The Witches Of Eastwick

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Theatrical Trailer(s)	Yes, 1
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	None
Year Released	1987	Commentary Tracks	None
Running Time	113 minutes	Other Extras	Cast & Crew Biographies Production Notes Isolated Music Score
RSDL/Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Movie
Region	4	Director	George Miller
Studio Distributor	Warner Brothers	Starring	Jack Nicholson Cher Susan Sarandon Michelle Pfeiffer Veronica Cartwright
RRP	$29.95	Music	John Williams

    The next day, Daryl Van Horne (Jack Nicholson) arrives (what's that name again?). He seems to know exactly what each woman wants and needs. Consequently, his and their needs are met ("I'm just your average, horny little devil"). It slowly becomes apparent that Daryl is not such a nice person, and when one of the locals dies in very mysterious circumstances, the girls decide it is time to rid the town of Old Nick.

    Other than sagging a little in the middle, this movie kept me entertained, engrossed and amused all of the way through. Jack Nicholson is absolutely perfectly cast, as are the three ladies.

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced. Subtitles default to ON with this disc.

    The transfer was blurry and unclear much of the time. This was not severe, but it was clear that this was an older movie. Long shots in particular were affected, with people's distant heads being very hard to make out. This improved after the first 30 minutes of the movie. Shadow detail was somewhat lacking, but still acceptable. No low level noise was apparent.

    The colours were variably rendered throughout the movie, and sometimes variable within the one scene. Generally, they were fine, but at times tended to be a little oversaturated, particularly in lower lit sequences.

    No MPEG artefacts were noted. Aliasing was present in a number of scenes, and the usual culprits were responsible. This was always at an acceptable level, though it certainly was not as well-controlled as in more recent transfers. I also noted some moiré artefacts on Daryl's hat and on the camcorder playback images, but these were not severe.

    Film weave and telecine wobble are occasionally present, particularly during the opening titles.

    Film artefacts were frequent during the early part of the film, but they settled down as time passed.

Audio

    Dialogue was generally quite muffled, but was usually acceptably clear.

    There were no audio sync problems with this disc.

    The music is by the veteran John Williams and is a typical John Williams score. It provides a nice accompaniment to the on-screen action.

     The surround channels were used sparingly and unevenly. Occasional music, and very occasional special effects found their way into the rear channels. Indeed, use of the surround speakers tended to detract from the impact of the movie because it happened so infrequently, and when it did, it was at quite a high level and was distracting.

    The .1 channel was used for the special effects and for some of the music, but didn't do a lot.

Menu

Theatrical Trailer

Production Notes

Cast & Crew Biographies

    The video quality is acceptable given the age of the source material.

    The audio quality is a bit on the muffled side, and unevenly surrounding, but acceptable.

    The extras present are limited but good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Michael Demtschyna
12th February 1999