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 BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc 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

 

HD-DVD STORE         HIGH DEFINITION DVD STORE

 

ALL OUR NEW FORMAT DVD REVIEWS

 

 

NOTE: Both high-definition releases use the same VC-1 encode with duplicate content/supplements.

 

 

NOTE: We understand image quality (duplicate VC-1 encode) and content are exactly the same on both HD and Blu-ray editions.

 

The Omega Man [HD DVD and Blu-ray]

 
(Boris Sagal,1971)

Warner Home Video
Review by Gary W. Tooze

2.4:1 1080p
1:38:22
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, DUBS: French: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, German: Dolby Digital Mono and Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English (CC), French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Italian, Korean, none
Extras:

Introduction by Screenwriter Joyce H. Carrington, Paul Koslo ("Dutch"), and Eric Laneuville ("Richie"), "The Last Man Alive: The Omega Man" Featurette, Theatrical trailer
 

Disc
25GB (single-layered) Blu-ray Disc


Released: November 27th, 2007
HD-DVD/Blu-ray standard case(s)
30 Chapters

 

The Film:

 

 

Welcome to the future. Biological war has decimated life on Earth. Los Angeles is a windswept ghost town where Robert Neville tools his convertible through sunlit streets foraging for supplies. And makes damn sure he gets undercover before sundown, when other "inhabitants" emerge. The Omega Man adapts Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend into a high-impact, high-tension saga of a fate not far removed from reality. Charlton Heston is Neville, fending off attacks by The Family, sinister neopeople spawned by the plague. He also becomes a man with a mission after meeting Lisa (Rosalind Cash), another unifected survivor - and guardian of some healthy children representing our species' hope.

 

 

 

 

****

Presentation Comments:

There is something very appealing about the apocalyptic doomsday concept also used in films like The Last Man on Earth (Like Omega Man this was also adapted from, sci-fi icon, Richard Matheson's classic sci-fi novel), Panic in Year Zero! (1962) and most recently in 28 Days Later. But none match the pure cheesy 70's feel of The Omega Man. Here we have some nasty ghoulish albino mutants struck with this current version of the unknown plague of mankind. Heston, a far cry from Ben-Hur, is Neville - seen car-hopping around a vacant L.A. - so perfect for the role that you could never imagine anyone else in his place. Supporting him are the ghouls Matthias (Anthony Zerbe) and his henchman Zachary (Lincoln Kilpatrick) plus pure but street-wise Lisa (Rosalind Cash) who is the unfortunate victim of the living dead curse. It comes across as a weak production outlay but that seems to add to its clandestine charm. Gotta love this on a late Friday night after you wait long enough to forget what happened the last time you saw it. It's classic and wonderful.         

Gary Tooze

 

 

Video:

A vast improvement over the SD snapper case version from 2000. This is especially true in terms of color, depth and detail. The 1080p VC-1 encode looks quite fetching in certain scenes. Digital artifacts still show through but with far less frequency than ever before. I don't see any color manipulations and I was pleasantly surprised that it looks as good as it does. I hope the captures below bear that out to some degree.       

 

Screen Captures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio:

No TrueHD bumping here - the original mono track is intact and clear as a bell. Good thing too is dialogue is fairly limited but fully supported by English (CC), French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Italian, or Korean optional subtitles. Being Warner both the HD (all are region 0) and this Blu-ray will be unencumbered by region coding.  So the bountiful subtitle and DUB options will make it accessible across the globe. There are not too many instances of explosive audio elements required so the track keeps the frugal production nature of the film fairly obvious. 

 

 

Extras:

The same as the old SD - an introduction by screenwriter Joyce H. Carrington, Paul Koslo ("Dutch"), and Eric Laneuville ("Richie"), plus "The Last Man Alive: The Omega Man" Featurette and a theatrical trailer.

 

Menus

 
 

BOTTOM LINE:

What's not to love about this? Those pasty-faced ghouls never looked phonier and Chuck Heston is at his Arnold-esque best even bedding down the only legal-age female in the film. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this and the high-definition escalation only improves the film's kitschy nostalgia. Throw out your old snapper case this is a keeper!  

 

NOTE: Image quality (VC-1 encode) and content are exactly the same on both HD and Blu-ray editions.

 

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