Blue
Desert
(2013/IndiePix Classics DVD)/The
Terminator 4K
(1984/Orion/MGM/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: C+/X Sound: C+/B Extras:
C-/C+ Films: C+/B
Now
for two distinct science fiction releases...
Eder
Santos' Blue
Desert
(2013) is a Brazilian science fiction film based on an artwork by
Yoko Ono, et al, with Odilon Esteves as a young man living in a
technologized future where things seem fine and are different, but as
we watch, he also seems to be in some kind of trap. Is it a police
state, his own mental health and/or the world around him has run out
of a world to be a world?
Inspired
by many films, including Antonioni's The
Red Desert,
a little of Murder
In A Blue World,
a little of A
Clockwork Orange
and of Godard's Alphaville,
it is also distinctly it won film with Oscar Niemeyer architecture
(futurist and post-modern) and a fine cast that makes me wonder how
this has not been a more popular film or some kind of at least cult
hit. IndiePix has reissued it here and I hope it reaches more people
this time.
A
Theatrical Trailer is sadly the only extra.
James
Cameron's The
Terminator 4K
(1984) is an upgrade everyone was concerned would have the same
issues and complaints as Cameron 4K releases like Terminator
2
(which he says was a recycle of the 3D edition and will get back to
redoing it,) Aliens
(a bizarre cleanup with items in great focus and looking bad in the
same frame and scene ala Criterion's bizarre Umbrellas
Of Cherbourg,)
The
Abyss
and True
Lies.
We reviewed the original film on regular Blu-ray years ago at this
link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10955/Dead+Man+Walking+(1995)+++Hotel+Rwanda+(2
Links
to all of our other, older Terminator
franchise coverage are in that review. Harlan Ellison helped inspire
the film, it has aged a bit better than expected, despite its visual
effects being limited by budget and by LucasFilm innovations
established seven years before. What strikes me now, even since
watching it on the older Blu-ray years ago, is how some of the
'future' visuals (even though the film takes place in the year of its
release) have aged well enough (looking better than ever here) and
that it at least has some palpable idea of technology and the future
outside of its plot that us cinematic in a way that most films today
make a joke.
The
cast's work holds up too, but it is Cameron directing for what is
really his first major time, all the way, full length, getting in
there and bringing it all to life with the right amount of energy,
the editing works and reminds us of a time when new directors were
ambitious and even turned out to have some talent. Today, they seem
to held back by a number of factors and that is why you do not see
more surprise films getting made like this one. The restoration and
upgrade gave me a new respect for the film and there is more about
that below.
Extras
include a Digital Movie
Code, while the 4K disc adds three featurettes:
The
Terminator: Closer to the Real Thing
Creating
The Terminator: Visual Effects & Music
Unstoppable
Force: The Legacy of The Terminator
and
seven Deleted Scenes.
Of
course, it lacks the DigiPak booklet in the older Blu-ray edition,
but the upgrade is very welcome.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, HDR (10;
Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Terminator
4K is
a big improvement over all other home video copies, with no more of
the dirt and other issues the older Blu-ray had, though apparently,
some kid of 'AI' was applied here, this reportedly comes from an
older 4K scan (some who do not like it are saying it is a 2K scan
upscaled, with flaws that someone needs to list as I am curious to
see what they mean) of the original 35mm camera negative. The result
is usually very impressive, color, detail and depth are superior and
now, outside of a really good, mint 35mm, 16mm or even Super 8mm film
print, this is the way to see the film, save those complaints from
some big fans of this film; bigger than I am. Now more in keeping
with the look of its sequel and subsequent entries, the world created
feels more palpable, dense and realistic, more of the hard work it
took to make this film coming through nicely.
The
lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems)
audio upgrade is another surprise, remixing the original sound stems
and music score for the best possible impact, though this was a low
budget film and the limited nature of many of the audio sources are
more apparent here. Purists will be happy the original theatrical
monophonic sound is included as lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0
Mono mix and they make for an interesting comparison.
The
combination of the 4K and Atmos impresses for the most part, though
purists would argue a Dolby Vision version could have been even more
stunning.
The
anamorphically enhanced various aspect ratios image on Blue
Desert
also has some good color and depth, but the old standard definition
format is limiting it in ways you can just tell while watching. The
lossy Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is just fine for the older,
compress codec and includes some healthy Pro Logic-like surrounds.
Wish this would get at least a Blu-ray release.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
