THE
QUICK AND THE DEAD ($27) is director Sam Raimi’s visually brilliant
homage to the spaghetti westerns of yore. Utilizing the stylistic elements
of the western genre as a starting point, Raimi who is know for his own
visual dexterity, places a new spin on tried and true western imagery. The
plot of THE QUICK AND THE DEAD follows a mysterious woman named
Ellen (Sharon Stone), who rides into the lawless town of Redemption to
participate a shooting contest that will pit one gunfighter against
another. While most of the shootists have been drawn to Redemption by the
promise of a huge cash prize, Ellen has come to town to settle an old
score with John Herod (Gene Hackman), the ruthless outlaw who controls the
town and is sponsoring the contest. Also participating in the contest is
The Kid (Leonardo DiCaprio), who purports to be Herod’s illegitimate son
and Cort (Russell Crowe), a man of the cloth, who has been forced into the
contest at gunpoint. The cast of THE QUICK AND THE DEAD also
includes Roberts Blossom, Kevin Conway, Keith David, Lance Henriksen, Pat
Hingle and Gary Sinise.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made their Superbit DVD edition of THE
QUICK AND THE DEAD available in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that
has been enhanced for 16:9 displays. This actually a pretty great looking
transfer that shows off Dante Spinotti’s excellent western
cinematography. The Superbit release brings out more of the visual
richness of the film than what was present in the fine looking movie only
version. Both sharpness and detail are excellent, which makes for an even
more pleasing presentation on a large wide screen display. Colors appear
vivid and highly saturated, without evidence of chroma noise or smearing.
Warm hues, like golds, oranges and reds appear simply marvelous on this
release. Blacks are completely pure, as are the whites. Additionally, the
picture boasts excellent contrast and shadow detail. The film element used
for the transfer displays a handful of blemishes, but is otherwise quite
clean. As expected, the high bit rate of the Superbit process keeps
digital compression artifacts totally out of sight.
Since
this is a Superbit release, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD features 5.1
channel soundtracks in both the Dolby Digital and DTS varieties. The sound
mixes are relatively similar in design, with a fairly aggressive use of
the rear channels for directional effects, as well as ambient sounds and
musical fill. As for the forward soundstage, it is broad and hearty, but
the sound design provides for a clean wrap around into the surround
channels, which creates an immersive effect. Dialogue is completely
understandable and voices are reproduced with a nice natural timbre. Alan
Silvestri’s western flavored score is very nicely integrated into the
mix and is rendered with excellent musical fidelity. The bass channel is
solid and very deep, which augments the film’s gunshots and explosions.
As for the differences between the Dolby Digital and DTS, there really
aren’t all that many. However, DTS does have a slight edge in terms of
lower bass extension and musical warmth. English, French, Spanish,
Portuguese and Korean subtitles have been provided on the DVD. The basic
interactive menus offer access to the standard set up and scene selection
features. No supplements are provided on this Superbit title, since all of
the storage space on the DVD has been utilized to maximize the bit rate
for the video and audio.
THE
QUICK AND THE DEAD is a visually stunning western as well as being a
very impressive addition to Columbia TriStar’s Superbit series. If you
haven’t picked up THE QUICK AND THE DEAD before now, you’ll
want to add this release to your arsenal. And, if you own the standard
release DVD, you will definitely want to give serious consideration to an
upgrade.
THE
QUICK AND THE DEAD ($27) is director Sam Raimi’s visually brilliant
homage to the spaghetti westerns of yore. Utilizing the stylistic elements
of the western genre as a starting point, Raimi who is know for his own
visual dexterity, places a new spin on tried and true western imagery. The
plot of THE QUICK AND THE DEAD follows a mysterious woman named
Ellen (Sharon Stone), who rides into the lawless town of Redemption to
participate a shooting contest that will pit one gunfighter against
another. While most of the shootists have been drawn to Redemption by the
promise of a huge cash prize, Ellen has come to town to settle an old
score with John Herod (Gene Hackman), the ruthless outlaw who controls the
town and is sponsoring the contest. Also participating in the contest is
The Kid (Leonardo DiCaprio), who purports to be Herod’s illegitimate son
and Cort (Russell Crowe), a man of the cloth, who has been forced into the
contest at gunpoint. The cast of THE QUICK AND THE DEAD also
includes Roberts Blossom, Kevin Conway, Keith David, Lance Henriksen, Pat
Hingle and Gary Sinise.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made their Superbit DVD edition of THE
QUICK AND THE DEAD available in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that
has been enhanced for 16:9 displays. This actually a pretty great looking
transfer that shows off Dante Spinotti’s excellent western
cinematography. The Superbit release brings out more of the visual
richness of the film than what was present in the fine looking movie only
version. Both sharpness and detail are excellent, which makes for an even
more pleasing presentation on a large wide screen display. Colors appear
vivid and highly saturated, without evidence of chroma noise or smearing.
Warm hues, like golds, oranges and reds appear simply marvelous on this
release. Blacks are completely pure, as are the whites. Additionally, the
picture boasts excellent contrast and shadow detail. The film element used
for the transfer displays a handful of blemishes, but is otherwise quite
clean. As expected, the high bit rate of the Superbit process keeps
digital compression artifacts totally out of sight.
Since
this is a Superbit release, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD features 5.1
channel soundtracks in both the Dolby Digital and DTS varieties. The sound
mixes are relatively similar in design, with a fairly aggressive use of
the rear channels for directional effects, as well as ambient sounds and
musical fill. As for the forward soundstage, it is broad and hearty, but
the sound design provides for a clean wrap around into the surround
channels, which creates an immersive effect. Dialogue is completely
understandable and voices are reproduced with a nice natural timbre. Alan
Silvestri’s western flavored score is very nicely integrated into the
mix and is rendered with excellent musical fidelity. The bass channel is
solid and very deep, which augments the film’s gunshots and explosions.
As for the differences between the Dolby Digital and DTS, there really
aren’t all that many. However, DTS does have a slight edge in terms of
lower bass extension and musical warmth. English, French, Spanish,
Portuguese and Korean subtitles have been provided on the DVD. The basic
interactive menus offer access to the standard set up and scene selection
features. No supplements are provided on this Superbit title, since all of
the storage space on the DVD has been utilized to maximize the bit rate
for the video and audio.
THE
QUICK AND THE DEAD is a visually stunning western as well as being a
very impressive addition to Columbia TriStar’s Superbit series. If you
haven’t picked up THE QUICK AND THE DEAD before now, you’ll
want to add this release to your arsenal. And, if you own the standard
release DVD, you will definitely want to give serious consideration to an
upgrade.
