Fri - September 21, 2007
Top Gun
Paramount Pictures, 2007 (1986 Theatrical Release)
Rated PG
Video: 1080p High Definition (2.35x1)
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD; English 6.1 DTS ES; English, French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus EX
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese; English SDH
Street Date: October 2, 2007
The
Feature:
In its day, Top Gun was the demo movie for home video sound. I remember those Bose surround sound demos for the matrix surround track on the video tape (which came out at sell-through pricing because of the Pepsi advertisement before the movie). Top Gun has had several incarnations on the various formats over the past 20 years--DVD, laserdisc, even video CD. Most people are able to put the story aside, which is your basic jet pilot adrenaline rush set to pulsating music, and focus on the fun. Top Gun is that, a fun movie, even though my Navy associates of the day were quick to point out the inaccuracies of the dog fighting. OK, so what, there is no way all the jets would be on the same screen at the same time--this is a Hollywood movie, not a training film--but apparently they did get one thing right--the attitude of the pilots.
"I feel the need, the need for speed!" exclaim Maverick and Goose, played by Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards. "I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you," says Maverick to Charlie (played by love interest Kelly McGillis). I could pepper this review with all the good one-liners, or talk about all the songs that were played and overplayed, but that is not the point. The point is that Top Gun now has yet another video incarnation, this time on HD DVD, and the burning question is... how does it look and sound?
Top Gun was a THX theater torture test back in 1986. There were a couple of theaters in the Dallas area capable of putting fear into your eardrums, and I saw the movie at one of them--the UA Prestonwood, which is now long gone. So is some of my hearing--those jet engines were loud! And they finally are presented in a form that preserves the torture test in the home theater environment. Yeah!
The Sound:
Top Gun inspired me to reassemble my main home theater to get the full-blown effect of the 5.1 and matrixed 6.1 soundtracks. First, let me assure you that the soundtrack is fantastic. If your speakers go to 11, be prepared for them to go to 12. This soundtrack is not in the least bit subtle, with the sorties and dog fights creating explosive sound fields in almost all directions. I say "almost" because even when the DTS ES 6.1 track was engaged, I found very little sound coming out of the rear surround speakers during the dog fights. I found the most important speaker in the mix to be the front center channel, because of the mix of effects and dialogue. The bulk of my listening was to the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track, and it was impressive and loud, with ample directional effects on the front, side, and even diagonally. The music rocked as the jets rolled the foundation. I hope the neighbors did not mind. The only catch is that the movie starts automatically and the soundtrack defaults to Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 EX, so you will have to set alternate sound options by pausing the movie.
The Video:
Top Gun is 2.35x1 widescreen in 1080p high definition. At first, I was a little concerned by the colored, grainy, filtered look at the beginning of the movie, but that was, well, a colored, grainy filter. The rest of the picture looked fine, with no blemishes and a lot of detail. This was especially good considering the relative age of the film. The picture does not disappoint.
The Extras:
There were no extras! Huh?
The Original DVD:
The original DVD was one of Paramount's early releases with no extras, a subsequent release had a better transfer and lots of extras. I wonder if we will ever see the extras on a subsequent HD DVD release? If you have the second special edition DVD, you might want to hang on to it.
The Final Word:
Top Gun delivers a fun movie that looks good and sounds great, but the omission of extras is a concern. Still, the street price is $20 at Amazon, and I like that.
Buy Top Gun on HD DVD from Amazon and sign up for Amazon Prime for unlimited 2-day delivery for one year!
In its day, Top Gun was the demo movie for home video sound. I remember those Bose surround sound demos for the matrix surround track on the video tape (which came out at sell-through pricing because of the Pepsi advertisement before the movie). Top Gun has had several incarnations on the various formats over the past 20 years--DVD, laserdisc, even video CD. Most people are able to put the story aside, which is your basic jet pilot adrenaline rush set to pulsating music, and focus on the fun. Top Gun is that, a fun movie, even though my Navy associates of the day were quick to point out the inaccuracies of the dog fighting. OK, so what, there is no way all the jets would be on the same screen at the same time--this is a Hollywood movie, not a training film--but apparently they did get one thing right--the attitude of the pilots.
