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 Post subject: Killer, The: Special Edition #211 (1989) (Uncut) [CC1363L]
PostPosted: 02 Jun 2020, 14:08 
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Killer, The: Special Edition #211 (1989) (Uncut) [CC1363L]

Received from the international shipping-friendly USA yesterday. Watched the whole thing and some of the extras on Side 5 last night.

The buzz on this one is 100% valid. This is the very best edition out there at the moment (although I've not been able to compare it to the absurdly expensive Criterion DVD of the same transfer. Picture-wise it is superb. Presented in it's original aspect ratio and with clean, clear colours. At times this felt to me like I was watching a DVD it was that good.

It's a shame that Criterion didn't do any restoration on some of the film dirt and damage. Perhaps the technology available today wasn't quite as good back in 1993. Still, this is head and shoulders above the horrific Blu Ray disc that was put out not so far back. That print looked like it had been dragged through a hedge backwards and tossed in to a bath of vinegar. And either the print is incredibly soft, or the telecine operator was having a nervous breakdown while scanning the reels. Horrific stuff.

The sound is superb. I personally preferred the digital track to the analog one. I didn't test out the John Woo commentary track but I'll certainly give that a listen another day. It's a shame this one doesn't have an AC-3 track. That would have been a nice 'to have' but you can only use what has been made available to you.

The extras disc appears to be really well done (I've only seen half of Side 5 so far). The whole thing is presented on a STEP button basis. Ergo you press the STEP forward or STEP backward buttons on your remote control to navigate the still data pages. A nice touch is the data pages are interspersed with video clips which are accessed by pressing PLAY when prompted and immediately bring you back to the data feed once they finish.

The whole thing is nicely put together and logically thought out in terms of navigating the extras (which are chapter based) and large, easy to read text that works well with the limitations of how still images are accessed and presented on Laserdisc.

The film itself should need no introduction. It's excellent. Although I am more of a fan of Hard Boiled when you push me to choose between the two. Both are legendary films though in their own right. Also the extras on the LD edition reveal some insight in to Hard Boiled. For example, did you know the opening Jazz music in Hard Boiled was originally going to be used in The Killer for the opening scene where John is playing the saxaphone at the nightclub with Jenny? The whole intro and music were scrapped and a new opening was filmed.

There does exist a Taiwan print that is even longer than the Criterion LD version, but John Woo states in the extras on this edition that to him, the cut presented on the Criterion print, is his definitive and preferred version of The Killer.

That'll do for me. Thanks John. :thumbup:


Last edited by teddanson on 02 Jun 2020, 15:46, edited 1 time in total. _________________
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 Post subject: Re: Killer, The: Special Edition #211 (1989) (Uncut) [CC1363
PostPosted: 02 Jun 2020, 15:36 
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teddanson wrote:
It's a shame that Criterion didn't do any restoration on some of the film dirt and damage. Perhaps the technology available today wasn't quite as good back in 1993. Still, this is head and shoulders above the horrific Blu Ray disc that was put out not so far back. That print looked like it had been dragged through a hedge backwards and tossed in to a bath of vinegar. And either the print is incredibly soft, or the telecine operator was having a nervous breakdown while scanning the reels. Horrific stuff.



I think this was due to the time period, practices of the time and technology.

They didn't run and scrub films as much as now and from what I remember Criterion didn't like doing that back then.

From what I remember reading either in a newsletter or sleeve of the disc they searched for the best quality print they could find
at the time and used that.

Another thing from what I can partially remember the DVD was either compressed since it was an early DVD or its gone through
DNR and was messed up that way.
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 Post subject: Re: Killer, The: Special Edition #211 (1989) (Uncut) [CC1363
PostPosted: 02 Jun 2020, 17:26 
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I had a check over the sleeve and it states in the notes that they are aware the source is a bit dirty but was the best available to them at the time.

In my opinion it is the best out there right now, even in 2020. The forthcoming HKR blu looks like it is going to be absolutely stunning though. That said, the LD set is a thing of loveliness in it's presentation and content. Fits the criteria (excuse semi-pun) of my LD collection in that it is still the best version available to date. Really pleased with it.

Good to know the super expensive DVD isn't worth chasing too. Thanks for the tip.
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 Post subject: Re: Killer, The: Special Edition #211 (1989) (Uncut) [CC1363
PostPosted: 03 Jun 2020, 03:13 
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Back in 1993, if you had to do post-telecine cleanup your only option would've been to get one of those Digital Vision NR (DVNR) modules. I think that pre-94 the only major studio that had bought one was Universal. Other than that your main option was to basically have a clean film ready for telecine, which worked for most modern films and those that had gotten recent duplicates. Still on more obscure films (relatively speaking) you rarely had that luxury.

As for the DVD, despite it already being difficult to find and expensive, there are multiple bootlegs floating around. I got unlucky back in 2012 when I found a reasonably priced copy. Bought Hard-Boiled on DVD at the same time which turned out to be legit, and the difference in quality was pretty clear when compared side by side but not so much when just looking at pictures.
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 Post subject: Re: Killer, The: Special Edition #211 (1989) (Uncut) [CC1363
PostPosted: 03 Jun 2020, 17:32 
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I also have a legit DVD of Hard Boiled, unfortunately it's the Mei Ah release.
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 Post subject: Re: Killer, The: Special Edition #211 (1989) (Uncut) [CC1363
PostPosted: 04 Jun 2020, 02:32 
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teddanson wrote:
The buzz on this one is 100% valid. This is the very best edition out there at the moment (although I've not been able to compare it to the absurdly expensive Criterion DVD of the same transfer. Picture-wise it is superb. Presented in it's original aspect ratio and with clean, clear colours. At times this felt to me like I was watching a DVD it was that good.


It's been on my "to (re)watch" shelf for a while now, I originally bought it together with "Face/Off" because, you have to admit that John Woo -- with a Hollywood budget at hand -- did recreate some of the iconic The Killer scenes! It might also have made studio executives more comfortable that he was using known scenes that made him popular?

Face/Off is still one of my visually favorite movies of the 90's, and one of the very first AC3 LD I ever bought.

I have no interested in the announced remake though: https://www.filmstories.co.uk/news/paramount-turned-down-face-off-2-opted-for-remake/

I skipped all the horror movies remakes, the live Disney remakes, the perpetual rehash of the same money making nostalgia.

Waiting for new/creative stuff to emerge... Can't wait to see Christopher Nolan's TENET this Summer!

Julien
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