Spike Lee Triple Pack (Clockers/Do the Right Thing/Jungle Fever) (1989) |
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Spike Lee Triple Pack (Clockers/Do the Right Thing/Jungle Fever) (1989) |
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This Spike Lee triple pack includes three of this writer/director's earlier films: Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever and Clockers. Each movie examines race relations and prejudice from different points of view. These films are still as relevant today as they were when first released. An excellent collection of extras previously only found on the Criterion Collection release are included for Do The Right Thing but disappointingly very few extras are provided for either of the other films. Also disappointingly, the box set includes no filmography or biographical information for Spike Lee. If you are a fan of the director I can thoroughly recommend this box set as an excellent examination of his earlier work.
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Clockers (1995) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama | Trailer-Clockers, Do The Right Thing; Jungle Fever | |
| Rating | ? | ||
| Year Of Production | 1995 | ||
| Running Time | 123:04 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (68:26) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Language Select Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Spike Lee |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Mekhi Phifer Harvey Keitel John Turturro Delroy Lindo |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | Box | Music | Terence Blanchard |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English for the Hearing Impaired German Dutch Swedish Danish Norwegian Finnish |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Clockers is a film that revolves around the investigation of a homicide at a New York fast food restaurant. While a suspect quickly confesses to the murder, police officer Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) feels that something is not quite right.
This film is set in the world of drug dealing in New York's precincts in the early 1990s. Strike (Mekhi Phifer) is a lookout for the local drug dealer Rodney (Delroy Lindo) and he wants to get off the benches and work his way up through the organization. When Rodney tells him that one of his dealers working in a local fast food restaurant must be taken care of, Strike sees this as a way to improve his station. After the murder of the fast food worker, Rodney's brother quickly confesses to the crime but NYPD detective Rocco Klein feels that something is wrong and pursues the matter.
This is an interesting film that portrays many of the sides of the drug trade and shows what devastating effects it has on all those involved at any level.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer is reasonably sharp throughout but occasionally some scenes appear slightly softer than the majority of the transfer. This is not distracting to the viewer and seems to be inherent in the source material. At no stage was any low level noise detected during the transfer. The shadow detail on offer in the transfer is acceptable but some scenes do not reveal extensive information in the dark parts of the image. This lack of detail appears to be inherent in the way the movie was filmed and not a problem with the transfer.
The colours displayed during the transfer are quite natural and appear to be accurately reproduced. Numerous vibrant highlight colours are used throughout the transfer to brighten the gloomy environment that the film is set in.
No MPEG artefacts were detected during the transfer at any stage.
A number of aliasing artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 28:59, 59:59, 68:30, 83:17, 88:05 and 116:03. The majority of these artefacts are quite minor and are only slightly distracting to the viewer.
Numerous small film artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 2:44, 11:42, 32:03 and 39:50. These artefacts are all quite minor and are not distracting to the viewer. Some film grain is obvious throughout the transfer but this is easily overlooked by the viewer and is not distracting.
During the transfer, some minor NTSC to PAL conversion artefacts may be seen at 54:54 and 57:16. Each of these artefacts are quite minor and are not distracting to the viewer. A cross colour artefact may be seen in a fence in the background of the scene at 6:12 but due to its short duration it is not distracting to the viewer.
Subtitles are provided in German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and English for the Hearing Impaired. I extensively sampled the English subtitles and found them to be consistently accurate.
The layer change occurs at 68:26, mid-way through Chapter 10. Its placement at a scene change is only slightly disruptive to the viewer.
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| Shadow Detail | |
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| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
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The dialogue is clear and easy to understand throughout the transfer.
No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected during the transfer.
The original score by Terence Blanchard suits the on-screen action well and is supplemented by numerous hip hop and rap tracks.
The surround channels are used minimally throughout the transfer to support the score and some special effects.
The subwoofer channel is used extensively for both the score and effects such as gunshots.
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| Audio Sync | |
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| Surround Channel Use | |
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The non animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
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 disc misses out on;
The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;
The differences between the two versions seem to be very minimal.
Clockers is an interesting look at the low levels of the drug trade and how it affects everyone who is involved.
The video transfer for this film displays very few problems and is only marred by the regular occurrence of minor film artefacts.
