6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An escaped con on the run from the law moves into a married couple's home and takes over their lives.
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Anthony Hopkins, Mimi Rogers, Lindsay Crouse, Kelly LynchDrama | 100% |
Crime | 64% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.84:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Michael Cimino's "Desperate Hours" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Shout Factory. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer for the film and archival featurette with cast and crew interviews. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
You think before you act
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michael Cimino's Desperate Hours arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory.
I could not see any dramatic differences between Carlotta Films' release and this release of Desperate Hours. In fact, it appears that both have been sourced from the same master. This is good news because I think that the film looks quite wonderful in high-definition. Close-ups typically boast good depth and even when light is restricted background details and nuances are easy to identify. Shadow definition can be improved, but there are no serious anomalies on the current master. The primary colors are stable and healthy. With a new scan some nuances will be expanded, but the current balance is convincing. There are no traces of recent degraining or sharpening corrections. The encoding on the French release is slightly better and as a result grain does appear a bit better defined there, but even on large screens it isn't easy to spot major discrepancies. Overall image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report in our review. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The basics are very good. David Mansfield's intense score easily opens up key sequences from the film. During the shootouts sharpness and clarity are also very good. If the audio is fully remastered in the future perhaps some minor balance optimizations can be performed in the mid- and/or high-registers, but the improvements should be very small. The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow.
I am a big admirer of Michael Cimino's work and frequently revisit his films. I have discovered that the older they get, the clearer it becomes that they all have special identities that immediately separate them from the many other films that competed with them, looked right and were praised by the critics because they did. Whether this is enough to consider them good or great is something that will likely be debated for as long as these films are available to see, but I think that it is largely irrelevant. There will always be people who will appreciate what Cimino's films offer and respect the fact that they never tried to play by the conventional rules. Desperate Hours is a flawed but fascinating to behold film which should appeal mostly to people who already like Cimino's fluid style. The film is included in this two-disc set together with Stuart Rosenberg's The Pope of Greenwich Village. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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