Two Moon Junction Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Zalman King
USA 1988

Directed by Zalman King (RED SHOE DIARIES) following the success of Adrian Lyne's NINE 1/2 WEEKS - which he scripted with wife Patricia Louisiana Knop - TWO MOON JUCTION and its grander follow-up WILD ORCHID would establish the template for King's perfume commercial-style brand of cable television and direct-to-video. Essentially an overripe hard-R take on Tennessee Williams cliches and the resurgence of forbidden young love stories in the eighties, its lasting value is as a guilty pleasure with Madonna-dyed-blond Sherilyn Fenn (MERIDIAN) at the height of her beauty. About to be wed to handsome former fraternity president/future politician Chad Douglas Fairchild(Martin Hewitt, ENDLESS LOVE), Southern belleApril Delongpre (Fenn) inexplicably experiences "first lust" when the carnival comes to town and studly Perry (Richard Tyson, DARK TIDE) takes up residence in her shower. Their heated - literally sweltering - affair and April's doubts about the privileged life that has been laid out to her threaten to rock antebellum-pining society to its core, so matriarch Belle (Louise Fletcher, BRAINSTORM) and the town sheriff (Burl Ives, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF) maneuver to get Perry out of the picture. The film also features Kristy McNichol (WHITE DOG), Hervé Villechaize (TV's FANTASY ISLAND), Millie Perkins (THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK), Dabbs Greer (SHENANDOAH), Don Galloway (THE BIG CHILL), Juanita Moore (IMITATION OF LIFE), and a very young Milla Jovovich (THE FIFTH ELEMENT) as one of April's little sisters.

Eric Cotenas

Poster

Theatrical Release: 29 April 1988 (USA)

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Comparison:

Columbia Tri-Star Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC vs. MGM Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL vs. 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas and Gary Tooze for the Screen Caps!

1) Columbia Tri-Star Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) MGM Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Columbia Tri-Star Home Video Region 1 - NTSC	MGM Home Entertainment Region 2 - PAL	88 Films Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:44:44	1:40:42 (4% PAL speedup)	1:45:02.337
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.12 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 8.44 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,628,411,605 bytes Feature: 22,582,892,544 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Columbia Tri-Star Home Video
Bitrate: MGM Home Entertainment
Bitrate: 88 Films Blu-ray
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; German Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, French, and Spanish	English HoH, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German HoH, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Columbia Tri-Star Home Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • SIDE A: • Fullscreen Version • SIDE B: • Widescreen Version DVD Release Date: 18 April 2000 Amaray Chapters 28	Release Information: Studio: MGM Home Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer (16:9; 2:04) DVD Release Date: 2 September 2003 Amaray Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: 88 Films (Blu-ray) 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,628,411,605 bytes Feature: 22,582,892,544 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer (2:10 in 1080P) • Liner Notes booklet Blu-ray Release Date: May 19th, 2014 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 16

Comments

NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray (May 2014): 88 Films in the UK have transferred Zalman King's dubious Two Moon Junction to 1080P Blu-ray. The color scheme is supported by the French SD - with similar hues and flesh tones. The HD is tighter showing some depth and a bit of grain via the single-layered BD. Contrast is also improved and there is a shade more information in the frame (notably at the bottom of the frame.) The audio is lossless via a linear PCM stereo track and there are optional English subtitles. Extras include a theatrical trailer, in HD, and a liner notes booklet in the package. Odd, but sexy, film and this 88 Films boasts the best presentation for your home theatre perusal.

***

ABOUT THE DVDs: TWO MOON JUNCTION has always looked rather flat on VHS and while the DVDs are appropriately softish but contain some unattractive edge enhancement. Framing varies between the American and European SD transfers and the PAL version looks a bit more naturalistic (but I'd argue that the warmer look of the US transfer is more appropriate). Although the US covers states that the audio is in stereo, it is actually a monophonic film. The US DVDs are barebones while the MGM discs feature the film's trailer featuring Animotion's song "I Want You" (the King-scripted NINE 1/2 WEEKS used the group's better-known cover of the Holly Knight/Michael Des Barres song "Obsession"). When Sony reissued the Columbia/Tri-Star DVD, it was as a single-sided disc that disposed of the widescreen version altogether and featured the same catalog number, making the widescreen version difficult to track down online.

- Eric Cotenas

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(Columbia Tri-Star Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. MGM Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)