This review is for the 3D version converted to a 2D image with computer software. The image is quite a bit brighter and shows more detail especially in the darker scenes. The movie in 3D is to dark and also way to dark in the original 2D version. But if you take the 3D version and convert to a 2D image everything is good, great even. Audio is also great!

This review is for the 3D version converted to a 2D image with computer software. The image is quite a bit brighter and shows more detail especially in the darker scenes. The movie in 3D is to dark and also way to dark in the original 2D version. But if you take the 3D version and convert to a 2D image everything is good, great even. Audio is also ... display full review

I didn't get the Blu-ray due the horrible reviews and patiently waited until a remastered edition.
The time has come and I have finally got it.
PQ: It's easily the best it has ever looked.
It mostly looks nicely filmic, with a very light film of grain, detail is very good, colours are often richly saturated, yet natural, skin tones look pleasing, highlights and shadows are fine, although nothing to marvel at.
There are some weird things happening at times too, though. There is one shot where Pete P. is outside the cave and the sky behind him clearly has frozen grain that also looks very digital. There are some brief moments of reds blooming, some shots that look lower resolution, most likely because of the CGI work done, and another shot where the sky looks like a photograph rather than film footage, as well as some macroblocking, but by and large, this is a very satisfactory presentation of this classic action adventure fantasy comedy. I am still impressed by Draco, although his animation does look a bit cartoonish at times, but those are acting choices rather than technical mishaps. Lots of interaction, water, etc.. It looks better than ever before.
I do have a soft spot for this film, as I watched it on DVD a lot many moons ago.
I think it's a pretty good film and worthy of being added to one's collection.
SQ: The score, sound effects and voices are all very clear and quite dynamic. There are some nice surround effects, but frankly, I was a bit underwhelmed for a mid 90s soundtrack. There could be more surround activity.
LFE is spot on for this film, though. Overall, lower your expectations, and it will please you for sure.

I am very glad to finally have a great edition of this film.

I didn't get the Blu-ray due the horrible reviews and patiently waited until a remastered edition.
The time has come and I have finally got it.
PQ: It's easily the best it has ever looked.
It mostly looks nicely filmic, with a very light film of grain, detail is very good, colours are often richly saturated, yet natural, skin tones look pleasi... display full review

Tech specs:
Rated PG-13. 1990/COLOR/106 Mins approx. HD 1080p 16x9 1.78:1 Widescreen, DTS-HD MA 5.1 English surround. AVC HD SDR encoded presentation on a Single-layered BD-25 disc with special features.

The movie:
I personally really like Gremlins 2. Sure, it is not as good as the original, but that is almost always the case with a sequel. This movie captures a lot of the charm of the first one. It features the same goofy/slapstick yet at times grisly and disturbing humor of the first. The puppetry effects I think are a bit better in this one overall as well. It is nice to see the original actors although I could have sworn that the Futtermans were killed in the first one by the snowplow. What could have happened is that the producers thought that was too dark and switched it so that they just got injured instead. I�m not sure. Either way, Gremlins 2 is a worthy sequel that is a great way to spend a little over an hour and a half. 4.0.

PQ:
The movie was shot spherically on 35mm. I�m guessing it had an HD or 2K remaster around when this Blu-ray was released. On this disc, it is presented in 1.78:1. I watched this disc on my old HDTV and thought it looked fantastic. Watching it again upscaled to 4K did not change my opinion. This is a very pleasing viewing experience. The beginning starts off pretty soft and muddled looking with image density struggling to look impressive. However, once the main movie begins, the picture quality immediately improves. The general picture is decently sharp and crisp while retaining a very natural and filmic image. Film grain is readily apparent but never to an obtrusive degree. In closeups, skin details such as warts, lines, and even some entry-level pore definition looks great. Hair is nice and crisp and defined. Clothing can look a bit fibrous with a nice level of definition present. However, the real standout is the Gremlins themselves with all of their goopy, sticky, bumpy, and spiky skin revealing fantastic surface definition. The cocoons that they come from are very grossly crisp with all of the gooey and sticky chunks looking fantastic. Gizmo�s fur is likewise very crisp and detailed. Whenever the Gremlins get killed in relatively grisly ways such as a paper shredder or getting pulverized at the bottom of an elevator, green blood and gore is very detailed to a squeamish degree. Color is also very nicely saturated and punchy with solid black levels, defined highlights, and very good contrast. Color saturation and vibrancy is fantastic in most scenes with radioactive greens in particular standing out. Whether it be green Gremlin skin, the green wig that the female Gremlin wears, or some of the vegetation present in some of the laboratories, color is very good. Likewise, the flames when the Spider Gremlin catches on fire are very orange. Marla�s hair is extremely fiery red as well. The only problems I noticed were some very mild soft soupier looking shots here and there, but that is pretty much always the case with movies shot on film. I was very pleased with this HD master. 4.25.

NOTE: I am viewing this disc as it appears in the Gremlins 2-Film Collection 2-Disc Blu-ray set version. While I have seen the first movie on Blu-ray, I did see the full extent of how bad that disc is and I have yet to reevaluate it on my current TV.

AQ:
This disc is equipped for DTS-HD MA 5.1 English surround. I don�t have a surround system hooked up to my TV and the software I use to view Blu-rays on my PC (which has a small 5.1 system) has ceased working. As such, I can only view Blu-rays on my TV system (with a small soundbar). However, despite this being the case, I thought this was a decent track. Dialogue is pretty crisp and clear although it does sound like it is mixed a little too quietly. Music, such as the famous Gremlins theme, sounds crisp and full and rich. Sound effects such as constant Gremlin cackles, short-circuiting wires, breaking glass, crumbling degree, tearing flesh, and general cacophonous mayhem sounds very detailed, crisp and clear. Aside from the quiet dialogue (which still sounds good), I had no problems with this track. Furthermore, if I had a proper surround system, I bet it would be easier to appreciate. 4.0.

Extras:
This disc is equipped with a few decent special features. There is an audio commentary track, a brief making-of featurette, several deleted scenes, a gag reel, an alternative home video sequence version of the scene where the Gremlins take control of the projection booth at the theater, and a theatrical trailer. While it is a pretty light supplemental package which can be viewed in about 40 minutes, I was pretty pleased with what was included. It is all in SD. This is an example of quality over quantity. 3.5.

Total Package:
I�ve heard some people say they absolutely hate Gremlins 2 and I have heard others say the opposite. I personally think it is a great sequel. Sure, the Mogwai designs are a little too detailed at times and I think Gizmo�s design looks a little better in the first movie, but the action in this one is incredible. The puppetry effects look fantastic, and I really enjoyed revisiting these zany yet disturbing creatures. This Blu-ray features a pretty good, nicely vibrant, and decently crisp/filmic HD image; a solid-enough DTS-HD MA 5.1 track; and a nice selection of special features. It comes highly recommended. 4.5.

Tech specs:
Rated PG-13. 1990/COLOR/106 Mins approx. HD 1080p 16x9 1.78:1 Widescreen, DTS-HD MA 5.1 English surround. AVC HD SDR encoded presentation on a Single-layered BD-25 disc with special features.

The movie:
I personally really like Gremlins 2. Sure, it is not as good as the original, but that is almost always the case with a sequel. Th... display full review

The Beast is a straight forward military movie that features a small group of American soldiers blasting their way through the desert in Afghanistan. The only difference is the captain of the tank is derange and hell bent on killing anyone in his way as he tries to make it to a safe zone. A few familiar faces take this powerful story from beginning to end with acceptable results. Kino Lorber's blu-ray release of The Beast features a very nice looking 1080p with a bright but subtle image. Audio also holds up well for a 2.0 DTS track. No bonus features are included. Final thoughts is a movie that is not well known but a worthy picture for fans of military tactic feature films.

The Beast is a straight forward military movie that features a small group of American soldiers blasting their way through the desert in Afghanistan. The only difference is the captain of the tank is derange and hell bent on killing anyone in his way as he tries to make it to a safe zone. A few familiar faces take this powerful story from beginning... display full review

The late 80's wasn't very kind to Burt Reynolds box office run. He found himself in a string of duds theatrically wise but found some viewability with home video. Rent-A-Cop sees Burt as a seasoned Chicago cop known for his rough tactics. A fouled bust gets his overzealous boss to get him to quit only to be playing hooky as a department store Santa to eventually gets hired by a call girl (Minelli) to help protect her from a killer who's face she's seen. The movie goes by the normal plot devices for little cop thrillers and both Burt and Liza are great together. Kino Lorber brings this title to Blu with a nice 1080p print of good details and natural colors. Audio is clean and clear 2.0 DTS track with an audio commentary for the only main extra. Bottom line a fun entertaining thriller with 2 solid leads and a definite pick-up for Reynolds fans!

The late 80's wasn't very kind to Burt Reynolds box office run. He found himself in a string of duds theatrically wise but found some viewability with home video. Rent-A-Cop sees Burt as a seasoned Chicago cop known for his rough tactics. A fouled bust gets his overzealous boss to get him to quit only to be playing hooky as a department store Santa... display full review

and so comes the fourth and final Jaws film that is so far fetched an unbelievably dumb, you can't help but to enjoy it, on a guilty pleasure point of view. Ignoring any event that happened in Jaws 3, The Revenge plays more like a 20 yr later follow-up to the happenings in Jaws 1. Considering the Brody family is hunted by a great white and somehow can follow it the the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea is laughable. Lorraine Gary, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles and Michael Caine provide some good performances, but man is this movie a wreck! UHD quality is quite good with a smooth natural looking print for most of the film, until it reaches it's climax. The Atmos Audio does a fine job in clarity and a nice bonus along with the trailer is the original ended. Final thoughts its nice to finally have the Jaws sequels on disc. It's all a matter of choice for those who love, loathe or tolerate Jaws 2-4.

and so comes the fourth and final Jaws film that is so far fetched an unbelievably dumb, you can't help but to enjoy it, on a guilty pleasure point of view. Ignoring any event that happened in Jaws 3, The Revenge plays more like a 20 yr later follow-up to the happenings in Jaws 1. Considering the Brody family is hunted by a great white and somehow ... display full review

Taken from a short story by Stephen King, Stand by Me at its heart is about friendship and one last hurrah before junior high school. Essentially four best friends take a two day journey to view the body of a dead boy who went missing a few days before. In their journey, they bond with one another as they take in their surroundings. Director Rob Reiner brilliantly directed a then very young cast that includes, Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Cory Feldman and Jerry O'Connell along with Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko and John Cusack and Richard Dreyfuss as the older LaChance who narrates the story. Sony's UHD is a little rough around the edges. The image is grainy and not very well detailed. Colors are flat but overall in decent shape. Audio is an OK 7.1 Dolby Atmos track with clarity and subtle motions throughout. The UHD has six minutes of deleted/alternate scenes good for a once over. The BD holds a few more extra's and is the same disc from the previous release. Final thoughts is an excellent movie that could look a little better, but instead we get what we got.

Taken from a short story by Stephen King, Stand by Me at its heart is about friendship and one last hurrah before junior high school. Essentially four best friends take a two day journey to view the body of a dead boy who went missing a few days before. In their journey, they bond with one another as they take in their surroundings. Director Rob Re... display full review

as it was originally conceived this third go round in terrifying 3D, and indeed was the 80's movies in 3D terrifying cheesy! Jaws 3's only connection to it's first two films is that it features the adult versions of Mike Brody (Dennis Quaid) and Sean (John Putch). This one also being set in Sea World Florida vs on Amity NY. Nonetheless the film is a guilty pleasure bearable watching experience but if you grew up in the 80's many of those films where. Universal brings this to 4K-UHD with a Dolby Vision presentation which offers up a decent uptick to the picture quality but also still suffers the grim special effects. The added Dolby Atmos audio track is a real treat with clarity and a more definitive soundstage with clear dialog and other essential under water sounds. Only the trailer as a bonus on the UHD disc whereas the BD carries over the 3D version of the movie. In closing its a welcomed title to 4K with a mixed bag in the video presentation along with AI interference if you are looking closer at the details.....

as it was originally conceived this third go round in terrifying 3D, and indeed was the 80's movies in 3D terrifying cheesy! Jaws 3's only connection to it's first two films is that it features the adult versions of Mike Brody (Dennis Quaid) and Sean (John Putch). This one also being set in Sea World Florida vs on Amity NY. Nonetheless the film is ... display full review

This was a cosmic let-down. Hopefully the 4K will be gnarly.

This was a cosmic let-down. Hopefully the 4K will be gnarly. display full review

The new version in 4K Dolby Vision and Dolby ATMOS makes an amazing view and sound experience, the overhead speaker get an amazing workout especially due to the new mix of sound. If you have 5.1.4 or 7.2.4 set up you�ll be amazed what your speakers can do. Enjoy it� Don�t forget the video part, the image is sharp with bright colours and very realistic during scenes with goblins, orcs and Smaug�s scenes.. recommend it to anyone who wants to watch and feel the power of the sound with so many effects in caves, arrows being shot and fire torches burning..

The new version in 4K Dolby Vision and Dolby ATMOS makes an amazing view and sound experience, the overhead speaker get an amazing workout especially due to the new mix of sound. If you have 5.1.4 or 7.2.4 set up you�ll be amazed what your speakers can do. Enjoy it� Don�t forget the video part, the image is sharp with bright colours and very reali... display full review

Season 8 introduces fan-favourites Jo Grant (Katy Manning) and The Master (Roger Delgado), alongside UNIT for Pertwee's second season as the Earthbound Doctor (his freedom would eventually be restored in Season 10).

This boxset is clearly meant to be the definitive version of the season, as it includes both editions for "The Claws of Axos" and "Colony in Space" as well as a new omnibus version of "The Daemons" (the original 90-minute omnibus version has been lost to history). Despite the mixed bag of source material, Season 8 is now probably the closest we'll ever get to seeing it in its original quality.

For those interested in the details: much of the Pertwee era suffers from the BBC policy of reusing or disposing of the master tapes. Season 8 is particularly badly hit, with only 3 of the 25 episodes surviving as the original PAL colour master tapes:

Terror of the Autons (4 episodes)
Survives in the BBC archives as 16mm B&W film prints + NTSC home video recordings.

The Mind of Evil (6 episodes)
Survives in the BBC archives as 16mm B&W film prints.

The Claws of Axos (4 episodes)
Episodes 1 & 4 survive as the original PAL masters; 2 & 3 as converted NTSC masters (recovered from Canada). There are also B&W film prints for all episodes.

Colony in Space (6 episodes)
All episodes as converted NTSC masters (recovered from Canada) and B&W film prints.

The Daemons (5 episodes)
Only Episode 4 survives as the original PAL master. The other four episodes survived as 16mm B&W film prints + NTSC home video recordings.


Four different processes were used to restore the season for the DVD releases of each story:

1) Combining the 16mm B&W film prints with the NTSC home video recordings. This took the colour signal from the NTSC and overlaid it on the B&W film. The tricky part in this process is correcting the lens distortion in the B&W film prints, as the way they were made was by aligning a camera with a screen (and in the 70s, these were curved CRTs)!

2) Reverse Standards Conversion. This is one of two colour recovery processes pioneered by the Doctor Who Restoration Team - they worked out how to mathematically undo the PAL -> NTSC conversion to get back the original 25fps signal without any of the motion issues that occur in standards conversions. Unfortunately the process can produce a lot of picture noise that is obvious during motion sequences. The standard definition versions of "The Claws of Axos" Episodes 2 & 3 and "Colony in Space" on Disc 5 are from the original DVD releases that used this approach, whilst the Special Edition of "The Claws of Axos" and the new restoration of "Colony in Space" for this Bluray boxset combine the colour signal from the RSC process with the luminance from the B&W film prints (a hybrid approach to get the best results).

3) Chromadot Colour Recovery. This is the other process that the Restoration Team came up with to deal with the lack of colour master tapes. Ironically, it was a failure to filter out the colour signal properly in the film print conversions that made this possible - the colour signal became a series of noise dots on the film prints and so could be mathematically reversed to get the original colour signal back. This enabled the colour for "The Mind of Evil" Episodes 2-6 to be recovered for its DVD release (the VHS release was in B&W).

4) Manual colourisation. Unfortunately Episode 1 of "The Mind of Evil" lacks any source of colour information (for once the BBC engineers actually filtered the colour properly when making the B&W film print) and so had to be painstakingly colourised by hand.


Overall, years of effort have preceeded this release and it is a testament to the dedication of the people involved!

Season 8 introduces fan-favourites Jo Grant (Katy Manning) and The Master (Roger Delgado), alongside UNIT for Pertwee's second season as the Earthbound Doctor (his freedom would eventually be restored in Season 10).

This boxset is clearly meant to be the definitive version of the season, as it includes both editions for "The Claws of Axos" and "... display full review

Tech Specs:
An Unexpected Journey:
Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence and frightening images. CHV Rating of PG. 2012/COLOR/169 Mins approx. EXTENDED EDITION: Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, frightening images, and fleeting nudity. CHV Rating of PG. 2013/COLOR/182 Mins approx. 4K UHD HDR10/Dolby Vision 2160p + HD 1080p 16x9 2.39:1 Letterboxed Widescreen, Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core) English surround on both discs. 4K encoded HEVC/H.265 HDR/DV enabled presentation on a Triple-layered BD-100 disc (one for theatrical and one for extended).

The Desolation of Smaug:
Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence and frightening images. CHV Rating of PG. 2013/COLOR/161 Mins. EXTENDED EDITION: 2014/COLOR/187 Mins approx. 4K UHD HDR10/Dolby Vision 2160p + HD 1080p 16x9 2.39:1 Letterboxed Widescreen, Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core) English surround on both discs. 4K encoded HEVC/H.265 HDR/DV enabled presentation on a Triple-layered BD-100 disc (one for the theatrical and one for the extended).

The Battle of the Five Armies:
Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence and frightening images. CHV Rating of PG. 2014/COLOR/144 Mins approx. EXTENDED EDITION: Rated R for some violence. CHV Rating of PG. 2015/COLOR/164 Mins approx. 4K UHD HDR10/Dolby Vision 2160p + HD 1080p 16x9 2.39:1 Letterboxed Widescreen, Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core) English surround on both discs. 4K encoded HEVC/H.265 HDR/DV enabled presentation on a Triple-Layered BD-100 disc (one for the theatrical and one for the extended).

The movies:
The Hobbits definitely got a bit of a cooler reception than The Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, I personally really liked all three movies. First things first, there are definitely some changes in the movies compared to the book. The first being that there are three movies but only two parts of the book. Furthermore, they added Legolas and a new character named Tauriel as well as a few plot points which did not happen originally. However, none of this really bothered me too much because they did not cut any seriously important elements to the story. They added things, but they did not cut any to my knowledge. Outside of this, the VFX are oftentimes very good to absolutely incredible (although the 4K resolution does make a few things look kind of goofy with the third movie looking the worst of the bunch), the acting is as good as The Lord of the Rings in my book (Bilbo is so much better of a character than Frodo), and the scope is enormous. All in all, The Hobbit trilogy is a great way to spend roughly 9 hours (if you watch the extended cuts). An Unexpected Journey: 5.0. The Desolation of Smaug: 5.0. The Battle of the Five Armies: 4.5.

PQ:
An Unexpected Journey:
The movie was shot spherically in Redcode RAW at 5K at 48 frames per second in native 3D. It was finished with a 2K Digital Intermediate at 48 frames per second also in native 3D. On every disc format, the movie is presented in 2.39:1 at 24 frames per second. Both the theatrical and extended cuts have been released on Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray (in addition to these 4K discs). I have both Blu-ray 3D editions, but I have yet to watch them. In 4K, I watched the extended cut, but I assume the theatrical cut looks the same. Goodness sakes, this thing is incredibly sharp. The beginning opens with a somewhat flat and ultra digital yet murky image that retains good clarity but struggles to look impressive with its depth. The image has a bit of an added haziness to it, but I remember it looking this way in the theater so it is the inherent way the movie looks. This changes once the movie goes back in time to when Bilbo is younger. The level of detail on every surface is incredible. Skin reveals extreme clarity with intimate pore definition and lines as well as stubble and facial hair. Gandalf�s (or any of the dwarves) beards retains a palpable level of clarity. Clothing is very fibrous with every stitch standing out on Gandalf�s tunic or Bilbo�s jacket. The grass around the shire is incredibly crisp and defined. The warts and pustules on the Goblins� skin are gooey and bumpy. The rock faces where Gollum lives present every grimy water droplet and dirty bat bone with life-like realism. Look at the hairs on the Goblin King�s arms or the slime on his disgusting sack-like chin. Look at the cuts on Azog the Defiler�s face or the fur on the Wargs� pelts. While this can�t compete with a true 3D presentation, this UHD image gets dangerously close and looks absolutely fantastic from a textural perspective. Color can almost be eye-searing at times via HDR in the form of Dolby Vision and HDR10. I started with Dolby Vision and finished with HDR10 and then sampled many scenes in Dolby Vision. After careful consideration between the two, I believe Dolby Vision is slightly better than regular HDR10, but the standard HDR option is still fantastic. Black levels are deep and solid, highlights are absolutely blinding at times and every color gradient in between is rock solid with perfect contrast. Color is extremely vibrant and punchy with a new found sense of vibrancy and saturation. Whether it be the cool blue moonlight when Elrond reads the moon runes or the fiery pinecones which Gandalf rains down on the Wargs, color is extremely potent and looks fantastic. The only problems I noticed were some very brief and extremely mild aliasing on some of Rivendell�s structures in wide shots and frequent but very mild digital video noise. Some shots have a bit of a soft, flat look as well, but these are inherent to the source and will always look like this so it almost doesn�t even count. None of this kept me from enjoying the picture quality however. 4.5.

The Desolation of Smaug:
Just like with An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug was shot spherically in Redcode RAW at 5K resolution and at 48 frames per second in native 3D. It was finished with a 2K Digital Intermediate at 48 frames per second also in native 3D. I have the theatrical cut on Blu-ray 3D, but I have not watched it yet. I plan on getting the Extended Cut for the special features. On all of the disc formats (and digital obviously), the movie is presented in 2.39:1 and at 24 frames per second. I watched the extended edition, but I�m sure the theatrical cut would look the same. Overall, pretty much everything that I said about An Unexpected Journey applies here. I will say that this one is more consistently sharp by a hair compared to the first movie, but that presents its own challenges as we will shortly see. Fine detail is generally gobsmacking. You can count every skin pore, line, and beard hair on the Dwarves, Bilbo, or Gandalf. You can count every dewdrop on every rotten mushroom in Mirkwood or every line of silk in the spiders� webs. Smaug looks jaw-droppingly fantastic as every scale and line retains EXTREME definition. Every gold coin in his lair stands out as distinct. Every rock ruin of Dol Guldur preserves clarity. Image depth definitely overall looks improved in this one compared to the beginning of the first, but there are a few scenes which take on that flat, harsh, and digital appearance. Color is also very impressive in the form of HDR10 and Dolby Vision. I viewed the entire film with Dolby Vision and sampled some scenes in HDR10. Color is very vibrant and punchy, similar to the first movie. Smaug�s fire is breathtakingly orange as are the blue flames of the Dwarf furnaces. Golden sunlight and purple sunrises look absolutely gorgeous. The Eye of Sauron is deep and terrifyingly orange. Gandalf�s cool, blue wand light looks nicely natural. The blue sky or dry mountain grass is quite vibrant. Black levels look very deep and highlights can be eye-blistering. General contrast is superb and looks fantastic. However, this movie is so sharp that it starts to almost look a little too sharp at times. There is frequent mild and very infrequent moderate aliasing on most edges in the most incredibly crisp scenes. The Dwarf halls of Erebor usually exhibit a small amount of aliasing on the banisters and railings. Smaug�s chest in wide medium shots also suffers as does some of the gold coins in the distance. When Gandalf first comes to Dol Guldur, there is a shot of the fortress which reveals aliasing on some of the steps as well as the dead tree branches. Outside of this, there is constant mild video noise with the worst of it being whenever Bilbo puts on the Ring (it is pretty mild overall, but it should still be noted). The image can just look a little artificial at times and does not retain the depth of the best digital images all of the time. Furthermore, due to the oversharpening present and the hyper level of clarity, some of the greenscreen effects stand out noticeably. More times than not, the effects look great (such as Smaug), but a few shots here and there look really fake. However, despite these problems, this disc is fantastic and the pros absolutely outweigh the cons. More times than not, it is extremely impressive. 4.5.

The Battle of the Five Armies:
Just like with the two previous movies, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was shot spherically on Redcode RAW 5K at 48 frames per second in native 3D. It was finished in 2K at 48 frames per second also in native 3D. Just like the two previous movies, both the theatrical and extended editions were released on Blu-ray 3D. I only have the theatrical cut in 3D and I have yet to watch it. All releases feature the same 2.39:1 widescreen image. I watched the extended edition, but I�m sure the theatrical cut would look the same. Pretty much everything I said about An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug apply here. It features an incredibly razor-sharp image which allows the exploration of intimate skin definition such as pores, hairs, stubble, and lines. Clothing looks extremely fibrous in most scenes with every stitch standing out. Dol Guldur retains very fine definition with every withered tree and rusty metal cage remaining distinctly defined. The many Orc/Elf/Dwarf soldiers in the final battle look distinct against the backdrop. Metal armor and weaponry such as axes and swords have a nicely natural glint. Smaug is a real textural standout just like in the previous movie with every scale, spike, and line retaining stupendous clarity. It looks gobsmackingly good in the same way as the first two. Color is also nicely natural and saturated in the right scenes in the form of Dolby Vision and HDR10. I viewed the film with Dolby Vision and sampled scenes in HDR10. They look pretty similar to each other and have nice, deep black levels, and perfectly retained and crisp highlights which can be eye-searing at times. Contrast of every shade in between light and dark looks great. Color can be extremely vibrant and intense in some scenes like Smaug�s attack of Lake-Town, and more subdued and gritty in other scenes like the final battle in Dale. However, it always looks faithful to the movie�s original look. However, just like with the two previous movies, there are some problems with the master with the biggest being oversharpening. Many elements of the movie look so incredibly sharp to the point they look kind of artificial and lose the image depth of the best digital captures. This also results in frequent mild to moderate aliasing. Tree branches in Dol Guldur or the grass in the Shire looks too sharp to the point of aliasing. I did not notice as much video noise this time around so that is a nice plus. The super resolution combined with the oversharpening also causes the VFX to look kind of fake in many scenes. In some shots the orcs and trolls look super detailed and realistic and in the next the greenscreen effects stand out like a sore thumb. I noticed some chroma noise and other tell-tale signs of greenscreen effects in scenes I had never noticed before. Many of the large battle scenes sort of looked like set extensions. On the previous extended edition Blu-ray, the movie looked super sharp and detailed, but more natural. This 4K disc revealed several problems that I did not expect to see. To this end, this movie looked the most artificial and unnatural to me. Not just because of the lower quality visual effects, but also due to the pervasive oversharpening which seemed considerably more of the movie�s runtime compared to the other two movies. It shares the same strengths and weaknesses as the first two, I just think this is the least appealing of the three. However, it still looks pretty good all things considered. The beginning with Smaug looks absolutely fantastic. It just gets a little flat at times as the movie progresses. In fact, I thought the VFX held up pretty well for the first movie, all around pretty good with the second with a few shots looking pretty green screened and fake, and overall okay with this one. The highest number of bad looking CGI or obvious chroma keyed effects is in the most recent movie. I was surprised by this because this particular cut of the movie came out in 2015. It is what it is I guess. 4.25.

NOTE: I am reviewing these discs as they appear in the Ultimate Middle-Earth 31-Disc Collection. As such, there are exclusive remastered Blu-rays included with the set which do not appear in the standard 4K set.


AQ:
An Unexpected Journey:
The original Blu-ray and the Blu-ray 3D discs featured DTS-HD MA 7.1 surround audio, but both the 4K and the remastered Blu-rays have been given Dolby Atmos audio upgrades. I don�t have a surround system hooked up to my TV, but from what I could hear, this sounded absolutely fantastic. Every single line of dialogue in every accent sounded crystal clear and crisp. Music sounded incredibly full and rich with expert clarity and definition. Sound effects were blisteringly clear and loud with every axe chop, sword clang, creaking board, and magic whoosh retaining spectacular presence. Bass sounded very good despite my limited setup. I would like to revisit this audio track when I have a proper setup, but for now, it sounded fantastic. 5.0.


The Desolation of Smaug:
The old Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D discs featured a DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio track, but both the 4K and remastered Blu-ray discs feature Dolby Atmos audio. Just like with An Unexpected Journey, this Dolby Atmos track sounded fantastic. I listened to it downsampled to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 on my system (I don�t have the capabilities for surround sound even though I would like to set up said system). Dialogue whether it be hushed whispers or Smaug�s booming voice sounds crystal clear and crisp. Music is incredibly full and rich without sounding fuzzy or anemic. Sound effects such as clanging swords, billowing mountains of gold coins, dragon fire, orc growls, whooshing arrows, and magic spells all retain incredible clarity and sound definition. Despite the lack of a subwoofer, bass still sounded fantastic. I bet I could appreciate it even more if I had a surround system, but from what I could tell, this was a reference-quality track. 5.0.


The Battle of the Five Armies:
Just like with the previous two, the original Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D options featured a DTS-HD MA 7.1 surround track. On both the remastered Blu-ray and 4K disc, the audio has been upgraded to Dolby Atmos. I listened to the track downsampled to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 on my system. I don�t have a surround system hooked up to my TV, but I could tell this was a fantastic audio track. Every bit of dialogue from hushed whispers to guttural growls and more retained perfect clarity and intensity. Music sounded just as full and rich and crisp as the other two with the famous themes sounding fantastic. Sound effects such as clanging swords and axes, whooshing arrows, giant beating wings, explosions, roaring flames, tinkling gold, monster growls, crumbling debris, and more sounded absolutely fabulous with incredible clarity, depth, and intensity. If I had the surround aspect, I bet I could appreciate it even more, but from what I heard, this sounded great. 5.0.

Extras:
The 4K discs included with this set contain zero special features. Not even the audio commentary tracks are the three-part New Zealand featurettes included with the original and remastered Blu-rays are ported over. If you have the movies on Blu-ray or Blu-ray 3D sourced from the original releases, you will have the special features. If you don�t have the movies at all and you buy this 4K set, you will get absolutely nothing. The movies and nothing more. 0.0.

Total Package:
The movies are all fantastic in my book. Sure, they added some unnecessary elements like Tauriel (although I don�t mind her character personally) and the whole Kili/Legolas (who also was not in the original book) love triangle. However, despite some of these additions, they did not remove anything important to my knowledge. As such, I thought all of the movies were quite entertaining in my opinion with the first two being excellent and the last one being very good. These 4K discs are overall pretty impressive, but they are all a little oversharpened and as such, they all have problems with aliasing. Video noise is also frequent at least for the first two. The last one looks way too sharp to the point where it looks a little artificial in my book and it makes the visual effects look pretty fake in many sequences. However, despite this, these 4K discs are definitely better than their remastered Blu-ray counterparts (not included with this set). The UHD picture quality is overall very good and if I was going to watch the movies in 2D, this would still be my preferred option. The Dolby Atmos audio tracks are reference-class from what I heard. The lack of special features is a serious problem, but it kind of makes sense why they made that decision (and the chances are most people buying this probably have the special features anyways). Ultimately, I would recommend the Extended Edition Blu-ray 3D discs as the best editions available for special features and picture quality, but if you want these movies in 4K/2D and you don�t want the Ultimate Collection version, these are the way to go. 4.5.

Tech Specs:
An Unexpected Journey:
Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence and frightening images. CHV Rating of PG. 2012/COLOR/169 Mins approx. EXTENDED EDITION: Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, frightening images, and fleeting nudity. CHV Rating of PG. 2013/COLOR/182 Mins appro... display full review

Looks ok but it has too much visible grain and a touch of extra black color was added to this movie to achieve that.
I just don't ever remember this movie looking like this.

Sound is no big deal.
Took a while to find the best setting to hear the great music in this movie.

Looks ok but it has too much visible grain and a touch of extra black color was added to this movie to achieve that.
I just don't ever remember this movie looking like this.

Sound is no big deal.
Took a while to find the best setting to hear the great music in this movie. display full review

Movie: A dying Logan must help a young mutant with the same powers to safety.

Review: Hands down, one of the best superhero movies ever, and easily the best X-Men movie. I don't think I can say anything more.

Video: As a note, I have seen both the theatrical and noir versions of the movie.

Theatrical: This is one beautiful looking 4K. Detail is fantastic, and the HDR really brings out the warmer color scheme. Primary and secondary colors also look amazing, especially the lights and blood spurts. Black levels are also handled quite well.

