5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 2.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.8 |
While on a safari in Africa, a zoologist and her husband stumble on a family of dinosaurs. They want to share their remarkable discovery with the world but their attempt to bring back evidence is thwarted by a rival scientist. Danger and adventure await the couple, who only want to help these long-lost animals survive even longer and prevent their exploitation.
Starring: William Katt, Sean Young, Patrick McGoohan, Julian Fellowes, Kyalo MativoFamily | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In 1985, Disney released a live-action dinosaur movie featuring then state-of-the-art animatronics and miniatures that allowed humans to interact closely with a baby brontosaurus nicknamed, appropriately, "Baby". The film wasn't a hit at the box office, but it became something of a cult favorite on the nascent format of home video. Eight years later, though, the rampaging T-rex, velociraptors, gallimimuses and assorted others creatures inhabiting Jurassic Park trampled Baby into near-oblivion. The film managed to retain a fanbase, primarily among those who remember it fondly from its early days. Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend is part of the bundle of Touchstone and Hollywood films licensed to Mill Creek for barebones, bargain-priced Blu-ray releases. While Mill Creek's track record to date has been decidedly mixed, fans of Baby will be pleased to learn that this is one disc that has come through the mill (sorry!) in relatively good shape.
Baby was one of the last films shot by the late John Alcott, who won an Oscar for photographing Kubrick's Barry Lyndon and also worked on The Shining and A Clockwork Orange. It's a safe bet that, despite the challenges of working on location in Africa, Baby was probably a less demanding film than working with Kubrick. (Substantial portions of the film were shot on soundstages in California.) I didn't see Baby theatrically, but judging by the fleshtones, which appear accurate, Mill Creek's 1080p (yay!), AVC-encoded Blu-ray accurately reproduces Alcott's cinematography, which accentuates the green of the jungle foliage, the red of the earth and the brownish tinge of the lake and river waters. The image is well-detailed, except in shots that show image degradation due to optical compositing, rear projection, split screen or other effects processing. Grain is generally controlled and unobtrusive except during the opening title sequence, which would have been achieved optically, thereby necessarily degrading the image; as soon as the titles end, the image improves. Black levels are respectable, though not always perfect, with some degree of crush evident in darker night scenes. As has been typicial of Mill Creek titles, I did not see any indication of DNR or other inappropriate post-processing, nor did I encounter any compression artifacts.
Despite Mill Creek's continued habit of listing the sound format as "Dolby Digital 2.0" on the packaging, the sole audio track is, in fact, DTS-HD MA 4.0, which no doubt accounts for its remarkably effective surround ambiance. Especially when played back through an advanced decoder system such as Prologic Iix, the track sends numerous jungle sounds to the surrounds, as well as various sounds of human activity appropriate to the scene. Bass extension is surprisingly strong, given the age of the source material, which is a benefit both for the brontosaurus calls and for Jerry Goldsmith's score. Dialogue is clear and firmly anchored to the front center. Barring a full-fledged remix from original stems, I can't imagine this track sounding any better.
As usual with Mill Creek, none.
For me, the most difficult suspension of disbelief watching Baby wasn't the effects. It was the character motivations required by the ending. Would an ambitious and upcoming paleontology student, who had suffered all the risks and privations that Susan endures throughout the film (and, presumably, in the months before its events) really give up the find of a lifetime just for the inner satisfaction of a newly found treehugger conscience (not to mention, in an understated but definite subtext of raw political incorrectness, a newly awakened maternal instinct)? Would an even more ambitious journalist (even a sports writer), having sacrificed so much of his career -- including, probably the dream job for which he was supposed to leave days ago -- really agree to suppress the story of the century, when he could use it write his own ticket? All for what, love and ideals? Sorry, but I've known too many upwardly mobile professionals in my life. This may be the Wonderful World of Disney, but that, too, took ambition to build. I'll believe in a brontosaurus surviving to the modern age before I'll buy George and Susan as self-denying saints.
1997
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