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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by David Greene
USA 1984

 

The crime stuns the public. The pregnant wife and two young daughters of Captain Jeffrey MacDonald, M.D., have just been brutally murdered. Could a dedicated doctor and brilliant militarist murder his own family in cold blood? Based on Joe McGinniss’s bestseller and boasting top-notch performances by Karl Malden (A Streetcar Named Desire), Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront), Barry Newman (The Lawyer), Gary Cole (In the Line of Fire) and Andy Griffith (A Face in the Crowd), Fatal Vision brings to life this extraordinary true-crime drama in a powerful, compelling miniseries event. After the longest hearing in military history, charges against the respected MacDonald (Cole) are dropped due to inconclusive evidence. Convinced of his guilt, however, his determined in-laws (Malden and Saint) fight for nearly ten years to re-open the case. A suspenseful trial culminates in a gripping conclusion in the highly acclaimed Fatal Vision—one of the most publicized and thought-provoking cases in modern history. Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special, and winner of Outstanding Supporting Actor for the mighty Malden.

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Theatrical Release: November 18th, 1984

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 3:04:28.000        
Video

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,979,410,118 bytes

Feature: 45,337,878,528 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.26 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1556 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1556 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -31dB

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Kino

 

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,979,410,118 bytes

Feature: 45,337,878,528 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.26 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Edition Details:

NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer


Blu-ray Release Date: September 10th, 2024

Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 15

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (September 2024): Kino have transferred David Greene's Fatal Vision to Blu-ray. The 2-part, 3 hour, mini-series is housed on a dual-layered disc with a high bitrate. It was a TV movie and was shown in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio. It looks reasonably crisp with balanced colors. There is texture, instances of depth and very clean with very few speckles. Most will be pleased with the modest-but-accurate HD presentation. It is in the original 2 X 1.5 parts that run consecutively. 

NOTE: We have added 74 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. Fatal Vision is a TV movie and doesn't graphically show the murders - but there is references with blood and still images of dead bodies. Many will appreciate the score by Gil Melle (The Victim, The Andromeda Strain, The Deliberate Stranger, Frankenstein: The True Story, Night Gallery, 7 episodes of Kolchak the Night Stalker, Colossus: The Forbin Project, You'll Like My Mother, The Sentinel and The Organization) which works well with this compelling drama, Dialogue is consistent and clear via the lossless transfer. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by film historian / filmmaker Daniel Kremer (author of Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films.) He describes the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case as as one of the most shocking, fascinating, confounding, tragic, and profoundly troubling in the dark, deep annals of true crime. He discusses what a big deal the miniseries was in television history comparing it to Engagement and The Day After. He discusses how it was aired over two nights and he discusses the history of the Joe McGinniss book, and the relationship between documentarians and their subjects. Daniel talks about the Unsolved Mysteries TV series narrated by Robert Stack., how the forensic evidence in the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case was so damning (each member of the family had a different blood type) and much more. He fills the 3 hours discussing the cast, crew and does a wonderful job. There are also trailers for Gorky Park, The Black Marble, The Package, Split Image and Gloria but none for Fatal Vision.      

David Greene's Fatal Vision is based on Joe McGinniss's best-selling 1983 true crime book. Controversy surrounds the book as Jeffrey MacDonald originally hired McGinniss in 1979 to write a book about his innocence. But after investigating details of the case McGinniss became convinced that MacDonald was guilty of murdering his family. It's a meticulously-realized crime-drama part courtroom milieu and police procedural. The cast is excellent with Karl Malden (post The Streets of San Francisco), Eva Marie Saint (North by Northwest), Barry Newman as a defense attorney - who also played a lawyer in his TV series Petrocelli and opposing council was played by Andy Griffith - who would soon portray an attorney for 6 year on the TV series Matlock. David Greene also directed The People Next Door, and Gray Lady Down. Fatal Vision is excellent. True-crime fans can really sink their teeth into this 3-hour miniseries on Kino Blu-ray. Strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze

 


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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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