Noir: Same amazing detail, but now in black and white which also looks stunning. The black levels really shine in this version. The blood spurts went from dark red to ink black. To be honest, I could really watch either version of this movie and be happy.

Audio: Both cuts feature the exact same excellent Atmos mix. A couple scenes that stood out was Charles' seizures. These scenes delivered excellent, demo worthy bass. The casino scene also made great use of channels, as did many of the fight scenes.

Extras: In addition to the Noir cut, which was unfortunately cut from future releases, there is some good stuff on the theatrical blu-ray. This Walmart exclusive features a nice slipbox packaging containing 9 images of Wolverine across all the movies he has appeared in. If you put them together correctly, then you get a new poster on the back.

Overall: A must own for any X-Men fan!

Movie: A dying Logan must help a young mutant with the same powers to safety.

Review: Hands down, one of the best superhero movies ever, and easily the best X-Men movie. I don't think I can say anything more.

Video: As a note, I have seen both the theatrical and noir versions of the movie.

Theatrical: This is one beautiful looking 4K. Deta... display full review

Shadow Fist Hunter was a film produced in 1973 that had a theatrical release in Hong Kong, but it later got released stateside as Bruce Lee's Shadow Fist. This isn't to be confused with a Bruceploitation Film because it's nothing like any of those films, with all due respect to that subgenre.


I'm honestly not sure if anyone has even heard of this film; I certainly haven't until this year, and this film never had ANY home release on VHS, DVD, Laserdisc, etc until now courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment on Blu-Ray. It's that rare.


That being said, this truly IS one of the best martial arts films ever made, in my honest opinion. Shadow Fist Hunter is a Basher Box Martial Arts film; Basher Box meaning a sub-genre of constant fighting after fighting (or as we call them in The States "Chop Socky".


I kid you guys not, there's one fight scene in this film that goes on for 20-30 minutes; I'm freaking serious! It's absolutely INSANE filled with actual martial arts (don't quote me on that, but it certainly looks like your typical martial arts or kung-fu film). The main character even uses CLOTHING as a spinning like weapon! It's just unreal chaotic TALENTED mayhem! How they choreographed this scene, I'll legitimately NEVER know!


That particular fight scene starts in a cave, goes outside on a cliff, then ends in the water. I'm sure most of that fight scene was shot in a DAY!!!


That fight scene ALONE makes this blu-ray a must buy!!! Also, the main character uses a bench prop like Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao did YEARS before Young Master, and in my honest opinion, this fight scene is miles better than The Young Master's Fight Scene!


My jaw legitimately dropped watching this entire movie! That being said, I will go over the VERY basic plot and characters. I Don't know anything about this movies actors/actresses, so I have to label them "main character or hero, etc".


Shadow Fist Hunter's Plot: The movie starts with a man, who's the hero/main character's father, running away from bandits who want to steal his gold. He escapes, but about 2 minutes into the movie they run his horse off a cliff and the gold isn't there. Also, the father passes away.


The story then moves onto the son/hero/main character, who's looking to avenge his father, so he goes around asking who might know of his father. Then, he comes across this lady, who's the daughter of a father (the daughter's father is the main villain/betrayal villain) that knew the main character's father.


His daughter winds up loving the main character/hero, but she also loves her father, who I will get to in a minute.


The father tells the son that the bandits killed his father for his gold and that the gold is in his (the daughter's father/villain) possession. The son initially trust the daughter's father at first until near the end. The son goes out to the bandit's cave to avenge his father, and as I said above that crazy fight scene happens.


The son learns from one of the bandits that the daughter's father is in actual possession of the gold and used them (the bandits) to kill his father, or something like that since the main character's father was an alchemist (weird I know unless the English Dub mistranslated something or made it up on their own, I don't know lol).


I will say one more last thing about the plot before I go into PQ and AQ; the daughter's father is so evil he accidentally kills his own daughter. Instead of running to her emotionally and caring, he runs away trying to get away from the main character/hero. Now, the main character/hero has an even MORE epic reason to avenge his loved ones; his father and his girl crush.


That's the basic plot: main character/hero's father dies, he goes to avenge him, meets others who we think he can trust, only for him to be betrayed, nothing special but if you know and love these films like I do, you know these plots are all too cliche and I love them every time. We're here for the incredible fight sequences, not so much the plot, lol. These films are like Rambo or Predator, to me (no offense to those films, as I like them too).


Shadow Fist Hunter is an English Dub only, and I don't mind even though I prefer the original Mandarin or Cantonese Audio. The English Dub, as you'd expect is hilarious, LOL. The acting is so atrociously funny that there's no emotion whatsoever in this film; the acting feels so dull, but it's one of those "it's so bad I LOVE IT!" type of feeling, LOL.


Now onto the PQ and AQ!


Shadow Fist Hunter's Picture Quality:


Dark Force Entertainment beautifully restored this insanely rare film from the Original 35mm Camera Negative using a 4k Scan downscaled to 1080p for the restoration, and I'm here to say that Dark Force Entertainment made my JAW DROP with this restoration!!!


If you know Dark Force Entertainment's Prints, there's many dirt specs here throughout the entire film, but the detail and colors simply pop after the first 10 minutes!


The quality at the first 5-10 minutes or so feels sub-par, but that's most likely due to the print itself rather than the restoration. These first 5-10 minutes or so, have a heavy grain, and scenes with smoke or fog suffer the most. When these scenes happen in interiors, whether brightly lit interiors or dark interiors, the detail and colors become soft though the skin tones and character's clothes still show up fairly nicely.


Thankfully, that's only like 4-7 scenes is my guess and only minor scenes.


After the first 5-10 minutes, the detail and colors really REALLY shine from the 4k restoration!


Fine detail such as skin pours and sweat show up PERFECTLY in EVERY scene, even in the dark cave! The rocks in the cave show up clearly and look like a natural rock you'd see in a cave! The water shows up clearly and looks natural, the characters clothes and swords show up clearly, just everything looks near PERFECT. Except one scene (guessing) in the cave fight looks a tad bit blurry/soft due to the print, and you would have to pay VERY close attention to notice!


At this point, you'd be SO distracted by the fight scene, colors and most other detail you wouldn't notice the blurry softness, but it only lasts for I'd guess 30 seconds to a minute, possibly 2 minutes.


Colors such as green; trees show up very well in exterior scenes, can vary from dark green to light green, the trees tend to be more dark while the grass is more light green, tending to be a more natural color for the viewer. The light blue dress the actress wears shows up very brightly and looks very natural; the patterns on her dress show up very well. In other words, the detail and colors PERFECTLY compliment each other.


Other colors such as brown, like the rock in the cave described above, the bench used during the fight scene in the cave looks like an obvious prop, so a fake bench and the brown color used makes the bench prop look exactly like it should, a BENCH PROP. Oh and the main character gets dragged through the mud while chasing the main villain on a horse, and MAN!!! The mud looks very natural; if you've ever seen someone covered in dry mud, this is EXACTLY how the main character looked like in that scene!


It looked VERY real and felt like you were APART of the movie! I'm truly at a loss for WORDS about this restoration and the fight scenes alone!


There's not much red in the film except the ending fight scene where there's bricks. However, the brick wall looks like a light redish color; you know how you see bricks sometimes that are so light on the brown or red colors? This is what those bricks look like, and I'm sure that's how the set originally looked back in 1973. However, it looked very authentic and a real set-piece for a film!


There's also grain throughout the entire film, but the grain is very natural and film like that it isn't too heavy where it doesn't mess with detail or colors (cough cough this isn't JCVD's Kickboxer on Blu-Ray). I was simply MIND BLOWN by how this film looked from a damaged 35mm Print, and simply TAKEN BACK by how well Dark Force Entertainment took care of this print while restoring it! It clearly shows they put A LOT of hard work into restoring this film for the martial arts/kung-fu fan!


If it weren't for those 4-7 scenes at the beginning that I was talking about, this truly WOULD be a 5/5 Picture Quality, but it's so close and I'm giving it a SAFE but subjective 4.5/5!


If you're a martial arts/kung-fu fan who wants some of the BEST fight choreography to ever grace cinema, this is a MUST BUY!


Shadow Fist's Audio Quality:


I don't have a great set-up or anything, just a budget 4k TV and PS5 (and I'm honestly very happy with that.) The English Dub Dialogue can be heard perfectly; the same can be said for the sound effects like punches. Everything sounds so smooth and brand new, to me anyway. I've always been more focused on Picture Quality because as long as I can hear the movie, I don't care.


Shadow Fist's Extras:


Shadow Fist has an Audio Commentary by Film Historians that I will check out as a rewatch someday because yes, I'm going to be watching this film many MANY times over and over for years to follow; that's all the extras is just one audio commentary!


Overall and Recommended?


Oh yes yes YES!!!! The fight choreography ALONE is the true selling point, and if you're wanting legendary martial arts/kung-fu fight scenes, this is a MUST MUST buy, even at $50-$75, I'd buy it again no problem, to be honest! That and the picture quality, while what varies as a good or bad restoration will always be subjective, I've been watching blu-rays since 2011 and can safely say that this film for a damaged 35mm print to how it looks with all the natural detail and colors? It's a must buy for that alone!


If you're a martial arts/kung-fu fan, you will NOT be disappointed whether you grew up watching these films in theaters, VHS like I did, DVD, etc, this is the PERFECT Blu-Ray Restoration and it's no DOUBT this is the best the film will ever look!


I bought this off Dark Force Entertainment's Website for I think $20-$25, so that would be the cheapest route; eBay has 5 copies with the cheapest being $35. There's not many copies left because I know for a FACT that Dark Force Entertainment listed this on their store as 100 copies only, so if you're interested in this film, I'd get it in a hurry!


Also, it's Region FREE!

Shadow Fist Hunter was a film produced in 1973 that had a theatrical release in Hong Kong, but it later got released stateside as Bruce Lee's Shadow Fist. This isn't to be confused with a Bruceploitation Film because it's nothing like any of those films, with all due respect to that subgenre.


I'm honestly not sure if anyone has even heard of t... display full review

It's no secret that The DB Series (Dragon Ball) is embedded within pop culture worldwide; no matter where you go, everyone knows of it. Words can't describe how much of a huge Dragon Ball Fan I am, so much so, I have too many great memories of watching Dragon Ball and DBZ on Toonami, including getting the Pioneer and Funimation VHS Tapes, as a kid.


I won't go over the plot, but if you've NEVER seen Dragon Ball Z, it's a must must watch, just drop whatever free time you have and spend all day watching Dragon Ball Z!


What I will do instead is go over this controversial release and compare them to The Level Sets, Dragon Boxes, and Orange Brick Blu-Rays.


PQ of DBZ Steelbook Season 1: - I'm going to extend this to the other season steelbooks as well, but these were sourced from The Fan Funded 30th Anniversary Boxset, so if you own that boxset, no need to upgrade to the steelbooks. I give the Picture Quality of the entire DBZ Season Steelbooks a 3.5/5. I will spend hours and respectfully say why below.


