The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain Scene Selection Anim & Audio Biographies-Cast & Crew Production Notes Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	97:30
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Woody Allen
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Woody Allen Helen Hunt Dan Aykroyd Charlize Theron Elizabeth Berkley
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (320Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion is a Woody Allen film about a detective who is investigating a series of jewel robberies in the 1940s.

    C.W. Briggs (Woody Allen) is a detective who is employed by one of New York's top insurance companies. He is a very successful investigator who relies upon his network of informants and old style hunches. When his company employs efficiency expert Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt) there is predictable tension between the two. One night at a fellow workmate's birthday celebration the pair are hypnotized as part of a stage act and convinced they are in love. After the show the two remain under the control of the hypnotist and he forces them to use their company knowledge to commit a number of daring robberies that they must then investigate.

    This entertaining feature has all the trademarks of a classic Woody Allen film with outstanding performances by a large number of celebrities and quick and witty dialogue. If you are a fan of Woody's productions, or are looking for a film with an intelligent script you should take a look at The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion.

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is extremely sharp throughout and always displays excellent levels of detail. No low-level noise was detected at any time. During the dark sections of the transfer excellent shadow detail may be seen.

    The colour palette displayed during the transfer contains a high percentage of brown, yellow and cream capturing the feel of the 1940s setting.

    No MPEG artefacts may be detected at any time during the transfer.

    There are a small number of minor aliasing artefacts. Some examples may be seen at 9:55, 24:27 and 39:10 but these are all very small and are not distracting.

    There are some minor film artefacts. Some examples of these may be seen at 8:16, 9:39, 18:31, 19:13 and 24:54 but they are all very small and are not disruptive.

    A single white English SDH subtitle stream is provided on the disc. I extensively sampled this stream and found it to be easy to read and consistently accurate.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The dialogue is always clear and easy to understand.

    No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.

    The score contains numerous jazz and big band tracks and these suit the on-screen action well, helping to capture the atmosphere of the 1940s.

    The surround and subwoofer channels were not used during the transfer.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The minimally animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

Cast and Crew Biographies and Filmographies

    Multiple page biographies and filmographies are provided for the following cast and crew members: Dan Aykroyd, Helen Hunt, Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Berkley, Brian Markinson, David Ogden Stiers, Wallace Shawn, Stephen Tenenbaum, Letty Aronson, Helen Robin, Alisa Lepselter, Zhao Fei, Santo Loquasto and Suzanne McCabe. A complete filmography and listing of award nominations is provided for Woody Allen but this does not contain any biographical information.

Production Notes

    A 12-page collection of production notes examining topics such as casting and the characters roles.

Theatrical Trailer (2:26)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of approximately 1.66:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

    The Region 1 and Region 4 versions of this film appear to be identical and I therefore would have no preference for either version.

    The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion is an entertaining film that will appeal to all Woody Allen fans, and anyone looking for a script with intelligent dialogue.

    The almost flawless video transfer is excellent and of near reference quality.

    The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack is adequate for the dialogue driven film.

    The minimal extras provide a small amount of background detail but this could have been supplemented with some biographical information for Woody Allen.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall