My extremely short "High School Reunion Collection" review
10-12-03, 10:22 AM
#1
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
My extremely short "High School Reunion Collection" review
Bought it for 26.99 at Costco which is an excellent deal for these three movies. Here's what I thought:
1. The transfers are OK. All are 1.85:1 anamorphic. I think they were all shot in 2:1 or 2.35:1 and it shows that they've been cropped a little in a few scenes. The framing is completely OK except for that. They are all a little grainy and there is some damage here and there, but these are almost 20 year old movies (can you believe that? I actually saw all of these in the theater...). Weird Science has the best video quality of all of them, it looks pretty good. Breakfast Club is probably in the worst shape... Overall, the video quality is average.
2. The soundtracks...oh blessed gods of the 80s THANK YOU. It hasn't really been pushed in other reviews, but the soundtracks have all been renegotiated and restored to their original theatrical glory for the first time since they were originally shown. It's great to hear the actual tracks that were originally selected rather than some cheaper, lesser-known alternative. This is a HUGE benefit to these discs and makes them worth buying for that one reason alone. The DTS tracks are similar in quality to the DD 5.1 ones. Both are very good and better than the video quality. Keep in mind that the previous versions of these movies had 2 channel or MONO tracks, this is a huge improvement. Once again, Weird Science sounds really sharp and is the best of the bunch (Thomas Dolby's theme song still sounds great to this day). "Sixteen Candles" has the best song selection, though. These movies have the best 80s soundtracks of them all, they rock.
3. Extras: none...none at ALL. How cheesy is that? These releases were fairly "quickie" and it shows. A total lack of extras is almost inexcusible these days, especially on such popular movies. The menus are extremely minimal and non-animated.
4. Annoyances: an unskippable (except by cueing) 3 minute trailer for all three movies and Animal House ON ALL THREE DISCS. Unforgivable..I don't buy discs to watch ads. Universal needs to cut this crap out.
Overall: GREAT soundtracks restored, OK video quality, no extras...I give the discs themselves 3 stars out of 4. The movies are of course totally awesome.
1. The transfers are OK. All are 1.85:1 anamorphic. I think they were all shot in 2:1 or 2.35:1 and it shows that they've been cropped a little in a few scenes. The framing is completely OK except for that. They are all a little grainy and there is some damage here and there, but these are almost 20 year old movies (can you believe that? I actually saw all of these in the theater...). Weird Science has the best video quality of all of them, it looks pretty good. Breakfast Club is probably in the worst shape... Overall, the video quality is average.
2. The soundtracks...oh blessed gods of the 80s THANK YOU. It hasn't really been pushed in other reviews, but the soundtracks have all been renegotiated and restored to their original theatrical glory for the first time since they were originally shown. It's great to hear the actual tracks that were originally selected rather than some cheaper, lesser-known alternative. This is a HUGE benefit to these discs and makes them worth buying for that one reason alone. The DTS tracks are similar in quality to the DD 5.1 ones. Both are very good and better than the video quality. Keep in mind that the previous versions of these movies had 2 channel or MONO tracks, this is a huge improvement. Once again, Weird Science sounds really sharp and is the best of the bunch (Thomas Dolby's theme song still sounds great to this day). "Sixteen Candles" has the best song selection, though. These movies have the best 80s soundtracks of them all, they rock.
3. Extras: none...none at ALL. How cheesy is that? These releases were fairly "quickie" and it shows. A total lack of extras is almost inexcusible these days, especially on such popular movies. The menus are extremely minimal and non-animated.
4. Annoyances: an unskippable (except by cueing) 3 minute trailer for all three movies and Animal House ON ALL THREE DISCS. Unforgivable..I don't buy discs to watch ads. Universal needs to cut this crap out.
Overall: GREAT soundtracks restored, OK video quality, no extras...I give the discs themselves 3 stars out of 4. The movies are of course totally awesome.
Last edited by Hiro11; 10-13-03 at 08:47 AM.
10-12-03, 08:54 PM
#2
DVD Talk Gold Edition
I just finished watching Breakfast Club; it looked pretty good for it's age, etc. A nice presentation of the movie. The last 30 minutes of the movie's picture quality seemed to improve.
I agree Weird Science looks better; colors are stronger and it has a cleaner look; the source material looks to be better.
I agree Weird Science looks better; colors are stronger and it has a cleaner look; the source material looks to be better.
10-12-03, 09:21 PM
#3
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Re: My extremely short "High School Reunion Collection" review
Originally posted by Hiro11
Once again, Weird Science sounds really sharp and is the best of the bunch (Thomas Dolby's theme song still sounds great to this day). "Sixteen Candles" has the best song selection, though. These movies have the best 80s soundtracks of them all, they rock.
Once again, Weird Science sounds really sharp and is the best of the bunch (Thomas Dolby's theme song still sounds great to this day). "Sixteen Candles" has the best song selection, though. These movies have the best 80s soundtracks of them all, they rock.
Bill C
filmfreakcentral.net
10-13-03, 07:08 AM
#4
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
Re: Re: My extremely short "High School Reunion Collection" review
Originally posted by flmfreakcentral
Not to nitpick, but I think you're confusing Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science" with the Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman song "Weird Science," the latter of which is the film's theme.
Bill C
filmfreakcentral.net
Not to nitpick, but I think you're confusing Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science" with the Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman song "Weird Science," the latter of which is the film's theme.
Bill C
filmfreakcentral.net
(yes, I actually said "word")