"I feel the need, the need for speed!" exclaim Maverick and Goose, played by Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards. "I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you," says Maverick to Charlie (played by love interest Kelly McGillis). I could pepper this review with all the good one-liners, or talk about all the songs that were played and overplayed, but that is not the point. The point is that Top Gun now has yet another video incarnation, this time on HD DVD, and the burning question is... how does it look and sound?
Top Gun was a THX theater torture test back in 1986. There were a couple of theaters in the Dallas area capable of putting fear into your eardrums, and I saw the movie at one of them--the UA Prestonwood, which is now long gone. So is some of my hearing--those jet engines were loud! And they finally are presented in a form that preserves the torture test in the home theater environment. Yeah!
The Sound:
Top Gun inspired me to reassemble my main home theater to get the full-blown effect of the 5.1 and matrixed 6.1 soundtracks. First, let me assure you that the soundtrack is fantastic. If your speakers go to 11, be prepared for them to go to 12. This soundtrack is not in the least bit subtle, with the sorties and dog fights creating explosive sound fields in almost all directions. I say "almost" because even when the DTS ES 6.1 track was engaged, I found very little sound coming out of the rear surround speakers during the dog fights. I found the most important speaker in the mix to be the front center channel, because of the mix of effects and dialogue. The bulk of my listening was to the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track, and it was impressive and loud, with ample directional effects on the front, side, and even diagonally. The music rocked as the jets rolled the foundation. I hope the neighbors did not mind. The only catch is that the movie starts automatically and the soundtrack defaults to Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 EX, so you will have to set alternate sound options by pausing the movie.
The Video:
Top Gun is 2.35x1 widescreen in 1080p high definition. At first, I was a little concerned by the colored, grainy, filtered look at the beginning of the movie, but that was, well, a colored, grainy filter. The rest of the picture looked fine, with no blemishes and a lot of detail. This was especially good considering the relative age of the film. The picture does not disappoint.
The Extras:
There were no extras! Huh?
The Original DVD:
The original DVD was one of Paramount's early releases with no extras, a subsequent release had a better transfer and lots of extras. I wonder if we will ever see the extras on a subsequent HD DVD release? If you have the second special edition DVD, you might want to hang on to it.
The Final Word:
Top Gun delivers a fun movie that looks good and sounds great, but the omission of extras is a concern. Still, the street price is $20 at Amazon, and I like that.
Buy Top Gun on HD DVD from Amazon and sign up for Amazon Prime for unlimited 2-day delivery for one year!
Posted at 03:43 PM |
Fri - September 7, 2007
Next
Paramount Pictures, 2007 (2007 Release)
Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violent Action and Some Language
Video: 1080p High Definition (2.35x1)
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby True HD; English, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus; French 2.0 Dolby Digital Plus
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese; English SDH
Street Date: September 25, 2007
Listen to
this review
(M4A - Mac OS X, Windows XP or better, requires iTunes and/or
QuickTime)
Listen to this review (MP3 - all platforms)
The Feature:
In Next, Nicholas Cage is Cris Johnson, a.k.a. Frank Cadillac--a Vegas magician who can actually do one trick very well. It is not really a trick, either: he can see two minutes into the future. From the perspective of someone who lives in Vegas, Johnson can eek out an existence playing the tables at low stakes, but he is haunted by a vision of a woman, played by Jessica Biel, and dogged by a hard-nosed FBI agent played by Julianne Moore. Biel teaches children on Indian reservations and is an all-around nice person; Cage and Biel's stories intersect when he runs across her in a diner. Moore is on the hunt of nuclear terrorists, and she wants to co-opt Cage so he can use his talents to track down a bomb before it explodes.
Based loosely on a story by Philip K. Dick, Next actually surprised the Friday Night Family and entertained us to the point of applause. At more than one point in the movie, we commented that we had no idea where the story was going, and that was a good thing. Although the gimmick of seeing short-term in the future was exploited brilliantly in Minority Report, this variation worked just as well, probably because it was present day science fiction. Once you accept the notion that the Nicholas Cage character can keep one step ahead because he is psychic in just the right way, the story really does fall into place instead of fall apart.
