Class of 1999 (1989)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Main Menu Introduction
Rating
Year Of Production	1989
Running Time	92:20
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Mark Lester
Studio Distributor	Magna Home Entertainment	Starring	Pam Grier Malcolm McDowell Stacey Keach Bradley Gregg Traci Linn
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$9.95	Music	Michael Hoenig

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	Unknown	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Set in the near future, street gangs have started taking over the high schools of middle America. To combat this increasing violence, the Education Department enlists the help of the military. Three state-of-the-art Androids are supplied to a Seattle high school as teachers to bring order and discipline back to the rebellious students. The androids take disciplinary measures too far and a number of students are `disciplined to death'. A paroled ex-gang member unites the waring gangs and takes on the robotic teachers in an all-out battle for survival.

    There is nothing quite like a good exploitation low budget science fiction movie. Yes, in mixed company we all deny their merits, and pompous film critics like to ignore their existence, but if it wasn't for such low brow cinema, the likes of Star Wars and The Terminator would not exist. Class Of 1999 never scales those heights of course, but d*** if it's not entertaining. A mix of Escape From New York, The Terminator and Robocop, it is a skilled piece of action hokum. The director, Mark Lester, a B-picture specialist (Commando), demonstrates a keen sense of wit throughout the endless explosions and other assorted atrocities by lacing the proceedings with a wry sense of black humour. The story never takes itself seriously, and neither do the cast who are obviously in on the joke. The film is actually a sequel to Lester's own Class Of 1984, a cult film from the early eighties starring a pre-Family Ties Michael J. Fox.

    The action is directed at a ripping pace and the cast give it their all, especially Stacey Keach who hams it up outrageously. Obviously made on a low budget, the effects are nonetheless well executed, especially the gore effects which are not for the faint-of-heart. A great little time waster and loads of laughs.

Video

    For a low budget movie, the transfer presented here is very acceptable

    The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced which is surprising given the cost of the DVD.

    The sharpness of the transfer is good, with acceptable black levels. Shadow detail is probably the weakest aspect of the transfer. It's not horrid, but it does lack depth. There is occasional grain apparent in the darker sections of the film, but nothing overly intrusive.

    The transfer appears to be clear of MPEG artefacts and I suspect that this transfer is a direct port from the R2 one, which is also 16x9 enhanced. All reports indicate the R2 transfer is of equal quality.

    There is no aliasing in this transfer, which is mostly due to the lower sharpness level. Film artefacts are present throughout the film, but are predominantly black and not distracting.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The soundtrack presented here is of good quality. There is only one track available and that is an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track.

    Dialogue is easy to understand and audio sync is never a problem.

    There is little surround channel usage, with the majority of the soundtrack occupying the frontal speakers. The subwoofer kicks in when needed, but is a little under-developed, especially during action sequences.

Menu

    The only extra found on this disc is a menu with chapter selections.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

    There is currently no Region 1 version of this disc available.

    For a budget DVD, the transfer on offer here is more than worth the retail price. If you enjoy B-grade sci-fi knock-offs, than you could do a lot worse than Class Of 1999.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall