It is currently 28 Mar 2024, 23:02




 Page 1 of 1 [ 1 post ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: The Santa Clause [3633 AS] LBX/SRD/AC3 (1994)
PostPosted: 18 Dec 2016, 05:22 
Honest fan
Honest fan
User avatar

Joined: 05 Oct 2010, 00:53
Posts: 94
Location: United States
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 1 time
Santa Clause, The (1994) [3633 AS]

My dad got me this LaserDisc, sealed at the time, for Christmas 2011. This was a very difficult time for me, as I was experiencing my parents divorce whilst becoming emotionally and mentally unstable and suicidal. On Christmas morning we just played most of side one and put it away. Looking back, I was glad I didn't watch the entire thing because it would have been far too close to home for me, and it almost could have been dangerous.

I first watched the disc in its entirety last year, and I watched it again tonight this year, in which it finally hit me. I saw my father in Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), or at the very worst case scenario, I saw what he would think he relates to. The story plays out from Scott's perspective, and after having a night out with his son on Christmas Eve, he gradually begins to lose him. Whether if it's his son obsessing over the surreal experience he had with him that Christmas, to the concern of his mother and her boyfriend, or Scott falling victim to aspects of the Santa Clause in which he cannot control (his physical appearance and appetite), it's a mid-life crisis that Scott has to re-asses who he is and who he should be. Throughout all this, the movie cannot decide to be funny or earnest, and it is later exemplified
[Reveal] Spoiler:
in the third act with clips of Santa dancing to prepare for Christmas cut back-and-forth to a depressed stepfather deciding whether to put his abducted stepson's stocking up, both set to generic 1980's hair metal.
No surprise here when we get the traditional Disney ending, which wraps it all up into a somewhat beautiful metaphor for Christmas.

The divorce sub-plot is handled with a lot of nuance unlike other saccharine fruits of a similar tree, which leads into the question why my dad gave me this on the Christmas during such a difficult time. Did he know about the divorce element to the film? If he did, did he think through before giving it to me? And if he did that too, what was his intention? It doesn't matter now, as our relationship has gotten so much better after five years, and after all the smoke and mirrors have dissipated. I'll be staying over his apartment for Christmas dinner tomorrow. Maybe the Disney ending can be real in some ways, sometimes.

5/10

Picture Quality:

Video Chain: Magnavox CDV 474 - Composite >> Toshiba D-RW2 - Component >> Samsung DLP 1080p TV (forgot model no. on this one)

The Santa Clause sports a decent 1.85:1 letterboxed transfer in CLV format. Colors are noticeably more pronounced than the later HD transfers you see on Netflix and Freeform, but there's no telling how accurate they really are to the original 35mm interpositive. It takes on a much more colder look than these aforementioned HD versions, but talking about color in NTSC terms is very, very sketchy. Blacks seem to be crushed on the LaserDisc, and the Component1 (LD) input my DLP is compensated for 7.5 IRE if I recall correctly (this is an American LD). Oh well, analog video is a gamble.

6.5/10

Audio Quality:

Audio Chain: Magnavox CDV 474 - RCA Stereo >> Samsung DLP 1080p TV

Ever since moving to a smaller house, I gave up most of my sound system. Some parts of it are in my bedroom, but the LaserDisc player was in the living room. Good thing my TV's built-in speakers were good enough, because the redeeming quality of this title, after all these years, is the PCM Dolby Surround mix. The Santa Clause is mostly a "no frills" audio experience, and it's focused on dialogue and thankfully, there's more to it. It has a realistic and unobtrusive sound space with heft and detail at the right moments. This blows the Netflix mix out of the water, and don't even mention the disservice it gets on Freeform! The sound design isn't really the best, it at times relies on repeating the worst of stock sound effects, most notably a fart sound and what I remember as the Imp's growling in the 1993 PC game Doom. In spite of that, it has a great dynamic range and clarity is hardly an issue.

I do not have the equipment and means to listen to and review the included Dolby AC-3 5.1 audio track.

PCM Dolby Surround: 8/10
Offline
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
 Page 1 of 1 [ 1 post ] 


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: