6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A couple who participated in a potent medical experiment gain telekinetic ability and then have a child who is pyrokinetic.
Starring: Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Freddie Jones, Heather Locklear, Martin SheenHorror | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
2014 kbps
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Firestarter (1984) marked the eighth big screen feature to be adapted from a novel or short story by Stephen King. In the year prior,
Christine became the first work to sit atop both the bestseller list and the box office. Due to that success, John Carpenter became involved
with developing Firestarter as a possible feature. Carpenter wrote a script that while inspired by the subject, diverged substantially from
King's 1980 novel. In seeking a screenplay that clung to the fidelity of the book, Universal Studios then hired veteran screenwriter Stanley Mann to
adapt King's 428-page supernatural thriller. Legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis brought in his Italian crew to work on the project and hired
Mark Lester (Class of 1984) to direct. After transforming into America's young sweetheart two years earlier in the mega hit E.T.,
eight-year-old Drew Barrymore was a no-brainer for Universal to cast as the title character, Charlene "Charlie" McGee.
Charlie and her father, Andrew McGee (David Keith), are on the run from government agents who are pursuing them for the acute hypnotic powers
that they possess. Lester and his editors flash back to a sixties era scene in which Andy and his future wife, Vicky Tomlinson (Heather Locklear),
take mild hallucinogenic drugs as part of a controlled experiment. There is also a scene in the backstory in which the audience's learns of toddler
Charlie's pyrokinetic abilities (e.g., starting a piece of toast on fire). Andy has psychokinetic abilities and the film uses pulsing sound effects to
delineate his mind-bending powers. (A nosebleed is the primary side effect.) Andy and Charlie are both dangerous and intriguing to the
Department of Scientific Intelligence (DSI), a covert agency with a ranch headquarters in rural Virginia. The McGee fugitives hitch a ride with
geriatric Irv Manders (Art Carney), who transports them to his farm where his younger wife, Norma (Louise Fletcher), shows Charlie the family
chickens. But the DSI agents track the McGees to the Manders farm where Charlie confronts them with a (very explosive) standoff.
Don't provoke Charlie or else she will unleash her fiery powers on you!
Shout! Factory brings Firestarter to Blu-ray in the US with a deluxe "Collector's Edition." The label uses the AVC encode and puts the disc's
contents on a BD-50. The main feature carries a very healthy average bitrate of 34999 kbps. Lester's film is presented in its original theatrical aspect
ratio of 2.35:1. As I started watching Firestarter, I was skeptical because the CinemaScope framing elongated the faces. But when I saw what
cinematographer Giuseppe Ruzzolini was doing with multiplane compositions and nature images, I was convinced that it's the proper ratio. The dense
vegetation and beautiful wilderness scenes in Wilmington, North Carolina (where the film was shot) are lushly represented here. Greens are nicely
saturated.
Shout! advertises this transfer as a 2K scan of the interpositive film element. This is the fourth time that the movie has been released on BD: by NSM
Records in Austria, King Records in Japan, and Universal in the US. The Shout has better compression than the AT ( it doubles its average bitrate of
17999 kbps). The encodes on the two US BDs are comparable: Universal carries a mean bitrate of 33280 kbps while Shout! accommodates several
extras and uses a total bitrate of 40.85 mbps. This is not the same transfer that my colleague, Martin Leibman, reviewed three years ago on the Universal BD-50. I have compared many screen captures from
both editions and can indicate that Universal applied pretty heavy DNR while Shout! has retained a fair amount of grain. Shout! also offers a little more
information on all four sides. Shout!'s is a bit sharper and I could notice a bit more detail. Skin tones are whiter on the Universal disc. Universal has
boosted the grayscale and brightness levels in places. Colors appear more natural on the Shout! There are periodic white speckles on the Shout!'s
picture (especially during the penultimate reel) but they are infrequent. There are no significant image stability issues. Shout! is the winner on all
fronts.
Shout! has divided the feature up into its customary twelve chapter stops. Unfortunately, the label's BDs still do not accommodate the auto-resume
function on players.
Shout only provides the movie's original monaural recording, rendered here as a DTS-HD Master (encoded at 2014 kbps, 24-bit). The track reveals the
age limitations of the mono sound track. Fidelity is alright but you may need to turn up the volume to hear all the dialogue. Fortunately, the master is
in relatively good shape without any audible defects. Sound effects don't show a lot of range. It would have been better if Shout! had created (at
minimum) an uncompressed stereo mix to open up Tangerine Dream's music. It's nice to have the original audio here (and it does its job) but Shout!
could have upped the ante with additional mixes.
Shout! has supplied optional English SDH, which contain only a few errors in transcription.
None of the Firestarter DVDs released worldwide contained any bonus features, aside from a trailer on Universal's U.S. SD disc. Shout! has
delivered all new materials:
Despite some problems, Firestarter is an above-average fantastical thriller, buoyed by the performances of Barrymore, Scott, and Sheen. The film is also worth experiencing to hear Tangerine Dream's ethereal music in tandem with some memorable scenes. Shout! delivers a top-notch transfer and some excellent supplements. Fans of the cast and King should definitely pick this up. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Collector's Edition
1984
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1978
1981
1973
Collector's Edition
2022
Uncut
2019
2018
2016
2000
Limited to 3000 Copies
1990
Collector's Edition
1988
Collector's Edition
1995
2014
1956
2006
Five Million Years to Earth
1967
2018
1953
1982
1939