Firstly, a massive thank you to our Patreon supporters. Your generosity touches me deeply. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance has become essential.
What do Patrons receive, that you don't?
1)
Our
weekly
Newsletter
sent to your Inbox every
Monday morning!
Please consider keeping us in existence with a couple of dollars or more each month (your pocket change!) so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. Thank you very much. |
Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
|
Death Race 2000 [Blu-ray]
(Paul Bartel, 1975)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: New World Pictures Video: Shout! Factory
Disc: Region: 'A' (B + C untested) Runtime: 1:19:35.812 Disc Size: 24,382,743,808 bytes Feature Size: 16,292,388,864 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.14 Mbps Chapters: 13 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: June 22nd, 2010
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: Dolby Digital Audio English 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles: N one
Extras:
• David On Death Race: Interview with David Carradine
Bitrate:
Description: From the man who introduced us to Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, James Cameron and Martin Scorsese . . . Shout! Factory is proud to present a new collectors series of Roger Corman s most loved productions.
The Film:
Readjusting the critical grading curve to favor the filmmakers'
attention to "concept" is, let's face it, what a lot of us B-movie
aficionados do to justify our enthusiasm for mostly indefensible
potboilers. It's the "bad movies we love" defense, and only the most
humorless of cineastes would refuse to play that particular card every
now and again. As a director, Roger Corman has certainly contributed
generously to the pool of potential BMs we love. But at the same time, I
can't fathom the value of a critical mindset that would deny the
effectiveness of Corman's blunt, B.T. Barnumesque hucksterism behind,
for instance, X—The Man with X-Ray Eyes. As Stephen King noted in Danse
Macabre, there's no excuse for missing out on that film's downright
mythic examination of our primordial dread over the vulnerability of our
eyes simply because it's also the type of movie that would give Don
Rickles a supporting role and a dead-end subplot.
Stated as coming from a "...(1.85:1) High-Definition Transfer From The Interpositive Film Element..." - it is still rendered at 1.78. But it looks pretty darn good all things considered. Colors are a shade washed-out and there is some notable noise but overall it is probably better than the film deserves. This Blu-ray does a decent job of representing this, frequently absurd, cult gem. It is very clean, detail - while not at modern film levels - can occasionally impress. I have no real demonstrative complaints - visually this is better than I was anticipating.
Audio :No boost going on here - its a bland 2.0 channel Dolby track standard for old-style DVD rendering. Actually the flat audio suits the film experience quite adeptly. A fake bump may have pushed it right out of its mid-70's genre appeal. Lots of loud roaring engines and some obvious effect noises - boisterous enough through the front channels. There are no subtitles offered (tsk tsk...).
Extras :I started to dip my foot into the extras and was soon in over my head. Some of this stuff is superfluous but other supplements are grand fodder for the fanbase. It is more than anyone would have expected for Death Race 2000 and we must give full marks for the effort put forth. Drink deep from the extras....
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze June 21st, 2010
|
About the Reviewer: 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 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 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. 60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD
Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD
Player APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V Gary W. Tooze
HD-DVD STORE HIGH DEFINITION DVD STORE
ALL OUR NEW FORMAT DVD REVIEWS
|