Next disappeared at the box office--I vaguely recall seeing a trailer for it, but the movie fizzled. That's a shame. My crowd found it to be perfect Friday night entertainment, where the story was not overly serious, the bad guys generally got theirs, and the good guys almost always prevailed. There was almost an exploding helicopter, too.
But this is a Philip K. Dick story, and just like Total Recall, it does try to mess with you a bit. That worked, though. I think Next will hold up to scrutiny for a subsequent viewing, and I would certainly recommend it for an entertaining evening's rental. Unfortunately, with a suggested retail price on HD DVD of $40, even the discount prices are a little steep. Paramount--make your HD DVD's $20 street price, and I won't complain.
The Video:
The video is 1080p high definition in the 2.35x1 aspect ratio; the picture impresses, from the stylized views of what the Matrix movies would call Bullet Time, to the eye-popping visuals of the Grand Canyon. This could almost double for Planet Earth at times, or CSI when the bright lights of Las Vegas are in the picture.
The Sound:
Paramount impresses with a full complement of sound options, including a 5.1 track in lossless Dolby TrueHD, 5.1 tracks in both English and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus, and a 2.0 French track in Dolby Digital Plus. There is plenty of bang in this soundtrack, and a thumping good time from the subwoofer perspective.
The Extras:
The extras amount to four relatively short video featurettes that are typical EPK fluff pieces, and the theatrical trailer. Although the associated interview footage and most of the production footage is in high definition, the one segment where HD would matter, filmed at the Grand Canyon, includes standard definition footage shot at the canyon itself. The SD footage is pillarboxed with blurry edges--I would much prefer simple black pillar bars. Meanwhile, there is no commentary track, only a hint of storyboards during the documentary featurettes, and minor interviews that shed little light on the making of the film. I guess this is appropriate for a movie that had such a minor impact in the box-office, but I would have liked to have seen more.
The Original DVD:
I never want to buy it, although the SD package is a good $10 cheaper than the HD package on Amazon right now. Tsk, tsk.
The Final Word:
Next was an entertaining flick, but the overall package on HD is over-priced. Still, the picture and sound almost make it worth the cost.
Buy Next on HD DVD from Amazon and sign up for Amazon Prime for unlimited 2-day delivery for one year!
Listen to this review (MP3 - all platforms)
The Feature:
In Next, Nicholas Cage is Cris Johnson, a.k.a. Frank Cadillac--a Vegas magician who can actually do one trick very well. It is not really a trick, either: he can see two minutes into the future. From the perspective of someone who lives in Vegas, Johnson can eek out an existence playing the tables at low stakes, but he is haunted by a vision of a woman, played by Jessica Biel, and dogged by a hard-nosed FBI agent played by Julianne Moore. Biel teaches children on Indian reservations and is an all-around nice person; Cage and Biel's stories intersect when he runs across her in a diner. Moore is on the hunt of nuclear terrorists, and she wants to co-opt Cage so he can use his talents to track down a bomb before it explodes.
Based loosely on a story by Philip K. Dick, Next actually surprised the Friday Night Family and entertained us to the point of applause. At more than one point in the movie, we commented that we had no idea where the story was going, and that was a good thing. Although the gimmick of seeing short-term in the future was exploited brilliantly in Minority Report, this variation worked just as well, probably because it was present day science fiction. Once you accept the notion that the Nicholas Cage character can keep one step ahead because he is psychic in just the right way, the story really does fall into place instead of fall apart.
Next disappeared at the box office--I vaguely recall seeing a trailer for it, but the movie fizzled. That's a shame. My crowd found it to be perfect Friday night entertainment, where the story was not overly serious, the bad guys generally got theirs, and the good guys almost always prevailed. There was almost an exploding helicopter, too.
But this is a Philip K. Dick story, and just like Total Recall, it does try to mess with you a bit. That worked, though. I think Next will hold up to scrutiny for a subsequent viewing, and I would certainly recommend it for an entertaining evening's rental. Unfortunately, with a suggested retail price on HD DVD of $40, even the discount prices are a little steep. Paramount--make your HD DVD's $20 street price, and I won't complain.
