Dirty Dancing – 20th Anniversary Edition (Lionsgate/Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C Film: C
Now, for
our third review of the late Emile Ardolino’s Dirty Dancing, the 1987 independent hit that still has a huge
following. For the first two reviews,
try the following links:
Ultimate Edition
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/853/Dirty+Dancing+-+Ultimate+Edition
20th Anniversary
Edition
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5347/Dirty+Dancing+–+20th+Anniversary
The later
was just released and featured a ton of extras.
Those extras (most in HD here) have been carried over to the new Blu-ray
20th Anniversary Edition
disc which fits all the material on one disc, but offers improved picture and
sound.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 image is better than the previous DVD transfers, but the print could
still use some work. Fans should hope
that the source material is in better shape than one too many of these scenes,
but it is still an improvement. Those in
the 100+ club for the film (yes, a group that has watched it in 35mm over 100
times) would notice this even better than this critic.
The
previous DVDs we covered had DTS 6.1 ES discrete and Dolby Digital 5.1 EX mixes. Though this Blu-ray retains the Dolby EX, the
DTS has been supplanted by PCM 6.1 16/48 and it is not really any better than
the DTS, but better than the Dolby. This
was a Dolby analog A-type theatrical sound release, but this upgrade is still
choppy and will need further work down the line, which they should do when they
can get high fidelity remasters of the original 1960s hits not available now.
Until
then, this Blu-ray will be the best version of Dirty Dancing we will see in a few years with enough extras to keep
fans happy.
- Nicholas Sheffo
