Hills
Have Eyes 4K
(1977/MVD/Arrow 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)/Reminiscence
(2021/Warner Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: X/B Sound: A-/B+ Extras:
B+/C Films: B+/C+
Here
are two ambitious genre films, one a classic and another that at
least tries to be...
Arrow
Video's definitive edition of Wes Craven's original horror classic,
The
Hills Have Eyes
(1977), gets a sharper 4K upgrade. We reviewed the Blu-ray edition
last year, and needless to say this is an improvement. Though
crystal clear in terms of presentation, the grittiness of the film is
still intact with a noticeable improvement in the night scenes, and
overall details.
The
Carter Family stops for gas on their way to California and end up
getting attacked by a pack of crazed killers thirsty for blood. The
film stars Suze Lanier-Bramlett, Robert Houston, Martin Speer, Dee
Wallace, Russ Grieve, and John Steadman.
The
Hills Have Eyes
is presented in 2160p Ultra High Definition on 4K UHD disc with an
HEVC / H.265 codec, HDR a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and a
lossless, English LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit) mix. While the image is
considerably sharp, Arrow has made sure that the grain from the
original film stock is still intact and doesn't rob the film of its
unique look. Hands down, it is the best presentation that I have
seen on disc of this film, especially after a few rough earlier
releases years ago.
What
strikes me again watching this film is how casual it is, building
suspense in indirect ways that work and match the laidback attitude
of the time. It can be a time capsule, yet the terror and fighting
is as relevant and as effective as ever. Even after it has a remake,
a sequel and the sequel has a remake, it is easy to say this film is
still
a bit underrated and deserves more credit than it gets. That is why
this new set is such an event in restoring and preserving the film.
Extras
in this solid slipcase packaging include a highly quality paper
foldout poster and high quality printed 40-page booklet on the film
including informative text, illustrations and two essays. The set
also contains six postcard-sized poster cards (double sided too),
while the Blu-ray repeats the feature-length audio commentary by
Craven and Producer Peter Locke, Looking
Back At The Hills Have Eyes
featurette, theatrical trailers, TV spots, an alternate ending now
retransferred in HD and a Behind The Scenes Image Gallery. New
extras include two new feature length audio commentary tracks (one by
actors Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Susan Lainer & Martin
Speer, the other with film scholar Mikel J. Koven) and two new Behind
The Scenes/Making Of featurettes: an on-camera Martin Speer interview
dubbed Family
Business and The Desert Sessions,
an informative interview with composer Don Peake.
The
Hills Have Eyes
is a classic and groundbreaking film just like the original Texas
Chain Saw Massacre
(which we still await a 4K edition of despite an import 4K that looks
good only being issued overseas for now.) This Arrow edition on 4K
is top notch and a must own for hardcore horror cinephiles.
Then
we have Lisa Joy's Reminiscence
(2021) set in the near future where global warming has started to
flood Miami, Florida (adding to their already endless problems) with
Hugh Jackman as an investigator who uses a new technology that allows
peoples minds to be projected onto a giant movie theater-like
hologram screen. This is from a system that is meant to help
depressed people cope with loss, injury, trauma or wishing for older,
better days before everything started collapsing. However, with the
help of a tech expert and friend (Thandiwe (not a misprint) Newton)
needs to use one of the clips to finds a missing woman.
Done
partly as a Noir or Neo-Noir, the mystery is a mixed bag and the tech
themes are ones that have been done before, whether the brain is
directly used a some kind of hard drive (Keanu Reeves' infamous
Johnny
Mnemonic)
or connected to some kind of recording device or both (such as
Douglas Trumbull's Brainstorm
or Katharine Bigelow's Strange
Days,)
so you can see how Joy is trying to succeed where some major,
previous big releases failed. Unfortunately, she cannot get any
further, but at least has not turned out a totally wrecked result.
It just does not take off either, even making the Logan's
Run
mistake of allowing the holograms to be trapped inside another object
versus out in the open, like the faked one out of R2D1 in the
original 1977 Star
Wars
and its early scene of Leah getting a message of Obi Wan Kenobi that
he is their 'only hope' against the Empire.
The
actors are not bad and money is on the screen, but it also lands up
reminding us of better such films too often (Scott's Blade
Runner,
Gilliam's sci-fi trilogy, etc.) so the look is nothing we have not
seen before and sadly, it cannot finds a way to visually distinguish
itself despite a consistent approach. At least all involved tried to
do something intelligent, a rarer and rarer thing at this budget
level.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is a decent HD
shoot (versus the 35mm color Kodak Vision 3 camera negative Joy and
company have been using on the Westworld
series) and has its moments, but the digital visual effects can look
off, though maybe they look better on the 4K edition we hope to catch
up to. In the meantime, this is passable. However, like the 4K
edition this also offers a decent (if not always demo-calibre)
lossless Dolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older
systems) that has some good sonic moments and is as well edited as it
is recorded. The combination is fine for the format, though it makes
me want to see the 4K (even though
it is apparently only with regular HDR) all the more.
Extras
include Digital Copy, while the disc adds these featurettes: You're
Going on a Journey, The Sunken Coast, Crafting a Memory,
Reminiscence: A Family Reunion
and Save
My Love.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Reminiscence)
and James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
