Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
directed by Milos Forman
USA 1975
The film version of Ken Kesey's
novel, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's
Nest, is perhaps the ultimate
antihero movie of the 1970's. As R.P.
McMurphy, Jack Nicholson delivers a
performance as convincing as his
character is irresistible. McMurphy
is a merry trickster who does not
adhere to anyone's rules but his
own. He gets himself out of a penal
work farm and into the easier pace
of a mental institution by
pretending to be crazy. When
McMurphy challenges the authority of
his ward's uberboss, Nurse Ratched,
it is only a matter of time before
he learns that the system is far
more powerful than he or the
audience imagined. |
Posters
Comparison:
Warner (original) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Warner - REGION FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT)
Box Covers |
|
|
Distribution |
Warner Region 1 - NTSC |
Warner - REGION FREE Blu-ray |
Runtime | 2:13:16 | 2:13:42 |
Video |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1.78:1 Aspect Ratio |
Audio | English (2.0 Dolby Digital), Frenc (2.0 Dolby Digital) |
English: Dolby Digital 5.1, DUBs: French: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, German: Dolby Digital Mono, Italian: Dolby Digital Mono |
Subtitles | English, French, Spanish, none | English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, none |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: • Pan and scan version on the opposite side of the single-layered disc DVD Release Date: December 17th, 1997 Snapper Case Chapters 33 |
Release Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio: 1080P Single-layered, VC-1 encode
Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: July
15th, 2008 Chapters 34 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were obtained directly from the Blu-ray disc. Well, a silly comparison maybe, but I included the original SD release side-by-side for a couple of reasons. A popular misconception is that I own all commercially produced DVDs - but, in fact, I do not own the Two-Disc Special Edition of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest released in September 2002 - wonderfully reviewed by fellow Beaver-ite Gregg Ferencz HERE. Secondly, I thought it might be interesting to see how far home theater software presentations have come in a little over a decade. Firstly, it's not that I don't appreciate it, but the custom book-style case (see image below) that the Blu-ray comes in makes it even more awkward for the shelving although it is only marginally taller than a standard Blu-ray case. the book attached to the case is quite nice though with wonderful photos and the some reviews, introduction and bios of the director and some cast. Let's get the dismissal of the original snapper cased release from 1997 out of the way. We can see it is cropped, pictureboxed, vertically compressed a shade, has damage marks, chroma visible, non-anamorphic, colors pale and washed-out and it is a fraction of the resolution of the Blu-ray. The Blu-ray however is not perfect. There is some existing noise. I suspect the single-layering - the film actually takes up about 17 Gig - may have created a similarly produced image from being dual-layered. This would be due to the original source elements (the film is 33 years old!). Obviously, in comparison to the original SD it has had some heavy cleaning and colors are brighter, skin-tones more true - detail far in advance of anything we have seen from this film on home video. Contrast is also top notch - whiter whites and pitch black levels. Yes, the image is very clean, and I suspect it looks about as good as it can on this new medium. It comes to life a bit in this new format. Visually, I was very pleased although it is not of modern cinema transfer standard with striking brilliance. The 5.1 channel audio is competent but rarely shows any pronounced separations. It's clear and supports the dialogue very consistent ly. There are some mono DUBs and the Blu-ray offers a host of subtitle options preparing this for world-wide sales (it is REGION FREE!).
The supplements are duplicated from the SE and I'll quote Gregg - "A commentary from Milos Forman brought over from the Pioneer Special Edition laserdisc and spliced in previously recorded interviews with producers Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz is well worth the time. The eight unused scenes are presented in letterboxed 4:3 and are a nice addition, particularly the extended sequence between McMurphy and Dr. Spivey. The 47 minute making of documentary is an edited version of the 86 minute Charles Kiselyak film, Completely Cuckoo, which was also on the aforementioned laserdisc and focused as much on Ken Kesey's role as the author of the book on which the film is based as on the movie. The present version focuses solely on the movie and eliminates all the Kesey footage." None of the Blu-ray extras are in HD. I felt like I was watching a 35 mm print in my basement when I viewed this Blu-ray. Due to the source print the presentation had a real earthy quality that seem totally appropriate for the film. It looked as good as I have ever seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It is as powerful as ever. I wonder what we'll be saying 10 more years from now? -Gary Tooze |
Blu-ray package
|
DVD Menus
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC -
LEFT vs. Warner - REGION FREE -
Blu-ray - RIGHT)
Screen Captures
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Warner - REGION FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
|
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Warner - REGION FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM).
|
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Warner - REGION FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)
|
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Warner - REGION FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)
|
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Warner - REGION FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)
|
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Warner - REGION FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)
|
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Warner - REGION FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)
|
(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Warner - REGION FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)
|
Report Card: