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Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > Crime > Prison > Supernatural > Mistaken Identity > Mystery > The Frank Darabont Collection (1994 - 2001/Four Disc/Three Film (Shawshank Redemption/Green Mile/Majestic/Warner Blu-ray Set)

The Frank Darabont Collection (1994 - 2001/Four Disc/Three Film (Shawshank Redemption/Green Mile/Majestic/Warner Blu-ray Set)


The Shawshank Redemption (1994)


Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B+ Film: A


The Green Mile (1999)


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


The Majestic (2001)


Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B- Film: B-



Three incredible films (spanning from 1994-2001) by Frank Darabont are now available in this lavish four disc Blu-ray release with exquisite packaging that showcases the films to the highest standard on today's video market. The films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile (which spans two Blu-rays), and The Majestic are all incredibly cinematic films that boast incredible performances, production value, and direction that (at least in the case of Shawshank and The Green Mile) are footnotes in American Cinema History. The weakest of the three films is by far The Majestic, a romantic drama starring Jim Carrey (not too long after his dramatic turn in The Truman Show) that is a little too slow and long for most and bombed theatrically but has a great supporting cast and a very nice look that is newly available on the Blu-ray format.


Arguably one of the best Stephen King Novel-to-Film adaptations to date, The Shawshank Redemption is an intense crime/drama that stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Framed for murder, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne (Robbins) begins a new life at Shawshank prison, where he slowly comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older lifer named Red (Freeman) -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope. This is the film that really put Frank Darabont on the map and will leave you in tears of happiness by the time it rolls credits. The film has never looked or sounded better than it does here with a 1080p 1.85 X 1 high definition transfer and an English lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit) that does not disappoint. Also on the disc is Dolby Digital 5.1 lossy tracks that are in English, French, Spanish and various other languages.


Extras include Commentary, Hope Springs Eternal - A Look Back at the Shawshank Redemption, Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature, The Charlie Rose Show Segment, Comic Spoof, Stills & Collectibles Galleries and a Theatrical Trailer.


Another strong Stephen King adaptation is The Green Mile, which stars Tom Hanks and the late Michael Clarke Duncan. Paul Edgecomb (Hanks) is the head of the block guards during the 1930's at the Cold Mountain Correctional Facility. Through his many years of watching men live and die Paul's faith and sanity has deteriorated. He is assigned to watch over John Coffey (Duncan), a giant man convicted of murdering two little girls. But John acts more like a child than a cold hearted murderer. Edgecomb and other guards find themselves in a moral dilemma when they witness John accomplish healing miracles.


The Green Mile is a helluva good movie and features some of the finest cinematography I've ever seen. It's very touching and heartbreaking at the same time and will shake you and move you and its never looked or sounded better. Presented in 1080p 1.85 X 1 high definition and boasting a lossless English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit) track that is crystal clear.


Extras on this release include Commentary, Additional Scenes, Featurette Gallery, Tom Hanks Makeup Tests, Michael Clarke Duncan Screen Test, The Teaser Trailer: A Case Study and More.


The Majestic, starring Jim Carrey, is set in 1951 where an unjustly blacklisted Hollywood writer (Carrey) gets into a car accident and loses his memory. Due to a remarkable resemblance, the residents of a small town mistake him for a local war hero presumed dead. The film is a dashing romance and has a very unique look to it.


Unlike the other two films on this set, this film is available here for the first time on Blu-ray with an incredible 1080p high definition transfer that captures the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85 X 1 and a lossless English DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) that doesn't disappoint. It also has lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in French, German, and Spanish.


Extras include Additional Scenes, Movie Within the Movie: Sand Pirates of the Sahara - The Complete Sequence (which stars Bruce Campbell), and a Theatrical Trailer.


If you don't own these films yet then this is a set that you won't want to miss with incredible high definition transfer and sound not to mention very cool packaging. I would definitely recommend.



- James Harland Lockhart V

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