Lost Empires (1986/Acorn DVD reissue set)/Moby
Dick (2010/RHI/Viviendi Blu-ray)
Picture: C/B- Sound: C+/B Extras: D Episodes: B/C+
The TV
mini-series has weathered bad times and save a few interesting attempts here
and there, has been most affected by TV’s decline since the 1980s. The following two releases are good examples.
Colin
Firth has become a much bigger star since Lost
Empires (1986) was issued on DVD in a set that is out of print, which we
reviewed here:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1026/Lost+Empires+(British+TV+mini-series
Now,
Acorn has wisely reissued the series about conflicts between stage actors also
stars Sir Laurence Olivier and John Castle that night finally find a larger U.S. audience. It is well made and a late example of British
TV’s golden period as that came to a close.
There are no extras.
As I have
noted recently, the RHI Company had been slowly putting more money in their
productions and a new version of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (2010) that they co-produced in an international effort
is their most ambitious project to date, so I cannot blame them or credit them
solely for its successes and failures. The
series offers Ethan Hawke, William Hurt, Donald Sutherland and (not enough of)
Gillian Anderson among a solid cast.
This has its moments, but does run on a bit and does not necessarily
capture the spirit of the book or all of its ideas, but we have seen worse and
it is watchable, as well as a solid alternate version for the book still read
all the time today. There are no extras.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on Moby
has some detail issues, but also some style that holds its back. This Blu-ray is as authentic a presentation
as we are going to get. The 1.33 X 1
image on Empires is a little weaker
than the older DVD version, but the series needs to be restored and upgraded to
High Definition as it was all shot on film and a Blu-ray would be nice. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix
on Moby is towards the front
speakers, but has some good soundfield moments.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on Empires
is also a little weaker than the previous DVD set, but audible enough here.
- Nicholas Sheffo