The Video:
The video is 1080p high definition in the 2.35x1 aspect ratio; the picture impresses, from the stylized views of what the Matrix movies would call Bullet Time, to the eye-popping visuals of the Grand Canyon. This could almost double for Planet Earth at times, or CSI when the bright lights of Las Vegas are in the picture.
The Sound:
Paramount impresses with a full complement of sound options, including a 5.1 track in lossless Dolby TrueHD, 5.1 tracks in both English and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus, and a 2.0 French track in Dolby Digital Plus. There is plenty of bang in this soundtrack, and a thumping good time from the subwoofer perspective.
The Extras:
The extras amount to four relatively short video featurettes that are typical EPK fluff pieces, and the theatrical trailer. Although the associated interview footage and most of the production footage is in high definition, the one segment where HD would matter, filmed at the Grand Canyon, includes standard definition footage shot at the canyon itself. The SD footage is pillarboxed with blurry edges--I would much prefer simple black pillar bars. Meanwhile, there is no commentary track, only a hint of storyboards during the documentary featurettes, and minor interviews that shed little light on the making of the film. I guess this is appropriate for a movie that had such a minor impact in the box-office, but I would have liked to have seen more.
The Original DVD:
I never want to buy it, although the SD package is a good $10 cheaper than the HD package on Amazon right now. Tsk, tsk.
The Final Word:
Next was an entertaining flick, but the overall package on HD is over-priced. Still, the picture and sound almost make it worth the cost.
Buy Next on HD DVD from Amazon and sign up for Amazon Prime for unlimited 2-day delivery for one year!
Posted at 11:31 PM |
Mon - July 24, 2006
Sahara
Paramount Pictures, 2005 (2006 Release)
Rated PG-13
Video: 1080p High Definition (2.35x1)
Video Codec: VC-1
Audio: English, French, and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus; English 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish Subtitles; English SDH
The
Feature:
Sahara is yet another braindead but fun popcorn flick, this time with Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt, Clive Cussler's uber-explorer with a license to thrill. Along for the ride is his trusty sidekick Al (Steve "I Lost My Hat" Zahn) and the luscious Eva (Penelope Cruz) as a WHO doctor on the track of a deadly outbreak. Could Pitt's quest for a Civil War Ironside somehow coincide with Eva's disease of the week? Of course it does.
With a classic rock soundtrack, outlandish action sequences stolen from Bond movies (even down to some of the musical motifs), and enough of a story to hold it all together, Sahara is two hours of fun in a red plastic case.
The Video:
Sahara is also the best looking of Paramount's first wave of HD DVD releases. With its slow, panning camera moves, some of the scenes take on a 3D quality that is evidenced on the best of the HD eye candy on HD DVD.
The Sound:
Sahara includes the requisite four 5.1 soundtracks. I listened to about half the movie in DD+ and the other half in DTS, and both soundtracks were top notch.
The Extras:
Well, as I mentioned in my overview a couple of days ago, the writing on the package that describes the special features is so small that I can not read it. When I spun the disc last night, I sampled the animatics, a cast/crew wrap reel, and featurette on the jump from the camels to the train. There are other features--next time, I'll note them from the disc while it is playing instead of relying on the packaging.
The Original DVD:
Never owned it.
The Final Word:
We have a winner in terms of picture and sound, making this my favorite (so far) of the Paramount HD DVD releases. But can we PLEASE get some better movies? How about Indiana Jones instead of pretty boy wannabees? Please?
Buy Sahara from Amazon, along with two other HD DVD titles, and save an additional 10 percent off all HD DVD purchases for one year!
Sahara is yet another braindead but fun popcorn flick, this time with Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt, Clive Cussler's uber-explorer with a license to thrill. Along for the ride is his trusty sidekick Al (Steve "I Lost My Hat" Zahn) and the luscious Eva (Penelope Cruz) as a WHO doctor on the track of a deadly outbreak. Could Pitt's quest for a Civil War Ironside somehow coincide with Eva's disease of the week? Of course it does.
