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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Dogs [Blu-ray]

 

(Burt Brinckerhoff, 1976)

 

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Bruce Cohn Productions

Video: Scorpion Entertainment / 88 Films (UK)

 

Disc:

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

Runtime: 1:30:17.829 / 1:30:24.669

Disc Size: 23,603,648,868 bytes / 23,208,900,367 bytes

Feature Size: 19,190,943,744 bytes / 20,440,952,832 bytes

Video Bitrate: 25.00 Mbps / 26.98 Mbps

Chapters: 33 /

Case: Standard Blu-ray case / Transparent case inside cardboard slipcase

Release date: March 11th, 2014 / January 8th, 2018

 

Video (both):

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1867 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1867 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

 

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

 

Subtitles:

None / English, none

 

Extras:

• Katrina's Nightmare Theatre - Fun Facts and Trivia (6:20)

• Featurette (19:10)

• Trailer (2:17)

 

The Making of Dogs (19:12)

How American Cinema Changed Hollywood Forever (27:59)

TV Spot (0:30)

Trailer (2:23)

 

Bitrate:

 

1) Scorpion Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

Description: DAVID McCALLUM (MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E, NCIS) stars in this horrifying tale of man's best friend turning into his worst enemy! On the quiet campus of the remotely-located SouthWestern University, something strange is happening. All of the dogs in the area, once loyal, gentle pets, are now banding together in wild packs and hunting down their former masters. Could the strange transformation have anything to do with the secret government experiments being conducted in the school's physics laboratory? More importantly, can the dogs be stopped before it's too late? Now what this terrifying entire in the animal attack genre in glorious widescreen from a brand new HD master!

 

 

The Film:

Another entry in the vast nature-amok horror subgenre of the late '70s, this murky low-budget woofer stars David McCallum as a pontificating college prof who begins to suspect something is amiss when the canine populace of a small college burg begin leaping at their owners' throats with wild abandon. As the professor spouts scientific double-talk in an effort to provide exposition, the locals spout copious amounts of blood, thus sparing audiences their abysmal attempts at acting. Finally, McCallum and his lady friend work up enough sense to pack up and leave before they get snarfed up by marauding packs of feral pups -- ranging from the fierce-looking (Dobermans and German Shepherds) to the downright silly (Poodles and Pekingese). The "surprise" final shot will probably provoke more groans than gasps. Released to theaters as Slaughter.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

Bearded, be-jeaned and sporting a Beatle cut, McCallum's biology professor stumbles through the movie - usually accompanied by beercan - mumbling his disgust over the idiocy of his students and cynicism about his dilettante colleagues at a small, isolated college campus. The local dogs seem to share his view that the planet could do without this particular bunch of morons, and proceed to dispose of them with much slavering and gnashing of teeth. McCallum suspects that olfactory stimuli can cause mass behaviour in animals, and he just manages to survive; perhaps it was his resemblance to an Old English Sheepdog that fooled 'em.

Excerpt from TimeOut located HERE

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

The weak mid-70s, quasi horror-thriller Dogs that steals generously including everything from Hitchcock's Birds to the dregs of Night of the Lepus - reaches Blu-ray from Scorpion Entertainment.  The 1.78:1 image has decent quality.  This is only single-layered but has a reasonable bitrate. Nothing seems manipulated but detail is crisp and there is depth present. Contrast exhibits acceptable black levels. There are a lot of night scenes with hints of noise. This Blu-ray isn't going to win any awards but offers a surprisingly adept 1080P transfer.

 

Pretty much the exact same transfer - marginally more technically robust - but the similarity of the bitrate graph speaks to its parity.

 

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

 

Subtitle Sample - 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

 

1) Scorpion Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Scorpion Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Scorpion Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

The Blu-ray has a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1867 kbps that seems reasonable for the limited production. The score by Alan Oldfield is forgettable and the effects track offers little in the way of believability but this is faithfully exported by the lossless track. no subtitles are offered. My Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

 

88 Films uses a linear PCM (only 16-bit) and I couldn't detect much of  difference - perhaps it exports the higher end with more balance - hard to say with any confidence. The UK does offer optional English subtitles (see sample above) and their Blu-ray is Region 'B'-locked.

 

Extras :

Scorpion Entertainment add another episode of Katrina's Nightmare Theatre focusing on mocking 'Fun Facts and Trivia' for about 6.5 minutes. There is also a more extensive featurette (almost 20-minutes) with director Burt Brinckerhoff and others details involving the production. Lastly is a trailer.

 

88 Films include the same 19-minute The Making of Dogs featurette as on the Scorpion edition with director Burt Brinckerhoff and others. They also have Eric Karson's 2003, 28-minute, documentary How American Cinema Changed Hollywood Forever. It has Alan Belkin, Jean Higgins, David Miller, Sandra Shaw, Roger Riddell, Don Enright and others. There is a 4'3 TV spot and a widescreen trailer.

 

Scorpion Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

 

88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray 

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Surprisingly good image quality of a surprisingly bad film. Actually, it's not as bad as it is, usually, made out. The concept suffers from poor delivery and worse effects. For those keen on the 'lesser-cinema' genre (aka 'baaaad') this offers some appeal. The Blu-ray provides a solid presentation but be sure to keep your expectations low.

 

I warmed to Dogs on my recent viewing. It's still weak cinema but I had some fun with it and have a soft spot for McCallum. The 88 Films release offers optional subtitles and the additional extra. It remains a weak creature-feature but the attempt has minor merit. Recommended to those who enjoy the marginal side of the cinema universe.     

Gary Tooze

May 31st, 2014

February 27th, 2018

 

 

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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