7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Skip and Harry are framed for a bank robbery and end up in a western prison. The two eastern boys are having difficulty adjusting to the new life until the warden finds that Skip has a natural talent for riding broncos with the inter-prison rodeo coming up.
Starring: Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, JoBeth Williams, Georg Stanford Brown, Craig T. NelsonComedy | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Sidney Poitier's "Stir Crazy" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with composer Tom Scott; new program with critic Michael B. Gillespie; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Jailbirds
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Stir Crazy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.
I have in my library this Australian release of Stir Crazy, which is sourced from the same old master that was used to produce this release. The master is supplied by Sony Pictures.
While Stir Crazy can look fresher, I think that it looks very, very good in high-definition. For example, there are a few areas with small yet noticeable density fluctuations, but neither delineation nor depth suffer significantly there. Virtually all of these fluctuations are inherited, so if a proper 4K master is created, they will be minimized, not eliminated. In darker areas, where old master usually reveal weakness, shadow and other subtle nuances are very convincing. Color balance is convincing, too. Select primaries and nuances can be tweaked to appear more vibrant, but saturation levels already good, and the overall color temperature of the visuals is correct. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Grain exposure could be a bit more even, but there are no troubling anomalies. The surface of the visuals is healthy, too. All in all, while there is room for minor cosmetic improvements, at the moment Stir Crazy has a very pleasing organic appearance. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review. All exchanges are very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. Balance is good, too. During the action material dynamic intensity is quite nice, but elsewhere there isn't much that can make an impress, especially younger viewers. However, this is how the film's soundtrack was finalized, and these are the native qualities the lossless track reproduces.
While a very enjoyable film, Stir Crazy should have been a legitimately mad film from start to finish. In its current form, it frequently seeks and emphasizes realism, which is odd because Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder's characters are incompatible with it. What effectively negates this issue is the quality of the improvisation work the two stars do before the camera, which is a lot and quite diverse. Stir Crazy is one of three films included in Pryor & Wilder, 1980-1991, a three-disc box set produced by Indicator/Powerhouse Films. If you decide to pick it up for your library, please keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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2017
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The Hired & Fired Extended Cut
2013
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2009
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2016
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