The Dark Half Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Dark Half Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 1, 2019

George A. Romero's "The Dark Half" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival audio commentary by the director; the recent documentary "The Sparrows Are Flying Again"; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Simon Ward, as well as technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The Dark Half was first released on Blu-ray in the United States by Scream Factory in 2014. For an in-depth analysis of the film, please see Jeff Kauffman's review of this release here.

The Dark Half Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, George A. Romero's The Dark Half arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same older master that MGM supplied to Scream Factory for this North American release in 2014. So, unsurprisingly, the same source limitations are retained.

The good news is that like virtually all old(er) masters that emerge from MGM's vaults this one isn't plagued by sharpening adjustments. As a result, most of the visuals actually have fairly decent organic qualities. Also, image stability is good, though there is a bit of room for optimizations and a brand new remaster will undoubtedly look superior. Now, here's where the age of the current master shows: First, depth and clarity are quite inconsistent, and the majority of the indoor/darker footage it becomes very easy to see that the master struggles a lot with entire range of fine nuances -- there is black crush, blown out highlights, etc. Even some daylight footage occasionally appears flat because these types of limitations become prominent, and the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to recognize that depth and delineation are not optimal (see screencapytures #6 and 16). Color balance isn't convincing either. A few primaries are decent, but saturation is off and plenty of nuances are appear very weak. On the other hand, the more neutral temperature of the visuals is actually not too bad. Finally, there are some white specks and black marks that pop up here and there, though I personally never found them distracting. (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).

The Dark Half Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English: LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provide for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the lossless 5.1 track and found it to be excellent. Clarity, depth, and balance are excellent. Also, there are no traces of age-related imperfections, such as background hiss, pops, hum, or distortions in the upper register. Honestly, I am not at all surprised because when the current master was prepared the audio was almost certainly carefully redone. (A lot of older MGM masters come with very solid audio).

The Dark Half Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage U.S. trailer for The Dark Half. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• TV Spot - a vintage U.S. TV Spot for The Dark Half. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Audio Commentary - this archival audio commentary by George A. Romero has appeared on various other home video releases of The Dark Half. It has plenty of information about the actual adaptation of Stephen King's novel and how its key themes and atmosphere were transferred on film, the casting choices that were made, the specific locations where different parts of the film were shot, etc.

• "George A. Romero" - this archival documentary about the director of The Dark Half, which was part of the Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show, was broadcast in the UK in 1989. In English, not subtitled. (40 min).

• The Sparrows Are Flying Again - this documentary takes a closer look at the conception and production of The Dark Half. It was produced by Scream Factory and Red Shirt Pictures, and initially appeared on the North American release of The Dark Half. In English, not subtitled. (37 min).

• Deleted Scenes - in English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Archival Material - a collection of vintage bonus features with plenty of raw footage from the shooting of The Dark Half and cast and crew interviews that have already appeared on previous home video releases of the film. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Behind the Scenes - Special Effects Featurette. (16 min).
  2. Behind the Scenes - On the Set Featurette. (9 min).
  3. Storyboards - for the original ending of the film. (2 min).
  4. Original EPK - electronic press kit. (7 min).
  5. Interviews - archival interview clips. (7 min).

• Reversible Sleeve -

• Booklet - a limited Edition Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Simon Ward.

The Dark Half Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eureka Entertainment's upcoming Blu-ray release of George A. Romero's film The Dark Half is sourced from the same older master that MGM supplied to Scream Factory for the North American Blu-ray release of the film that emerged in 2014. It is a mostly decent master, but if redone the film can look quite a bit better in high-definition. Also, all of the supplemental features from Scream Factory's release are retained on this release, including the previously exclusive documentary The Sparrows Are Flying Again. RECOMMENDED.