed during the first half of the film always has a slightly orange tint to the image. During the second half of the film, the palette displays a large amount of red due to the bar lighting, and is always vibrant and well saturated.
No MPEG artefacts were detected at any time during the transfer.
A very small number of aliasing artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these may be seen at 8:37 and 11:07 but these are very minor and are not distracting to the viewer.
Numerous film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some of these artefacts may be seen at 0:28, 9:07, 10:55, 11:25, 20:06, 20:36 and 21:22. Each of these artefacts are quite minor but due to their frequency they are moderately distracting.
Two sets of white English subtitles are provided on the disc. I extensively sampled both streams and found them to be consistently accurate.
The layer change occurs at 103:32 at the end of the credits and is essentially not detectable.
| Sharpness |  |
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| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times.
No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.
The score by Graeme Revell works well with the on-screen action but never draws attention to itself. This score is complemented by a number of distinctive musical tracks by ZZ Top and Tito & Tarantula.
The surround channels are used extensively throughout the transfer to create an enveloping soundfield that is used effectively during the bar fight scenes.
The subwoofer channel is used throughout to support the score and effects such as gunshots and explosions.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
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| Surround Channel Use | |
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The animated menus are presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
This feature length scene specific commentary was recorded for the Dimension Collector's Edition laserdisc and it is able to convey some of the enjoyment that the participants had while making this film. During this track, they discuss the origins of the film, the script changes, special effects, casting and their friendship. This is a highly entertaining commentary and should be enjoyed by all fans of the film. The ability to switch audio streams during playback has been disabled, forcing viewers to select the commentary via the menu system. This was presumably done to force viewers to view a disclaimer stating that the views expressed in the track do not reflect those of the Disney Corporation. Surprisingly, this disclaimer does not appear on the Region 1 release of this disc.
This is a series of outtakes with various actors having problems with their lines or props. These outtakes are presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and are not 16x9 enhanced.
This is a collection of interviews with various cast and crew members focusing upon the work of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez and their friendship. This featurette is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
This music video is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
This music video is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
This is a collection of ninety eight stills from the production that are presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Each still is shown for a couple of seconds during this video segment. Unfortunately, no user navigation controls are provided for this extra.
This is a collection of segments discussing the making of the film and various effects. These extras are presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track featuring Robert Rodriguez and makeup FX supervisor Greg Nicotero. The following four segments are provided: The Opening (10:46), The Hostage (2:15), Titty Twister (27:09) and Rat Man and Battle 3 (6:03).
This is a collection of deleted scenes and different takes from the film that were removed due to pacing reasons or MPAA concerns. These are provided with a Dolby Digital 2.0 commentary by Robert Rodriguez and Greg Nicotero at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and they are not 16x9 enhanced.
This is a short collection of behind-the-scenes footage from the set presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
Multiple page biographies are provided for the following cast members: George Clooney, Salma Hayek, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Cheech Marin, Michael Parks, Tom Savini, Quentin Tarantino, Danny Trejo and Fred Williamson.
Multiple page biographies are provided for the following crew members: Robert Rodriguez, Lawrence Bender, Gianni Nunnari, Meir Teper, Elizabeth Avellan, KNB EFX Group Inc., Steve M. Davison, Thomas L. Bellissimo, Steve Joyner, Charlie Bellardinelli and Cecilia Montiel.
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;
The UK Region 2 version of this disc misses out on;
The exclusion of the excellent documentary Full-Tilt Boogie about the making of the film is very disappointing as this should be considered an essential part of any fans collection. The inclusion of this documentary and the 16x9 transfer makes the UK R2 release of this film the clear winner.
From Dusk Till Dawn is a highly entertaining film that will appeal to any fans of either Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez.
The 16x9 transfer is if high quality but is slightly let down by numerous film artefacts.
The excellent Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix is quite aggressive and works very well with the action presented.
The collection of extras included on this disc will appeal to all fans of the film but the exclusion of the Full-Tilt Boogie documentary cannot be excused.
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| Extras | |
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Toshiba 2109, using S-Video output |
| Display | Sony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Front left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged) |
| Speakers | Front left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259 |