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| TWO EVIL EYES ADC FILMS : GRUPPO BEMA; ITALY dvd specification |
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| [video][sound][extras][conclusion] |
| If you want a review of the actual film, click here. |
| video |
| I compared this Anchor Bay UK release with the Columbia French dvd, and I am sure that they have used the same source materials. A few minutes into 'The Black Cat' segment there's a piece of dust at the right side of the screen on both versions (which also stays there for a good fourteen minutes!). Anchor Bay's mastering is stronger in colour, but it looks a bit too colourful. The yellow tones are very boosted. The picture is sharp but when compared to the French dvd you can see the poor mastering. This is especially evident during daytime scenes (with a lot of natural light) in Rod Ushers (Harvey Keitel) house. A lot of detail gets lost here, when it comes to textures of the light. Don't get me wrong, the image quality is more then OK, but it could have been handled much better. Considering that the same source material has been used as for the French release, I think it is sloppy of ABUK to present their customers with a poorly mastered dvd! |
| sound |
| I first listened to the Dolby Digital 2.0 track, and it is mushy and mixed way too low! When compared to the French stereo track, that version KILLS this Anchor Bay mix. It is hard to follow the dialogue and you have to crank up the volume a good bit in order to be able to hear what is said. The 5.1 track is however (luckily!) another story. Here we get the goods delivered, the dialogue is clean and easy to follow. The soundstage is decently large and Pino Donaggio's excellent score does greatly benefit from this. The only complaint I have is the usage (or rather, non) of the surround channels. They are used but it sounds more like a mirrored mix of what goes on in the front channels. They could and should have been seperated more from the front. |
| extras |
| This is the salvation for ABUK! They do get the party started with a nice package of bonus features. Firstly, they include the more than excellent one hour documentary 'An Eye for Horror'. Packed with in depth interviews with Argento's actors, crew, composers etc... it is essential viewing for any Italiano buff! One down side here is that there are no chapters on the documentary, which means you have to sit there and search for the bits you want to see again. Clumsy ABUK! There's also a photo gallery with twenty two stills from Romero's and Argento's second collaboration. Furthermore you can feast your eyes upon filmographies and biographies from both of the directors. The animated menu navigates easily while showing parts of mayhem from the movie. |
| conclusion |
| A mixed bag of plaudits and flaws from ABUK for one of Argento's most underated efforts. Anchor Bay could have given us a better presentation of the movie but because of poor mastering the result is not top of the line image wise. This in my mind can only be blamed on poor attention to detail. This is not the eighties when video nasties of the poorest quality could be unleashed upon the customers (VIPCO anyone?). If Anchor Bay UK really wants to compete with the big boys, they should realize that times have changed! Enough nagging, I am more than pleased to get the fine documentary as a bonus! Until a version with better picture comes along I can recommend this release! |
| reviewed by Mattias Borgh |
| cover artwork |
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