7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
George Carlin continues making people laugh with his 13th HBO stand-up special.
Starring: George CarlinComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The late, great George Carlin took a sour turn with his 18th album—and 13th special for HBO—the morbid, uncomfortable Life Is Worth Losing. Carlin made a living sounding off on the absurdities and horrors and hypocrisies of the human condition, but here he airs out the dirtiest of mankind's laundry. He starts off innocuously enough, with an impressive five-minute free-form riff on what it means to be a modern man—"A man for the millennium. Digital and smoke free. A diversified multicultural postmodern deconstructionist, politically, anatomically, and ecologically incorrect"—and follows this with a characteristically Carlinesque dissection of a few words you shouldn't say in polite company. Like dingleberry: "It always sounded kinda Christmas-y to me; doesn't it have a holiday ring to it?"
Shot way-back-when in 2005 on now antiquated HD digital TV gear, Life Is Worth Losing looks a little rough in its 1080p/AVC-encoded from MPI, which was almost certainly taken from the same source as their 2007 DVD release. Sure, there's a modest bump up in clarity and color here, but I probably wouldn't enjoy the special any less in standard definition. Chroma noise is noticeable in the shadows and there's some minor macroblocking at play here too. Nothing distracting, though.
The only audio option on the disc is a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track, but Carlin's voice remains clear and easy to understand throughout. No real issues here.
There's nothing here but a main menu with a static image.
Life is Worth Losing is dark, funny, borderline prophetic stuff, but it's hard to wholeheartedly recommend buying it on Blu-ray unless you're a diehard George Carlin fan. For one, it's currently streaming on Netflix, along with several of Carlin's other specials, so if you're a subscriber, that's a no- brainer. The disc is also entirely bare-boned, and I question this particular comedy set's potential for repeat viewing.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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