That being said, this is easily the best DBZ has ever looked, minus The Level and Dragon Box Sets. The details and colors here really pop, animation black lines/character outlines look nicely detailed and quite modernized. Though, at times black levels on the characters clothes can be contrasted high like those of The Orange Bricks and that messes with detail.


The colors here are much much lighter compared to the Solar Flare Orange Brick Blu-Rays and DVDs. Those releases darn near blinded me and would blind you too.


This is kind of a huge complaint here, but my biggest gripe is that there's an OBVIOUS fake grain filter applied throughout this entire show. Yes, from Seasons 1-9 - there's a fake grain filter, so you're not getting natural grain and that for sure messes with and you can see some obvious DNR and Edge Enhancement, as well.


It makes for a very jarring viewing experience for fans, and rightfully so, Funimation dropped the ball and received HUGE amounts of backlash from fans following The 30th Anniversary Boxset. Though, if like me, you can ignore the fake grain, then you'll enjoy these steelbooks. Make no mistake though, these are far far FAR better than the Orange Brick Blu-Rays and DVDs.


To this day, we have evidence that DBZ can look darn near PERFECT (no pun intended to Cell). We've had The Level Sets AND The Dragon Box DVDs.


Comparing these steelbooks to those? It's obvious to choose The Level Sets and The Dragon Boxes; though I would never recommend The Level Sets since they stopped around The Namek Saga. All 3 contain the beautiful original aspect ratio of 4:3 (that ALONE should tell you to stay away from The Orange Bricks), making this an authentic DBZ viewing experience.


This was the true selling point of picking these steelbooks up. You can clearly see, for example: SSJ3 Goku's Hair in that mid-range shot after he powers up to Fat Majin Buu, whereas in The Orange Brick Blu-Rays and DVDs, half his hair is cropped, meaning you're losing A LOT of detail.


The above and the over contrasting, or as I call Solar Flare'ing the colors, were the biggest reasons fans rightfully ridiculed The Orange Bricks of DBZ.


That being said, which version of DBZ do fans go for? You COULD go for The Dragon Boxes, but I can't find one boxset that isn't under $200, as of this review while the steelbooks, Seasons 7-9 can still be found on eBay under $60 while the others are around $100-$200.


If you want almost perfect picture quality, I'd go with The Dragon Boxes, but you'd be spending so SO much money on that while the steelbooks are an respectable budget upgrade compared to The Orange Brick Blu-Rays & DVDs. No matter how you compare the two, it's universally agreed upon that you will have to pay a lot for a fan pleasing viewing experience of DBZ, sadly.


It's worth mentioning that The Dragon Boxes have INCREDIBLE Shadow Detail compared to ANY other official release.


A good moment to compare here is when Raditz arrives in his Saiyan Spacepod; in the Dragon Boxes, you can see there's a shadow where the spacepod landed, and in that shadow, you can clearly see the brown colored ground where the spacepod landed. Not so in these steelbooks.


If you're a fan of Bruce Faulconer's Music like I am, then for Season 3-9, you might want to go for these steelbooks since Funimation hired someone else to redo The Saiyan-Namek Saga Music (Season 1-2) while The Dragon Boxes feature The OG Japanese Dialogue and Japanese Music throughout the entire show only. It's worth mentioning that the steelbooks also feature the original Japanese Audio too but with Funi's English Dub over the soundtrack. Lastly, for the steelbooks, you have the option to have Bruce Faulconer's Score and Funimation's English Dub.


If you want an Ocean Dub for Seasons 1-2, Rock The Dragon Boxset is the only way to watch DBZ with that audio, no other official release has yet to feature The Ocean Dub besides the original Pioneer VHS and DVDs.


That being said, if you can AFFORD The Dragon Boxes, go for them. Even for a DVD, the picture is much much better and true to the original viewing experience of DBZ. The colors are darn near perfect (though I prefer The Level Sets darker colors and find most detail is better than The Dragon Boxes, minus Shadow Detailing). The Dragon Boxes are universally agreed upon as being the best viewing experience for DBZ since they as well have the 4:3 aspect ratio.


Though with the fandom watching DBZ in so many varieties (Bruce Faulconer Music + Funi English Dub, Ocean Dub, Toei Origial Japanese Audio and Dubbing), the best viewing experience for DBZ is honestly VERY subjective.


As mentioned above, Dragon Boxes are the way more expensive route.


The Steelbooks are the PERFECT budget upgrade in comparison to any release because you do get the original aspect ratio of 4:3, you get lighter colors rivaling that of The Dragon Boxes, and detail shows up much much MUCH better in the steelbooks compared to the awful Orange Brick Blu-Rays and DVDs. Though, the fake layer of grain is super obvious and you can see an obvious use of DNR at times, though from my viewing experience, it isn't TOO bad like a lot make it out to be.


There's so much info on official DBZ Releases that you can make a decision for yourself. This review is just to ADD to your research. I was VERY lucky to buy these steelbooks a year or 2 ago. I got Season 1 for $200, Season 2 for $150, Season 3 for $100, Season 4-9 for $50, so I honestly lucked out.


I spent almost 2 hours on this review, but I DO recommend these Steelbooks, if you can afford them. It's a much better on your wallet comparison to The Dragon Boxes. To this day and almost 20+ years later, I'm honestly not sure we'll ever see a PERFECT DBZ Blu-Ray Release given Funimation and Toei's Track Records of the abysmal treatment of DBZ, truly so so sad.


RIP Akira Toriyama

It's no secret that The DB Series (Dragon Ball) is embedded within pop culture worldwide; no matter where you go, everyone knows of it. Words can't describe how much of a huge Dragon Ball Fan I am, so much so, I have too many great memories of watching Dragon Ball and DBZ on Toonami, including getting the Pioneer and Funimation VHS Tapes, as a kid.... display full review

TL;DR- Although lacking the original French soundtrack and the larger supplements found in France, Echo Bridge delivers a still-enjoyable release for first-time viewers. As a fan of the film, I recommend it deeply.

Rebirth. That is the original title of the film, for the Renaissance serves as the translated speech. When one thinks of science-fiction and noir marriages, they tend to look for Deckard or Caution (specifically Alphaville's interpretation of that character). Some may walk into the Night Rain or the Dark City. Those borrow from the gritty and realist methods of noir storytelling and atmospheres, that leaves the question of cleaner and more stylistic methods of the medium in film. How about animation? The closest thing I have encountered to such is The Animatrix's "A Detective Story" segment, which explores traditional noir in its fantastical futurist-contemporary setting. The thing is, they are all based around the most westward parts of the planet. Even Alphaville falls into that description.

So what about eurofuturism? To define it beyond being a non-word (outside of some political mess in Rotterdam from years back): Eurofuturism is basically looking at the world of tomorrow but through 2000s European (specifically French and German) sensiblities. The sort of now-retro examination of how a world could develop if people expected it to retain their fundamental aesthetics. There is a song that does come to mind when I think of this term: Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina's "Stereo Love" for all the internet has done to it. That song defines Eurodance, but it's what I always imagine to forefront Eurofuturism- a trance-infused clean-focused style. Renaissance is this. This may not be a complete exploration into that idea, but it's necessary to explain to understand the film's visual identity.

- The Film Itself - 4 (Plot's average, but has an outstanding atmosphere and good performances)
Renaissance has reckless but effective cop Barthelemy Karas (voiced by Daniel Craig in the English dub, by Patrick Floersheim in the original French) being tasked to track down a corporation's scientist after her kidnapping. Things get complicated when the investigation leads into a plot where eternal life can be achieved- at the cost of one's own humanity. That's about it, a pretty typical setup with not much of a motivation that allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the narrative. It bridges the chapters of the film together well enough.

Let's be very honest with ourselves with Renaissance: You are not watching it for the narrative, you are watching it for the visuals and voice cast for the English dub (not only having Craig, but also Ian Holm and Jonathan Pryce- impressive given the severely limited budget). I certainly was when I was introduced to the film back in 2019, upon finding the Ascot Elite HD-DVD release. It does explore immortality and the prices made to achieve it, alongside briefly asking the nature of death and potential rebirth that ensues. It is carried exclusively by the eurofuturist Paris of 2054, as morality in the discussion is blurred by the lack of shading. It is strict monochrome in the purest sense, only the dark and light can be seen. There are a couple of scenes where colour is displayed, but only to emphasise a certain character's true nature before the main plot twist.

What makes it a special film for this reviewer is the unique identity it has compared to most films that exist. Because of the uncompromising monochromatic style and the tech noir atmosphere it displays, alongside the electronic and orchestral score (by Nicholas Dodd). It is all done in motion-capture, during that era of animation where movement started becoming more realistic with focus toward the more mature audience. It's different, sticking out beyond cult-hit The Polar Express and the later Monster House from their reality-breaking aesthetics in favour of stylistic realism. It is still cartoony, but Renaissance makes a good attempt at keeping to life as we live in.

Another reason why it is so special is the world itself. I never knew Paris could move away from a chaotic cesspit to a decent futuristic metropolis built on the remains of the past. The structure of the city, as seen in the night establishing and day establishing shots, symbolises the separation the classes of tomorrow have in similarty to the present day (as of writing anyway). Considering how slow technological progression has become since 2020, and that everything has been the same in all that time, 2054 in Paris is not going to be like what we see in the film. That's alright, since it is supposed to be a rough idea of what everyday life could become. This also introduced me to the concept of metropolis-based storytelling with contemporary elements, creating a retro-futurist atmosphere unlike anything I have felt since.

Christan Volckman is clearly more of a visual director rather than a narrative-focused one, as evidenced by his short film MAAZ. That being said, his command at the helm is defintely felt through the performances despite the rocky writing being spoken. Craig's Karas is reserved, but not fully emotionless as the film progresses. Pryce's Dellenbach provides the antagonistic force required to make the conflict meaningful, portraying a cunning executive that does everything in his power to get what he wants (although this is standard of the genre). Catherine McCormack's Bislane provides a necessary sympathetic portrayal of trying to find her sister before becoming a target of the corporation, although it is a missed opportunity to explore her character beyond the final twist. Holm's Muller does well as the one who implies to know everything that is going on, as does Romola Garai's Ilona in being the kidnap victim.

- Video Quality - 5 (Stunning, although expected given the source)
Encoded in H264 (or MPEG-4 AVC on here) at roughly 10mbps, Echo Bridge manages to (although it's always going to be effortless, considering the minimalist visuals) deliver a picture-perfect presentation of Renaissance. It looks fantastic, replicating the monochrome style and harsh lighting of the animation and of futuristic Paris. This is good if anyone is struggling to decide which version to go for, since it's just as comparable to the others on equal footing. Just be aware that with a television that likes to automatically adjust the brightness, find a way of turning it off first before watching. Renaissance is visually dark. This is one great-looking transfer. For a release from such a bad distributer, it's fantastic (although their bar is not so high). It clearly is taken from the French HD release of the film, just reencoded.

