7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Black comedy in which a suicidal doctor struggles to find meaning in his life while a murderer stalks the halls of his hospital.
Starring: George C. Scott, Diana Rigg, Robert Walden (I), Barnard Hughes, Stephen Elliott (I)Dark humor | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | 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
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Arthur Hiller's "The Hospital" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sandpiper Pictures. The only supplemental feature on the release is a vintage theatrical trailer for the film. 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 Hospital arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sandpiper Pictures.
The release is sourced from an older but good master that was supplied by MGM. Excluding a couple of darker sequences where grain becomes a tad noisy, but never creates any serious anomalies, the visuals are quite pleasing. Admittedly, it does help that virtually the entire film takes places inside the hospital and as a result there hardly any notable density fluctuations, but the master is free of any problematic digital adjustments, so despite its age it produces good organic visuals. Color balance is convincing. Saturation levels can be improved, but not by much. More meaningful improvements can be made with darker nuances, which tend to struggle a bit in the darkest visuals. Image stability is very good. A few dirt spots can be seen, but there are no large cuts, debris, warped or torn frames to report. (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 this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The audio is surprisingly strong. I viewed the film during the day and had the volume or my system turned up quite a bit. I did not encounter any distracting unevenness or signs of aging in the upper register. Clarity, sharpness, and stability are very good. It is possible that there might be some room for cosmetic improvements, but I cannot see how they can introduce any substantial improvements that would impact the overall quality of the audio.
Asking the audience to develop sympathy for a veteran doctor who wants to overdose on potassium, pretends to be impotent, and rapes a young girl in the hospital he runs is not just a very tall order. It is a seriously bizarre one, too. While enduring seemingly endless pseudo-intellectual monologues, the audience is supposed to be laughing hard as well. Paddy Chayefsky won an Oscar Award for handing Arthur Hiller the screenplay for The Hospital, but box office receipts were incredibly disappointing. I do not think that this was an unexpected development. This recent release from Sandpiper Pictures is sourced from an old yet quite nice organic master that was supplied by MGM.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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