Although
disjointed in its approach and tone, Ralph Bakshi’s WIZARDS ($15)
is nothing, if not, an interesting exercise in animated storytelling. Set
in a post-apocalyptic future where fairies and other magical creatures
have reemerged upon a slowly recuperating Earth. Also emerging in the war
scarred sections of the planet are the mutants created by the nuclear
fallout. Eventually, two brothers are born into this world; and although,
polar opposite in nature both grow to be powerful wizards. Avatar, human
in appearance, practices natural magic and lives in the greener lands of
Montagar. Blackwolf has the appearance of a mutant, and after doing battle
with his brother, has been exiled the radioactive wastelands of Scorch.
After the passage of three millennia, Blackwolf has built his powerbase
fusing magic with forbidden technology and the ideology of Nazi Germany,
all with a single purpose- to defeat his brother and claim the greener
lands for him and mutant followers. WIZARDS features the vocal
talents of Bob Holt, Steve Gravers, Jesse Welles, David Proval and Mark
Hamill.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made WIZARDS available on DVD in
a 1.85:1 widescreen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. This is a pretty good-looking transfer of material that has
some technical limitations. The animation isn’t Disney-esque; looking
somewhat low rent at times, plus the film relies upon stock footage that
has been rotoscoped to create aspects of the film’s battle sequences.
Image sharpness and detail are respectable, which is about all one can
expect from this type of animated feature. Colors range from strong to
subdued, depending upon the effect the filmmakers were going for at any
given moment. Contrast is good, plus the backs and whites appear accurate.
There are some blemishes on the film elements and some noticeable grain-
nothing too excessive, but these are things that could have been smoothed
over a bit more with digital cleanup. Digital compression artifacts always
remain in check.
. WIZARDS comes with English Dolby Digital monaural and remixed
stereo soundtrack options. For the most part, both tracks get the job done
with minimal hiss and no overt distortions. Fidelity has some limitations,
which can leave some of the sound effects sounding just a tad hollow.
Dialogue is always crisp sounding and completely understandable. The
stereo version of the soundtrack has the advantage of adding a bit more
presence to the film’s musical component. A Spanish language track has
also been encoded onto the DVD, as have English, French and Spanish
subtitles.
.
.
The basic interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene
selection and set up features, as well as a few extras. Director Ralph
Bakshi is on hand for a rather informative running audio commentary, in
which he explains his various inspirations and stylistic choices for WIZARDS.
Ralph Bakshi: The Wizard of Animation is a half hour profile
of the director, which traces his career and allows his to discuss his
work. Two trailers, a TV spot and a dozen still galleries close out the
extras.
WIZARDS,
along with Ralph Bakshi’s other animated films have developed quite a
following over the years. I’ve always found WIZARDS to be one of
his most interesting works and am glad that it has finally materialized on
DVD. As for the disc itself, it looks and sounds just fine, so if you are
a fan, you’ll definitely want to check out WIZARDS on DVD.
Although
disjointed in its approach and tone, Ralph Bakshi’s WIZARDS ($15)
is nothing, if not, an interesting exercise in animated storytelling. Set
in a post-apocalyptic future where fairies and other magical creatures
have reemerged upon a slowly recuperating Earth. Also emerging in the war
scarred sections of the planet are the mutants created by the nuclear
fallout. Eventually, two brothers are born into this world; and although,
polar opposite in nature both grow to be powerful wizards. Avatar, human
in appearance, practices natural magic and lives in the greener lands of
Montagar. Blackwolf has the appearance of a mutant, and after doing battle
with his brother, has been exiled the radioactive wastelands of Scorch.
After the passage of three millennia, Blackwolf has built his powerbase
fusing magic with forbidden technology and the ideology of Nazi Germany,
all with a single purpose- to defeat his brother and claim the greener
lands for him and mutant followers. WIZARDS features the vocal
talents of Bob Holt, Steve Gravers, Jesse Welles, David Proval and Mark
Hamill.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made WIZARDS available on DVD in
a 1.85:1 widescreen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. This is a pretty good-looking transfer of material that has
some technical limitations. The animation isn’t Disney-esque; looking
somewhat low rent at times, plus the film relies upon stock footage that
has been rotoscoped to create aspects of the film’s battle sequences.
Image sharpness and detail are respectable, which is about all one can
expect from this type of animated feature. Colors range from strong to
subdued, depending upon the effect the filmmakers were going for at any
given moment. Contrast is good, plus the backs and whites appear accurate.
There are some blemishes on the film elements and some noticeable grain-
nothing too excessive, but these are things that could have been smoothed
over a bit more with digital cleanup. Digital compression artifacts always
remain in check.
.
.
WIZARDS,
along with Ralph Bakshi’s other animated films have developed quite a
following over the years. I’ve always found WIZARDS to be one of
his most interesting works and am glad that it has finally materialized on
DVD. As for the disc itself, it looks and sounds just fine, so if you are
a fan, you’ll definitely want to check out WIZARDS on DVD.