With a classic rock soundtrack, outlandish action sequences stolen from Bond movies (even down to some of the musical motifs), and enough of a story to hold it all together, Sahara is two hours of fun in a red plastic case.
The Video:
Sahara is also the best looking of Paramount's first wave of HD DVD releases. With its slow, panning camera moves, some of the scenes take on a 3D quality that is evidenced on the best of the HD eye candy on HD DVD.
The Sound:
Sahara includes the requisite four 5.1 soundtracks. I listened to about half the movie in DD+ and the other half in DTS, and both soundtracks were top notch.
The Extras:
Well, as I mentioned in my overview a couple of days ago, the writing on the package that describes the special features is so small that I can not read it. When I spun the disc last night, I sampled the animatics, a cast/crew wrap reel, and featurette on the jump from the camels to the train. There are other features--next time, I'll note them from the disc while it is playing instead of relying on the packaging.
The Original DVD:
Never owned it.
The Final Word:
We have a winner in terms of picture and sound, making this my favorite (so far) of the Paramount HD DVD releases. But can we PLEASE get some better movies? How about Indiana Jones instead of pretty boy wannabees? Please?
Buy Sahara from Amazon, along with two other HD DVD titles, and save an additional 10 percent off all HD DVD purchases for one year!
Posted at 11:25 PM |
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Paramount Pictures, 2004 (2006 Release)
Rated PG
Video: 1080p High Definition (1.85x1)
Video Codec: VC-1
Audio: English, French, and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus; English 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish Subtitles; English SDH
The
Feature:
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a fun little popcorn movie, set in the dark days just prior to World War II. A number of German scientists have gone missing and intrepid and annoying reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) is on the story. New York is attacked by flying robots, and it's Sky Captain (Jude Law) to the rescue. It seems that the good Captain, named Joe, had been involved with Polly in the past. Soon, they are back together, working to track down the source of the robots, which are somehow linked to the missing scientists. To go into much more detail would be missing the point of this kind of brain-relaxing entertainment. Pop some Orville Redenbacher, and enjoy.
The Video:
The look and feel of Sky Captain is very retro and distinctive, but more than that, it was filmed in high definition. I don't know what intermediate steps were taken, if any, in the preparation of the HD DVD, but the PQ is pretty damned impressive. It made me want to see all of The Wizard of Oz, not just the snippet shown in the Radio City Music Hall scene.
The Sound:
Once again, there are four 5.1 soundtracks on the disc, although the DTS track is marked HD on the box. I chose the DTS soundtrack. While, technically, the DTS company says that a DTS-HD stream can carry everything from legacy DTS all the way to lossless, the Toshiba decoder is not supposed to be able to handle anything more than 2-channel DTS-HD. The sound was not only enveloping, but clearly 5.1, so this must have been one of those cases where a legacy or core or standard DTS soundtrack was included. Whether or not this implies DTS-HD, I have no earthly idea. I just like big sound go boom boom.
The Extras:
The extras are identical to the DVD release, including commentaries, storyboard comparisons, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more. In addition, a featurette and three trailers formerly exclusive to packages sold at Walmart have been incorporated, with the trailers mastered in high definition. The rest of the extras are in standard definition.
The Original DVD:
I can't think of any reason to keep the original DVD, especially with the inclusion of the content from the Walmart bonus disc.
The Final Word:
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is pure eye candy. If you can get past the pedestrian story and annoying characters, it is fun to watch. The visual style is impressive, and the sound is immersive. This is high definition at its most fun.
Buy Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow from Amazon, along with two other HD DVD titles, and save an additional 10 percent off all HD DVD purchases for one year!
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a fun little popcorn movie, set in the dark days just prior to World War II. A number of German scientists have gone missing and intrepid and annoying reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) is on the story. New York is attacked by flying robots, and it's Sky Captain (Jude Law) to the rescue. It seems that the good Captain, named Joe, had been involved with Polly in the past. Soon, they are back together, working to track down the source of the robots, which are somehow linked to the missing scientists. To go into much more detail would be missing the point of this kind of brain-relaxing entertainment. Pop some Orville Redenbacher, and enjoy.
