The Dead Zone Blu-ray - Christopher Walken

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

1) DVD titles LEFT

2) Koch Media - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT

directed by David Cronenberg
USA 1983

The combined talents of the novelist Stephen King, the director David Cronenberg (''Scanners'') and the producer Debra Hill (who has the second and third ''Halloween'' films to her credit) would seem to suggest something much scarier than ''The Dead Zone,'' a well-acted drama more eerie than terrifying, more rooted in the occult than in sheer horror. It's a sad, sympathetic and unsettling movie, quietly forceful but in no way geared to the cheap scream.

Excerpt from the NY Times located HERE

***

"The Dead Zone" does what only a good supernatural thriller can do: It makes us forget it is supernatural. Like "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist," it tells its story so strongly through the lives of sympathetic, believable people that we not only forgive the gimmicks, we accept them. There is pathos in what happens to the Christopher Walken character in this movie and that pathos would never be felt if we didn't buy the movie's premise.

Walken plays a high school teacher whose life is happy (he's in love with Brooke Adams), until the night an accident puts him into a coma for five years. When he "returns," he has an extra-sensory gift. He can touch people's hands and "know" what will happen to them. His first discovery is that he can foresee the future. His second is that he can change it.

Excerpt from Roger Ebert's review at the Chicago Sun Times located HERE

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Theatrical Release: October 21st, 1983

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Comparison:

Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Paramount (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Koch Media - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) Paramount (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Koch Media - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Cover
Distribution	Paramount Region 1 - NTSC	Paramount (Special Edition) Region 1 - NTSC	Koch Media Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:43:36	1:43:36	1:43:44.176
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.54 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.46 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 37,026,184,634 bytes Feature Size: 35,902,245,312 bytes Video Bitrate: 36.21 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate : Paramount
Bitrate: Paramount (Special Edition)
Bitrate: Koch Media Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)	English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio German 1679 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1679 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1699 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1699 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1959 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1959 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1621 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1621 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles	English, None	English, None	English, German, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Paramount Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer (2:13) DVD Release Date: September 19th, 2000 Keep case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Paramount (Special Edition) Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Featurettes: Memories From the Dead Zone • The Look of The Dead Zone • Visions and Horror From The Dead Zone • The Politics of The Dead Zone • Theatrical Trailer (2:13) • Previews DVD Release Date: September 26th, 2006 Keep Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Koch Disc Size: 37,026,184,634 bytes Feature Size: 35,902,245,312 bytes Video Bitrate: 36.21 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman • English Trailer (2:08) • Picture Gallery DVD: Featurettes (English with German subtitles): • Memories of The Dead Zone (12:18) • The Look of The Dead Zone (9:23) • Visions and Horror From The Dead Zone (9:42) • The Politics of The Dead Zone (11:32) • Interview with Cronenberg, Debra Hill, Sheen (English with burned-in Asian subtitles) (16:04) • Interview with Stephen King (English with German subtitles) (48:02) • 20-page booklet Blu-ray Release Date: February 22nd, 2018 MediaBook Blu-ray Case Chapters 16

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Koch Media - Region 'B' Blu-ray March 2018: The Dead Zone has been one of the more desired films of recent years to reach Blu-ray. Many fans consider it Cronenberg's best. I should note that it has a very plain titles screen (see top of review) as opposed to the one on the DVDs. Other than that it is the same full presentation of the film, but in 1080P. It looks solid - nice grain textures and a notable advance in details. The screen captures below can indicate the improvement. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. It was great to see this in HD!

We get fully optional DTS-HD master tracks in a German DUB (2.0) and English 5.1 surround or 2.0 (all 16-bit). Effects are supported well in the lossless. The memorable, and occasionally jarring (during flash-back/forward recollections), score is by Michael Kamen (Venom, Mona Lisa, Event Horizon, Road House, Company Business) which does an excellent job riding beside the film's sporadic mystery and tension sounding clean and crisp. It sounds a full notch above the lossy DVDs. There are optional English or German subtitles on the Region 'B' Blu-ray disc.

This commentary with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman from 2012 and it is still very good - they are very familiar with the novel and details of the Canadian production. They can tend to make light of some sequences but there are no gaps and overall I would say it has a lot of value as they reference many other Cronenberg films. Also on the Blu-ray disc is an English trailer and a picture gallery. There is a DVD of the feature included in the Mediabook and a second DVD of extras that include the previous 40-minutes of featurettes (English with German subtitles): Memories of The Dead Zone, The Look of The Dead Zone, Visions and Horror From The Dead Zone and The Politics of The Dead Zone. There is a 1/4 hour interview with Cronenberg, Debra Hill, and Sheen (English with burned-in Asian subtitles) and a rewarding 48-minute interview with Stephen King (English with German subtitles). The Mediabook is a 20-page booklet in German text.

I was so happy to revisit this Cronenberg favorite - it looks and sounds head-and-tails above the SDs - lots of wonderful grain and the commentary and extras add further value. Nothing not to dislike - strongly recommended!

***

On THE DVDs: There is not an extravagant difference in the image quality of the two releases. The Special Edition is a bit brighter, skin tones less red, the frame is opened up a bit showing more information but sharpness is about the same. Both have optional yellow subtitles in English and offer a 5.1 and 2.0 track while the Special Edition includes a French DUB.

The 'Special Edition' label is because of the supplements - 4 featurettes that looked to have been filmed at the same time with director Cronenberg giving input as well as others members of the cast including Brooke Adams. They are pretty interesting at around 10 minutes each giving us almost 45 minutes of dialogue about the film. The 4 are divided into sections loosely based on the topical conversations about The Dead Zone and its production.

I've always really enjoyed this film - it has an intangible that rises it above its station. Very re-watchable yet also highly memorable. It has attained a kind of cult status and the original DVD is out-of-print in many locations. I'm glad I have the new Special Edition, but only real fans of then film need to upgrade.

- Gary Tooze

DVD Menus

(Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Paramount (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)

Koch Media - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

DVD included in Koch Media - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Screen Captures

1) Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Paramount (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Koch Media - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM