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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Re-Animator [Blu-ray]

 

(Stuart Gordon, 1985)

 

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Empire Pictures

Video: Image Entertainment vs. Second Sight (UK) - 2 Blu-rays in a Steelbook

 

Disc:

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

Image Ent. Runtime: 1:25:45.014

Second Sight "Unrated": 1:26:05.577

Second Sight "Integral": 1:44:55.455

Image Ent. Disc Size: 34,121,261,872 bytes

Second Sight "Unrated" Disc Size: 23,442,823,735 bytes

Second Sight "Integral" Disc Size: 45,628,127,883 bytes

Image Ent. Feature Size: 23,104,849,920 bytes

Second Sight "Unrated": 20,031,289,344 bytes

Second Sight "Integral": 16,937,410,560 bytes

Image Ent. Video Bitrate: 29.97 Mbps

Second Sight "Unrated": 22.42 Mbps

Second Sight "Integral": 18.49 Mbps

 

Chapters: 12 / 18 X 2

Case: Standard Blu-ray case / Steelbook

Release date: September 4th, 2012

Release date: June 2nd, 2014

 

Image Entertainment Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: VC-1 Video

 

Video (both Second Sight discs):

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3541 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3541 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentaries:

DTS Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / 16-bit
DTS Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / 16-bit

 

Unrated:

LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1676 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1676 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Commentaries:

LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

 

Integral:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1832 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1832 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)

 

Subtitles:

English (SDH), none

English (SDH) on 'Unrated', None on 'Integral'

 

Extras (all video in 480i):

• Commentary by director Stuart Gordon

Commentary by producer Brian Yuzna, actors Bruce Abbott, Jeffrey Coombs, Barbara Crampton and Robert Sampson
Documentary: Re-animator Resurrectus (1:08:38)

• Interview with director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna (48:47)
Interview with writer Dennis Paoli (10:40)

• Interview with composer Richard Band (14:42)

Music Discussion with composer Richard Band (16:27)

• Interview with Fangoria Editor Tony Timpone (4:33)

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (26:06)
Theatrical Trailer (1:56)

TV Spots (2:30)

 

The 'Unrated' Version :
Audio Commentary with director Stuart Gordon (On Unrated)
Audio Commentary with producer Brian Yuzna, and actors Jeffrey Combs, Robert Sampson, Barbara Crampton and Bruce Abbott

On Integral Disc (exclusive to Blu-Ray):
Re-Animator Resurrectus documentary (1:08:40 in 1080P)
Interviews (all in 1080P) with Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna (48:50), writer Dennis Paoli (10:40), composer Richard Band (14:43 + 16:29) and Fangoria editor Tony Timpone (4:36)
Extended scenes (21:22), deleted scene (2:51) and trailers (6:45).
Behind the Scenes Gallery (5:52) + Production Stills (2:07)

 

Bitrates:

Image Entertainment

 

 

Second Sight Unrated' Version

 

 

Second Sight Integral Version

 

 

Description: A dedicated student at a medical college and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue when an odd new student (Jeffrey Combs) arrives on campus.

 

 

The Film:

Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) is a brilliant medical student who has perfected a green-glowing serum for regenerating life into dead things -- or even parts of dead things. But a corrupt superior, Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), assumes control of West's experiments and winds up, by ghastly necessity, using the stuff on his own severed head and body. West and in-over-his-head co-worker Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) struggle to control the now out-of-control effects of the serum, but the bone-saws and zombies complicate their plans.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

When cleancut med student Dan Cain (Abbott) advertises for a roommate, little does he suspect how spectacularly his life - and the laws of creation - are about to be turned upside down. He soon wishes he'd heeded the caution of girlfriend Megan (Crampton), who can obviously spot a crazed re-animator when she sees one. In no time at all, Herbert West (Combs) has brought Dan's dead cat twitching back to life with a syringe full of green gloop. The dean (Sampson) fails to see the beneficial side and expels Dan and West, who promptly turn Burke and Hare in the university morgue. Mayhem ensues as the dead run amok. Dr Hill (Gale), a rival for Megan's affections, loses his head - and then finds it again. The injection of humour into HP Lovecraft's 1922 tale is what saves this splatterfest from being mere fodder for gorehounds.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

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

Sitting squarely in the mid 80's ineffectual film-stock the resulting 1080P image looks... okay. The dual-layered Blu-ray transfer from Image Entertainment has a high bitrate and I don't doubt this is the zenith digital appearance for Re-Animator. The black levels are strong and texture is present but so is noise. Detail is modest but there are hints of depth and I expect this is a reasonable facsimile of the original appearance. The Blu-ray certainly improved the presentation over an SD rendering and overall the HD video experience was a positive one.