The Video:
The look and feel of Sky Captain is very retro and distinctive, but more than that, it was filmed in high definition. I don't know what intermediate steps were taken, if any, in the preparation of the HD DVD, but the PQ is pretty damned impressive. It made me want to see all of The Wizard of Oz, not just the snippet shown in the Radio City Music Hall scene.
The Sound:
Once again, there are four 5.1 soundtracks on the disc, although the DTS track is marked HD on the box. I chose the DTS soundtrack. While, technically, the DTS company says that a DTS-HD stream can carry everything from legacy DTS all the way to lossless, the Toshiba decoder is not supposed to be able to handle anything more than 2-channel DTS-HD. The sound was not only enveloping, but clearly 5.1, so this must have been one of those cases where a legacy or core or standard DTS soundtrack was included. Whether or not this implies DTS-HD, I have no earthly idea. I just like big sound go boom boom.
The Extras:
The extras are identical to the DVD release, including commentaries, storyboard comparisons, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more. In addition, a featurette and three trailers formerly exclusive to packages sold at Walmart have been incorporated, with the trailers mastered in high definition. The rest of the extras are in standard definition.
The Original DVD:
I can't think of any reason to keep the original DVD, especially with the inclusion of the content from the Walmart bonus disc.
The Final Word:
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is pure eye candy. If you can get past the pedestrian story and annoying characters, it is fun to watch. The visual style is impressive, and the sound is immersive. This is high definition at its most fun.
Buy Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow from Amazon, along with two other HD DVD titles, and save an additional 10 percent off all HD DVD purchases for one year!
Posted at 08:52 PM |
Sun - July 23, 2006
Sleepy Hollow
Paramount Pictures, 1999 (2006 Release)
Rated R
Video: 1080p High Definition (1.85x1)
Video Codec: VC-1
Audio: English, French, and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus; English 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish Subtitles; English SDH
The
Feature:
Poor Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp). As a constable in 18th century New York City, all he wants to do is apply scientific techniques to criminal investigations, but his superiors want nothing of it; instead, they send him on a wild horseman chase, to see why residents of the small hamlet Sleepy Hollow are losing their heads, quite literally.
The nervous town elders tell the skeptical Crane of a Hessian Horseman who takes the heads of his victims, after his own head was severed years before. Crane will have nothing of this legend, swearing that the murderer is human, and that he will be discovered. But Ichabod's belief system is shaken to the core when he witnesses the actual Headless Horseman in action, doing things that no human could.
With the alluring Katrina (Christina Ricci) as a love interest, and the dedicated boy Masbath at his side, Crane tries to unlock the mystery of the Horseman, before everyone in town gets a splitting headache.
Tim Burton injects his own style of quirky humor into Sleepy Hollow, which diffuses some of the graphic violence. But heads do roll and blood spatters quite a bit. Hint: when Crane tells the boy to stay behind or vacate, that's a good time for the impressionable ones to leave the room. The tendency will be for parents to see this as a Tim Burton film which should be safe for kids. Nope, it's R-rated, and although the head chops are almost comical, the imagery is still something that might revisit the young in the middle of the night. It is best to go for the Disney version for the little ones.
But Sleepy Hollow stands on its own as a perfect Halloween movie for the teen and adult set.
The Video:
As the oldest of the first wave of Paramount's HD DVD titles, Sleepy Hollow is not as eye popping as other high definition releases, but this is more a choice of the cinematography and style. The picture is dark and murky, with lots of mist and fog. The color palate is muted, except for the occasional flourish (typically blood red). The framing is slightly different than the 2000 DVD release; the colors are also less pronounced than the DVD. Frankly, I thought the DVD looked pretty good when compared to the HD DVD.
The Sound:
Sleepy Hollow now offers four, count 'em, four 5.1 soundtracks--English, French, and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus, and English 5.1 DTS. This is a distinct improvement over the DVD, which only offered English Dolby Digital 5.1, and English and French DD 2.0. I mostly listened to the DTS track. It was largely front-focused, with the occasional surround effect--nothing terribly showy, but nothing very distracting. Switching between the DD+ and dts tracks yielded little difference.
