6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 2.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.9 |
A disgraced former fireman takes on a group of terrorists holding the Vice President and others hostage during the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup finals.
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry, Michael Gaston, Audra LindleyAction | 100% |
Thriller | 95% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Japanese: DTS 5.1
Portuguese: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 2.0
Spanish: DTS 2.0
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Peter Hyams' "Sudden Death" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios-UK. There are no supplemental features on this release. In English, with optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Japanese, German, Italian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Before the game
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Peter Hyams' Sudden Death arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios-UK.
The disc's main menu can be set in one of the following languages: Japanese, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Spanish (Latin America), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Mandarin.
The high-definition transfer has been struck from an older master, one that Universal Studios most likely used for previous DVD releases of Sudden Death. As it was the case with Hard Target, there are traces of light filtering corrections that affect clarity and image depth, though the overwhelming majority of them are not too obvious. There are, however, stronger sharpening adjustments on this high-definition transfer (see screencapture 6). Generally speaking, contrast levels are stable. Color reproduction is decent, but there are parts of the film where it is easy to see that select primaries and supporting nuances are not as healthy as they should be (see screencaptures #7 and 9). There are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or warps to report in this review. To sum it all up, Sudden Death look slightly better than Hard Target, but it is easy to tell that the film could far more convincing on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There are eight standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, Japanese DTS 5.1, Portuguese (Brazil) DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 2.0, Spanish (Latin America) DTS 2.0. For the record, Universal Studios has included optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Japanese, German, Italian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless English track is very strong. It has a very good range of nuanced dynamics, and overall intensity during the action scenes is terrific. John Debney's music score, in particular, benefits a great deal during the final third of the film. The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow. For the record, there are no pops, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.
Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray release.
Sudden Death looks marginally better than Hard Target, but this is yet another catalog Blu-ray release from Universal Studios without any supplemental features. If you wish to replace your DVD release of Sudden Death, look around and see if you could find the Blu-ray release on sale. If you can't, RENT IT.
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