6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In the rolling Utah countryside, a small town is host to a fortress-like research facility, which nearby townspeople believe is developing new advancements in agriculture. But deep within is a top-secret project to create a bioweapon that turns anyone exposed to it into a raging, psychotic killer. When the unthinkable happens and the facility is locked down, Sheriff Cal Morse must choose between keeping the town safe and rescuing his wife Joanie, who is trapped inside. But for Major Connolly, there is only one remorseless solution: contain the deadly virus...at all costs.
Starring: Sam Waterston, Kathleen Quinlan, Yaphet Kotto, Jeffrey DeMunn, Richard DysartThriller | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Drama | 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 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Stereo: 1682 kbps
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In 1985 Twentieth Century-Fox had a small, modestly budgeted biohazard thriller titled Warning Sign that it didn't
know what to do with so it dumped the film into theaters late summer of that year. Hal Barwood's sole directing feature not
only didn't receive extensive wide play across the US but Fox was late in delivering advanced screenings for critics. When the
studio finally did, the movie received mixed reviews. Particularly damaging to Barwood's future directing prospects was a
sneering review by the Miami News's film critic Jon Marlowe, who led with this opening: "True story: One day this guy
named Hal Barwood, who has never made a movie before in his entire life, walks into a major film studio (20th Century-Fox),
sits down with its head honchos and tells them he has this great idea for a film: “Let’s combine parts of ‘Silkwood’ with parts
of ‘Dawn of the Dead.’’’ Now the people Hal has just explained this ludicrous idea to are being paid big bucks to screen wackos
such as Hal so their studio doesn’t invest a lot of time and money in bona-fide disasters. Instead of throwing Hal out the 34th-
floor window head first (in hopes of de-scrambling his brain cells), they all sit there, nod in amazement, think it’s a marvelous
idea, give Hal the green light and all the cash he wants to direct and co-write one of this year’s worst movies: 'Warning Sign'."
This scathing critique is truly a shame. Harwood and co-writer Matthew Robbins came up with a witty, intelligent, and
sometimes funny script. Warning Sign is also well-directed by Harwood, who handled a tight filming schedule with
workmanlike efficiency.
Warning Sign opens with a group of lab workers preparing what's purportedly genetically engineered corn that will be
mixed with salt water. Dr. Nielsen (Richard Dysart) unknowingly lets a label get stuck on his white spacesuit only to get it
affixed to another vial, which falls mutely to the floor. Later, Tom Schmidt (G.W. Bailey), the lab manager, wants to take a
group photo after a hard day's work with his Polaroid but unwittingly steps on the beaker, breaking open a contagious
baccilus. Joanie Morse (Kathleen Quinlan), the building's security guard, sees biohazard alerts on her monitor and brings down
the emergency doors in different wings, essentially placing BioTek Agronomics in a lockdown. Cal Morse (Sam Waterston),
Joanie's soon-to-be fiancé, is the rural town sheriff in Payson, Utah and is called in to check things out. Cal is snacking and
leisurely studying for his bar exam. His dinner with Joanie will have to wait. Also showing up at BioTek is the U.S. Accident
Containment Team headed by burly and authoritative Major Connolly (Yaphet Kotto). The USACT's official cover story to the
small gathering of press reporters is that there's been an accident with a yeast experiment. But Connolly withholds that the
Pentagon has been secretly sponsoring a lethal germ-warfare program that it hopes to use on the Soviets. But now the virus is
loose and spreading fast inside BioTek. Joanie urges her husband to recruit an ex-employee back to BioTek for medical
assistance. Dr. Dan Fairchild (Jeffrey De Munn) knows not only the side effects of this virus but also various antitoxins that
could dispel it.
Trapped inside but on call.
Warning Sign makes its global premiere on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory (Shout!'s subsidiary) on this MPEG-4
AVC-encoded BD-50. Appearing in its originally projected aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the film looks mostly solid with small
problems. Original reviewers describe the main titles and other exterior shots of the Utah countryside as idyllic, lush, and
glorious. These attributes come through fairly well on the transfer, although dirt interacts with the grain during the first scene
right before the crop-dusting (Screenshot #20). Master cinematographer Dean Cundey captures the beauty outside BioTek
(capture #20) and in a later shot as sunset descends. Terry Lawson of the Journal Herald (Dayton, OH) describes
BioTek's interiors as a "a chemical research facility with its sanitized wealth of bright light and white smocks" and this is
precisely the look Cundey sought. Barwood recollects on the recycled commentary track that Cundey wanted a silver/bluish
light to reflect off Yotto (frame enlargement #6). Cundey also created a blue greenhouse light that has a bioluminescent glow
on the zombies and around the corn plants (see #s 11-13). During the first half of Warning Sign, I detected several
white speckles and light scratches. These diminished later on but there was more prominent print damage in form of very small
artifacts in the final section. The grain structure is inconsistent and doesn't resolve itself the way it should. During a given
scene, there's heavily textured grain in one shot but a more polished sheen to the image in another shot. My video score is
3.75. Scream has encoded the main feature at an average video bitrate of 34000 kbps.
Scream provides twelve scene selections for the 99-minute feature.
Scream Factory supplies the original DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (1682 kbps, 24-bit). The master sounds clean and clear
to my ears. Dialogue reproduction isn't an issue. Delivery is crisp. The rotors on the USACT chopper emit the loudest and show
the best range. As do gun shots. When f/x are employed, there's good directionality from side to side on the front speakers. I've
been a big fan of composer Craig Safan's scores for a long time, especially his scores for The Last Starfighter (1984),
Stand and Deliver (1988), and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988). I had never heard his
music for Warning Sign before and it's a pleasant surprise. Safan took advantage of the acoustic possibilities that the
Synclavier Synthesizer offered, producing a suspenseful and atmospheric all-electronic score. There's also a bass thump that
announces the danger of the deadly virus. Safan also incorporates a lovely synth choir to underscore the emotive aspects in the
story. The music stood out to me the most on this lossless stereo track.
Optional English SDH accompany the feature and can be accessed through the menu or your remote control.
Fox didn't really know which audience to pitch Warning Sign to but it should find many takers courtesy of this fine unofficial special edition from Scream Factory. Its scenes reminded me of Carpenter's The Thing (1982) which is no accident considering both are lensed by Dean Cundey. I also found it more entertaining than Silkwood (1983) and it's too bad that it couldn't have gotten the same exposure as Mike Nichols's award-winning drama. One wonders what kind of career Hal Barwood would have had but he delivered yeoman's work here. Scream Factory gives us a solid and imperfect transfer along with a very good stereo sound track presentation. The new interviews with Bloom and Barwood are both candid and informative. A STRONG RECOMMENDATION.
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