U.F.O. (1993)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Comedy	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1993
Running Time	75:43
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Tony Dow
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Roy Brown Sara Stockbridge Amanda Symonds Roger Lloyd
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$19.95	Music	Clever Music

    As a Roy "Chubby" Brown fan, it was with some curiosity that I sat down to watch him venture away from his usual role as a stand up comedian to the lead character in his own feature film. However, after watching this title, it is clear that Chubby should stick to the stage which is the forum in which he is at his best. The movie was full of clichés and old material which we have all heard a hundred times before, and that's taking into account the fact that this movie is a transfer from the video released back in 1993. It seems that the list of jokes were selected and then a story was created to fit the jokes rather than the other way around.

    So what's it about? Chubby is captured during his live show in Blackpool and beamed up to a spaceship controlled by a group of feminist aliens. Once on board the ship, Chubby learns that he is to be put on trial for crimes against women. It goes without saying that he is found guilty and given the choice of several sentences. Whilst one of them is castration, the others are too horrible to mention (yep, there are things worse than castration for some blokes). His only hope is to escape and get back to Earth where he can continue to use women as the butts of his jokes.

Video

    The transfer is presented in its full frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and therefore is not 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is bland and dull with little to no sharp or clearly defined scenes. Likewise, the shadow detail is of a poorer quality than other Chubby DVDs, leaving a washed out appearance to these areas. There is one point with a more acceptable transfer standard - see around 29:29. There is low level noise scattered throughout the presentation.

    The colours are muted and drab, which is due in part to the low levels of lighting used in the scenes that occur within the spaceship. Scenes that occur outdoors are more true to life. Chubby's trademark jacket still seems to remain rather "loud" and colourful regardless of the scene.

    There are several MPEG artefacts to be seen. Colour bleeding is a problem at times, with the worst section appearing at 17:06 when Chubby is on stage. Aliasing occurs from beginning to end, with Chubby's jacket the primary culprit. Film artefacts also occur from the first frame to the last. The majority are black hairs, scratches, and dust, which are less noticeable than white artefacts.

    There are no subtitles available on this disc.

    This disc is an SSSL disc and therefore there is no layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The Chubby Brown stable have made some unusual audio decisions in the past that result in their discs being less compatible with equipment out in the marketplace. See the Chubby Brown Thunder B*!!*cks review I did some time ago for information on the MPEG audio problem I encountered on that title. On this disc we seem to have another problem: I can find no sensible reason to explain the anomaly I detail in the surround section.

    If you can understand a thick accent then the dialogue would be clear and easy to understand at all times. The occasional word from Chubby does have me wondering at times, but this is purely an accent issue rather than a technical one.

    Audio sync was only a problem when Chubby sings one of his songs and is most apparent at 33:24 but occurs either side of that marker.

    The music is credited to Clever Music and it left no particular impression, good or bad, on me. It was there playing and did not seem out of place with the on screen action, but the poor story seemed to detract from the whole audio part of the equation. The volume levels did not drown out the dialogue at any point during the movie.

    The opening scene is taken from space and begins with a voiceover coming from the rear speakers with a somewhat distant feel to the sound. At first, I was impressed with this seemingly aggressive use of surround sound. It was not until the actors started talking and their voices were still positioned behind my head that something seemed amiss. It appears that the disc's authors have encoded the front left and right sound channels 180 degrees out of phase. This confuses the surround processing logic in your amplifier, and results in the main portion of the audio, including the dialogue, being directed to the rear speakers, while the sound intended for the rears comes from the front. I watched the entire presentation like this hoping that it would switch back 180 degrees at some point but the entire track has been recorded this way. I then tried listening in standard Pro Logic mode instead of Pro Logic II mode, but the end result was exactly the same. It was not until I forced my receiver into Stereo mode that the channels flicked back to the front speakers. The disadvantage, other than the obvious, is that the audio sounds washed out and distant in this mode. You know how the setup instructions warn you against connecting the speakers out-of-phase because the bass will be greatly reduced and it will sound strange? This disc produces exactly that effect, and yes, the bass is greatly reduced and it does sound strange...

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    There are no extras available on this disc.

Menu

    The menu design is themed around the movie. The main menu features a still graphical design with no audio.

    There does not appear to be a Region 1 specific version of this title available. The Region 4 version is identical in content to the Region 2 version.

    Personally, I found this a disappointing movie.

    The video is of poor quality, which is most likely due to the condition of the original.

    The audio is 180 degrees out of phase.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall