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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Five Corners [Blu-ray]

 

(Tony Bill, 1987)

 

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: HandMade Films

Video: Image Entertainment

 

Disc:

Region: 'A' (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:33:54.378

Disc Size: 18,389,142,208 bytes

Feature Size: 16,510,162,944 bytes

Video Bitrate: 19.99 Mbps

Chapters: 12

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: February 8th, 2011

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

 

Subtitles:

English (SDH), none

 

Extras:

• Other HandMade Film Trailers

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: From the Academy AwardŽ-winning writer of Moonstruck and Doubt comes an unforgettable story about life, love, and unexpected twists of fate. The Bronx, 1964: Heinz (The Big Lebowski’s John Turturro) has just returned to the neighborhood after serving time for attacking Linda (two-time Academy AwardŽ winner Jodie Foster), who was saved by young idealist Harry (Academy AwardŽ winner Tim Robbins). As the world around them erupts in turmoil, the neighborhood of Five Corners has a battle of its own to face when these three personalities clash over the course of 48 hours – and nothing will ever be the same again. Quirky and surprising, this acclaimed indie hit is a true original!

 

 

The Film:

Directed by Tony Bill, the film is based on John Patrick Shanley's first screenplay. Mr. Shanley's second screenplay serves as the basis for Norman Jewison's slickly homogenized current hit, ''Moonstruck.'' This is worth noting, for although ''Five Corners'' often strains credulity (and patience), it almost always seems far more authentic than the saga of the lovelorn Cher in ''Moonstruck.''

The ''Five Corners'' screenplay is both overstuffed and underdeveloped. Mr. Bill's direction doesn't iron out unsightly bumps, but neither does it mute the voice of what often sounds to be a strong and original new screenwriter.

In a period of approximately 24 hours, ''Five Corners'' tells the stories of Linda (Jodie Foster), her sometime boyfriend James (Todd Graff) and Harry (Tim Robbins), who's about to go off to register voters in Mississippi. Their comparatively placid lives are thrown into chaos with the arrival back in the neighborhood of Heinz (John Turturro), a young psychotic who has been serving time for the attempted rape of Linda.

Excerpt from Vincent Canby of the NY Times located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

The 1.78 Blu-ray image quality of Five Corners is nothing remarkable. It has a spark of looking much better but I suspect that the limited single-layered transfer holds it back.  There is a modicum of depth leaving only 'less flat' than an SD rendering. Perhaps the biggest failing is the noise mixing with the chunkier grain.  Now, it does have a relatively consistent texture - but many will not find it pleasing as it tends to detract from the sharpness. Colors are notable at times from rich reds and yellows. While I wouldn't say that the transfer is poor - we have seen other films from the late 80's that look much better. A positive is that this hasn't been manipulated to 'appear' more 'handsome' for Blu-ray adopters - in that sense it gave me a watchable presentation.

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

Actually the lossless track may fare a bit better than the video. We get a linear PCM stereo 2.0 channel at 2304 kbps. It seems to replicate the original track authentically - this would be my guess. The film is fairly passive in terms of sound with few effects and no scenes necessary of being supported with dynamic bass. Five Corners starts and ends with a crisp "In My Life" by The Beatles - a pleasant aspect to the presentation.  Surprisingly from Image Entertainment - there are optional English (SDH) subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked disc.

 

Extras :

There are no extras aside from some HandMade Films trailers. To be fair the prices reflects that lack of supplements although an interview with the director would have been something to talk about.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Kind of an interesting film - there is something to it under the surface that isn't easily revealed. I was mostly keen to see the performances of the three leads. The Blu-ray is nothing to praise though. It's three best attributes are that it does look better than DVD, the audio and the price tag is quite reasonable. You may wish to indulge to see the film itself - but keep your expectations on the appearance at the modest end. 

Gary Tooze

January 31st, 2011

 

 

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.

Gary's Home Theatre:

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
Momitsu - BDP-899 Region FREE Blu-ray player
Marantz SA8001 Super Audio CD Player
Marantz SR7002 THX Select2 Surround Receiver
Tannoy DC6-T (fronts) + Energy (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V

Gary W. Tooze

 

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