- Audio Quality - 4 (Great, but lacking the original French audio)
Equipped with DTS:HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and stereo soundtracks (and a very ignorable Dolby Digital 5.1 mix)... with only the English dub. I understand that this was marketed as a typical sci-fi flick with an impressive voice cast for the dub, so most people would experience it with that and ignore the native langauge it was made for. It was produced by a French studio, it was made for France with the intent to go international later on. Naturally, Renaissance deserves to be experienced in its original form as much as possible. You might notice the immense disconnect between the lips and the audio- and this wasn't intentional, given it was animated in French. Echo Bridge dismissing the intended soundtrack should be scorned immensely for it. That said, the English soundtrack is pretty great- capturing the sound effects and atmosphere of Paris as clearly as it can. As mentioned, the performances go a long way in making that enjoyable (if still imperfect due to the writing). It's great, wear it with headphones especially.

- Supplements - 2 (Making-Of's good, but it needs more for completeness)
Only one: The Making-Of featurette. Exploring the film's production in a light manner, it does explain how and why the film was made this way. It's in French with English subtitles. It is neat to get some understanding of the film's production, but other releases (such as the UK DVD and French HD disc releases, I have reviewed their Blu-ray/HD-DVD on that release entry- read that to know more on what Echo Bridge missed) covered it way better. Aside from a trailer, that's all there is. It is severely lacking in supplemental material, as the disc can clearly fit more (using a 23GB disc, the film taking up 12GB).

- Overall - 3 (Enjoyable release, although lacking in severe spots)
Renaissance is a enjoyable, if very flawed narratively-speaking, animated feature. Suffering from the absence of the French soundtrack and supplements, Echo Bridge's release of the film is servicable for its simplicity- especially to viewers discovering it for the first time. It has a stunning transfer, great English soundtrack and a decent Making-Of to make the package relatively complete. If you can understand French, get the French HD-DVD release instead. If you can only speak English, this release will serve one well. The Ascot Elite German release is a fine if bland substitute for not including anything extra. Buy it if you can find it cheap. Recommended.

TL;DR- Although lacking the original French soundtrack and the larger supplements found in France, Echo Bridge delivers a still-enjoyable release for first-time viewers. As a fan of the film, I recommend it deeply.

Rebirth. That is the original title of the film, for the Renaissance serves as the translated speech. When one thinks of science-fic... display full review

TL;DR- Pathe's French blu-ray discs before 2009 suffer from severe disc rot, all of them have become extinct. If you have this title, get the HD-DVD equivalent (since copies there are still working and are the only way to get the original French audio in lossless form). This justifies why this one gets a 1/5 rather than a 3/5.

I am not going to spend a lengthy amount of time describing the film in detail, because it's a pretty enjoyable noir sci-fi animated feature. Plot's average, but it's visually stunning and has a few memorable moments. For a filck considered mediocre, I have seen far worse without a unique identity. It is one of my favourite animated films for being a massive influence over my science-fiction works. A full film review will be included later in the Echo Bridge US Release.

As mentioned, this release does suffer from disc rot. Recap: Disc rot occurs when certain environmental or factory-based issues cause the layers of a disc to literally split apart. It's like glue not working properly after a while. This disc does not have an obvious visual hint of rot, but internally it does. Try reading it on any player and see if you can get past the Pathe screen. Chances are you'll likely see a very corrupted and static-y image for the menu. That was my best attempt before booking for the 2007 HD-DVD release. The rest of this review will be talking about this disc as that medium as proxy.

- Video Quality - 5 (Similar to the other releases, just with a different codec)
This transfer is encoded in VC-1, averaging around 11mbps. Because of the lack of shading and colours (for the majority of the runtime), this is a film that does not require such a high bitrate to achieve picture-perfect imagery. This is one stunning feature, one that still holds up many years later from its theatrical release. Not to go into depth about the significance of the animation to the plot, Renaissance is a looker- its eurofuturistic style can draw anyone to giving it a shot.

- Audio Quality - 4.5 (Only way to experience the original track in lossless, but it needs subtitles first)
Much like every other release of the film (outside of the notorious double pack with Equilibrium), Renaissance is given a DTS:HD Master Audio 5.1 16-bit 48kHz surround soundtrack (with a DTS Stereo track) in French. This release is not English-friendly, with no subtitles included. It is fundamentally identical to the later English dub, sharing the sound and score between them, as a result it's something you can listen to and say "Yes, this is basically Echo Bridge or Ascot Elite's tracks but in French" which is excellent. It's got a hefty sonic range with its minimalist design, befitting the film's setting and atmosphere. One thing most people tend to forget about when talking about Renaissance, despite the subtitle being the setting and year, is that it was intended to be listened to in French rather than English.
For the Craig there is in English, there is Patrick Floersheim in French. The original voice is the latter. There's a good reason why I am so critical of the exported releases from the native speech, a film should always be presented the way it was always ment to be. I love the English dub for its performances and decent delivery of the translated dialogue, but viewing it how the production crew envisioned is such a treat. It's an absolute pity that this particular audio track has become endangered from the rot, even the HD-DVD release might not last forever. Until a boutique label grabs it, this is the only way to experience the film in its purest form. The dialogue finally syncs up to the lips!

- Supplements - 2 (this is not an English-friendly release, and it shows.)
Another reason why this release is superior to its home region, but not to everywhere else who cannot speak it. Before we begin, it is important to note that everything has been encoded in PAL- you'll need a compatible monitor or television display to view them. Ascot Elite has nothing, Echo Bridge has the Making-Of. As much as Renaissance was a commerical failure, it has been given some legroom to explain itself here: having been equipped with the Making-Of (albeit without the English subs here), MAAZ (a rather surreal and european-flavoured short film made by director-writer Christian Volckman), the original pilot short (that was made to showcase the technology behind the film itself for funding and distributer-hunting, it's a fascinating prototype film that lacks a complete narrative), Character Galleries and Concept Art reels (which have additional details on the players of the plot and neat designs that went unused), the teaser and trailer for the theatrical release, closing on a rather deep featurette discussing the director-writer and his past works- In the Mind of Christian Volckman. I can't quite give a rating on the supplements after MAAZ, as they all lack English subtitles to make it comprehensible to a non-French speaker. The Making-Of and MAAZ were actually available on the UK DVD that Pathe also released, both were fully translated. The French DVD has THREE commentary tracks with the director-writer and various crew members (all exclusively in French, however), this is another significant loss. Overall, it is a more complete package than any other release and it bests the Echo Bridge and Ascot Elite releases by a channel-crossing wide. It is an absolute shame I cannot enjoy them fully. Everything has been encoded in VC-1.

- Overall - 1 (the Blu-ray is unplayable, get it on HD-DVD if you want it in French or wait for a new remastered disc)
One of my favourite films deserved better in manufacturing, and this release has to be the worst in terms of disc rot. It's an absolute nightmare, especially one trying to compile all of the releases Renaissance had received in HD. If you're just looking into watching it for the first time, consider getting the Echo Bridge release. As much as I despise their discs, they served Renaissance well enough to serve as a good introductionary release. With the film currently in rights limbo, one has to make do with these limited ways of experiencing it the way it was meant to be seen. Renaissance should be enjoyed by noir and sci-fi junkies, this way is not so. Get the HD-DVD release.

TL;DR- Pathe's French blu-ray discs before 2009 suffer from severe disc rot, all of them have become extinct. If you have this title, get the HD-DVD equivalent (since copies there are still working and are the only way to get the original French audio in lossless form). This justifies why this one gets a 1/5 rather than a 3/5.

I am not going to ... display full review

Great sound, classic Acton with loads of fun.
Glad I picked it up.
However, it doesn't look like 2:39-1 to me. More like a 2:35-1

Anyways, great reference material.

Highly recommended!

Great sound, classic Acton with loads of fun.
Glad I picked it up.
However, it doesn't look like 2:39-1 to me. More like a 2:35-1

Anyways, great reference material.

Highly recommended! display full review

A tale of witches and the men who love them. Fortunately, in the Wynorskiverse, witches cast spells by slathering themselves with baby oil and writhing around stark naked...and that was just the opening scene.

On a more serious note: I honestly can't recommend this for Joe Average Movie Watcher. But if you're a person who remembers and / or appreciates the DTV erotic thrillers of the early and mid 90s? I would say this disc is a must have. The movie has a sequel called "Sorceress 2: The Temptress." The DVD goes for outrageous prices when it can be found at all. I'm hoping that film will receive the same treatment this one did.

Video quality is excellent. Audio is a mixed bag; I would say that about 30% the vocals were too soft, making it difficult (but not impossible) to hear what characters were saying. Turn up the volume, and you can hear them, but then everything else becomes too loud. I had to turn on the subtitles (which, BTW, are English only); this did not affect my enjoyment of the film in any way. Given the obvious effort Synapse put into the restoration, I'll just chalk it up to the source elements.

I won't bother with details about the plot; everything you need to know is on the back of the BD case. I'll just say that I was surprised by how...maybe "good" is not the right word. But it's engaging enough to keep a viewer's interest between bouts of nudity and sexual shenanigans. Same goes for the dialogue and acting.

Kudos to Synapse for this release. I hope more labels take note.

A tale of witches and the men who love them. Fortunately, in the Wynorskiverse, witches cast spells by slathering themselves with baby oil and writhing around stark naked...and that was just the opening scene.

On a more serious note: I honestly can't recommend this for Joe Average Movie Watcher. But if you're a person who remembers and / or appr... display full review

Essentially a port of Shout's US release, with the exception of the 5.1 audio track being dropped and a LPCM stereo track replacing Shout's DTS MA stereo track.

PQ is very much DVD-master era, with a relatively flat colour-grading, and acceptable levels of detail. There's dirt, specks etc evident, but no DNR and plenty of grain throughout.

Extras are exactly the same as the Shout release.

Essentially a port of Shout's US release, with the exception of the 5.1 audio track being dropped and a LPCM stereo track replacing Shout's DTS MA stereo track.

PQ is very much DVD-master era, with a relatively flat colour-grading, and acceptable levels of detail. There's dirt, specks etc evident, but no DNR and plenty of grain throughout.

E... display full review

color of night is a typical 90's erotic thriller. Although the film has many issues, I always find it very enjoyable. I think there is a good chemistry between Willis and March and we can clearly see it in the directors cut :-)

The theatrical cut looks clean, colours are nice throughout the film. Not perfect and there is still some space for improvement.

On the other hand, the directors cut has dirt here and there. I thought the colour grading is a bit yellowish which makes it rather flat. Overall, the image quality isn't consistent which is a shame now the directors cut is considered one and the only version of the film.

I have also compare it to the UK DVD. the UK dvd looks bad but it has a different aspect ratio than US blu ray so you can see little surprises on the bottom of the frame

color of night is a typical 90's erotic thriller. Although the film has many issues, I always find it very enjoyable. I think there is a good chemistry between Willis and March and we can clearly see it in the directors cut :-)

The theatrical cut looks clean, colours are nice throughout the film. Not perfect and there is still some space for imp... display full review

Great 4k with a nice filmic look which i was not expecting from this one. (Imported so i can't access the Blu-Ray with the extras)

Great 4k with a nice filmic look which i was not expecting from this one. (Imported so i can't access the Blu-Ray with the extras) display full review

Whenever I saw this announced from Eureka, I was insanely hyped for The Double Crosser's Release. I'm here to say; the hype didn't disappoint. This movie comes with 2 cuts of the movie on one disc, and I only had time, as of this review, to watch the original Hong Kong Theatrical Cut. However, I went through The English Export Version to see if the ending is different.


I will give a basic plot without and do my best, to not spoil much. Then, I'll go over my favorite part about Blu-Rays, the restoration's PQ and AQ.



The Double Crosser's Plot


The movie starts with the main character's father being assassinated by his partner, but before his father is killed, the father leaves a audio tape recording for his son/the main character/hero. His father worked for an illegal smuggling ring to steal money from the boss, quit the illegal activities, and then provide for his son. The father is successful in stealing the money, but he's assassinated by his close friend/partner. The father leaves that tape recording for his son, so his son goes to seek revenge against his father's former partner.


His former partner moved elsewhere under a new name, but the main character who's seeking to avenge his father uses the money to lure him out. Along the way, the main character/hero meets others close to his father, two in fact. Yes, the movie title "The Double Crossers" is PERFECT here because indeed someone gets betrayed, but I won't spoil ANYTHING.


The notable cast here is well known real life Former 14k Triad Boss Michael Wai Man Chan, who's the second in command to the main villain/the father's assassin (huge fan of his movies, played an incredible hero in Chinese Hercules and many other roles as a cool villain), Sammo Hung, for those who're interested in this movie because of him, plays a VERY small role in the movie as a henchmen to the main villain. He has a fight scene, but it's so short and he's easily pushed aside.


The main villain of this movie is obviously interested in money, but he's wanting to take over the oil industry to exploit profits. I've seen the main villain in other movies, but I don't know his name. He's the former partner of the assassinated father and does a great job portraying the villain.



I'm sure there's other notable cast members here. I just honestly don't know them.



Other than that, that's the basic plot. Our main character/hero's father is assassinated, and he goes to avenge his father. I won't spoil if he does or not. The fight scenes are fun though there's not many and a lot are quite short.


I want to say one last thing before I move onto the picture and audio quality. The Original Hong Kong Theatrical Cut and The English Export Cut feature different endings and different restorations. I personally loved the ending to the English Export Cut way more.


I give The Hong Kong Cut a 4/5, fun movie.


Now, onto the Picture Quality.



The Double Crosser's Hong Kong Theatrical Cut Picture Quality



I personally give the Picture Quality a stunning 4.5 out of 5. This cut is from a new Eureka 2k Restoration, and it clearly shows how much care and effort they put into restoring this rare film.


Interior Details - When the interiors are brightly lit, the detail and colors simply pop in a near jaw dropping viewing experience. The set pieces like furniture are nicely detailed and naturally colored, and the characters at both close-up and mid-range show-up nicely. In close-ups, you can perfectly see their pours, their clothes are all PERFECTLY detailed (a good example for those that purchase this is when the main villain is in a furry white black coat it's just PERFECTLY detailed and naturally colored).


Same with the skin tones; there's no waxy DNR edge enhancement here, skin tones look incredibly natural, hair threads and color look natural, and every color from red (there's a good example of this in the film of a red sofa; it just looks incredibly detailed), dark blue, light blue, brown (the desks are so realistic looking), etc all just pop-out to the viewer. I was honestly very amazed how this restoration looked.


In the darker interior shots, grain can get heavy, but it's not so heavy to the point where it messes with detail or colors. Like above, the furniture, walls, people and their clothes all just stand out to make a very pleasant viewing experience, and this is all consistent throughout the entire movie. Eureka did an incredible job with this restoration.



Interior Darker Scenes and Night Scenes - I will say my only minor gripe is shadow detail in the dark interior scenes and night scenes can be quite lacking, given the heavy grain in those scenes, but again, besides the shadow detail and black levels being very dark in those scenes, every other detail and colors in those described scenes are easily seen. Even so, there's not many night scenes or dark interior scenes. If you're picky and want EVERY scene perfect or consistent, I understand, but the PQ drops a very little bit in those described shots.


I sadly can't upload any screenshots. I tried earlier, but the upload failed. If you're interested, I highly recommend buying this because the restoration for this cut alone, in my honest opinion, is simply stunning.




Exterior Day Scenes - All I can say is WOW. The detail and colors show up even better here (as usual since most, if not all blu-rays I've seen are much better during daytime scenes). There isn't an ounce of detail or color that goes missing here. The colors are even better here. A good example of this is in a hilarious scene where the main character/hero, also, his partner pretend to be traffic cops, and they run away from the bad guys after a bomb being planted. There's a red car, and on the back hood of the car, there's dirt on the back and it's just so incredible to see the dirt so well detailed from a mid-range shot like that. I just couldn't believe how incredible it looked.


The shadow details are much better here, obviously. You can make out shadows, but yet, see the ground perfectly detailed. A good example of this is a beach shoot-out scene during the day. You can see the sand detailed pretty well when a character's shadow appears.


I rate The Picture Quality of The Hong Kong Cut a 4.5/5. If it weren't for the few night scenes and darker interior shots because of the heavy grain, crushed blacks, and pretty poor shadow detail, this would be a 5/5 for me.




The English Export Cut Picture Quality


I personally give the English Export Cut a 3.5/5. Like above, it's presented in a new 2k Scan downscaled to 1080p but nicely restored by Eureka. This print is much softer on the eyes, and it shows so it's less sharp. Not that it looks bad, by ANY means. It's still very nice to watch and a enjoyable viewing experience, but when compared to the other cut? It's obvious which looks better in detail and colors.


The greens such as trees look like a lighter green when some should look like a darker or natural green, reds on clothes look washed/lighter, browns such as desks look dull in comparison to the other cut, and the black levels and shadows is less detailed in this cut compared to the other. It's the same with the other colors, the skin tones and detail still look nice, but again, a less sharp presentation but still a excellent detailed restoration, in my honest subjective opinion.


It just pales in comparison to the Hong Kong Cut.


I had to make that review short since I skimmed through this cut, but I for sure recommend to watch both cuts since both feature different endings.




The Double Crosser's Hong Kong Cut and English Export Cut Audio Quality


Audio Quality - I give both cuts a 4/5. I'm more into picture quality, and I just have a 55in LG 4k TV but the sound effects like punches and kicks landing are heard easily and clearly, same with the dialogue in both cuts. I'm sure this would sound much better with a better set-up.



The Double Crosser's Extras - Both cuts are on one disc, not sure to count that as an extra, but other than that, there's Brand New Audio Commentaries from Frank Djeng, Mike Leeder, and Arne Venema on the disc.



That's pretty much it for the review, but it's a fun rare movie. It doesn't have as much fighting or shoot-outs as I thought, but there's a decent amount and they were fun to watch. I always enjoy basic plots like bad guy betrayed my father; I'm out to avenge him. Also, if you say you love Asian Action Cinema like I do, then you know those plots are all too common, lol.


The picture quality on the Hong Kong Cut, to me, was simply incredible (as expected from Eureka) and having 2 different versions of the film with different endings made this one of my favorite Eureka Purchases this year. Next month is A Man Called Tiger with Legendary Actor and Former Real Life Triad Member, Jimmy Wang Yu.



I simply can't WAIT for that movie, especially how The Valiant Ones 4k, The Double Crossers, and both Bull and Bear Fighter looked!


If you're a fan of Hong Kong Action Cinema and were interested in this movie, it's not perfect, but a fun movie with a stunning restoration of The Original Hong Kong Theatrical Cut. Also, it has a nice Restoration of The English Export Cut. I highly recommend. As per usual with Eureka, they give their customers nice goodies like a 20-30 page booklet that's worth reading.

Whenever I saw this announced from Eureka, I was insanely hyped for The Double Crosser's Release. I'm here to say; the hype didn't disappoint. This movie comes with 2 cuts of the movie on one disc, and I only had time, as of this review, to watch the original Hong Kong Theatrical Cut. However, I went through The English Export Version to see if the... display full review

I grew up with the '69 edit with the darkened narrator and different order of sequences. I don't prefer it just because my own nostalgia, I think it was an improvement. It was easier to get through the entire film, it made the less popular sequences more appreciable in that order, and the silhouette effect added to the trippyness. They had reasons for making those changes and I don't think that it detracted from Walt's vision at all. I believe the audio was original as well, warm and full and played with a passion. And I don't miss the Sunflower bit. I think they should put all the footage back but then overlay a young white female centaur in her place. Then they'll complain about that too! I would love a box set with all versions in 4k, and maybe an AI-generated recreation of the original Deems Taylor narration. That would be in interesting. But no, I will never get what I want ~

I grew up with the '69 edit with the darkened narrator and different order of sequences. I don't prefer it just because my own nostalgia, I think it was an improvement. It was easier to get through the entire film, it made the less popular sequences more appreciable in that order, and the silhouette effect added to the trippyness. They had reasons ... display full review

This film involves itself with a troubled loner boy who finds creatures living in a pit near his home. I would classify it as combination of horror, drama mixed with a touch of comedy. It has become a cult classic of sorts and I can see why with it's cinematography, settings and music lending itself to this eerie tale. It has just a tad bit of gore, but is still a fun little film.
Picture and audio work well.
A few interviews from the he cast and people involved with the production,. There are trailers for some additional films but
not for the feature.
Well worth viewing at least once or more.

This film involves itself with a troubled loner boy who finds creatures living in a pit near his home. I would classify it as combination of horror, drama mixed with a touch of comedy. It has become a cult classic of sorts and I can see why with it's cinematography, settings and music lending itself to this eerie tale. It has just a tad bit of gore... display full review

This movie, upon it's release, had a game going tied in Glad bags, that if you could guess where the last amount of cash was hidden you might win a million dollars.
The only things gong for this film is the great video and audio.
Other than that it's a terrible rip of of It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World.
SKIP IT!

This movie, upon it's release, had a game going tied in Glad bags, that if you could guess where the last amount of cash was hidden you might win a million dollars.
The only things gong for this film is the great video and audio.
Other than that it's a terrible rip of of It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World.
SKIP IT! display full review

The Emerald Forest begins with a written intro that this story you are about to view is true. What follows is a family who's husband, played by Powers Booth is a well respected Engineer tasked with overseeing the construction of a damn near the Amazon jungle. Shortly after he arrives on site, his son vanishes in the jungle. The story then jumps to a decade later as his job is nearly complete, but his search for his son endures. By happenstance he stumbles upon his son in the wild only to be lured into the 'invisible people's' tribe and catchup on where his son has been raised and why he was kidnapped. More human drama unfolds as this plot moves forward. Kino Lorber re-issues this title with a new encode and it looks good. Light grain throughout with subtle details. A very good 2.0 DTS audio track with an audio commentary for the main extra. Bottom line a solid movie given the nature of its premise, but Powers Booth is always a joy to watch.....

