Age Group | We had mullets in the Eighties. Enough said. |
Video Likes | The crisp clean perfection of THX titles like Star Wars Ep. II: Attack Of The Clones. Well positioned and legible subtitles on foreign language films (and The Sopranos so we can pick up all that gangster speak). |
Video Dislikes | Pan & scan. Badly positioned layer changes. Foreign language films dubbed into English (except the old Shaw Brothers martial arts films). Aliasing. |
Audio Likes | Well engineered surround sound. That’s what its there for -use it! Excessive where it should be and yet subtle at the same time. |
Audio Dislikes | Loud "popping" when the amp gets maxed out. |
Favourite DVDs | See Top 10 list below. |
Least Favourite DVDs | Kelly’s Heroes – an OK DVD, but deserves much, much better. Imagine a group commentary from Donald Sutherland, Clint Eastwood and Telly Savalas? (Might be hard to do now, given some of these guys are dead). From Dusk ‘Till Dawn: Special Edition (R4) – would have been perfect if not for the missing ‘Full Tilt Boogie’ documentary. Why was this issued as a separate release in Australia? |
Most Eagerly Awaited DVDs | A Nightmare on Elm St special edition, Kill Bill combined edition, Scream trilogy deluxe box set, Sin City. |
Titanic | Saw it at the cinema along with the rest of the world. The only reason to have the DVD is possibly to freeze frame certain scenes of Kate Winslet. |
The Matrix | I never got into this. I still can’t see what people rave about. |
Terminator 2 | “Now I know…why you cry.” Who wants to see an emotional Terminator? I just wanna see him Terminate, like in the first one. |
Star Wars | The original Trilogy is the best achievement in box sets yet created. Ep. I and II are fantastic DVDs, shame about the films. |
Godzilla | If you mean the Roland Emmerlich version – that ain’t Godzilla. Admittedly, the Japanese films have poor DVDs, but who cares when PG-13 rated U.S. Godzilla is boring Jurassic Park knock-off that can be escaped by anyone who can run at a reasonable pace. Bah. |
Independence Day | Outrageously American, but amazing graphics, great sound, a feel good story for all the world to enjoy (well, maybe not the Iraqis…). On the bad side, it started the ball rolling for all the big budget disaster films with no real substance (see Godzilla). |
DVD Player | Pioneer DV-533K , using Component output |
Display | Pioneer PDP436HD 43" Plasma Display Panel . Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to Amplifier . |
Amplification | Onkyo TX-DS494 |
Speakers | Krix Lyrix front speakers, Krix KDX-C centre speaker, Krix Equinox rear speakers, BIC D-121OR 12' 200 watt powered sub-woofer. |
1. Casino: Special Edition (1995) Ya gotta have at least one Pesci/De Niro/Scorsese movie - Raging Bull are Goodfellas are maybe better movies but this DVD is the best overall package. | 2. Reservoir Dogs: Collector's Edition (1992) Tarantino is still the greatest filmmaker to come along in the last 15 years, and while his other DVDs are a sorry bunch this disc has everything besides a commentary from the man himself. | 3. Omen, The: 25th Anniversary Edition (1976) Back in the 60sand 70s they knew how to make horror movies that were actually SCARY, like this and Rosemary's Baby. | 4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Special Edition/Gold Edition (1966) We could have filled our whole Top Ten with Clint Eastwood DVDs, but this one will have to do. Arguably the greatest western ever made and an awesome disc too. | 5. Black Hawk Down: Collector's Edition (2001) Up there with the best of modern war films and one of the most immersive soundtracks we have heard. |
6. Metallica-Cunning Stunts (1997) This makes us want to put on a pair of skin tight black jeans and grow mullets! Not the highest quality Metallica DVD but it features the band at the peak of their power. | 7. Big Wednesday (1978) The only movie to really capture the true feeling of surfing. It even makes you feel nostalgic about things that never actually happened to you. | 8. The Office-Complete Box Set (2001) Absolutely bloody hilarious! The extras are just as good as the show itself. | 9. Star Wars-Episode IV/V/VI Box Set (1977) Alright, this one's predictable. But we grew up in the 70s, sue us. | 10. Showgirls (1995) OK its a crappy z-grade stalker/stripper flick. But as Tarantino says, it is the ONLY z-grade stalker/stripper flick that ever cost US$60 million!!! The R1 MGM VIP Edition has a lap dance tutorial! What more do ya want? |