Excalibur Review
09-20-99, 01:24 PM
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After what seemed an interminable delay, John Boorman's Arthurian epic, Excalibur, has finally been released on DVD. While Warner seemed to take their own sweet time getting this lavish film on DVD, it now appears it was time well spent. No video version has ever done this film justice. Even the two previous laserdisc editions, including the most recent remastered edition with Dolby Digital audio, were mediocre, at best. Previous transfers of this film were marred by excessive graininess and murky, indistinct black level. The new widescreen transfer on this DVD edition, though not perfect, is like lifting a veil on Alex Thompson's beautiful cinematography and showing John Boorman's vision of Camelot in a form that, for the first time, approaches what I saw in a darkened theater back in 1981.
Colors appear accurate with greater depth and subtlety than I have ever seen. The deep forest greens and dark earth tones are broken by the bright flash of the Sword of Power or the magical explosion of color as the Land reawakens to Arthur's final ride to meet his destiny. Brightness and contrast are much improved with very good shadow detail revealing fine details that were lost in the murky blackness of lesser transfers. While quite a few shots appear to have been soft filtered, for the most part, the image is sharp with very good detail. There is still some film grain visible from time to time, and there is also some noticable print damage, but this is much less than previous versions and is rarely distracting. The matting on this transfer is slightly less than the previous laserdisc transfers at about 1.78:1 (the aspect ratio of widescreen televisons).
Although Excalibur was originally produced with a Dolby Stereo soundtrack (that's Dolby Surround to most of us), technical limitations of theaters at the time of the film's release prompted Boorman to release the film with a mono soundtrack. That is the way most people have heard this film. For the most recent laserdisc edition, Warner remastered the soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1. That is the track that has been included on the DVD. This mix is fairly limited in both directionality and sonic fidelity, but is superior to the mono track in every way. Generally, the mix favors the center channel with some left/right directional effects and a broader, more defined soundstage for Trevor Jones' score. The surround channels are used sparingly, mostly for ambient effects. The music fares better than the dialog, however, with a dull, hollowness invading the dialog track. Quite often, the dialog takes on that detached, slightly unnatural timbre of a dubbed soundtrack (which, of course, it is, but it shouldn't sound like it).
The film runs 140 minutes and the disc contains 45 chapters. In addition to Warner's usual production notes, there is a theatrical trailer. One other supplemental feature should be of special interest to not only fans of this film, but of the filmmaker. John Boorman has recorded a commentary track for the DVD and this is the first such track I have heard by him. Though not as animated as some, Boorman's comments are suprisingly forthcoming. This commentary deftly blends technical details with artistic intent with a liberal sprinkling of personal anecdotes about cast members and other members of the crew. I found this commentary more compelling than most others, so much so that I found myself wishing Warner had asked Boorman to record a commentary for another of his films just out on DVD, Deliverence. I was also pleased to see Warner has this terrific disc priced to move at $19.95 list. This is essential viewing for any serious enthusiast. Highly recommended.
Source: Digitaleyes.com
[This message has been edited by ed (edited 09-20-1999).]
Colors appear accurate with greater depth and subtlety than I have ever seen. The deep forest greens and dark earth tones are broken by the bright flash of the Sword of Power or the magical explosion of color as the Land reawakens to Arthur's final ride to meet his destiny. Brightness and contrast are much improved with very good shadow detail revealing fine details that were lost in the murky blackness of lesser transfers. While quite a few shots appear to have been soft filtered, for the most part, the image is sharp with very good detail. There is still some film grain visible from time to time, and there is also some noticable print damage, but this is much less than previous versions and is rarely distracting. The matting on this transfer is slightly less than the previous laserdisc transfers at about 1.78:1 (the aspect ratio of widescreen televisons).
Although Excalibur was originally produced with a Dolby Stereo soundtrack (that's Dolby Surround to most of us), technical limitations of theaters at the time of the film's release prompted Boorman to release the film with a mono soundtrack. That is the way most people have heard this film. For the most recent laserdisc edition, Warner remastered the soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1. That is the track that has been included on the DVD. This mix is fairly limited in both directionality and sonic fidelity, but is superior to the mono track in every way. Generally, the mix favors the center channel with some left/right directional effects and a broader, more defined soundstage for Trevor Jones' score. The surround channels are used sparingly, mostly for ambient effects. The music fares better than the dialog, however, with a dull, hollowness invading the dialog track. Quite often, the dialog takes on that detached, slightly unnatural timbre of a dubbed soundtrack (which, of course, it is, but it shouldn't sound like it).
The film runs 140 minutes and the disc contains 45 chapters. In addition to Warner's usual production notes, there is a theatrical trailer. One other supplemental feature should be of special interest to not only fans of this film, but of the filmmaker. John Boorman has recorded a commentary track for the DVD and this is the first such track I have heard by him. Though not as animated as some, Boorman's comments are suprisingly forthcoming. This commentary deftly blends technical details with artistic intent with a liberal sprinkling of personal anecdotes about cast members and other members of the crew. I found this commentary more compelling than most others, so much so that I found myself wishing Warner had asked Boorman to record a commentary for another of his films just out on DVD, Deliverence. I was also pleased to see Warner has this terrific disc priced to move at $19.95 list. This is essential viewing for any serious enthusiast. Highly recommended.
Source: Digitaleyes.com
[This message has been edited by ed (edited 09-20-1999).]
09-20-99, 01:39 PM
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Nice review. I preordered it a long time ago. Now I'm stoked and can't wait. Has anyone received shipping confirmation from Reel on this one? I still haven't. I preordered it on the old site so I'm hoping it wasn't "lost".
09-20-99, 03:30 PM
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Thanks for the great review! Hope my copy gets here soon.
DVDBuddy,
dvdResource is reporting that the studio shortshipped this title to the distributors. That's probably why most of our orders are delayed.
------------------
-David
DVDBuddy,
dvdResource is reporting that the studio shortshipped this title to the distributors. That's probably why most of our orders are delayed.
------------------
-David
