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Jaws
Jaws Signature Collection
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Labyrinth
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Lifeforce
The Lion King
Jimmy Buffett: Live By the Bay
U2 Zoo TV: Live from Sydney
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One of the few times I've rented a movie and enjoyed it so much I had to buy a copy. The movie is a sheer delight, with loopy characters, stunning visuals, and plenty of quotable dialogue. The sound is excellent, from the claxons of A Blue Letter! to the barely perceptible crackles of a lit cigar. The movie is tightly matted but the framing is still good, cutting out mostly usless information on the top and bottom. The side break is a bit abrupt.
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I'd seen reports that some prints of Jaws were showing signs of age, turning the blue sea green. But this release proves that untrue. The colors are brilliant and strong. The movie is letterboxed as this widescreen movie should (and almost demands to) be. The sound, under some debate in the alt.video.laserdisc newsgroup, is mono but strong enough so's that you'd never notice. I'm not too thrilled by the side breaks though. Side three is CAV followed by some trailers.
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This THX release at first looks like it has a stronger picture with boosted color but a comparison to the previous MCA edition shows little difference. The sound has a bit more oomph! in the bass though, and remains monaural. The audio does boast the only major difference between the two MCA editions: Paul Anka's "You're Having My Baby" has been reinstated, in the scene where the Kintner boy gets it, negating the previous "Home Video Version". The letterboxing is the same. Rumors were the analog tracks might contain the isolated original score (since plans were underway to do the same with Spielberg's 1941 box, then in development), but the analog tracks are wasted with the movie audio. The movie is fully CAV on five sides, with the even-numbered side breaks mimicking the previous release, unfortunately. Ironically, the odd-numbered side breaks (chosen for this set) seem to work better. Side five is the same as the previous edition's side three, yet MCA found room for more trailers and a wealth of still photos and publicity artwork. Probably the best reason for getting this expensive set is the lenghty documentary, which, through new interviews and deleted scenes and outtakes, looks at the development of the novel, screenplay, and movie. Virtually everyone connected with the movie appears. Side eight, under half an hour and containing the most deleted scenes, is unfortunately still in CLV. The set comes with the paperback novel and the John Williams CD, seemingly thrown in for the heck of it. When I originally bought the Williams CD I was dismayed by large hacking dropouts in between the tracks, sometimes interfering with the music's fadeouts; I returned my original copy and, for this reason, haven't even bothered to unwrap this one.
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I at first didn't want to buy this movie because I was sure they'd be coming out with a special edition of it in a few months. I rented it instead, but was so overwhelmed by the sharpness of the image and the amazing sound that I couldn't keep myself from buying it -- and the expensive CAV version at that. The scene that won me over? None other than the close-up of Muldoon's mouth when, at the beginning, he exhorts his crew to "Shoot her!" Any movie, I thought, which could make an average person's teeth look that good is something to be reckoned with. Home video history has proved my impulsiveness paid off: in a rare move which actually worked in my favor, MCA released The Making of Jurassic Park as a separate disc, to create my own mix-and-match Special Edition. The letterboxing seems a little tight, masking off the top and bottom, but opening up the sides during the special effects scenes. The movie is spread to five sides with nice side breaks. The sound is amazing and the CGI dinosaurs are flawless -- with the exception of the glitch at frame 15,916 on side five. Now that I mention it, this movie has a few other flaws too. I almost always get so wrapped up in a movie I don't notice continuity errors, but this is one of the few times I did: how Hammond's cloth changes at 17,927 on side one, and how the East Dock sign switches directions in chapter 27.
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The disc jacket enthuses: "Turner Home Entertainment and Image Entertainment are proud to present the 60th Anniversary Edition of KING KONG on LaserDisc, preserved at last with the quality and care it deserves." Well...yes and no. Yes, it certainly deserves quality and care; but no, there's still plenty lacking in Turner and Image's effort. A direct comparison between this version and Criterion's shows the good and bad in both. Turner's, as the jacket says, is brighter and clearer, derived from a better print. The restored scenes of violence, excised for a re-release, still show signs of splices, but are nowhere near as noticeable as on the Criterion. Turner's audio is stronger too, because of the print as well as a digital transfer. However it's obvious Criterion did a laudable job with what they had, since their release still looks better in most places. True, it's darker, but the images are still cleaner than Turner's with better contrasts. Also, Turner's image is slightly blown up, cropping off substantial picture information on all four sides, which is fully viewable on Criterion's. Turner and Image should've followed Criterion's lead and released a CAV version instead of choosing to release a colorized version. It also boasts no extras, except for extensive liner notes on the back jacket snd thorough chapter-encoding. I got this Kong mainly on a whim, but I'm glad I did because between the two releases I can piece together a worthy version.
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The colors are stronger and brighter. As a widescreen movie the letterboxing is essential, bringing out the most of the creative set design. The audio is good, but the songs are mixed oddly with the vocals too far in front. Another wondrous offering from the Henson studios, full of imaginative characters and settings, and another reason to mourn his loss.
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As with almost all widescreen movies, the letterboxing is essential, especially since director Richard Donner fills the screen in each shot. Colors are strong and well-represented, and the audio is full, handling the harder parts of Andrew Powell's controvesial score as well as the softer parts no one remembers. Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer are perfectly cast. A lovely fairy tale, except for the overuse of shock surprises. The film is spread to three sides, with side three in CAV (though after the beautiful transformation scene).
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Mathilda May's breasts are worth the price of this disc, let alone the fact that letterboxing this widescreen effort finally allows a viewer to make out what's going on in the rest of the movie. The outer space shots, those featuring the elongated alien craft, are especially improved. You can finally make out what the TV versions only seemed to suggest. The movie also also boasts one of the most harrowing depictions of a city gone wild. The audio is strong but the colors seem a little muted. The soundtrack tends to come near distortion toward the end, but most probably a product of the original mix; and some scenes also have a pronounced hiss. I haven't seen the domestic version in a while, so unfortunately can't compare it with this European cut. From what I've heard, some expositional dialogue scenes have been added.
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I saw the tape first, but not all the way through, so this is one of the few times I've bought a disc without having seen the movie first. I'm glad I did. What a box! AC-3 sound, a fun and enjoyable commentary track, CAV capabilities, stellar sound, gorgeous colors, impressive animation, and an exhaustive four sides of supplements! There are a lot of people who don't care for Disney and their marketing practices, but all laserdiscs owners would have to admit they put out the greatest box sets. This could be their best.
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The only home video offering from Buffett is showing its age. His band changed many years ago, adding more instrumentation and female backup, but this title is all Parrot Heads can get. This nearly ten-year-old concert at least boasts a broader setlist. Shot on film, the image is grainy and the sound is heavily overpowered by the bass drum. Actually the percussion seems to override the other instruments throughout. Side two is provided in CAV, for no real important reason, but with steady freeze frames. There isn't much to look at apart from occasional cutaways of people partying in nearby boats, since the stage is pretty bare. The crowd, from Buffett's "home" state of Florida, seems rather lame and reserved. It makes it all pretty obvious Jimmy is due for an updated concert video.
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The sound is great and the colors are strong. The image has a tendency to be too bright though, which tends to wash out the color in some shots. The beginnings of the sides also seem to have color bars bleeding through. The whole concert tour was geared toward television, so there are cameras everywhere. And this laserdisc is a good way to capture all the gargantuan excess. This video offering is based on the payperview concert the band performed November 27 1993, but the editing is different. The spaces between songs have been shortened, as has the concert's introduction, and more camera angles and edits have been added, catching all the action which might have been missed during the live direction. At the core though both presentations are the same. One song, however, "Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World", has been removed. The sides fade to black so the breaks are gentle; and the concert is spread to three sides. Side three is just a hair over thirty minutes, mainly due to Island's extended closing logo. It would be difficult to achieve but, with all the quick cuts and subliminal editing, it would've been nice to have one of the sides in CAV.
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Updated June 10 1996.