The Emerald Forest begins with a written intro that this story you are about to view is true. What follows is a family who's husband, played by Powers Booth is a well respected Engineer tasked with overseeing the construction of a damn near the Amazon jungle. Shortly after he arrives on site, his son vanishes in the jungle. The story then jumps to ... display full review

Blood Simple gets right to the point of its proceedings once the characters are introduced. It follows a bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who discovers his wife (Frances McDeromand) is having an affair with his colleague (John Getz) and hires a slimy henchman(E. Emmet Walsh) to murder them both. Things go afoul with an interesting turn of events. Criterion brings this early 80's gem to 4K with a gorgeous Dolby Vision presentation and solid 5.1 DTS audio track. The print is nicely detailed with light film grain, and solid blacks. Audio is clean and clear with no extra's on the UHD save for the BD included. Bottom line a well made early movie from the Coen Brothers who would go on to some other greats like The Big Lobowski and Raising Arizona.

Blood Simple gets right to the point of its proceedings once the characters are introduced. It follows a bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who discovers his wife (Frances McDeromand) is having an affair with his colleague (John Getz) and hires a slimy henchman(E. Emmet Walsh) to murder them both. Things go afoul with an interesting turn of events. Criterion b... display full review

Revenge of the Ninja is a direct sequel to Enter the Ninja, when Cho seeks a new life in the States with his son, his new doll business is suddenly being used to smuggle heroin within the dolls to which Cho must then face an old enemy to protect his business and son. Alas the Revenge of the Ninja unfolds. This follow up features an uneven plot and mediocre action. Then again this is mid 80's Cannon Films Cinema. Kino's blu offers up a workable 1080p print and good 2.0 DTS audio track. Audio commentary for the main extra and other KL trailers on hand as well. Bottom line a decent follow up to the first one with good blu-ray quality.....

Revenge of the Ninja is a direct sequel to Enter the Ninja, when Cho seeks a new life in the States with his son, his new doll business is suddenly being used to smuggle heroin within the dolls to which Cho must then face an old enemy to protect his business and son. Alas the Revenge of the Ninja unfolds. This follow up features an uneven plot and ... display full review

Starting Over features a story of mid aged adults who's romantic relationships have failed them only to find new partners in which no sparks fly in the beginning but only to blossom over time. Then things get serious and the previous relationship seems to reappear only to be cut short because the emotions are still mixed. Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh and Candice Bergen star in this late 70's snooze fest. Kino Lorber brings this title to blu with a lovely picture and sound quality. The print features light grain and soft details while the 2.0 DTS audio track is clean and clear. An audio commentary for the main extra along with other KL title released trailers. Bottom line an OK movie with mundane results.....

Starting Over features a story of mid aged adults who's romantic relationships have failed them only to find new partners in which no sparks fly in the beginning but only to blossom over time. Then things get serious and the previous relationship seems to reappear only to be cut short because the emotions are still mixed. Burt Reynolds, Jill Claybu... display full review

Civil War could be viewed in many different ways depending on ones political views. Its a disturbing film for its brutal take on what is happening in the film itself as well as what is happening in reality. Don't let the title mislead you to think this is a war battle from start to finish but a sharp contrast to the unrest currently happening in the United States and an outcome that could become reality. UHD specs offer up a very nice Dolby Vision presentation and a almost perfect Dolby Atmos audio track. Images are sharp and well detailed while audio is clean and clear, especially when we reach the climatic conclusion. A few extra's round out this excellent film!

Civil War could be viewed in many different ways depending on ones political views. Its a disturbing film for its brutal take on what is happening in the film itself as well as what is happening in reality. Don't let the title mislead you to think this is a war battle from start to finish but a sharp contrast to the unrest currently happening in th... display full review

Twister is a good movie.. It's a disaster movie.. The UHD has been improved.. PQ is a better than the Blu-ray.. It's much smoother and dynamic.. The HDR is ok, not as vibrant as other UHD's.. Now the audio, the atmos has good surround ( umph )..Has low dialogue.. Good soundtrack..

Recommend for fans of the movie..

Twister is a good movie.. It's a disaster movie.. The UHD has been improved.. PQ is a better than the Blu-ray.. It's much smoother and dynamic.. The HDR is ok, not as vibrant as other UHD's.. Now the audio, the atmos has good surround ( umph )..Has low dialogue.. Good soundtrack..

Recommend for fans of the movie.. display full review

The movie itself was soooo good. For me this was a 5/5 movie. Congrats to Garland and everyone involved. Like a realistic walking dead without zombies Feels highly relevant and important.

The 4K UHD is stunning. Rarely are so cinematic images seen from a 4K.

The 3D lenticular cover/slip is a nice bonus.

Contender for disc of the year 2024.

The movie itself was soooo good. For me this was a 5/5 movie. Congrats to Garland and everyone involved. Like a realistic walking dead without zombies Feels highly relevant and important.

The 4K UHD is stunning. Rarely are so cinematic images seen from a 4K.

The 3D lenticular cover/slip is a nice bonus.

Contender for disc of the year 2024. display full review

Overall: I give this a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, but this one may be an experience that could be different based on a person�s home theater setup. I purchased on sale recently and just watched on my Sony OLED - I was surprised to see how great it looked on the 4K disc - I did not watch the 2K Blu-Ray

Picture Quality:
-Like others have said, this feels like watching a nice 35mm print at a quality movie theatre
-The grain was pleasant and the colors looked fantastic, like the blue in Henry Hill�s suit during the trial at the film�s end
-The black levels seemed to work quite nicely for me- this just may be a film that is handled much better by an OLED - I am no expert, just taking a guess

Audio Quality:
-A robust, enjoyable 5.1 DTS track
-The iconic soundtrack was music to my ears, so to speak - such richness to the bang of the drums or when the Stones are featured, the pitch of Mick Jagger�s voice
-Dialogue is clear and I didn�t notice volume spikes

Overall: I give this a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, but this one may be an experience that could be different based on a person�s home theater setup. I purchased on sale recently and just watched on my Sony OLED - I was surprised to see how great it looked on the 4K disc - I did not watch the 2K Blu-Ray

Picture Quality:
-Like others have said, this fee... display full review

Overall: My highest recommendation. What a film from William Friedkin and this 4K Blu-Ray is fantastic from Kino Lorber

Spoiler Free Review:
-Highly stylized and visceral, To Live and Die in L.A. is a tour de force - a must watch.
-A perfect time capsule of the 80s
-Top shelf early Dafoe, never seen William Peterson better and John Pankow, a wow performance
-The female characters are so well done too; Debra Feuer is a very underrated actress and Darlanne Fluegel delivers as the informant

**Disc review only for 4K Blu-Ray disc**

Picture Quality:
-Perfectly filmic with a beautiful grain layer
-HDR treatment helps the colors come alive

Audio Quality:
-I chose the 5.1 track, which was lively and robust; the sound of a wooden pallet banging up against a chain link fence near the film�s beginning sounds perfect
-The rain and gunshots make great use of the surround channels
-Dialogue is perfectly clear and crisp
-No volume spikes

Overall: My highest recommendation. What a film from William Friedkin and this 4K Blu-Ray is fantastic from Kino Lorber

Spoiler Free Review:
-Highly stylized and visceral, To Live and Die in L.A. is a tour de force - a must watch.
-A perfect time capsule of the 80s
-Top shelf early Dafoe, never seen William Peterson better and John Pankow, a ... display full review

There is really nothing major missing from this release. The movie looks and sounds great and there is a pretty good amount of extras

There is really nothing major missing from this release. The movie looks and sounds great and there is a pretty good amount of extras display full review

The EU copy of the movie Blazing Saddles is the same exact disk, transfer and extras as the American 40th Anniversary edition. PQ is much better than the earlier vc-1 previously released in the states. If you can't find the 40th Anniversary edition at a fairly cheap price then I would recommend importing this if you are a fan. I keep hearing rumors of a 4K UHD edition coming out soon but of course it's only a EU release and quite expensive because of the packaging. This release is just fine for me.

The EU copy of the movie Blazing Saddles is the same exact disk, transfer and extras as the American 40th Anniversary edition. PQ is much better than the earlier vc-1 previously released in the states. If you can't find the 40th Anniversary edition at a fairly cheap price then I would recommend importing this if you are a fan. I keep hearing rumors... display full review

The Film:

Franka Potente, known for her roles in "Run Lola Run" and "The Bourne Identity," makes her debut as writer and director in "Home." Full disclosure, I'm a big fan of Potente's acting, so I was curious to see her transition behind the camera.

The standout feature of "Home" is its exceptional cast. Potente has assembled talented actors, including Kathy Bates, Stephen Root, and Lil Rel Howery, who deliver standout performances. It's also heartwarming to see Frank Griebe, the cinematographer of "Run Lola Run," collaborate with Potente again after 20 years.

The film's natural scenery is visually pleasing, and its runtime is well-paced, considering all.

However, the film isn't without its flaws. Jake McLaughlin's portrayal of Marvin feels wooden and fails to engage, making it challenging to invest in his character. Aisling Franciosi, though talented, delivers a lackluster performance, and her character's motivations and arc feel underdeveloped and unearned. Derek Richardson's role seems more about his personal connection to Potente than fitting into the film's narrative, contributing little to the story's progression.

Critically, Potente's screenplay, while inspired, remains surface-level and fails to weave together a compelling narrative. The pacing feels rushed, hindering emotional engagement. A longer runtime and a more refined screenplay could have elevated the storytelling.

Frank Griebe's cinematography, while iconic in "Run Lola Run," disappoints here. The chosen 2.40:1 aspect ratio feels mismatched for the film's intimate moments, lacking the close, personal shots that a 1.85:1 or 1.66:1 ratio might have provided. The shaky camerawork, reminiscent of action films like "The Bourne Trilogy," feels out of place here, detracting from the film's tone. The music, too, fails to leave a lasting impact.

Despite these criticisms, I see potential in Potente as a filmmaker. Her directorial debut may not hit all the marks, but her talent shines through, suggesting future promise.

The Blu-ray Disc:

Technically, the Blu-ray presentation of "Home" maintains a clean, glossy look typical of digital RED camera cinematography, akin to films like "Che," also featuring Potente. The 5.1 audio track is solid, with a good balance of score and dialogue.

The Film:

Franka Potente, known for her roles in "Run Lola Run" and "The Bourne Identity," makes her debut as writer and director in "Home." Full disclosure, I'm a big fan of Potente's acting, so I was curious to see her transition behind the camera.

The standout feature of "Home" is its exceptional cast. Potente has assembled talented actors... display full review

Finally the long-awaited 4K Blu-ray release of Twister wow was it worth it! Picture quality at its finest Inky blacks great colors and audio is out of this world with a new Atmos sound mix. A must pick up my highest recommendation!

Finally the long-awaited 4K Blu-ray release of Twister wow was it worth it! Picture quality at its finest Inky blacks great colors and audio is out of this world with a new Atmos sound mix. A must pick up my highest recommendation! display full review