7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A beautiful gunslinger with a cloudy past checks into the town of Redemption to join the annual quick-draw contest and get revenge on the man who ruined her life.
Starring: Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobin BellWestern | 100% |
Period | 26% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English, English SDH, French
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
movieIQ
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Some people deserve to die.
Think of Sam Raimi, and two words probably spring immediately to mind: "Horror" and Spider-Man. OK,
maybe "Bruce Campbell," too. With the Spider-Man franchise raking in untold millions of
dollars and Raimi returning to his Horror roots -- firmly secured in the Evil Dead trilogy --
with the critically-acclaimed Drag Me to Hell, his
foray into the Western genre is understandably a mere afterthought when viewed within the
context of the sum of his body of work. Nevertheless, The Quick and the Dead --
boasting perhaps the best cast Raimi has ever worked with -- stars a collection of "who's who" of
Hollywood icons: Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct), Gene
Hackman (Superman),
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator), and
Russell Crowe (3:10 to Yuma). Not
only does the film boast a fine collection of talent, but Raimi has injected The Quick and
the Dead with so much fun, energy, and classic Western motifs that the movie has only one
true flaw: it eventually has to end.
'The Quick and the Dead:' just as advertised.
The Quick and the Dead wanders onto Blu-ray with a strong 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer. Despite the presence of some edge enhancement, The Quick and the Dead marks yet another Sony title that retains the look of film and features plenty of natural film grain over the entirety of the image. The film features a typical-of-Westerns dusty, worn appearance. Colors are naturally dim; only the bright blue sky seen in some scenes lends even a hint of vibrancy and contrast to an otherwise brown and tan-dominated palette that make up the majority of clothing, building façades, and the dirt road. Fine detail looks wonderful, and the lack of grain reduction allows the image to retain every nuance in every frame. Paint chips, dents, and scratches in doors; the gravel on and texture of the dirt road; the rusty and weathered town clock that signals the start of every duel; and the fine engraving on the various black powder and cartridge-based revolvers all look positively stunning. The Quick and the Dead's transfer also enjoys a fair sense of depth, solid blacks, and neutral skin tones. Despite the edge enhancement, this is another solid catalogue transfer from Sony.
The Quick and the Dead shoots up sound systems with a sensational Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track makes extensive use of the entire soundstage, and as a result the wide-open spaces come alive with any and every small, nuanced sound and, of course, the bigger, more intense effects that make up the film's action scenes. Buzzing insects -- a crucial sonic element to any dusty, hot, outdoor Western -- may be heard buzzing from any given speaker at any give time. On one occasion, a thunderstorm engulfs the soundstage, with cracks of thunder heard off in the distance and seemingly all around the listener. Creaks in wooden floors bring the soundstage to life, practically placing the listener in the middle of the town's saloon. Horses run across the screen and, by extension, seemingly through the soundstage with a powerful trampling sensation. Voices and gunshots reverberate to excellent effect throughout the soundstage as well. In short, there's nary a moment where there isn't something going on -- cracks of gunfire or subtle background effects -- to completely immerse the listener into the film. The score sounds clear across the entire range, and parts of it feature a solid low end that doesn't shake the foundation but it does send palpable reverberations through the soundstage. Completed by faultless dialogue reproduction, The Quick and the Dead's soundtrack is a match for the film-like visuals, making the viewing experience complete.
This Blu-ray release of The Quick and the Dead features standard BD-Live functionality and Sony's "MovieIQ" that offers live, up-to-date details about every scene, including cast and crew filmographies and biographies, soundtrack listings, and more. Also included are 1080p trailers for The Da Vinci Code, Casino Royale, Ghostbusters, A River Runs Through It, Damages: Season One, The Sky Crawlers, Tyson, Rudo Y Cursi, and Sugar.
Simply put, The Quick and the Dead is a whole lot of fun, in large part because it's clear the filmmakers had a blast when putting this one together. Though it's a serious movie, it offers a light tone, but not so light so as to minimize the tension and drama of the shootouts or the characters' plights and motives. Superbly directed by Sam Raimi, wonderfully acted by one of the more talented casts ever assembled, and delivering everything a Western fan could want , The Quick and the Dead is one of the best of its kind and an overlooked classic in American cinema's most storied genre. Sony's Blu-ray release delivers a superb technical presentation but lacks any substantive bonus materials. Nevertheless, fans will want to pick this up thanks to the high quality film-like transfer and excellent lossless soundtrack. Enthusiastically recommended.
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2K Restoration
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