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 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Richard Fleischer's "The Don is Dead" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailers for the film; exclusive new program with critic Kim Newman; and exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critics Edward Heuck and Glenn Erickson. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
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 Via Vision Entertainment.
If you have already seen our review of Kino Lorber's release of The Don is Dead, you know that I am not a fan of the old master Universal supplied for it, which is the exact same master this release was sourced from. To be clear, this master does not make it impossible to enjoy the film, but its visuals do not have the stable organic appearance that we expect to see. For example, there are traces of light denoising work that sporadically produces obvious anomalies. Sometimes they affect delineation and depth (see screencapture #4), and sometimes they impact fluidity and produce light smearing. Traces of surface sharpening can be seen as well. As a result, plenty of daylight and especially darker footage can appear quite artificial (see screencaptures #9, 12, 15, and 16). Color balance is good, though some meaningful improvements can be introduced. Image stability is very good. There are no large distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report in our review. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
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.
Clarity and sharpness are good. However, the minor distortions during the melee scene that I mentioned in our review of the Kino Lorber release are present here as well. I think that the majority of viewers will miss them because their presence becomes obvious only if the volume is turned up quite a bit, but I have to mention them. The rest is fine.
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. Via Vision Entertainment's release is sourced from the same older master Universal supplied to Kino Lorber in the U.S. and Eureka Entertainment in the UK, which I don't think is particularly convincing. If you want it in your collection, find a way to rent and test it first, and then consider a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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