H D - S E N S E IA view on Hi-def 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 7500 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.
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The Amityville Horror [Blu-ray]
(Stuart Rosenberg, 1979)
Review by Gary Tooze
Studio: Video: 20th Century Fox / MGM
Discs: Region: 'A' Feature Runtime: 1:58:47 Chapters: 34 Feature film disc size: 21.0 Gig One single-layered Blu-ray Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: October 7th, 2008
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Resolution: 1080p Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio:
Supplements: • trailer in HD
Product Description: There's no place like home...for bloodcurdling horror! James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Academy Award winner Rod Steiger fall prey to the powers of darkness in this spine-tingling tale of a house possessed by unspeakable evil. One of the most talked-about haunted-house stories of all time The Amityville Horror will hit you where you live. For George and Kathy Lutz the colonial home on the river's edge seemed ideal: quaint spacious and amazingly affordable. Of course six brutal murders had taken place there just a year before but houses don't have memories...or do they? Soon the Lutz dream house becomes a hellish nightmare as walls begin to drip blood and satanic forces threaten to destroy them. Now the Lutzes must try to escape or forfeit their lives and their souls!...
The Film: For most of the film, one thing that Rosenberg does right is to leave most of the odd happenings surrounding the home open to wide interpretation. Not that I'm opposed to balls-to-the-wall effects and overt supernatural occurrences in film--hell, I absolutely loved the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill--but I think Rosenberg's style here is suited to the reality of the Amityville case. Is George Lutz just going a bit wacky, or is there something alien going on? Either way, at its best The Amityville Horror is pretty creepy, whether we have to watch out for spirits with glowing red eyes popping up when we least expect them or hope that George keeps his cool while he's holding that axe .
Excerpt from Classic-Horror.com located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc. One of the many scary films from the 70's - overshadowed by the likes of The Exorcist and The Omen which both precede it. But on Blu-ray The Amityville Horror image quality isn't going to take a backseat... right now anyway. The transfer is very strong and the Blu-ray gives a super presentation with excellent detail. Consider too that it is, remarkably, almost 30 years old now. There is some minor softness at times more a factor of the original elements than the transfer. Background noise is quite minimal. Technically it is single-layered with the feature size being a reasonable 20.1 Gig. I don't see evidence of DNR or edge enhancements. The MPEG-4 AVC encode does a great job and produces an encapsulating image that fans will appreciate.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music:
Extras:
Bottom line:
Gary Tooze October 2nd, 2008
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