6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
After his mistress is savagely beaten, a Mafia leader goes after the killer with a bloody vengeance. Soon after the hunt begins, a gang war ensues.
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Frederic Forrest, Robert Forster, Al Lettieri, Angel TompkinsThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Richard Fleischer's "The Don is Dead" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer for the film and exclusive new audio commentary by critic and author Scott Harrison. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 and granted a 1080p transfer, The Don is Dead arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Universal Studios. Unfortunately, this master does not have a stable organic appearance and at times actually becomes rather problematic. All of the visible anomalies are a byproduct of surface filtering combined with mild sharpening which flatten the visuals and in select ares produce classic edge-enhancement patterns (see screencapture #7). Needless to say, depth is quite inconsistent and a lot of nuances in darker areas are either barely recognizable or lost. Grain exposure is unconvincing. In fact, often times when the camera zooms the surface of the visuals moves in odd directions because the grain is actually stuck under the sharpening, which is precisely the reason why fluidity is problematic. The color scheme is good. The primaries are solid and nicely saturated and there are very good ranges of supporting nuances. However, in darker areas the digital anomalies have destabilized some darker nuances, so there is a lot more unnatural black and shades of gray. Image stability is excellent. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. So, my guess is that viewers with smaller screens may tolerate the technical presentation rather easily, but on larger screens the digital anomalies become unmissable. My score is 3.25/5.00. (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).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I noticed a few extremely light distortions after the melee in the garage in the very beginning of the film. They are in the upper register so unless the volume is turned up a lot, I don't believe most people will notice them. The rest is fine. Clarity, sharpness, and balance are very nice. The explosions sound good too, but you should not expect a great deal of dynamic intensity, or at least not of type that is present on modern blockbusters.
The damage great films like The Godfather and Scarface have done on mainstream perceptions about mobsters in America is truly incalculable. They legitimized lifestyles and values that were essentially incompatible with the real world of organized crime, where loyalty and honor for instance meant very little and life was as cheap as a pack of cigarettes. (In case you have any doubts that it is so, spend a night with Whitey: United States of America V. James J. Bulger). Richard Fleischer's The Don is Dead comes much closer to the truth, which is precisely the reason why it lacks the glamour of The Godfather and Scarface. What its unlikable characters do is essentially a lot of pragmatic backstabbing and killing that weed out the weaker and naive amongst them. The survivors then keep rearranging their interests until the next wave of disputes and bloody troubles disrupt the business, exactly as it used to happen in the real world. Eureka Entertainment's release of The Don is Dead is sourced from an older and not terribly convincing master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. If you want it in your collection, find a way to rent and test it first, and then consider a purchase.
Indicator Series
1978
1973
1990
1974
Indicator Series
1973
2 Disc Edition
1971
Premium Collection
1967
1993
Killer Force
1976
Eureka Classics
1958
1988
Premium Collection
1931
Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1968
1974
+ Shaft's Big Score!
1971
Indicator Series | Standard Edition
1950
Masters of Cinema
1977
1957
1951
1973