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
www.facebook.com/jhl5films