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The Terrorists aka Ransom [Blu-ray]
(Caspar Wrede, 1974)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: 20th Century Fox Video: Starz / Anchor Bay
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:28:45.320 Disc Size: 23,841,417,608 bytes Feature Size: 23,790,858,240 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.90 Mbps Chapters: 10 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: April 10th, 2012
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: Dolby TrueHD Audio English 1997 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1997 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Subtitles: English, none
Extras: • None
Bitrate:
Description: A gang of hijackers led by Ian McShane seize a British plane as it is landing in Scandinavia. Ruthless military police chief Colonel Tahlvik is assigned to rescue the plane and it's passengers. But he must also deal with the problem of the British Ambassador, whose residence has been seized by a second group of terrorists.
The Film: Set in Scandinavia. A British ambassador is kidnapped athis residence by a group of terrorists led by Shepherd (John Quentin), and issued a ransom demand for the release of five political prisoners imprisoned in England. Norwegian security chief Colonel Tahlvik (Sean Connery) is given the task of handling the situation. Meanwhile, at a nearby airport, fellow terrorist Petrie (Ian McShane) has hijacked a passenger jet to fly out the terrorists and their hostages. The government officials wish to accede to the terrorist demands, but off-the-record Tahlvik is given permission to overpower the hijacked plane. Tahlvik’s attempts to get an agent on board the plane and to substitute the hostages en route ends in failure, but he is intent on not giving up. Excerpt from BritMovie.co.uk located HERE **** A group of political terrorists seize a British ambassador in Scandinavia and demand the release of their comrades from a British prison, something which the country's head of security (Sean Connery) sets out to thwart. Directed by Caspar Wrede, the suspense and excitement are well maintained, though in a chilly, abstract manner, that makes the ironic ending arbitrary and disappointing. Some violence and much threatened violence. Excerpt from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops located HEREImage : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The Terrorists (aka Ransom) is unremarkable on Blu-ray from Anchor Bay / Starz. The image quality shows frequent speckles and overall looks soft. Colors are perky but there is no depth. This is only single-layered although the bitrate is reasonably high since nothing shares the disc with the 1.5 hour film. There are moments where the thickness is appealing and a couple of scenes show a higher level of sharpness. Mostly though there are inconsistencies with noise although this is less of a distraction. On the positive the cinematography shows a few nicely framed shots. But overall this Blu-ray offers very little to those anticipating a stellar image.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Although a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround at 1997 kbps there isn't a lot of deft separation. Bass appears potent when called upon but overall the track gives the impression of being flat. The infrequent intensity does come as a surprise - which can be considered a bonus. There is no menu system and m y Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.
Extras : Nothing at all. To be honest there isn't much to say about this flawed production.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze April 3rd, 2012 |
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 5000 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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