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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (Rental) (2000)

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (Rental) (2000)

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Rental Version Only
Available for Rent
Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Horror	Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2000
Running Time	86:28
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Joe Berlinger
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	Jeffrey Donovan Tristen Skyler Stephen Barker Turner Erica Leerhsen Kim Director
Case	Amaray-Transparent	Starring
RPI	Rental	Music	Carter Burwell

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Pan & Scan	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	None
16x9 Enhancement	No
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

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Plot Synopsis

Book of Shadows is the follow-up movie to the highly successful 1999 film The Blair Witch Project. The first movie was a low budget student film that was marketed extremely well, initially using the Internet and then using the standard mass media channels. When I saw the first movie on DVD, I was able to ignore most of the hype and view it as a student film. I also found the commentary to be quite interesting in discussing this issues involved with a very low budget film. When viewed with this in mind, this movie is quite reasonable when compared to most other student films. Unfortunately, Book of Shadows does not have the appeal of a low budget student film. This movie is obviously trying to capture some of the hype that surrounded the original film and to tap into its success. If you did not enjoy the first film I am sure that you will be very disappointed with this sequel. If you were a huge fan of the first film I also feel you will find this film disappointing. The plot for the movie is very disjointed and does not make much sense to the viewer. The acting is quite average, and the effects often very cheesy and cheap-looking. In general, this film does not have anything going for it with its best feature being its relatively short running time. The movie is set after the release of the original Blair Witch film around the same small town of Burkittsville. The town is now inundated with tourists coming to see the area and to recreate the experience of the first film. Book of Shadows revolves around the experiences of four tourists and their guide who are unable to recall what happened for a period of a few hours while camping in the woods. The film is told through a series of flashbacks that often contain other flashbacks, and relies heavily on the use of footage the group 'recovers' from a number of video tapes.

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Transfer Quality

Video

As the movie contains a number of segments supposedly sourced from video, the quality of the transfer varies. Interestingly the video segments in many cases appear to have been shot on film and then processed to appear as video footage. The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, Panned & Scanned from its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. It should be noted that the packaging incorrectly states that the transfer is 'Presented in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio (approx)' and also has a letterboxed 1.85:1 symbol on the packaging next to a 4:3 symbol. The transfer is extremely sharp when viewing the standard film segments, and drops slightly when video footage is presented. This is to be expected, and is not a fault of the transfer at any time. No low level noise is present at any stage of the transfer and during the non-video segments, shadow detail is excellent. The colour presented in this transfer varies between the different source materials. During the segments that come from video, the palette has a slight bluish tinge. The standard film footage has a warm brownish tinge. This obvious change in colour helps to easily differentiate the sources and make the use of video footage clear to the viewer. The only MPEG artefact that can be seen at any stage during this transfer is during the closing credits, where some minor Gibbs effect artefacting can be seen. Aliasing does not pose any problems for this transfer, with only a slight occurrence visible at 9:09. Very few film artefacts are visible, with only a small number of flecks and scratches seen. Two of the more obvious film artefacts can be seen at 9:23 and 43:57 but these are still very minor. Some minor telecine wobble can be seen during the opening introductory text.

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

Audio

The only soundtrack provided on this disc is a 448 kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The dialogue is always clear and easy to understand. At no stage were any audio sync problems detected. Two audio dropouts can be heard at 4:26 and during the closing credits at 82:51. These are non-disruptive to the viewer. The score is never noticed at any stage but the soundtrack is used extensively and is possibly the best part of the film. Tracks from Elastica, Queens of the Stone Age, Rob Zombie, Death in Vegas and Marilyn Manson provide a varied and interesting soundtrack. The surrounds are used effectively during the film for directional sound effects and to support the soundtrack. The subwoofer channel is also used effectively during the soundtrack and to reinforce the sound effects.

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

Extras

Trailer (0:38)

The short trailer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

The unusual disc formatting with a regular CD audio disc on the reverse of the Region 1 disc is interesting and will hopefully be seen on other titles in the future. The Region 4 rental version of this disc misses out on;

Correct aspect ratio
CD soundtrack on reverse side of DVD
Commentary by Director Joe Berlinger
Production Notes
Biographies
DVD-ROM extras
eight-page booklet

The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

Nothing

As the current Region 4 version is rental only, the obvious choice at this time for a potential buyer is the Region 1 disc, pending the sell-through release of this title in Region 4 in some 6 months time.

Summary

Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows is an extremely disappointing film that I cannot recommend to anyone. Unfortunately, the otherwise excellent video transfer is not presented in its original aspect ratio. The audio mix for this film is engaging and supported by an excellent soundtrack.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	Toshiba 1200, 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

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