6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.9 |
Nomad (Patrick Swayze), a new breed of warrior trained in the arts of swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, roams the vast desert wastelands in a post-nuclear age.
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, Anthony Zerbe, Christopher Neame (III), Brion JamesAction | 100% |
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 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Judging by some of the comments he makes in a commentary track included on this disc as a bonus item, co-producer and director of Steel Dawn Lance Hool probably does not have a copy of The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films in his personal Blu-ray collection. When asked to relay his experiences with Cannon Films and the notorious Menahem Golam and Yoram Globus, suffice it to say that Hool is short and to the point in discussing how negative he felt the two were. Steel Dawn actually wasn't a Cannon release, but if you didn't know that, you might be forgiven for thinking it was. If there are abundant echoes of the Mad Max Anthology at play, kind of humorously, the film comes off almost as the "flip side" of Waterworld, though since this film predated the Costner epic by several years, maybe it would be better to think of Waterworld as being the flip side of Steel Dawn. In this case instead of a world overrun by oceans, things are decidedly drier, though the whose post-Apocalyptic context and even some of the characters may seem virtually interchangeable. That begins with the focal character without a real name, here referred to as Nomad (Patrick Swayze). Nomad roams the desert on a sort of quest for vengeance, but soon runs afoul of a local warlord type named Damnil (Anthony Zerbe), which puts not just Nomad in jeopardy, but also pretty widow Kasha (Lisa Niemi, Swayze's real life wife) and her cute son Jux (Brett Hool, son of the director). This last element brings to mind the most obvious cinematic referent which was obviously on the mind of screenwriter Doug Lefler (one assumes he was not a prophet able to see into the future and reference Waterworld), and that's Shane.
Steel Dawn is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the Vestron Video Collector's Series, an imprint of Lionsgate Films, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. As usual with these Vestron Video releases, there's no technical data of any major import on the packaging, other than a generic "remastered" comment. Whatever element was used to source this transfer has some age related issues which are relatively minor but which can detract at times from the viewing experience. While there's no huge damage on display, there are recurrent nicks and especially hairline scratches that show up, unfortunately often most noticeably in the bright outdoor scenes in the desert against glowing blue skies. There's also recurrent damage along the left side of the frame, which can show a slight blanched appearance and often a light scratch running virtually the entire length of the frame. Brightness fluctuations are also evident, again probably most noticeable in the outdoor material, where you can see color temperature change slightly on things like vast areas of sand. All of this said, detail levels tend to be very good, with that aforementioned sand rendered without any issues and looking precise and free of compression anomalies. Close-ups offer good detail on facial features and fabrics of the costumes. There are some definite downgrades in overall clarity in some of the action scenes, notably with what amount to go carts, in scenes I'm assuming may have been handled by a second unit.
Steel Dawn features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that provides capable support of the film's often ridiculous dialogue and effects. The score by Brian May, who probably not so coincidentally contributed scores to both Mad Max and The Road Warrior, sounds nicely warm and surprisingly burnished in some of the brass cues in particular. I noticed no outright damage of any kind. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.
Steel Dawn is perhaps hobbled at times by the very exotic locale it attempts to exploit. It can't have been easy to choreograph fights on dunes of rapidly shifting sands, but even aside from those obstacles, the film simply doesn't provide enough background and context for any of the characters to really resonate. That may not matter all that much in terms of admittedly cartoonish villains, but when an audience is particularly swayed (and/or Swayzed, as the case may be) by the hero and heroine, let alone an adorable little boy, those may be danger signs that something isn't connecting the way it should be. Video has a few hurdles to overcome, but audio is fine, and the supplements very engaging, for those who are considering making a purchase.
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