7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A young cowboy is seduced by a new girl in town only to find out he has been kissed by a vampire. Slowly turning into a creature of the night, he is persuaded to join up with the girl and a roaming band of ghouls. But when his own father and sister become targets in the vampires' endless search for 'food,' he is forced to choose between loyalty to the vampires, or loyalty his own family.
Starring: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright (I), Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette GoldsteinHorror | 100% |
Western | 5% |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Kathryn Bigelow's heavily atmospheric "Near Dark" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The disc does not contain any supplemental features. It is also not subtitled in English. Region-B "locked".
What do we have here...
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.
This is a pleasing transfer, quite similar to the one Hardware received. Detail is good, clarity adequate and contrast convincing. I did not see any overly disturbing edge-enhancement patterns. There are a couple of scenes where I noticed some thicker than usual lining, but I do not believe that this is something that would seriously affect your viewing experience. Macroblocking is not a serious issue of concern either.
The color-scheme is certainly unique. Yellows, blues, greens, browns, blacks and whites look natural and at times, as intended, a bit soft. I must also note that there are a few scenes where it is easy to see that mild noise reduction has been applied, but, as mentioned earlier, Near Dark still looks incredibly detailed and crisp. For the record, there are absolutely no disturbing debris, flecks, scratches, dirt, or stains that I detected. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" disc. Therefore, in order to access its content, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM stereo 2.0 track. I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the English LPCM 2.0 stereo track for the purpose of this review.
I have to immediately point out something very unusual that I noticed with the two audio tracks. During the opening credits, there is a very tiny pitch difference between the English LPCM 2.0 track and the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. If you switch between the two, as the music from the opening credits plays, you should be able to hear a slightly higher pitch for the English LPCM 2.0 track. Things quickly balance out, but I thought that this was rather strange.
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is quite impressive. Those of you who have seen Near Dark before know that the film boasts an incredibly atmospheric soundtrack courtesy of Christopher Franke, Edgar Froese, and Paul Haslinger from the legendary Tangerine Dream, and I think that their music has never sounded this good. The bass is surprisingly potent, the rear channels intelligently used, and the high frequencies not overdone. During the last twenty or so minutes, where the music is of key importance, I thought that the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track was utterly impressive. This being said, the dialog is crisp, clear and easy to follow. There are no cracks, pops, hissings, or dropouts that I detected.
I would not recommend that you use the English LPCM 2.0 track. Dynamically, it is definitely not as strong as the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. In fact, I would say that even if you do not have a top-notch audio system, you should be able to hear that it is not as good as the English LPCM 2.0 track. There are no disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings that I detected. This being said, though the dialog it largely easy to follow, it is somewhat disappointing that Optimum Home Entertainment have not supplied optional English subtitles for the main feature.
Most unfortunately, there are absolutely no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray disc.
Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark definitely looks and sounds impressive. It is a bit disappointing that there are no supplemental features on this disc, but the very attractive price tag Optimum Home Entertainment have given it should resonate well with fans of the film. Absolutely, we RECOMMEND it.
2019
2010
2012
1979
Premium Collection
1983
1968
1943
Black Label 020 | Limited Edition
1981
2019
Horror of Dracula / Double Play
1958
Black Label 019
1986
Collector's Edition
2024
2019
2019
2014
2013
Hammer
1970
2018
2018
2015