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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.'' 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 m y 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: Gary Tooze January 31st, 2011
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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.
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