6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Three intergalactic beauties beam down off the California coast and have close encounters with three local beach boys.
Starring: Joe Estevez, Don Swayze, Joey Travolta, Burt Ward, Jackie StalloneErotic | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
David DeCoteau's "Beach Babes from Beyond" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of First Run Features. The supplemental features on the disc include archival behind the scenes program and original trailer. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Pick a planet with plenty of good looking boys, okay?
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Beach Babes From Beyond arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Full Moon Features.
The release is sourced from a recent and very nice organic master, but the technical presentation is seriously disappointing. Here's why:
The encode is so mediocre that it produces a wide range of issues whose impact on the visuals is pretty dramatic. As a result, delineation, clarity and depth are below average, often even unacceptable, though the native qualities of the master remain solid. What generates these issues is the repetitive collapse of frames where most everything turns into digital mush. Indeed, for every proper frame the encode collapses the following frame, so what is displayed on the screen is essentially a long succession of smeary visuals. You can see what a proper frame looks like in screencapture #8, and you can see what a collapsed frame looks like in screencapture #6. When the transition between the proper and improper frames occurs, the screen usually reveals plenty of standard artifacts like the ones seen in screencapture #14. Again, all of this is very unfortunate because the master has nice organic qualities and is wonderfully graded as well. Needless to say, an opportunity was missed to deliver a very fine, likely definitive home video release of Beach Babes From Beyond. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.
I started viewing the film with the Dolby Digital 2.0 track and then went to the Dolby Digital 5.1 track. I kept switching them quite a bit, but ultimately did not think that there was a significant difference between them. They are not poor or mediocre, but both struggle to impress because their dynamic intensity is quite inconsistent. Indeed, some areas are fairly decent, possibly even good, but elsewhere the audio sounds uncharacteristically flat. The fluctuations are not distracting, but it definitely feels like work was needed to optimize the audio as best as possible. The lack of lossless audio options is disappointing as well.
Beach Babes From Beyond delivers exactly what the original poster that was prepared for it years ago promises, which is silly late-night entertainment. Some of the best such films were made during the late '80s and early '90s and unfortunately only a select few have transitioned to Blu-ray. (This is why I hope that Bill Lustig and his crew at Blue Underground launch a dedicated genre line and start bringing them to Blu-ray. There are some real gems amongst them that will look gorgeous on the high-definition format). Sadly, even though it is sourced from a solid organic master First Run's Blu-ray release offers a very problematic technical presentation of Beach Babes From Beyond, which makes spending a night with it something of an endurance test. If you really have to have a copy of it in your library, find a way to rent and test it first.
Thermostellar Edition
1974
Slipcover in Original Pressing
1984
1974
1965
2020
Collector's Edition
1996
1988
1958
1988
The Brain Leeches / The Halloween Planet
1980
Reissue
1985
1991
1988
1986
2019
Limited to 1000
1988
2013
2011
1986
Collector's Edition
2006