Blindsided
(2012/Dimension/Cinedigm DVD)/Rollerball
(1975/United Artists/MGM/Arrow U.K. Region B Import Blu-ray)/Time
Lapse (2014/XLrator
Blu-ray)
Picture:
C+/B+/B- Sound: C+/B-/B- Extras: D/B+/C- Films: D/B+/C-
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Rollerball
Import Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Arrow U.K.,
can only play on Blu-ray players that can handle Region B Blu-ray and
can be ordered from the link below.
Here
are two thriller films that should have worked and failed, plus an
underrated gem issued in another impressive special edition...
Joseph
Ruben's Blindsided
(2012) has Michele Monaghan as a war reporter who becomes the victim
of a terrorist bombing, making her blind. Back home, she is not safe
as it turns out a treasure in diamonds is hidden in her house and
some greedy, psychotic people want it. Does she even know where it
is?
Michael
Keaton is wasted in this really awful Wait
Until Dark for idiots and
the anti-woman tone of this angry mess makes it al the worse. I
don't know what the original intent was, but it landed up awful and
you are better off skipping it.
There
are expectedly no extras.
Norman
Jewison's Rollerball
(1975), the original, underrated science fiction thriller (with its
share of healthy politics) was issued on Blu-ray (finally) in the
U.S., even if it was a limited edition from Twilight Time. Now the
U.K. gets their special edition via Arrow U.K., but first, our
coverage of the U.S. version...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12760/Alien,+Aliens,+Alien+3:+Official+Movie+Novelizati
Arrow
U.K.'s Region B Import Blu-ray has the same great picture and sound
transfer as the Twilight Time version (more on that below) and that
brings the film back in print... save needing to own a Region
B-capable player. It is another great reason to do so.
Extras
repeated from the out of print U.S. Twilight Time Blu-ray include two
strong feature length audio commentary tracks (one by Jewison, the
other by author/creator William Harrison), TV Spots, Trailers,
vintage From Rome To Rollerball: The Full Circle featurette,
Return To The Arena: The Making Of Rollerball featurette (all
featured on the DVD version) and an Isolated Music Score track
featuring the underrated music of Andre Previn. New extras include
Arrow's own booklet and three new featurettes exclusive to this
release: Blood Sports with James Caan: A brand-new interview
with the lead star, The Fourth City: Shooting Rollerball in Munich
- Unit manager Dieter Meyer and others revisit the Audi Dome and
other original locations and The Bike Work: Craig R. Baxley on the
Motorcycle Stunts in Rollerball - Stunt artist (and sometimes
actor and director) Baxley on the challenges and dangers of being one
of the Rollerball bikers. Nice!
Finally
we have Bradley
King's Time
Lapse
(2014), the latest attempt to do a time travel film, this time with
an old camera that takes pictures (I did not buy the photos looking
photo chemical) and can put them 24 hours into the future.
Unfortunately, the 104 minutes is pedestrian, the acting and script
uneven and results a muddy drag that is a little self-impressed and
actually too simple in its time travel logic for us to care.
Danielle Panabaker is on the hit TV version of The
Flash
about the classic DC Comics character, making this a curio, but she's
better off with the show.
Extras
include two long feature length audio commentary tracks with
the filmmakers, Behind The Scenes featurette and Deleted Scenes with
yet more filmmaker audio commentary.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image on Blindsided has some
softness and is a digital shoot with some darkening and downstyling,
but is as good as it could look in this format. It is still not a
great shoot overall and cliched at times.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Rollerball is
the same high quality, impressive HD master used on the Twilight Time
Blu-ray, sometimes showing the age of the materials used, but this
has many superior shots that bring the film to life and continue to
impress as originally issued in MetroColor.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Time
is also a digital shoot that is sometimes a shade darker than it
should be, but it also has a certain softness throughout and crushed
video black that holds it back.
As
for sound, the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on Blindsided has too
many sudden moments of sudden, loud bursts of music or sound that
becomes silly very quickly and the soundfield is lacking, so the mix
is awkward throughout.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Rollerball
is the same well mixed and presented adaptation of the 6-track
magnetic soundmaster used for 70mm blow-up prints of the film as
featured on the Twilight Time Blu-ray and sounds really good yet
again.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Time
has more quiet moments and talk than you might expect, but this is
not necessarily recorded that well throughout and also has an uneven
soundfield throughout.
To
order the
Region B Arrow U.K. import Blu-ray of Rollerball,
go to this link:
http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/rollerball/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
