6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Returning from a stint in the Air Force, Carrol Jo Hummer borrows money to buy a truck, hoping to make enough money hauling produce to marry Jerri Kane and set up housekeeping. He discovers that the long-haul business is run by racketeers and decides to fight the corrupt forces that control the trucking business.
Starring: Jan-Michael Vincent, Kay Lenz, Slim Pickens, L.Q. Jones, Sam LawsCrime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital Mono (384 kbps)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
This Mill Creek Blu-ray release of 'White Line Fever' is available as part of a three-film bundle with 'Silent Rage' and 'Blind Fury.' There is also a standalone release with superior technical specs and a 'retro VHS' slipcover.
There are a few obvious discrepancies between this bundled release and Mill Creek's standalone issue. First, this edition, which shares a single disc with two other films, is encoded at MPEG-2 whereas the standalone employs the AVC encode. Second, the average bitrate is substantially higher with the standalone. Third, this version is framed at 1.78:1 whereas the solo release is framed at 1.85:1. Despite these alterations, the image fares quite well. It's very firm and filmic, retaining a natural grain structure that rarely shows any discrepancies in density, revealing only one or two bursts of sharper and snowier yield in transitional scenes. The picture is super sharp, allowing viewers the opportunity to soak in every facial texture and truck body detail with screen commanding ease. Fine point support accents -- like wear on Carrol Jo's purple "diesel Power" ballcap -- prove richly revealing. Sharpness never falters and colors never give an inch. Contrast is excellent with saturation deep and consistent across a wide spectrum, whether that same purple ball cap, the rig's blue paint scheme, or the earthy Arizona environment tones. Skin tones are excellent and black levels are solid. In fact, there's not much of a difference between the two images on the surface. The images are essentially identical beyond the aspect ratio change.
Though it's not the lossless track from the standalone release, there's something to be said in favor Mill Creek's two channel lossy effort. The tune that plays over the opening titles is quite effective for stage presence, even if it's not so wide as it might could have been. It's loud, aggressive, and suitably well detailed. Such holds for the whole experience: action, music, and dialogue. The track has plenty of volume at its disposal, a little width, and a fair sense of clarity. It loses some of the subtleties and precision command found on the lossless track but there's not a substantial drop off for core element output here.
Neither this nor the standalone release include any supplemental content.
White Line Fever is a solid Action film that has earned a couple of good Blu-ray releases from Mill Creek. The standalone version sports superior audio and better spec'd video, but this version is no slouch and it's nearly indistinguishable in the video department. No extras are included on either release. Buy the standalone if at all possible (all three films in that set are available separately) but fans on a budget won't be losing too much with this version.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Retro VHS Collection
1989
2012
Indiegogo Exclusive Limited Edition w/ Frozen Scream
1975
1969
1985
1984
1994
1987
1985
Special Edition
1976
1980
1977
Limited Edition to 3000
1973
2020
Death Shot
1973
1986
F/X 2: The Deadly Art of Illusion
1991
Standard Edition
1985
1974
2014