 

The Second Sight offers both the 'Unrated' and, on a second Blu-ray, the, 19-minute longer 'Integral version' of Re-Animator. The first noticeable difference between the US and UK Blu-rays is how much the Image Entertainment is cropped. It is a significant amount. The Second Sight transfer of the 'Unrated Version' is derived from a brand new 4k restoration and despite being less robust than the Image Entertainment (it's on a single-layered disc), it looks a little tighter. It has, occasionally cooler skin tones. It is progressive (1080P) and AVC-encoded (the Image Ent. was VC-1).

 

The 'Integral' shares a Blu-ray with all the supplements (aside from the two commentaries on the 'Unrated') and they are all in 1080P. It has a far less robust video transfer but it is in 1080P. It seems a shade less crisp and some of the latter sequences appear darker. There is not as much depth. It's a consistent presentation a notch below the UK 'Unrated'.

 

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

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray MIDDLE

2) Second Sight "Integral" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray MIDDLE

2) Second Sight "Integral" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Second Sight "Unrated" - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

More Blu-ray Captures from the Second Sight Integral Version

 

 

Audio :

Image Entertainment supply a DTS-HD Master 5.1 track at a buoyant 3541 kbps. Richard Band talks about his score in the extras and it sounds solid via the lossless. Effects are scattered around the film in the form of demonstrative, punchy surprises as well as subtleties that reach the rear speakers. There are optional English subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

 

Second Sight offer two audio options on the 'Unrated' - a linear PCM 2.0 channel (original?) at 1536 kbps and a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at 1676 kbps. The latter is less robust than the Image Entertainment audio track but has some depth - notable in the effects and Richard Brand's score. The 'Integral' has a DTS-HD Master 5.1 at a healthier 1832 kbps. My ears couldn't notice much difference although I think I preferred the 'Unrated' surround bump for its cleanliness in both dialogue and more subtle separations. The 'Unrated' has optional English subtitles but the 'Integral has none. Both Blu-ray discs are Region 'B'-locked.

 

Extras :

Image Entertainment are usually quite lean with their extras on Blu-ray but these are from a 2007 2-disc SD release by Anchor Bay. We get the two commentaries - the first by director Stuart Gordon addressing issues he dealt with in the production. The second commentary, actually carried over from the 'Elite SE DVD is a group affair by producer Brian Yuzna, actors Bruce Abbott, Jeffrey Coombs, Barbara Crampton and Robert Sampson - it is fairly light covering a lot of data. All the video extras are in 480i - included is the hour+ documentary: Re-animator Resurrectus, interviews with with director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna, writer Dennis Paoli, composer Richard Band, and Fangoria Editor Tony Timpone. There are also 25-minutes of deleted and extended scenes, a theatrical trailer and some brief TV Spots.

 

I believe the supplements are almost totally duplicated from the Image Ent. Blu-ray with the 2 commentaries, lengthy documentary, extended, deleted scene and interviews. We seem to lose the Radio Spots but gain two 'Galleries' and an extra trailer. The Second Sight video extras are all in 1080P.

 

Image Entertainment Blu-ray

 

 

Second Sight Unrated' Version Blu-ray

 

 

Second Sight Integral Version Blu-ray

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Re-Animator is excessively gory but a great H.P. Lovecraft premise. There is some cheese here - but all is forgiven and the film doesn't disappoint once you are in the mood to appreciate its caustic charms. The Blu-ray is surprisingly adept and fans will be pleased with the 1080P and breadth of supplements accessible on the lone disc. It's hard not to enjoy - plenty of beer and popcorn with this one.

 

The big addition/difference is the, longer, 'Integral' version in 1080P. It's a different film - that is for sure. It isn't just a few extras scenes. It has more dialogue and more of lovely Barbara but seems a bit choppy and doesn't flow like the 'Unrated'. I haven't seen the R-rated but wonder if it is some sort of hybrid of that. It was interesting to see, but I think I prefer the 'Unrated'. It is also cool to come in a Steelbook case. This seems like the best version to own. 

Gary Tooze

September 3rd, 2012

May 26th, 2014

 


 

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.

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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