6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
Foreign | 100% |
Horror | 25% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Eiji Uchida's "Greatful Dead" a.k.a. "Gureitofuru deddo" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Third Window Films. The only supplemental feature on the disc is a video interview with the Japanese director. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The Watcher
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Eiji Uchida's Greatful Dead arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Third Window Films.
If there is an abundance of natural light detail, clarity, and depth are quite good. Some minor contrast fluctuations are present, but they are part of the film's intended appearance. (The film was shot digitally and it is obvious that the minor fluctuations are also on the digital master). Unfortunately, the majority of the darker footage is plagued by various compression artifacts. Admittedly, on smaller screens some of them are likely to remain unnoticed, but on midsize TV screens (50'-55') and especially on projection screens they can be quite distracting (see the right side of screencapture #9). Colors are natural and stable. Finally, overall image stability is outstanding. All in all, the technical presentation of Greatful Dead is somewhat uneven. Indeed, there are portions of the film that can look quite good, but elsewhere there are some very obvious encoding anomalies. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Third Window Films have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
Classical music is effectively used throughout the film to enhance the unusual atmosphere and the various fragments sound terrific. (The main theme from Maurice Ravel's Bolero, in particular, sounds great). Overall dynamic intensity is rather limited, but this is hardly surprising considering the fact that Eiji Uchida had a limited budget to work with. The dialog is crisp, stable, clean, and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.
Eiji Uchida's Greatful Dead will likely appeal to those of you who have enjoyed Takashi Miike and Sion Sono's films. The young director's style is not yet well refined, but his vision is unique and it is obvious that he isn't afraid to experiment. The film's technical presentation is somewhat uneven. Naturally, my advice to you is to find a way to rent this disc and see if you are bothered by any of the issues that are addressed in the review before adding it to your collection. RENT IT.
Glissements progressifs du plaisir
1974
牡丹燈籠 / Botan-dôrô
1968
1968
1968
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht
1979
G.P. 506
2008
江戸川乱歩全集 恐怖奇形人間 / Edogawa Rampo zenshû: Kyôfu kikei ningen
1969
Wai dor lei ah yut ho
2010
弟切草 / Otogiriso
2001
Lust of the Vampire | Limited Edition
1957
仮面学園 / Kamen gakuen
2000
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens / Dracula
1922
Docteur Jekyll et les femmes / Arrow Academy
1981
2016
リアル鬼ごっこ / Riaru Onigokko
2015
口裂け女 / Kuchisake-onna
2007
Horror
1963
Quando os Deuses Adormecem
1972
勾魂降頭 / Gōu hún jiàng tóu | 88 Asia Collection #20
1976
蠱 / Gǔ | 88 Asia Collection #12
1981