The effective 5.1 soundtrack found on this disc is focused across the front three channels and makes extensive use of the subwoofer channel.
There are no real extras provided on this disc.
| 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 |
Jungle Fever (1991) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Introduction Featurette Trailer-Jungle Fever, Do The Right Thing; Clockers |
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| Rating | ? | ||
| Year Of Production | 1991 | ||
| Running Time | 126:28 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (71:04) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Language Select Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Spike Lee |
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Studio
Distributor |
Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Wesley Snipes Annabella Sciorra Ossie Davis Ruby Dee Samuel L. Jackson John Turturro |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | Box | Music | Terence Blanchard |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English for the Hearing Impaired German Dutch Swedish Danish Norwegian Finnish |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Jungle Fever is a movie dealing with the relationship between an African-American and an Italian-American living in New York and the impact this has on all the people that they know.
Flipper Purify (Wesley Snipes) is an architect for a successful New York firm who is happily married with a daughter. When a new secretary, Angie (Annabella Sciorra), joins the firm, Flipper begins an affair that results in him separating from his family. Both Angie's and Flipper's families disapprove of their relationship and the couple quickly recognizes the high levels of discrimination that they will face from all areas of the community.
This movie, like many other Spike Lee films, features performances from Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, John Turturro, Sam Jackson and Spike Lee himself. Like all of Spike Lee's films, this movie deals with race relations but it is able to examine this at a more personal than seen in many of his other films.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer is acceptably sharp throughout and no low level noise was detected at any time. The shadow detail displayed during the transfer is slightly disappointing with some scenes showing little information in the dark parts of the image. This lack of detail appears to be inherent in the source material and not a problem with the transfer.
The colours displayed during the transfer are quite natural and appear to be accurately reproduced. The palette displays a high percentage of browns and grays reflecting the harsh urban environment the film is set in.
No MPEG artefacts were detected during the transfer at any stage.
A single aliasing artefact may be seen during the transfer at 116:02 but this is not distracting to the viewer. Two moiré artefacts may 23:18 and 112:39 but these occur for only a brief period and are not distracting.
Numerous small film artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 9:44, 14:22, 17:17, 24:59 and 29:36. These artefacts are all quite minor.
Subtitles are provided in German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and English for the Hearing Impaired. I extensively sampled the English subtitles and found them to be consistently accurate.
The layer change occurs at 71:04, mid-way through Chapter 14 and its placement is slightly disruptive.
| Sharpness | |
| Shadow Detail | |
| Colour | |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times.
There were some slight audio sync issues detected at 34:10, 42:20, 56:10 and 65:37 but each of these appear to be due to ADR work and not a fault of the transfer. No dropouts were detected during the transfer.
The original score by Terence Blanchard is supplemented by a dozen original tracks written and performed by Stevie Wonder. These tracks can be heard throughout the film and fit the on-screen action perfectly.
The surround channels are not utilized during this transfer. There is a significant amount of low frequency information present during the numerous musical numbers found in the soundtrack .
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use |  |
| Subwoofer | |
| Overall | |
The non animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
This is a standard promotional featurette with short clips from the movie mixed with brief interview segments. Like most of these featurettes, this extra provides no real insight into the movie. It is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
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 disc misses out on;
The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;
The differences are very minimal.
Jungle Fever is an interesting look at some of the problems that an inter-racial couple will face and the opposition they must overcome from all parts of the community.
The video transfer for this film displays very few problems and is only marred by the regular occurrence of minor film artefacts.
The audio transfer is quite adequate for the film and is supplemented by an excellent musical soundtrack.
The minimal extras provide very little insight into the film and would have been supplemented by a collection of biographies or filmographies.
| 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 |
Do the Right Thing (1989) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Introduction Audio Commentary-Spike Lee, Joie Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Wynn Thomas Featurette-Making Of Featurette-Behind The Scenes Featurette-Location Visit Storyboards Trailer-Do The Right Thing, Clockers; Jungle Fever |
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| Rating | ? | ||
| Year Of Production | 1989 | ||
| Running Time | 114:54 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (100:21) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Language Select Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Spike Lee |
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Studio
Distributor |
Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Danny Aiello Ossie Davis Ruby Dee John Turturro Richard Edson Spike Lee |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | Box | Music | Bill Lee |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English for the Hearing Impaired German Dutch Swedish Danish Norwegian Finnish |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Do The Right Thing is a film revolving around a series of events that occur on a single block in Brooklyn on the hottest day of the year.
