Highlander: Endgame (2000) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Fantasy |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Dolby Digital Trailer-Train Audio Commentary-Editors & Producers Featurette-Visual Effects-A Historical Progression Deleted Scenes Featurette-Behind The Scenes Menu Audio Theatrical Trailer Biographies-Cast & Crew Notes-Highlander Timeline - A History |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2000 | ||
Running Time | 96:23 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Douglas Aarniokoski |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Adrian Paul Christopher Lambert Bruce Payne Lisa Barbuscia Donnie Yen Damon Dash Sheila Gish |
Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
RPI | $34.95 | Music | Nick Glennie-Smith |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (320Kb/s) |
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Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | Yes, Not in the main feature, thankfully.. | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Highlander Endgame is the first movie in the Highlander franchise to feature Connor MacLeod's cousin from the Highlander TV series, Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul). Paul made a name for himself in the TV series and really does shine in this movie. In fact, the swordsmanship displayed by Paul is far more impressive than Lambert, although this may have something to do with the fact that Lambert is mostly blind.
The plot is nothing special, but has enough twists to keep you interested throughout the movie. Connor and Duncan are up against the frighteningly powerful Jacob Kell, an enemy of Connor's for centuries. Unfortunately, Connor is not aware that Kell exists at all - enter twist one. The movie exposes a lot of the human side of immortals; how it is impossible to live normally and grow old with the person they love. The final sequences also have a number of twists, none of which are not predictable. The acting is passable although Bruce Payne, from Dungeons and Dragons fame, goes over the top in his portrayal of Kell. A criticism that I have to make of this story is in the sheer number of immortals that exist. Here I was thinking that immortals were an unusual, and rare, mob - this does not seem to be the case while watching Highlander Endgame. Although I make criticisms, the movie really is quite enjoyable, if you are a fan of the Highlander franchise then I do not hesitate in recommending this movie.
This transfer is presented in the theatrical ratio of 2.35:1 with 16x9 enhancement, and a good thing that it is as some of the aerial shots of the "Scottish" highlands are very impressive and lend themselves well to this aspect ratio.
Sharpness is excellent throughout without the slightest touch of grain hindering the detail. Shadow detail is generally very good - this is fortunate due to the large number of night-time or poorly lit scenes.
Colour is perfectly rendered throughout without any colour bleed or oversaturation. The movie does not rely on bright colours so there are no amazing examples of colour use, it merely does everything that it needs to do.
The only problems with this transfer are the occasional spattering of film artefacts and some rather obvious telecine wobble at 79:50. These are the only problems that prevent this video transfer from receiving a reference quality rating.
The only subtitles on this disc are English for the Hearing Impaired and they are accurate throughout. It is nice to see that the subtitles are rendered underneath the person who is speaking to provide easy identification.
This disc is a Dual Layered disc. I did not spot a layer change. In the absence of definitive information to the contrary, it would appear that the entire main feature has been squeezed onto one layer of the disc.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
There is only one audio track available on this disc as well as the audio commentary track. The main feature has and English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at the higher bitrate of 448kbps, while the commentary is Dolby Digital 2.0 at 320kbps. Nice to see another high bitrate Dolby Digital track.
Dialogue is easy to understand throughout, although it is often accompanied by the annoying hiss that I mentioned above. The hiss is not there all the time but it is most noticeable during dialogue-driven scenes, and very frustrating. Some examples can be found at 7:03, 30:30, and 68:40. Audio sync is fine throughout.
The musical score by Nick Glennie-Smith is very supportive of the on-screen action and provides the necessary ambience for a Highlander film. Some of the more scenic sequences are accompanied by soaring and uplifting music. Nice.
Surround presence throughout this movie is excellent. There is always activity from the rear speakers, and even during the opening sequence, the surrounds receive an excellent workout. The action sequences are truly exemplary and this is most definitely a disc that you can use to show off to your friends and (more importantly) neighbours...
The subwoofer receives a true workout throughout this feature. In fact the subwoofer and center speakers pump out so much bass that the displaced wind from the ports managed to blow an empty packet of chips off my coffee table. A very dynamic and enveloping use of bass.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
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 DVD misses out on;
It is obvious that the R1 version is the disc of choice. It would appear that the R4 transfer is marginally better than the R1 transfer, but unfortunately the extras that we miss out on are too numerous to recommend the R4 version.
The video quality is just short of reference quality.
The audio quality is superb, let down by a couple of annoying problems
The selection of extras is very good but disappointing when compared to the R1 release.
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Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output |
Display | RCA 80cm. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Onkyo TX-DS787, THX Select |
Speakers | All matching Vifa Drivers: centre 2x6.5" + 1" tweeter (d'appolito); fronts and rears 6.5" + 1" tweeter; centre rear 5" + 1" tweeter; sub 10" (150WRMS) |