The Extras:
The extras mostly mirror the original DVD release with cast/crew interviews, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a commentary track by Tim Burton. A teaser and trailer are also included, but they have been upgraded to high definition.
The Original DVD:
Alas, the original DVD also includes cast biographies and a photo gallery. So if you are a collector, the DVD is a keeper.
The Final Word:
This was the first Paramount HD DVD I watched all the way through, and had it not been sent to me as part of a publicity package, it would have been one of my first purchases from Amazon, especially with that extra 10 percent Amazon discount. While the picture and sound are not really an order of magnitude improvement over the DVD, Sleepy Hollow is a welcome addition to the HD DVD library. Now let's see some more Tim Burton, okay?
Buy Sleepy Hollow from Amazon, along with two other HD DVD titles, and save an additional 10 percent off all HD DVD purchases for one year!
Poor Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp). As a constable in 18th century New York City, all he wants to do is apply scientific techniques to criminal investigations, but his superiors want nothing of it; instead, they send him on a wild horseman chase, to see why residents of the small hamlet Sleepy Hollow are losing their heads, quite literally.
The nervous town elders tell the skeptical Crane of a Hessian Horseman who takes the heads of his victims, after his own head was severed years before. Crane will have nothing of this legend, swearing that the murderer is human, and that he will be discovered. But Ichabod's belief system is shaken to the core when he witnesses the actual Headless Horseman in action, doing things that no human could.
With the alluring Katrina (Christina Ricci) as a love interest, and the dedicated boy Masbath at his side, Crane tries to unlock the mystery of the Horseman, before everyone in town gets a splitting headache.
Tim Burton injects his own style of quirky humor into Sleepy Hollow, which diffuses some of the graphic violence. But heads do roll and blood spatters quite a bit. Hint: when Crane tells the boy to stay behind or vacate, that's a good time for the impressionable ones to leave the room. The tendency will be for parents to see this as a Tim Burton film which should be safe for kids. Nope, it's R-rated, and although the head chops are almost comical, the imagery is still something that might revisit the young in the middle of the night. It is best to go for the Disney version for the little ones.
But Sleepy Hollow stands on its own as a perfect Halloween movie for the teen and adult set.
The Video:
As the oldest of the first wave of Paramount's HD DVD titles, Sleepy Hollow is not as eye popping as other high definition releases, but this is more a choice of the cinematography and style. The picture is dark and murky, with lots of mist and fog. The color palate is muted, except for the occasional flourish (typically blood red). The framing is slightly different than the 2000 DVD release; the colors are also less pronounced than the DVD. Frankly, I thought the DVD looked pretty good when compared to the HD DVD.
The Sound:
Sleepy Hollow now offers four, count 'em, four 5.1 soundtracks--English, French, and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus, and English 5.1 DTS. This is a distinct improvement over the DVD, which only offered English Dolby Digital 5.1, and English and French DD 2.0. I mostly listened to the DTS track. It was largely front-focused, with the occasional surround effect--nothing terribly showy, but nothing very distracting. Switching between the DD+ and dts tracks yielded little difference.
The Extras:
The extras mostly mirror the original DVD release with cast/crew interviews, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a commentary track by Tim Burton. A teaser and trailer are also included, but they have been upgraded to high definition.
The Original DVD:
Alas, the original DVD also includes cast biographies and a photo gallery. So if you are a collector, the DVD is a keeper.
The Final Word:
This was the first Paramount HD DVD I watched all the way through, and had it not been sent to me as part of a publicity package, it would have been one of my first purchases from Amazon, especially with that extra 10 percent Amazon discount. While the picture and sound are not really an order of magnitude improvement over the DVD, Sleepy Hollow is a welcome addition to the HD DVD library. Now let's see some more Tim Burton, okay?
Buy Sleepy Hollow from Amazon, along with two other HD DVD titles, and save an additional 10 percent off all HD DVD purchases for one year!
Posted at 08:04 PM |
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Published On: Sep 21, 2007 03:44 PM
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Published On: Sep 21, 2007 03:44 PM
to Amazon, iTunes, and Netflix help
support HDTV Resource. Thanks!!!
