Death Race 2000 (1975) + The
Stepfather (1987/Shout! Factory
Blu-rays)
Picture: B–/C+
Sound: C+/C Extras: B-/C Films: B-/C
In one of the most interesting developments in Blu-ray of
late, Shout! Factory is increasing its output of older catalog and cult films
in the format, especially in their deal with Roger Corman. Now come two films that have followings that
we have covered previously. First is Paul
Bartel’s Death Race 2000 (1975):
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7996/Death+Race+2000+(1975)/Death+Spo
That was the film just remade as simply Death Race. Then there is The Stepfather from 1987, which recently had a remake of its own
(reviewed elsewhere on this site). The
original (not a Corman film) is a Horror genre favorite for some and here is
our coverage of its DVD:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9092/The+Stepfather+(1987/Shout!+Factory
Both are improvements over their DVD editions and the new Death
Race 2000 has more extras than its Disney or Umbrella DVD counterparts, but
Stepfather is the same and only so
much of an upgrade.
The 1080p 1.78 X 1 image on each Blu-ray is an improvement
from their U.S. DVD counterparts, but for Death Race 2000, it is a mixed
bag. While definition and color are
better than the Disney edition, it is not a total replacement for the Umbrella
PAL format DVD, which has more picture area, better color and looks a little
more realistic. In long shots, the
Blu-ray can handle detail better than the PAL DVD and it has some richer shots
here and there, but the Blu-ray should have been superior in every way and it
is not. They seem to be using the HD
master from the Disney edition. Stepfather is only nominally better for
its print source is only so good, but it does offer better Video Black, White
and Red, if only narrowly at times.
Death Race 2000 has Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono,
with only slightly more clarity here than on the Corman/Disney reissue, but has
distortion and is not much better than the same track on the Umbrella
edition. Wonder what condition the music
soundtrack is in? Stepfather has PCM 2.0 Mono despite its sound being listed Dolby
TrueHD 2.0 Mono, but any improvements are undermined by the revelation of new
sonic flaws and limits.
Extras on Stepfather
are the same as the DVD, except the trailers (and we get two more) and Stepfather Chronicles featurette are
now in High Definition. Death Race
2000 repeats all the same extras (original theatrical trailer, terrific
audio commentary by Corman and Woronov) as the Disney DVD and except for a
short featurette, the Umbrella DVD, but it has more new extras, including David On Death Race interview with the
late David Carradine, new audio commentary track by Assistant Director Lewis
Teague & Editor Tina Hirsch, Playing
The Game featurette, Ready To Wear
featurette with Costume Designer Jane Ruhm, Designing
Dystopia look at the future designs and car designs of the film, Start Your Engines interview with author
Ib Melchior, Killer Score interview
with Composer Paul Chihara, Leonard Maltin interviewing Corman on the film,
John Landis commentary on the original theatrical trailer, TV & Radio
Spots, New World Trailers and a 12-page booklet inside the Blu-ray case with
two essays, stills and poster art.
This will make fans of the film very happy and is the kind
of all-out special edition Corman fans are going to be expecting from future
Shout! Factory releases. Stepfather fans can see the Blu-ray as
a slight upgrade too, so they can’t complain much either.
- Nicholas Sheffo
