7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.
Starring: Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, Joe Pantoliano, Matthew Laurance, Helen SchneiderMusic | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.84:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available in the double feature Eddie and the Cruisers / Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!.
It’s a sad fact of life—and/or death—that many artists in a variety of different media experience their greatest successes after they’ve
shuffled
off this mortal coil. Witness now legendary artists like Vincent
van Gogh, whose works now regularly go for untold millions, that is if they even come to market at all, while during his lifetime he was
barely able to scrape together enough money to buy paint. One Eddie Wilson (Michael Paré) would hardly be called a van Gogh level creative
artist, but his energetic music seems to be a harbinger of greater things ahead. At least, that is, until Eddie’s car is found crashed off of a
bridge and Eddie’s body is nowhere to be found. That’s the basic premise of both Eddie and the Cruisers, an agreeable if problematic
drama exploring the vagaries of fame and the music industry, and a pretty boneheaded sequel, Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!
The first film laid a rather large egg with both critics and audiences at the time of its release, but then gained a certain cult status through
repeated airings on then nascent cable television, to the point that it was actually re-released theatrically for a brief time (again to deafening
apathy from paying audiences). While not a commercial success, something about the Eddie saga caught some kind of cultural
zeitgeist,
and the film’s score became improbably popular, two elements which probably led to the lackluster and rather late to the gate sequel.
Shout!
Factory has now combined these two cult items in a double feature so that the entire tale of Eddie Wilson can be relived again, like an old hit
emanating from an ancient jukebox.
Eddie and the Cruisers is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.84:1. Elements are in surprisingly good shape, with only a very minimum of minor age related anomalies dotting the premises. The palette is also nicely rendered here, especially some of the deeper blues and reds which pop with appealing vividness. Grain structure is intact and resolves naturally, and detail is at above average to very good levels. There are recurrent issues with crush (something that also afficts Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!, with some of the dark club scenes offering "floating heads" if the characters are clad in black and photographed against black backgrounds. There's some pretty serious telecine wobble during the opening credits sequence, but things calm down after that. Clarity and sharpness are at decent if not overwhelming levels, and overall this is a solid if unspectacular looking transfer.
Eddie and the Cruisers' lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track may not offer the sweeping immersion that a film built around a supposed rock 'n' roll legend might have, but it's surprisingly robust, offering good support for the film's enjoyable if temporally anachronistic song score. Dialogue is also very cleanly presented and there are no issues with distortion, dropouts or damage. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range fairly wide on this problem free track.
Eddie and the Cruisers is more than a bit on the hokey side at times, but it offers a good showcase for the moody looking Paré and nice supporting turns by such stalwarts as Tom Berenger and Joe Pantoliano. The "mystery" elements are a little flat, but the examination of lives wrenched back from the brink of superstardom is rather interesting and well done. Technical merits are very good to excellent, and Eddie and the Cruisers comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1989
Born to Rock Edition
2008
1996
2001
2015
Warner Archive Collection
2003
2006
2018
2008
2016
2018
20th Anniversary Edition
2002
1995
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1969
The Boat That Rocked
2009
Flip Out
1983
Choice Collection
2000
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Special Edition
2002