7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
A couple of East Village loafers decide to embark on a road trip to Ohio to reteam up with one of theirs' female cousin. The trio then find themselves in Florida, looking for a get-rich-quick scheme.
Starring: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark, Danny RosenDrama | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger Than Paradise" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Soda Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and behind-the-scenes Super 8 silent film shot by Tom Jarmusch. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Willie, Eva and Eddie
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Soda Pictures.
From start to finish detail and clarity are very good. Image depth is also very pleasing, though there are some minor fluctuations during a few of the darker/nighttime scenes. This is hardly surprising, however, considering the fact that the film was shot with a very small budget. (The production limitations actually make the film a lot more attractive). The blacks, whites, and the variety of grays appear natural and well balanced. There are no traces of recent sharpening adjustments. Grain is retained and remains prominent throughout the entire film. This said, the encoding should have been optimized so that it is better resolved -- during a couple of scenes it could appear a bit blotchy at times -- but the film still has a very nice organic appearance. Finally, there are no serious stability issues to report in our review. All in all, there is room for some improvements, but the Blu-ray release represents a very fine upgrade in quality over the old R1 DVD release of the film. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" 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 DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The film does not have a prominent music score. Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" is heard a few times, but even then dynamic intensity is limited. The dialog is very crisp, stable, and clean. Also, there are no pops, cracks, distracting background hiss, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.
Jim Jarmusch's second feature, Stranger Than Paradise, is a wonderful piece of Americana that desperately needs to be released on Blu-ray on this side of the Atlantic. Soda Pictures' Blu-ray release is quite nice, but the film deserves an excellent selection of supplemental features. Hopefully, Criterion will soon upgrade their DVD release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (Please note that in addition to the single Blu-ray release, Stranger Than Paradise is available as part of the Jim Jarmusch Collection six-disc box set).
(Still not reliable for this title)
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