H D - S E N S E I

A view on HD DVDs by Gary W. Tooze

 

Introduction: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 4600 DVDs and have reviewed over 3000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be it, but film will always be my first love and I list my favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible HERE.  

Gary's Home Theatre:
Samsung HPR4272 42" Plasma HDTV
Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player (firmware upgraded)
Sony DVP NS5ODH SD-DVD player (region-free and HDMI)
Harmon Cardon DD/DTS receiver
Ascent (main) + Boston Acoustics (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

Gary W. Tooze

 

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NOTE: We misidentified the HD of A Clockwork Orange as having an aspect ratio of 1.78. It is closer to its theatrical of 1.66:1. But, as we indicated, the package is spread over 2 - HD discs where, it has been reported to us that, the Blu-ray is on only one (both share the same VC-1 encode). It appears as though Blu-ray's larger disc capacity has come into play in the format war.

 

 

NOTE: We understand image quality (duplicate VC-1 encode) and content are exactly the same on both HD and Blu-ray editions. NOTE: The Blu-ray is on only one disc where the HD is spread over 2 - this is a huge separation point - drawing some concrete lines in the format war.

 

A Clockwork Orange [HD DVD and Blu-ray]

 
(Stanley Kubrick, 1971)

Warner Home Video
Review by Gary W. Tooze

1.66:1 1080p
2:16:25
Audio: Dolby TrueHD: English 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus English 5.1, DUBs: French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, none
Extras: Commentary with Malcolm McDowell and historian Nick Redman
Disc 2 - Channel Four documentary: Still Tickin': The Return of Clockwork Orange (43:35), Featurette: Great Bolshi Yarblockos!: Making A Clockwork Orange (28:15) and Career Profile O Lucky Malcolm! (1:26:05), Theatrical Trailer
Released: October 23rd, 2007
HD-DVD/Blu-ray standard case
35 Chapters

The Film:

 

 

Everything about A Clockwork Orange from the casting to the near-future set designs suggest that Stanley Kubrick was at the height of his creative power during this time. If, in fact, you are aware of the initial reaction to the film, Kubrick's mastery of his craft may have been too effective. He wound up voluntarily withdrawing the film from circulation in the UK in 1974 after the movie was blamed on a copycat murder and he and his wife received death threats. It was not re-released in England until after his death in 2000.

In the performance of his career Malcolm McDowell is Alex, a young man of pure Id whose malevolence is matched only by his sense of aesthetics, particularly music. But the character of Alex is really the device Kubrick uses to drive home the true theme of this movie which is that the greater evil is the eradication of a person's ability to make their own moral choices. As such, the audience is put into the position of identifying with Alex's humanity even as they are repulsed by his actions. The way in which Kubrick accomplishes this makes this film worth seeing again and again.

Gregg Ferencz

 

 

 

****

Presentation Comments:

It's hard to go out on a limb and totally denounce the new hi-def A Clockwork Orange... but something definitely seems 'a foul' here. I've watched the HD twice now and it just doesn't look very good - that is not to say that it doesn't faithfully adhere to its theatrical roots. It has a lot of grain which at times appears as digital noise - plus there is digital noise. The image has some definite blue in it. What purchasers should be aware of is that this will NOT scale the heights of high-definition DVD image quality. The film is over 35 years old and I just want to convey that it may be best not to escalate your expectations in comparison to modern film-to-hi-def-DVD quality. Because it is not. I'll also state here that this differs from previous Warner hi-def releases that I have reviewed in that when I pause the image the time-bar stays on the screen - not unlike Universal HD DVDs. In all other Warner HD DVDs that I have reviewed it does not appear. We have been told these are new Warner specifications. I'm perplexed as to why its on two discs (one feature, one extras) - surely it could have fit on one single-layered HD DVD (NOTE: The Blu-ray is on only one disc - this is a huge separation point - drawing some concrete lines in the format war - both use the same VC-1 encode). This is another reason for my suspicion. I hope you appreciate my honesty. The film has no annoying advertisements and A Clockwork Orange starts as soon as you put the disc in (an FBI warning and Warner logo first).     

Gary Tooze

 

 

Video:

Better than the upgraded 2-disc Special Edition... but not by a lot in my mind. The occasional softness may be inherent in the film itself - I have to claim ignorance. The digital noise can appear slightly blocky at times and fine in others - making my determination of which is grain and which is not that much harder. The color red - frequently used in this, and many Kubrick films, looks notably pure and vibrant - probably one of the more significant differences with the SD compared HERE. Blue is heavily represented. Contrast is good - black levels are pitch. Quality, in terms of detail, seems to vary from scene to scene and this may again be a faithful representation of the way the film was shot. I don't know.

 

Bottom line is that this image is NOT reference quality, but it does look minutely superior in many regards to the 2-disc Special Edition.    

 

Screen Captures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio:

The HD supports the usual audio - a TrueHD English 5.1 track and a Dolby Digital Plus English 5.1 sounding duplicated to the 5.1 track on the SE  - plus DUBs in French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. The TrueHD sounded very good but I don't think my ears were capable of distinguishing a multitude of differences from the 5.1 that I heard in the Special Edition. Dialogue audio is very consistent and supported by English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Portuguese, subtitles, in a white font with black border (sample above).

 

 

Extras:

The same as the SD Special Edition - informative commentary by Malcolm McDowell and historian Nick Redman. McDowell, as in the Caligula commentary, is his usual frank and honest self - not shying away from discussing details of the explicit nudity and violence scenes of the film. He paints a more approachable vision of Kubrick than others have. It is fun and casual for the most part. Redman is able to support McDowell with extraneous factoids and details of the other performers.

Disc 2 (also HD) has three featurettes - a 45 minute Channel Four documentary entitled Still Tickin': The Return of Clockwork Orange with input from a few talking heads about the impact of the film etc. The second featurette: Great Bolshi Yarblockos!: Making A Clockwork Orange has further input from important directors and others about the making, rating and screening of the film. Finally we have a career profile of Malcolm McDowell called O Lucky Malcolm! - it runs a full 1.5 hours and has input from the man, his friends, colleagues and others. There is also a theatrical trailer on disc two (on disc one of the SE).   

 

Menus

 

Disc 2

BOTTOM LINE:

I'm going to give this a thumbs down. It may be a marginally superior image but spreading the HD package over two-discs does not utilize the superiority of hi-def DVD. This is one case where you would probably be just as  satisfied with the 2-disc Special Edition for $5 less. If you intend to go hi-def with this title - then the Blu-ray would be the superior option.

 

 

NOTE: Image quality (VC-1 encode) and content are exactly the same on both HD and Blu-ray editions. NOTE: The Blu-ray is on only one disc where the HD is spread over 2 - this is a huge separation point - drawing some concrete lines in the format war.

 

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