Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 25, 2017

Aren’t vampires supposed to be the undead? Instead, it may seem like it’s 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment catalog releases that keep showing up again and again in various supposedly “new” versions that in fact are more or less rehashes of previous ones. That just happened with the so-called 70th Anniversary Edition of Miracle on 34th Street, and it seems to be the case with this release of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which comes semi-emblazoned with a “25th Anniversary” sticker on the cover. The only major difference I can see between this version and this one is that this one evidently offers fewer audio and subtitle options (in a kind of strange development), as well as including a Digital HD code.

For an assessment of the film (and, below, technical aspects of the film) I refer you to my colleague Michael Reuben's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray review of the previously released version.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Judging solely by screenshots and Michael's description of what he saw in the previously released version, I feel comfortable saying this is at least extremely similar if not identical to the release documented in our previous Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray review, though it's at least worth noting that the file folders on the disc show 2017 dates, for what that's worth. (My hunch is Fox would have touted a new scan, and there has actually been very little press hoopla accompanying this release, which may "speak" volumes.) As Michael mentions in his review, the best looking parts of this transfer are undoubtedly the candy colored brightly lit moments, where detail is often very good and the palette pops appealingly. I will only add that I did see some passing grain resolution and compression issues on this version (see screenshots 8 and 9), though nothing that's overly distracting.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While this release doesn't seem to offer the same glut of audio and subtitle options that the first release did, its DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix appears to be identical with the one Michael describes in his Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray review. I personally might have been prone to up the score slightly to around the 4.0 level, since fidelity and at least stereo separation are clearly handled, but I concur with Michael's assessment that surround activity is pretty limited on this track.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As expected, this kinda sorta repackaging includes the same meager supplements Michael detailed in his Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray review. The only "new supplement", if it can be thought of that way, is the inclusion of a Digital HD code, for those who want to take Buffy with them somewhere.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As Michael mentions in his Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blu-ray review, kind of weirdly this film seems to owe whatever reputation it's been able to muster based on the wildly popular television series it more or less gave birth to. I'm a bit more tolerant of some of the issues Michael addresses in his review, and so have slightly upped the score for the overall film to reflect that opinion, but there's little doubt that this is "early" Joss Whedon, and while his writing was still somewhat nascent, it's actually up against a perhaps unbeatable "opponent" in director Fran Rubel Kuzui, who simply doesn't seem to understand how to fashion the material in general, and Whedon's often outré combination of cheeky humor and gory horror in particular. I mentioned in my Miracle on 34th Street Blu-ray review how that film deserved a more loving restoration for any supposed "new, improved" release, but I'd be hard pressed to make that same argument for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you already are a fan of this film and own the first Blu-ray, the only possible reason I can think of for picking up this release is the Digital HD code this one offers.