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: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (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 Sergio Mims. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Don is Dead arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
If you have seen our review of Eureka Entertainment's recent release of The Don is Dead you should know exactly what to expect from Kino Lorber's release since they are sourced from the same older master, which was supplied by Universal Pictures. Unfortunately, this master has a lot of familiar shortcomings. Indeed, there are obvious traces of filtering adjustments and in some areas even classic edge-enhancement patterns (see screencaptures #8 and 18). The wider panoramic shots, and in particular the ones that have plenty of natural light, tend to smeary as well. Predictably, depth and clarity suffer a lot, so if you view your films on a larger screen there is an excellent chance that many of these anomalies will annoy you. The color scheme is convincing. However, this is another area where meaningful improvements can be made. In darker areas, where the filtering has destabilized different ranges of nuances, a proper new master can reveal substantial improvements and dramatically strengthen delineation as well. Image stability is very good. There are no large distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report in our review. So, while certain areas can appear somewhat decent, the current master fails to produce a solid organic presentation of the film. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I checked the same footage in the beginning of the film, during the melee, and the same light distortions are present here as well, which confirms that they are on the master. The rest of the film sounds fine. Dynamic intensity is appropriate for a film from the '70s.
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. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from the same older and unconvincing master that Eureka Entertainment worked with to produce its Region-B release of The Don is Dead. If you want it in your collection, find a way to rent and test it first, and then consider a purchase.
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