Review wanted:Ghosts of Mars
 

Not really interested in opinions of the movie but looking for some details on the quality of the DVD extras transfer sound etc.. Thanks in advance

...from the Film Freak Central review of the DVD:

"For a DVD that received Columbia Tri-Star's coveted "Special Edition" label, Ghosts of Mars boasts of surprisingly lame supplemental material on disc--not that it deserved better. (I know the film is destined for re-evaluation and cult elevation, so let's call a spade a spade while it's still permitted.) Even the tech credits are somewhat below par: presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and full frame transfers on the same side of a dual-layered platter, the image is nice but banding is noticeable and shadow detail is inconsistent. (The two versions basically have this in common.) Meanwhile, dialogue sounds crushed at times in the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, and on an artistic level, I found it lacking in atmosphere--door-clanks and whatnot can be heard in the surrounds, yet we never believe that our heroes are in one of the windiest areas on Mars.

The most aggressive aspect of the mix is Carpenter's score, a brash collaboration with Anthrax, Steve Vai (he who lost a guitar duel to Ralph Macchio in Crossroads), and Buckethead (so named for the KFC bucket adorning his cranium) 'profiled' in the herky-jerky behind-the-scenes segment "Scoring Ghosts of Mars" (6 mins.). As in the other two bonus videos "Video Diary: Red Desert Nights" (17 mins.) and "Special Effects Deconstruction" (7 mins.), the assembled footage doesn't follow any contextual line and neither interviews nor narration are included. (In the latter's case, it's just a barrage of storyboards, green-screen backgrounds, animatics, miniatures, etc.--that's a deconstruction?) Only Carpenter's one-sided flirtatiousness in a commentary with a pregnant Henstridge manages to stir much interest, though Kurt Russell she's not, and Carpenter is more interested in discussing her early modelling career than Ghosts of Mars. (Then again, who wouldn't be?) Filmographies round out this anemic disc. - Bill Chambers"

...and there you are...

. . . :o . . .

I bought it last night and enjoyed it. The video quality was alright, the sound was decent. Nothing to write home about, but the action was pretty decent. Henstridge was pregnant??? She was looking a bit plump!! Some real good looking beheading scenes.

GOM
 

I really enjoyed this movie to my suprise. Bad acting, cheesy dialog, dumb plot. But somehow it all worked. The only thing I can compare it to is Return of the Living Dead. Pure B-movie Schlock but loads of fun.

I like Carpenter, but had heard the worst about this movie. After reading the few posts here, it sounds like it might be my cup of tea. I think I'll check it out this week...

I'm a Big Fan of Carpenter, and I have all of his "good" films, but lately, just like my other favourite, Brian De Palma, he has been doing ****. The Village of the Damned ,Vampires and EFLA, were ****. I was wary about purchasing this considering his recent track record, but i did anyway. It was alright, not back to form for him, but better than his ****. while were on the subject, what are your favourity carpenter films?

1.Assault on Precinct 13(9/10)
2.The Thing(8.5/10)
3.Halloween(8/10)
4.Big Trouble In Little China(8/10)
5.Escape From New York(8/10)
6.The Fog(8.5/10)
7.Starman(8/10)
8.They Live(7/10)
9.In The Mouth of Madness(7/10)
10.Prince of Darkness(6/10)

"There ghosts out here dis biiig??"

The first 20 minutes are moody and interesting, then it just becomes a tiresome siege flick that looks like it's stuck in the '80s. And I'm sorry to say that the action scenes are filmed with absolutely no panache.

Extras-wise, I liked the making of and the scoring session documentaries because they just show you "raw" footage of the filmmaking process. You feel like you're actually seeing something behind-the-scenes instead of a glorified advertisement. They are quite short however, and probably don't demand repeat viewings.

The picture and sound were fine. Would you expect any less from a modern Hollywood studio picture?

In the commentary he mentioned something about "you'll be able to see it in the outtakes on the DVD" (I can't recall what he was commenting on though :()... does he mean that "behind-the-scenes" thing or did something get cut from the DVD :confused:

I liked Ghosts of Mars. I found the transfer to be good, though I don't have a big time HT setup so I would have missed the 5.1 mix cutting out and minor transfer imperfecions. The movie itself is quite well put together and produced, though JC is definitely recycling aspects of earlier films of his. I thought the acting was pretty decent and Henstridge actually surprised me some. I don't see her ever getting nominated for anything but on the scale of models turned actresses, she's no Cindy Crawford (i.e. embaressing). She's also a damn sight easier on the eyes than Courtney Love, who she replaced at the last second, would have been. The movie actually plays better the second time since you get beyond the hookum and the lack of originality and can enjoy JC doing his thing. He may never return to the true brilliance of his late 70's, early 80's period but he can still put together one entertaining action flick.

BTW, here's my present top 10 JC list:

1. The Thing (10/10) Best horror movie ever IMHO.
2. Halloween (9.5/10)
3. Escape From New York (9.5/10)
4. Big Trouble in Little China (9/10)
5. The Fog (8/10)
6. Assault on Precinct 13 (8/10)
7. Starman (8/10)
8. Prince of Darkness (7.5/10)
9. In the Mouth of Madness (7.5/10)
10. Christine (7/10) Very underrated

I'm a big Carpenter fan (mostly classic Carpenter, that is) but I haven't seen this one yet. My copy is in the mail and I'm looking forward to checking it out -- although I don't have much hope for it.

Just FYI, this is currently 40% off at CDNow. If you combine that with one of the 15% off coupons, you can get a pretty good deal.

An unrepentant kick *** action movie with some bad *** ladies. John C. thows down another high grade B movie and I loved it. The soundtrack is excellent fits the film and mood well. Just a good ride and kind of a throwback flick with very little CG and mostly optical FX at work. The disc is missing the HBO special where you can see Natasha Hentsridge kind of get goofy after she pulls off a couple of roundhouse kicks. (JC refers to this in the Comm)
I had to add this to my JC collection. If you notice there are alot of similar themes from his other work. Desolation(snake) ,Assault on Precinct 13 cops & criminals work together, even elements of The thing are at work here.
The dvd needed a hidden score track and some deleted scenes but overall a great old school action flick that is completely politically incorrect. Now where the hell is The FOG?

I can't wait to watch it!

Re: GOM
 

It's barely tolerable even by my notoriously liberal standards. The only thing that may eek it to TWO STARS in my upcoming review were the decapitations and the rock 'n' roll soundtrack.

Here is a review for you...

<b><i>(link removed -sfsdfd)</i></b>

It's not a great effort. The locations were cool and I liked the sort of "old school" effects, but really it's a tired little film with not much merit. Too many dissolves, also. Carpenter just can't seem to get it together these days.