6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 2.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The bizarre and musical tale of a girl who travels to another dimension through the gateway found in her family's basement.
Starring: Herve Villechaize, Susan Tyrrell, Gisele Lindley, Jan Stuart Schwartz, Marie-Pascale ElfmanDark humor | 100% |
Surreal | 88% |
Imaginary | 46% |
Musical | 21% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Richard Elfman's "Forbidden Zone" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer; long featurette with cast and crew interviews; outtakes; deleted scenes; music video by Oingo Boingo; and an audio commentary with director Richard Elfman and writer-actor Matthew Bright. The disc also arrives with collectible artworks, poster, and a collector's booklet featuring writing on the film by director Richard Elfman and Critic David Hayles illustrated with stills from the private collection of Richard and Danny Elfman. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Sealed with a kiss
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Richard Elfman's Forbidden Zone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.
The screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:
1. Forbidden Zone (Original version): 1-15.
2. Forbidden Zone (Color version): 16-29.
The press materials I was sent state that this new director-approved Blu-ray edition of Forbidden Zone features HD restorations of the black and white and color versions of the film - and indeed both look quite good. Detail and clarity are very pleasing, while contrast levels remain stable from start to finish. Color reproduction is also convincing, with the black and white version of the film looking slightly more organic. However, the best news is that there are absolutely no traces of problematic sharpening. Severe degraining corrections have not been performed either. Naturally, there is a layer of light grain throughout the entire film. This said, compression could have been slightly better, and some of the tiny flecks that occasionally pop up could have been cleaned up. Nevertheless, for an ultra low-budget film the presentation is certainly more than satisfying. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There are five audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc. Original version: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0, and Music DTS 5.1. Color version: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for both versions of the film.
I watched the original version of Forbidden Zone with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track and was very pleased with it. It has a good range of dynamics and plenty of depth, which I found rather surprising considering the fact that the film apparently had an ultra low budget. The dialog was also pleasingly stable and crisp. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 has a notably wider range of nuanced dynamics, but the surround channels do not impress. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track from the color version appears to have identical technical characteristics (the Spanish number with the boxers around the 18-minute mark sounds exactly the same on both versions of the film).
Note: All of the supplemental features on this release are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.
Richard Elfman's Forbidden Zone is one of the most bizarre films I have ever seen. To be honest, I am unsure how I feel about it - some of the eccentric episodes could be entertaining, but the rest is too wacky and just plain weird. Give Arrow Video a lot of credit for bringing this film to Blu-ray because there really isn't anything quite like it on the market. Fans of the film should be very pleased with this release.
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