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Comments |
Edition: 7
The YAE edition has been much maligned for its being
letterboxed. [Indeed, this was not the fault of YAE, but rather
an accident of the material supplied by Korea.] If it weren't
for the existence of an anamorphic edition, there might have
been as much hue and cry. The now rare as lizard's teeth Region
3 Bitwin edition of the Director's Cut is about an hour or so
longer, fleshing out some of the characters and refusing to cut
away from some of the more intimate gore. It also comes in the
most gorgeous presentation box ever seen. The image, too, is
sharper, even at twice the size. It has a much higher bit rate
(typically right around 9.5 regardless of the brightness of the
scene) and is more dimensional. Even the audio is more dynamic
and of higher contrast – making a little more of its subtle
audio cues (forest sounds and falling rain) as well as the more
dramatic moments of the clash of arms. Sadly, this edition does
not have English subtitles, or I would not have been able to
obtain one by the time I learned of its existence. All the same,
I strongly urge that you make an effort to find one. You might
still be able to obtain one from
HERE.
Here's the deal: Buy the YAE now. You're going to want to watch
this series more than once anyhow. Then watch the R3 soon after
the YAE. You will be amazed at how much you have retained and
how much more emotionally involving watching a series like Damo
can be if you're not also trying to process the subtitles. Of
course, I recommend this trick even if you can't find the
anamorphic edition.
Image : 7 (5.5/8)
The score of 7 indicates a relative level of excellence compared
to other standard definition DVDs on a 10-point scale for SD
DVDs. The score in parentheses represents: first, a value for
the image on a 10-point scale that accommodates both standard
and high-definition DVDs – where any score above 7 for an SD is
outstanding, since the large majority of high definition DVDs
are 8-9.5. The second number in parentheses indicates how that
image compares to what I believe is the current best we can
expect in the theatre or, in the case of made-for-TV fare.
First, a word about the Region 3 Bitwin edition in comparison to
the YAE. As noted above, the Bitwin is anamorphic, and therefore
just about twice the size in their natural habitat, so to speak.
On a large screen with front projection, it is not recommended
that the YAE be zoomed out to fill the screen, but even in its
correct size, the YAE is somewhat less sharp. Curiously, there
are inconsistent differences in contrast between the editions,
not particularly favoring one over the other (unlike the case
with Jumong, where the YAE was clearly to be preferred). If
there were no Region 3 edition and the YAE were anamorphic, we
would not find all that much to complain about.
Enhancement and artifacts are at a minimum – hardly noticeable
unless you were looking for them. Like the majority of YAE
Korean TV dramas, this one is not progressive, but there are few
distractions once we get into the story.
Audio & Music : 7/9
Even though only a made for TV DD 2.0, the soundtrack is fairly
cinematic, lacking only the breadth of dynamic that a movie of a
similar genre. The music is as exceptional as it is varied, in
keeping with the fusion style. The Bitwin edition scores about a
half point higher in clarity and dynamics.
Translation & Subtitles : 8/8
The translation is better than adequate, if not especially
subtle. Some of the political intrigue gets a bit muddy, but the
Reference Guide turns out to be quite helpful in this regard.
Subtitles are white, bordered in black so as to always be clear
against any background. The font is a bit large for my taste.
Operations & Box Design : 8/6
The YAE menu operations are simplicity itself. Of course, there
aren't extra features to speak of, so there's little that can
lead us astray. The outer box is especially nice: a tight
fitting, magnetic flip cover which, when opened offers two
cases, holding 3 and four discs respectively. The cases are
clunky and take up more room on the shelf than is called for.
Extras : 7
YAE provides a very useful 24-page Reference Guide that [a]
places each
character in context and reminds us how they relate to each
other, [b] offers a good deal of background information about
the role of the Damo and other aspects of social heirachy in
this era of Korean history, and [c] summarizes the events of
each episode. Unhappily, it does not list the actors who play
those characters. Odd. On the other hand, the first disc
provides exactly that as part of the two extra features: both in
text and graphics only. One is titled Story Theme and describes
the basic frame of the drama. The other provides a brief
description of the main characters with photos of the actors in
costume, along with their names.
Recommendation: 9
The only thing that argues against this set is its being
non-anamorphic. Damo is must-have, must watch more than once
Korean drama. My recommendation is to buy both the subtitled,
non-anamorphic YAE and the unsubtitled anamorphic Region 3
Bitwin. Watching Damo on the big screen is like a huge classic
novel unfolding in cinematic form.
-
Leonard Norwitz
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