6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A human becomes an unlikely rising star in the biggest fighting tournament in the galaxy that's dominated by alien species.
Starring: Michael Deak, Paul Satterfield (II), Hamilton Camp, Claudia Christian, Marc AlaimoSci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams set.
The vagaries of fame and/or fortune can often be positively confounding, and in that regard it's maybe just a little odd that Charles Band has never
seemed to have quite risen to the "immediate name recognition" factor of people like, say, Roger Corman. This may seem especially strange in that
Band not only has tended to
work in the same kind of less fulsomely budgeted B movie environment that Corman often has, with both sharing a penchant for somewhat sly,
winking
horror films, but also because Band founded not one but two "studios", Empire Pictures (the "subject" of this collection) and, after the demise of
that
enterprise, Full Moon Pictures, which continues to release Blu-rays to this day. When you add in the fact that Band hails from a really rather
notable
family which includes an at least somewhat famous grandfather, father, and various offspring and/or other relatives, the lack of general renown for
Band becomes even more
inexplicable. Arrow Video is coming to the rescue of this conundrum, however, with this elaborately packaged collection of several Band
productions
for
Empire Pictures which should be of interest to genre aficionados, even if this set can't quite match the extravagance of Band's own Empire Pictures Collection release from several
years ago, an immense offering which included all of these films on Blu-ray, save Arena, which was on DVD in that set. As fans will know
(or can find out by
clicking on links provided in individual reviews), the Empire set was not the only time some of these films have had prior releases on Blu-ray.
Arena is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. As mentioned above, Arena is the sole film in this set to not have had a prior release on Blu-ray, having been offered only on DVD in the mammoth Empire set linked to above. That may be due at least in part to some "words of warning" that Arrow has included as a sort of submenu after Play is pressed:
Despite a thorough search, the best quality film material that could be found was a 35mm theatrical print, which is the source element used for this remastered version. The opening titles and onscreen text offset was an error in the initial film printing and has been retained for this presentation.Further information is provided in the perfect bound booklet Arrow includes with this set:
Arena is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio with stereo sound. A 35mm theatrical print was scanned in 2K resolution at Company 3. The film was graded and restored in 2K resolution at AGFA. The quality of the master is in keeping with the available print materials. The opening titles offset was an error in the initial film printing and has been retained for this presentation.Within the context(s) outlined above, Arena probably looks better than some might expect, but it pales (both literally in terms of a blanched palette and figuratively in terms of overall quality) when compared to some of the 4K scans off of original camera negatives seen in some of the other presentations in this set. The entire look here is often pretty "dupey", with pretty heavy grain and less consistently fulsome fine detail levels. That said, I was actually rather pleasantly surprised by some of the detail levels on the special makeup effects in particular. There are any number of age related blemishes that have made it through the restoration gauntlet. Some of this presentation probably dips closer to 2.5 levels, while the best moments may at least make a grab at the "brass ring" of 3.5 territory, so I've kind of split the difference in my score.
Arena features an often boisterous LPCM 2.0 track that capably supports some of the frankly pretty noisy battle sequences, as well as Richard Band's appealing score and at least more relatively peaceful talking moments. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, with the possible exception of some alien blather delivered through heavy latex and other makeup effects. Optional English subtitles are available.
- Theatrical Trailer 16:9 (HD; 1:40)
- Trailer 4:3 (HD; 1:41)
- Behind the Scenes (HD; 1:06)
- Posters and Stills (HD)
Arena is unabashedly goofy, and it's also kind of hilariously cliché ridden despite its 41st century setting. The technical presentation is occasionally hampered by limitations of the source element, so I suggest those interested parse through the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review to get some idea of what this looks like. The supplements are very engaging, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Ragewar
1984
1989
1988
1957
Collector's Edition
1987
1980
1955
Limited Edition - 2,000 copies
1983
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1985
2+5: Missione Hydra
1966
1964
1990
2017
1959
1958
1954
1994
2018
1990
Roger Corman's Cult Classics
1978