Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Musical > Comedy > Horror > Satire > Cult > The Rocky Horror Picture Show: 35th Anniversary Edition (1975/Fox Blu-ray)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: 35th Anniversary Edition (1975/Fox Blu-ray)

Picture: A-     Sound: A-     Extras: B-     Film: A-


The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been an almost constant draw for midnight moviegoers over the past 35 years - now it finally makes the move into high definition.  While there was an excellent DVD edition of the film released to coincide with the movie’s 25th anniversary, this new package is so eye-popping that any and all lovers of the film with Blu-ray capabilities are going to want to upgrade as soon as possible.

The telling of a story concerning two newly engaged yuppies who unwittingly head into the home of Dr. Frank N. Furter, only to with one strange night of decadence and debauchery, is seemingly eternal one.  This is evidenced by the hordes of longtime followers, as well as continued cultural rebirths of the music and characters from the film.  This is evidenced by the various talk that has gone on about a television remake of the film, as well as the recent and much talked about tribute episode of Glee.

All imitations aside, this is the one true Rocky Horror that you need right here.

The entire experience of watching the film is customizable on this disc - from an alternate black and white presentation of the opening scenes, to your choice of either the U.S. or U.K. releases of the film.  After that, you have the option of viewing a shadowcast performance right alongside the main feature.  Additional choices await you, and it makes your viewing one that is completely tailored to your desires.

Almost all of the special features included in this package are brand new and exclusive to this set.  This does mean that those who have the 25th Anniversary DVD will likely wish to hang onto those discs as well, as not everything from that box has migrated over to this set.

The image is presented in anamorphic widescreen, with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and is a 1080p AVC @ 22 MBPS transfer.  The picture quality is vastly improved over any of the older editions, and the print chosen for this transfer is in excellent shape.  Colors here are more vibrant and pop in a way I haven’t noticed on prior versions.

Sound quality on this film is every bit as good as the video.  A brand new 7.1 DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix of the audio track is included, and it is one of the better 7 channel mixes on this format.  Fox and MGM have begun doing this for their older musical films (for which this is one) and soon followed by the likes of The Sound Of Music and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (both reviewed elsewhere on this site) works much better than expected.

This Blu-ray meets or exceeds all expectations I had concerning picture and sound quality for back catalogue films on this format.  This culminates with the new extras to ensure that you will enjoy this new and improved edition of the film, as it is much more than a recycling of old material.  I strongly suggest that anyone with an inclination toward owning this film snatch up this edition in particular - it will not disappoint.


-  David Milchick


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com