7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A proud black musician rebels against racism in turn-of-the-century New York.
Starring: James Cagney, Brad Dourif, Moses Gunn, Elizabeth McGovern, Kenneth McMillanPeriod | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Music | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
5.1 for Theatrical Version, 2.0 Mono for Workprint
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Paramount brings the powerful, if not disjointed, 1981 film 'Ragtime,' based on the 1975 E.L. Doctorow novel of the same name, to Blu-ray as part of the studio's prestigious 'Paramount Presents' line. The 1080p video transfer and 5.1 lossless soundtrack are both very good. The disc includes plenty of extras and a second disc houses an alternate 'Director's Cut Workprint,' running nearly three hours and presented in flawed, but watchable, condition.
Paramount touts Ragtime as "remastered from a 4K film transfer" and the results are every bit as spectacular as fans have come to expect from the 'Paramount Presents' line. The picture is authentically filmic, true to its roots, and handsomely presented for color, clarity, and grain. The picture springs to life from the first scenes forward, beginning with a lavish dinner party where the picture exhibits all of its characteristics: excellent detail, fine grain, bold color, deep blacks, and crisp whites. All of these hold for the duration. The fine grain lends a practically perfect cinematic veneer to it and accentuates the high yield textures and supreme clarity that is in evidence throughout the film, bringing critical and much appreciated life to the densely detailed era production design that is vital in transporting the viewer to the film's timeframe and reinforcing its various themes. Facial complexities are excellent as well, as are the period clothes on display. Color output is terrific. There's a very nice blend of punchy tones – American flag red, white, and blue and natural greens, for example – as well as more grounded colors, all of which yield expressive vitality and natural contrast. Flesh tones are lovely, black levels are just about perfect, and whites are brilliant and stable. The picture is free of any obvious print flaws or encode deficiencies. This is a brilliant, beautiful image from Paramount.
Ragtime arrives on Blu-ray with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It would not be correct to call the track "well rounded" because it's fairly front heavy, but it would be correct to label it "authentic." The track is agreeably balanced within its natural construct and confines, yielding appreciably well detailed music and dialogue, the former of which flows with satisfying front side engagement and the latter of which holds steady to a central front location. Some of the chaotic din, such as when Thaw shoots White around the 20-minute mark, or city din out on the street around the 30-minute mark, both lack precision and immersion; the sound elements are largely up front and a little muddled but generally acceptable. An explosion towards film's end marks the most prolific output the track has to offer. While not prodigious or ramping up the bass to an extreme degree the core effect sounds fine, albeit still front heavy. This is not a terribly involved track, but Paramount brings every element to the table to sonic satisfaction.
Beyond the core supplements on disc one, which are divided into "new" and "legacy" categories -- including an audio commentary track, featurettes,
and a deleted scene -- the treasure is undoubtedly on disc two, a
Director's Cut Workprint of the film (1080p, Dolby TrueHD 2.0, 2:54:02). A text introduction reads: "The following is a director's cut workprint which
differs from the theatrical release of the film. Thanks to the Museum of Modern Art and The Film Foundation for preserving this material. As with all
workprints, in its current form, it was never intended for theatrical or other distribution so it will have defects, black and white footage, and other
anomalies consistent with the editorial process." The image is certainly a far cry from the feature presentation quality but is very watchable despite
various examples of print wear and color fading.
This release is the 28th in the "Paramount Presents" line and includes the slipcover with fold-open poster
artwork. A digital copy code is included with purchase.
In brief, this is a fantastic release. While the movie is imperfect, it's an engaging bit of cinema artistry that's as absorbing and powerful as anything out there when it's on, which is much of its second half. The Blu-ray look terrific and sounds pretty good, too, all things considered. This release includes an abundance of supplements including a second disc dedicated to a nearly three-hour workprint cut of the film. Highly recommended.
2012
2020
2001
2003
1996
Quality X / Slipcover in Original Pressing
1985
Love and Other Impossible Pursuits
2009
2021
2007
Warner Archive Collection
1993
2018
1970
2003
2012
1988
2014
4K Restoration
1975
2008
2020
2015