6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
After the elevators at a New York City skyscraper begin inexplicably malfunctioning, putting its passengers at risk, mechanic Mark Newman and reporter Jennifer Evans begin separate investigations. The police suspect that terrorists are responsible, but a far stranger explanation looms.
Starring: Naomi Watts, James Marshall (I), Eric Thal, Michael Ironside, Edward HerrmannHorror | 100% |
Dark humor | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.24:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
BDInfo verified. English 5.1 track is 16-bit. French 5.1 track is 24-bit.
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Dick Maas' "Down" a.k.a. "The Shaft" (2001) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new audio commentary with writer/director Dick Maas and stunt coordinator Willem de Beukelaer; behind-the-scenes footage; original promotional materials for the film; and more. The release also arrives with an 18-page illustrated booklet featuring film critic Michael Gingold's essay "Going Down a Similar but Different Path" and technical credits. In English or French, with optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Tight spot
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.24:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Dick Maas' Down arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.
The release is sourced from a brand new 2K master which was overseen and approved by director Dick Maas (I believe at approximately the same time when the 2K master for The Lift was completed). Obviously, Down is a more recent film, but I think that it looks simply magnificent in high-definition. The new master boasts outstanding delineation and depth; color balance is also excellent, supporting great and healthy primaries and plenty of beautiful nuances. There are no traces of annoying digital tinkering. From start to finish the film has a very consistent organic appearance that actually becomes even more striking as you move to a larger screen. I started viewing the film on one of my TV sets and then finished it on my projector and thought that it looked even better, with the darker footage in particular having the type of solid depth that a lot of older masters lack. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no distracting encoding anomalies to report. Great technical presentation. (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 four standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit), English Dolby Digital 2.0, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), and French Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional yellow English SDH and Spanish subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
I viewed the film with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and was rather impressed with it. It has plenty of oomph and virtually all of the action footage where the elevator goes crazy is very impressive. During the outdoor footage -- see the skaters -- balance is also excellent. So I would think that the audio was fully remastered during the restoration process because the end product is top-botch.
Dick Maas' English-language remake of The Lift is so over-the-top that I think it makes a lot of sense to place it in the it-is-so-bad-it-is-actually-good category. There is a total disconnect between its supposedly creepy story and the spirited exchanges that essentially attempt to transform it into an action comedy. Whatever the initial intent might have been -- and from some of the comments from the new audio commentary that is included on the release it is pretty obvious that Dick Maas also agrees that a few of the actors were either a bit too enthusiastic or basically making a different film -- now the film actually has a weird way of working but for all the wrong reasons. In other words, it is great to see very late at night, though on the morning after you are almost certainly going to question that persistent voice in your head that convinced you that it was worth staying with it until the final credits rolled. Blue Underground's Blu-ray release of Down is sourced from a top-notch new 2K master that was supervised by director Dick Maas. RECOMMENDED.
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