7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
CIA agent Miles Kendig decides to get out of "the game". To ensure he's left alone, he threatens to send his memoirs to the world's intelligence agencies. When the CIA doesn't believe him, he calls their bluff and starts writing and sending out chapters one by one.
Starring: Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Sam Waterston, Ned Beatty, Herbert LomComedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.42:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Ronald Neame's "Hopscotch" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; archival episode of The Dick Cavett Show with Walter Matthau; and archival documentary featuring interviews with writer Brian Garfield and director Ronald Neame. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Glenn Kenny. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
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Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.42:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ronald Neame's Hopscotch arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner from a 35mm internegative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic tracks. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.
Transfer supervisor: Russell Smith.
Colorist: Jason Grump/Metropolis, New York."
The release is sourced from a solid new restored 2K master. Excluding a couple of short sequences where I feel that density could be slightly better the film looks really solid in high-definition, with virtually all of the outdoor footage looking especially good. There are some minor fluctuations in terms of grain exposure, but they are typical for the sensitive 35mm stock that was used for a lot of films during the 1970s and 1980s. Here the most obvious examples can be traced back to the manner in which abundant or restricted natural light is captured by the camera. In other words, they are not a byproduct of problematic digital adjustments or corrections. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments either. The primary colors are stable, nicely saturated and convincingly balanced. There is a healthy range of nuances as well. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no distracting large scratches, debris, cuts, stains, warped or torn frames to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0/Original Theatrical Soundtrack and English Dolby Digital 1.0/Television Soundtrack. (For additional information on the latter, please see the main review of the film). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The audio has been remastered and depth and clarity are terrific. The various music excerpts that are heard throughout the film are also nicely balanced with the dialog. Dynamic intensity is very good but there are some rather obvious native limitations. Hiss, crackle, pops, and other age-related imperfections have been removed.
I would give Hopscotch as a prime example of the delightfully witty and harmless R-rated action comedies that Hollywood forgot how to make. I will concede that the current crop of big stars clearly isn't as talented as the ones that made Hopscotch, but the truth is that there is a cultural shift that actually legitimized complete turkeys like CHiPS, The Interview, and Puerto Ricans in Paris, and I find this new reality to be quite disappointing. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from a very solid new 2K restored master that should remain the go-to source for Ronald Neame's film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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