5.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A biology teacher and his wife take their two children to an island summer house to enable him to write an important thesis while getting over the death of their son. While they are there, large flocks of birds appear and begin to attack individual humans for no apparent reason. The town mayor (who is also the local doctor) refuses to believe that birds are responsible for the spate of injuries that are occurring but, before long, he has no option but to believe as the birds begin attacking larger groups of people.
Starring: Tippi Hedren, Chelsea Field, Brad Johnson (II), James Naughton, Jan RubesHorror | 100% |
Supernatural | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo verified
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The 1990s were a rather fruitful period for remakes and sequels to Hitchcock films on the big and small screen. Eight years before Van Sant's Psycho (1998) remake, there was the fourth installment, Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990). In addition, director Karen Arthur remade Shadow of a Doubt (1943) in 1991 and Andrew Davis redid Dial M for Murder (1954) as A Perfect Murder (1998), starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen. The 1994 telefilm The Birds II: Land's End was a loosely inspired sequel to The Birds (1963) and premiered March 19 that year on Showtime. None of the original characters returned, although Tippi Hedren came back to play Helen Matthews, the shop owner of the General Store. (There's also a character named Helen in The Birds.) The sequel begins in Gull Island off New England where an oil spill has washed over on the sea gull population. Marine biologist Gordy (Jack Riel) is out in the water inspecting the gulls but a swarm of birds attack him and peck his eyes out. This prologue was filmed after director Rick Rosenthal left the production for good. Tom Shales, a columnist for the Washington Post, was one of the first to report that Rosenthal wanted the pseudonymous Alan Smithee: "Birds II turned out so badly that the director, Rick Rosenthal, had his name taken off it."
Married couple Ted (Brad Johnson) and May Hocken (Chelsea Field) are vacationing at a rental house near Gull Island with their two daughters, Jill (Stephanie Milford) and Joanne (Megan Gallacher), and their Golden Retriever, Scout. Ted is a high school biology teacher hoping to write his thesis during this sojourn. He's still mourning the loss of his son five years earlier in a vehicle accident. Ted is having nightmares about losing him, which would explain why his professional aspiration to be a college professor has stalled. May seems to internalize the loss more. She starts
working as a computer consultant at The Island Weekly, the coastal town's newspaper. It's there that she meets Frank Irving (James Naughton), the paper's editor who was once a prominent war photographer. Frank is immediately interested in May and snaps pictures of her as she works. He senses the sexual frustration that May's channeling in her stale marriage to Ted and hopes to exploit her romantically. Ted is scarred above the eye by a gull while painting the front of his house. He realizes that Gull Island has a growing avian problem. One of the few who listens and believes him is Karl (Jan Rubes), a kind old man who manages the lighthouse. The Hocken's daughters are initially afraid of him but warm to him at an impromptu dinner.
Have some popcorn, Dad.
The Birds II: Land's End flies into home theaters courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 (disc size: 45.98 GB). It's presented in its originally composed ratio of 1.33:1, which was how it was displayed on Showtime as well as on MCA Home Video's VHS and LaserDisc releases. Vinegar Syndrome describes the DI as newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm interpositive. The transfer's exceptional quality wasn't what I was expecting for a modestly budgeted feature shown on paid cable in the mid-Nineties. The aqua and light green hues are rich. There are only tiny nicks that pop up on occasion but if you blink for a second you'll likely miss them. This transfer is exemplar for a "fine-grain master." Vinegar Syndrome has encoded the feature at a mean video bitrate of 34859 kbps. My video score is 4.75/5.00.
Vinegar Syndrome has given the 87-minute telefilm five "reels" which are accessible on the menu.
Vinegar Syndrome has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (2094 kbps, 24-bit). The original sound track is in excellent shape and VS has done a terrific job of restoring and presenting it here. The sound department didn't intend this to be a surround channel experience so the track is all front oriented. Spoken words are relatively clear and easy to make out. Wind, fire, gunshots, and squawking noises are clearly mixed. Composer Ron Ramin explains in an interview that his core orchestral group consisted of a French horn, viola, and celli. The score is never discussed and works well in subtle ways. My audio score is 4.25/5.00.
You will have to activate the optional English SDH on your remote controls. VS doesn't include an option on the menu.
Is The Birds II: Land's End a wholly worthy sequel to the Master's original classic? No, it's not. Does this TV movie offer an occasionally suspenseful romp on its own terms? Yes, it does. Parts of it are dull and a slow-burn but it's very well photographed by Bruce Surtees. The crew had a rather chaotic shoot but the non-CGI seagulls and ravens blend in fairly well with the optical effects. Vinegar Syndrome has delivered a mostly blemish-free transfer that's a revelation. The commentary track with Amanda Reyes and Sam Pancake as well as a new making-of doc are two reasons to snatch up this disc. The only extras missing are Showtime's promotional spots, MCA's video trailer, and "Inside the Birds," a fifteen-minute "special" hosted by Tippi Hedren that briefly looks at the making of both Birds movies. A VERY SOLID RECOMMENDATION.
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