Four Brothers (HD-DVD)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: C     Film: C-

 

 

This remake of the John Wayne film The Sons Of Katie Elder is as annoying as ever, but Paramount thought enough about it to make it one of their first HD-DVD releases.  The review for the film in its original standard DVD release can be found at:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3156/Four+Brothers+(Widescreen)

 

 

That leaves us wondering if an HD-DVD could improve the viewing of this.  Well, technically, a bit if not by too much.  The 1080p digital High Definition image has better Video Black and some more detail than the standard DVD, but it is not a spectacular improvement.  This was shot by the great Peter Menzies, Jr., A.S.C., but is still a darker-than-usual Super 35mm production (the cheap version of real Panavision scope) and this also shows new flaws in the image.  As for the sound, the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 was nothing great despite some choice classic Soul hits, but the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 and DTS 5.1 mixes show the limits of the older Dolby, but also show that the mix for this film overall is only so great.

 

Extras are the same, but the trailer is here in HD.  This is a curio at best, but is otherwise best skipped.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo