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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

H D - S E N S E I

A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Home Before Midnight [Blu-ray]

 

(Pete Walker, 1979)

 

The 88 Films Blu-ray of Home Before Midnight is reviewed HERE

 

Pete Walker is a British film director, writer and producer, who, in the 60s and 70s, confined his output to primarily horror and sexploitation films, often blurring the line and overlapping the two genres. Walker's work was initially dismissed as pedestrian, however some contemporary critics, found enlightened and challenging subtexts in his oeuvre of commercially-made exploitation films. As with Hammer Studios Walker's film are being revisited. The latter for their social relevance which frequently contained attractive young women at odds with the moral codes of mainstream society. He has stated "All I wanted to do was create a bit of mischief."

Walker's work is being recognized on Blu-ray by Kino (Redemption), BFI and others. A list is below:

 

For Men Only (1968)

Man of Violence (1969)

The Comeback

 (1978)

Die Screaming, Marianne

(1971)

The Flesh and Blood Show

(1972)

Frightmare (1974)

House of Whipcord

 (1974)

House of Mortal Sin (1976)

Schizo

(1976)

Home Before Midnight (1979)

House of the Long Shadows

 (1983)

The Pete Walker Collection I

The Pete Walker Collection II

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Peter Walker (Heritage) Ltd.

Video: Redemption / Kino

 

Disc:

Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:51:26.373

Disc Size: 36,706,661,246 bytes

Feature Size: 30,195,543,552 bytes

Video Bitrate: 32.78 Mbps

Chapters: 10

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: June 17th, 2014

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.66:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

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

 

Subtitles:

None

 

Extras:

Promiscuous Behavior - Interview with Pete Walker (11:10)

• Theatrical Trailer (2:02)

• 5 Pete Walker Trailers

 

Bitrate:

 

Description: A successful rock lyricist becomes romantically involved with a girl he picks up hitchhiking only to learn that she is only fourteen. Her parents take action against him.

 

 

The Film:

The rock music business... Money, Fame, Girls... and whole lot of trouble! This exploitationer from British low-budget specialist Pete Walker Frightmare, the Flesh and Blood Show tells of a songwriter for a rock band who is accused of raping a 14-year-old girl. Although he is innocent of the crime, he finds his life being destroyed by the girl's vengeful parents and a legal system that he believes gives him no rights at all.

Excerpt from ShriekShow DVD located HERE

Home Before Midnight is one of Pete Walker's more controversial flicks in terms of subject matter, although it's dealt with in a very Pete Walker way (if you know what I mean). Mike Beresford (James Aubrey) is a successful 28-year-old lyricist for one of the big bands of the moment. He's rich, successful and cruising the highways in his Jensen Interceptor. He spots a young girl in the cafe, then gives the hitchhiker a lift home to London. Things develop and before too long, they're out on a date, spending time together and in a relationship. But there's just one thing that Ginny Wilshire (Alison Elliott) has forgot to mention to her new partner - she's just 14 years old and still at school. Not that you'll guess - the actress playing her must have been in her 20s when she took the role (thankfully).

Excerpt from Cinedelica located HERE

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

The 88 Films Blu-ray of Home Before Midnight is reviewed HERE

 

Pete Walker's fans are treated to more of this work with Home Before Midnight coming to Blu-ray from Kino's Redemption label.  The image is another strong one considering the production limitations.  This is dual-layered with a very high bitrate and I expect this is as good as the film has ever looked on digital. There is a tightness and depth - but the most appealing attribute are the grain textures. This is transferred in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. Colors seem authentic exporting some richness. Pretty solid all around. This Blu-ray provides a consistent and clean 1080P presentation, most likely, replicating the original theatrical appearance to a very high degree.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

Redemption transfer the audio via a linear PCM 2.0 channel at 1536 kbps. There isn't much go9ing on effects-wise but what is kind of amusing is the period rock/pop music written by Clive Scott and Des Dyer written tunes, mostly performed by 'Jigsaw'. I found it quite irritating but suitable to the protagonists profession. There are no subtitles offered and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

 

Extras :

No commentary, this time, but we do get 11-minutes with the director in an interview entitled Promiscuous Behavior. He's always interesting to listen to. There is also a theatrical trailer for the film and 5 other Pete Walker film trailers.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
This is quite an odd-duck in Pete Walker's oeuvre but, regardless I found it effective as a treatise warning of the repercussions of statutory rape. What is unusual are the nudity and sex scenes - which, seem quite creepy in retrospect. I think the director's forte is certainly horror but this showed promise although not a film we can strongly recommended despite an excellent Blu-ray transfer from Redemption. It may be most suitable to 'Pete Walker completists'. 

Gary Tooze

May 22nd, 2014

 




 

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