6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
D'Artagnan has become a Musketeer. Protestants hold La Rochelle, and the Queen loves Buckingham, who'll soon send ships to support the rebels. Richelieu enlists Rochefort to kidnap Constance, the Queen's go-between and D'Artagnan's love. The Cardinal uses the wily, amoral Milady de Winter to distract D'Artagnan. But soon, she is D'Artagnan's sworn enemy, and she has an unfortunate history with Athos as well. Milady goes to England to dispatch Buckingham; the Musketeers fight the rebels. Milady, with Rochefort's help, then turns to her personal agenda. Can D'Artagnan save Constance, defeat Rochefort, slip de Winter's ire, and stay free of the Cardinal? All for one, one for all.
Starring: Oliver Reed (I), Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Christopher LeeComedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Spanish, Japanese, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B, A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Richard Lester's "The Four Musketeers"(1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features on the disc. In English, with optional Spanish, Japanese, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. Region A/B "locked".
We have a plan!
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Richard Lester's The Four Musketeers arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.
The quality of the presentation is very similar to that of the first film, The Three Musketeers. The high-definition transfer has clearly been struck from a dated source and there are various issues with it. Once again, during close-ups detail is mostly adequate, though practically all of them lack the type of depth they obviously could have had. Traces of denoising are quite easy to see, but most of them are not as damaging as they could have been (see screencapture #2). During the panoramic vistas, however, the disappointing residual effects of the denoising are not as easy to tolerate. There are a couple of sequences where it is extremely easy to see that detail has been seriously compromised. For example, take a look at screencapture #13 where in the upper left corner the soldiers look smeared and very soft. Furthermore, the color-scheme is better than the one from the Anchor Bay R1 DVD release, but there are certainly balance issues that could have easily been avoided with a new transfer (see screencapture #17). The relatively good news again is that there are no traces of overzealous sharpening, which could have made this release practically unwatchable. Lastly, there are a few specks popping up here and there, but large cuts, warps, and stains are nowhere to be seen. (Note: This Blu-ray disc is Region A/B "locked". Therefore, if you reside in North America you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional Spanish, Japanese, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature.
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track serves the film rather well. During the action scenes the bass comes alive and a few of the shootouts even get a decent dynamic boost. More importantly, however, there are no serious balance issues or problematic distortions. The dialog is crisp and stable, but as it was the case with The Three Musketeers not always easy to follow. Naturally, optional English SDH subtitles should have been included with this release.
Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray disc.
The sequel to the The Three Musketeers is a light, occasionally entertaining but easily forgettable period film that is likely to appeal only to viewers who do not mind that it has very little in common with Alexandre Dumas's classic novel. The presentation is on par with that of the first film, which means that you should only consider adding it to your collection if you can find it on sale. If you can't, RENT IT.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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