6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A cartoonist who had an affair with a girl who is murdered gets himself embroiled in a high-level cover-up of a sex scandal involving his lover. By using his artistic talent to try and reconstruct the scandal, he attracts attention to himself by the people involved, and becomes a target himself.
Starring: Virginia Madsen, Harry Dean Stanton, Adam Ant, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Tom HulceTeen | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Mystery | 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 2.0
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Nominated for Spirit Award for Best Cinematography, Wayne Wang's "Slam Dance' (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video. The only bonus features on the disc are two original trailers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
"Is that a wedding ring?"
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wayne Wang's Slam Dance arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
Like the majority of Wayne Wang's films, Slam Dance has a rather rough appearance. The manner in which light and shadow are captured, in particular, reveals a preference for edgier visuals. It is difficult to tell, however, how accurately the transfer preserves these preferences. For example, during some of the flashbacks it is easy to see that brightness and contrast are intentionally elevated (see screencaptures #4 and 19). There are, however, portions of the film where depth also fluctuates a bit but light does not appear to have been manipulated. Grain could be better defined, but there are no traces of recent degraining corrections. Also, there are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Colors are stable, but because the film has a specific stylized appearance color nuances are not always consistent. Overall image stability is very good. Finally, there are no large debris, damage marks, scratches, or cuts to report in our review. All in all, this is a fine presentation of Slam Dance that makes it rather easy to appreciate the artistic vision of its creator. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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 is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The film has a very distinctive ambient soundtrack that is effectively used to enhance the neo-noirish atmosphere. However, you should not expect to hear plenty of dynamic moevement. (It is quite obvious that the film was shot with a fairly modest budget). The dialog is stable, clean, and always easy to follow. Also, there are no pops, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in our review.
If the great Italian neorealists were still around, they most likely would be making films that look a lot like Chinese-American auteur Wayne Wang's best films. These films typically have modern but very authentic characters who have a special relationship with the places where they live. Wang loves to observe and study them. Slam Dance is worth a look, but if you wish to explore Wang's work see if first you can track down Smoke, Blue In The Face, Chan is Missing, and The Center of the World. RECOMMENDED.
1985
1939
1972
2012
1972
1976
2018
1989
1960
2019
2017
1980
2018
1985
2016
Collector's Edition
1997
2018
2014
2016
Le scomunicate di San Valentino
1974