I Know What You Did Last Summer: Special Edition (1997) [23926]

Reviewing "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is unique for me because it needed to be viewed on a CRT display as well as a large screen digital display. Some may call IKWYDLS a "slasher" film but I find although you can find parts of that genre in the film, it is more of a suspense/murder/mystery tale. For an early theatrical runaround, the actors hold it together well. Late teens with dilemmas have been a staple on the silver screen and this film really ratchets it up with realistic piercing banter and appropriately fearful reactions. Sarah Michelle Gellar is a standout with fine acting chops and beauty. The laserdisc contains a "filmmakers commentary" on your analog left channel. In the commentary a point is made that gore was not an essential ingredient, in fact it was played down to put a greater emphasis on the storyline. I found it refreshingly creative especially coming off all those years of sometimes pointless butchering only films.
However, a mysterious fisherman wielding a hook with murderous intent is not exactly timid either.

I rarely have trouble in the visuals department on my LCD playing laserdiscs in relation to black levels, and when I do, some adjustments off my player or display can compensate. With IKWYDLS, it simply wasn't doable. The movie was filmed in a great deal of low light. Camp fire scenes, street lights, dark rooms and just pure evening black did not project well on my display. Viewable, but not enjoyably viewable. Switching the disc to a very capable widescreen CRT was like going from a poor VHS tape to a well mastered dvd. On my CRT display, simply incredible. Beautiful filmlike scenes one after the other and the issues with black levels gone entirely. The beginning was so clear I thought I was watching a different film. It was awesome to see an underwater night scene and all the details involved. Just a great laserdisc to be seen on a CRT. Of course it may work well on a different LCD display.

The AC-3 soundtrack is flawless. Clear dialogue, appropriate sharp ambient sounds and some rocking 90s music. There was some talk the IKWYDLS laserdisc was "recalled" but I've seen nothing on the LDDB about it. Maybe someone can comment about that. I actually had to search around for the release date which is supposedly March 24, 1998. I can not say for sure if that is accurate. A nice late release for laserdisc fans.