7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Four respected presenters and a camera crew attempt to discover the truth behind 'The most haunted house in Britain'.
Starring: Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene (I), Mike Smith (XIX), Craig Charles, Gillian BevanHorror | 100% |
Supernatural | 20% |
Psychological thriller | 13% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i (upconverted)
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: MVD Visual is handling distribution of the domestic release of 101 Films' Blu-ray of Ghostwatch. It does look like 101 is
putting this out itself for the UK market, and in that regard, there's also a
standard edition being released for the UK market without all of the
non-disc supplements this release includes.
Orson Welles' infamous Halloween radio broadcast of that other Wells'
The War of the Worlds remains perhaps the single most famous example of a fictional media event being perceived as reality. There
have been a number of adroit analyses of the socioeconomic aspects that may have played into large swaths of the American populace "falling" for
a
blatantly theatrical radio presentation, but part of what happened can certainly be ascribed to the fact that it took place in 1938, when audiences
were
perhaps less jaded than they are nowadays, and therefore more liable to simply assume what was being broadcast was "the truth". In that regard,
it
may be kind of amazing for American audiences in particular not familiar with the broadcast currently under review to find out that over five
decades
after Welles and his Mercury Theater troupe scared the living daylights out of millions of people that something quite similar happened in England,
albeit this time on television, where one might think audience perceptions might have been more attuned to the fact that "reality" was in fact
fiction.
Ghostwatch aired on Halloween night in Britain in 1992, and it purported to be a special live broadcast looking into some supernatural
activity at a West London flat where a family was ostensibly experiencing some frightening poltergeist activity. Now part of Ghostwatch's
particular genius is that it recruited actual "presenters" (as television hosts and pundits are known in the UK) to populate the show, and to provide
some analogous context, it would have been like Welles utilizing some famous news announcer from the 1930s like Walter Winchell or Lowell
Thomas
to "report" on the alien invasion.
Ghostwatch is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 101 Films and MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.33:1. Despite some really luxe packaging and even a more expansive press sheet than usually accompanies these releases, there's really no technical information imparted, though this kind of amusingly has some of the same upscaled appearance that I frequently mention with regard to another BBC production from this general era, Doctor Who. This is one of those "historical" presentation that simply has some baked in deficits which are probably not helped by the increased resolution and/or upscaling, and in fact may at least at times be hobbled by those efforts. In its best moments, which tend to be the better lit sequences with stationary cameras, detail levels are generally decent and the imagery relatively crisp, within the overall context of the presentation. Handheld moments and especially the lower light moments reveal a variety of artifacts, with some pretty noticeable pixellation and macroblocking, as well as a general lack of clarity. As can also be made out in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, there are some intentional "lo-fi" video moments, as in some of the supposed closed circuit feed from the Early house. This is actually one of those presentations that may benefit from being viewed on a smaller screen. Some may feel I'm being overly generous with even a middling 3.0 score, but after having seen several seasons of Doctor Who from around this same timeframe put out on Blu-ray by the BBC itself, this actually compares fairly favorably to some of those presentations.
Ghostwatch features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track that is obviously narrow, but which still packs some significant energy into a variety of spooky sound effects. I actually found some of the more "electronic" sounding effects that accompany the supposed live feed being interrupted by the sprit world to actually be more annoying than startling after a while, but the ostensible "on the fly" documentary of the Early home scenes have surprisingly consistent levels and clear representation of sometimes panicked dialogue. The studio bound pieces with Parkinson and his cohort are obviously more controlled, and probably not so coincidentally sound fine. Optional English subtitles are available.
Every so often an unexpected surprise shows up in my review queue, and I have to say Ghostwatch certainly qualifies in that regard. This Limited Edition offers a number of pluses, which may help to outweigh a technical presentation where the video "is what it is". With that one caveat, Ghostwatch comes Highly recommended.
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