This movie covers approximately a twenty four hour period on a single block in Brooklyn in a predominately black neighbourhood. Located on this block are a pizza store run by Sal (Danny Aiello) and his two sons Vito (Richard Edson) and Pino (John Turturro). Also working in the store is Mookie (Spike Lee), the delivery boy who is known by all the people on the block. Other local characters include a radio DJ (Sam Jackson), an old drunk (Ossie Davis), an old woman (Ruby Dee), two Korean grocery store owners, and Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) who carries a large portable radio. As the day progresses and the heat increases, race relations are put to the test as tensions rise.
This was the third feature film by writer / director Spike Lee and it features debut performances by Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez. Like the hot laid-back day that the film depicts, this movie starts quietly and slowly builds to a confrontation at the end of the day. Despite this slow pacing, the film is quite enjoyable and is understandably one of Spike Lee's better-known films.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer is acceptably sharp throughout and there was no low level noise detected at any time. High levels of shadow detail are displayed during this transfer with the few dark scenes displaying high levels of detail.
The colour palette on offer in this film involves predominately reds, yellows and browns. This has been done intentionally to try and convey the heat of the day and the effect it has on the people involved.
No MPEG artefacts were detected during the transfer at any stage.
A single aliasing artefact may be seen at 8:28 but this is very minor and is not distracting to the viewer.
A very small number of minor film artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 10:33, 14:38, 17:41 and 93:04. All of these artefacts are quite minor and are not distracting to the viewer.
Subtitles are provided in German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and English for the Hearing Impaired. I extensively sampled the English subtitles and found them to be consistently accurate.
The layer change occurs at 100:21 at the start of Chapter 15 and as it is placed at a scene change, it is only slightly disruptive to the viewer.
| Sharpness | |
| Shadow Detail | |
| Colour | |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
The dialogue is clear and easy to understand throughout the transfer.
A small problem with audio sync was detected at 102:30 but this seems to be a result of ADR work and not a fault of the transfer. No dropouts were detected during the transfer.
The original musical score by Bill Lee is very effective and works well with the on-screen action, never drawing attention to itself. Another major component of the soundtrack is the Public Enemy track Fight The Power which was written specifically for this movie and is repeated approximately twenty seven times throughout the film.
The surround channels are not utilized during this transfer. There is a significant amount of low frequency information present during the numerous musical numbers found in the soundtrack .
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use | |
| Subwoofer | |
| Overall | |
The non animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
This commentary features writer director Spike Lee, his sister Joie Lee who acts in the film, cinematographer Ernest Dickerson and production designer Wynn Thomas. Each of these people appear to have been recorded separately and they make both scene-specific comments as well as general comments about the film.
This is a short documentary that was shot during the production of the movie. The documentary shows numerous cast readings, production work, set design and interviews with the local residents. This extra is very interesting and provides significant insight into the making of this film.
This extra includes a short collection of rehearsal interviews by Spike Lee with Rosie Perez, Martin Lawrence and other cast members.
This is a return visit to the locations seen in the film by Spike Lee approximately four years after the film was made.
This is a series of 57 pages of storyboards for the final scenes of the film. Each page contains three different shots that may be highlighted and enlarged. This extra is quite interesting and the boards also show the notes made by the director and the marks made as the shots were completed.
This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
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 disc misses out on;
The Region 1 Criterion version of this disc misses out on;
The Region 1 Universal version of this disc misses out on;
Due to the inclusion of additional extras and the dual disc formatting of the Criterion release of this film, it would be my version of choice but the R4 disc is the clear winner when compared to the Universal R1 release.
Do The Right Thing is an enjoyable film that examines race relations in New York in the early 1990s.
The video transfer is of high quality and shows very few artefacts.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is quite suitable for a dialogue-driven film.
The excellent collection of extras provides an excellent insight into the making of this film and will be appreciated by all fans.
| 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 |