6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
When a plane carrying secret biological weapon crash-lands near a small, rural town, the area descends into chaos.
Starring: Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lloyd Hollar, Lynn LowryHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available as part of George A. Romero: Between Night and Dawn.
Mention the name George A. Romero to just about anyone, and if they recognize it, chances are they’ll be prone to think largely of films like Night of the Living Dead, or indeed prone to think only of
that
film. The legendary 1968 zombie film was such a watershed moment in the history of horror that it perhaps unavoidably branded Romero and his
coterie of Pittsburgh collaborators in ways that any creative artist would probably try to break free from, if only to clearly establish that they were
not
a “One-Trick Pony” (so to speak). There’s an obvious “and now for
something completely different” streak running through the three films that Arrow has assembled in its cheekily titled Between Night and
Dawn set. This trio of films consists of the trifecta Romero and his repertory company (both in front of and behind the camera) produced in
the
wake of Night of the Living Dead. Of the three, the first film to come out after Night of the Living Dead, There’s Always
Vanilla, is perhaps the “most” completely different, due at least in part to the fact that Romero didn’t write it (and, notably, considered the
finished film something of a disaster). Season of the Witch and (especially) The Crazies arguably have more in common with
what’s
traditionally thought of as Romero canon, with plot lines that at least touch on science fiction or otherworldly phenomena, and with both
addressing a
frequent subtext of Romero’s works, the dialectic between an anachronistic individualist and those heeding to societal norms.
The Crazies is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1 (not the 1.66:1 mentioned in Arrow's verbiage below). Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:
The Crazies (aka Code Name: Trixie) has been restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with mono sound.The Crazies is another very nice looking restoration from Arrow, and one which clearly improves upon the lackluster Blue Underground version from several years ago. Virtually every issue Marty mentioned in his review has either been eliminated or at least ameliorated in this version. The color temperature is consistent (though brightness is just a bit variable), and elements like the deep reds of fire engines or blood on some victims pop with considerable immediacy. While there is a bit of grain variability on display, generally speaking things look natural, though this is the one transfer in the set that struggles just a little with some compression issues in the darkest scenes. While any of the major damage Marty talked about in his review has been dealt with, the most eagle eyed viewers may still be able to spot stray (small) flecks and the like, issues that mostly noticeable during some of the darkest sequences. The Arrow release looks somewhat darker overall to my eyes than the Blue Underground release, something that tends to elevate the appearance of the grain field but which also helps to establish stronger contrast.
The original 35mm camera negative and a CRI element were scanned in 4K resolution on a pin-registered Arriscan at OCN Digital. The film was graded on a Baselight and restored using a combination of software tools and techniques at Deluxe Restoration, London. The original mono soundtrack was transferred from the optical negative elements.
The original film and audio elements for The Crazies were made available for this restoration by Films Around the World. Additional research and inspection was done by Joe Rubin at OCN Labs, CT.
All three films in this set feature LPCM Mono tracks, and all share many of the same characteristics, so I'll treat them in tandem. While dialogue, effects and the sometimes unusual score choices (including some electronic music) come through with relative clarity, all three tracks suffer from an undeniable boxiness that tends to tamp down energy and can make things sound artificial at times. There is also occasional but not overly distracting distortion at times, especially in the higher registers when voices get raised or (more noticeably) when some of the brasher cues are being utilized. Marty was even harder on the Blue Underground version's audio than I'm being on this track, but I'd say while my score is just a tad higher, I concur with Marty's assessment of the many of the issues and anomalies on the track mentioned in his The Crazies Blu-ray review.
- Filming Locations (1080p; 26:56) features commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz.
- Collectible Scans (1080p; 6:04) offers an assortment of things like stills and magazine articles.
- Trailer 1 (1080p; 2:57)
- Trailer 2 (1080p; 3:04)
- TV Spot 1 (1080i; 1:04)
- TV Spot 2 (1080i; 00:33)
About the only down side to this new release is that it didn't port over the Romero commentary from the Blue Underground version. Otherwise, this is a solid upgrade and easily comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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