DEAD
OF WINTER ($15) is a somewhat underrated old style thriller in the
vein of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Actually, this Arthur Penn directed
thriller quotes Hitchcock quite liberally and fans of the Master of
Suspense will find those particular moments to be good fun.
Additionally, director Penn makes great use of the film’s claustrophobic
setting to reinforce the central character’s isolation and inability to
escape her plight. DEAD OF WINTER also showcases the talents of
actress Mary Steenburgen, who handles every twist and turn of the
convoluted plot with aplomb.
In
DEAD OF WINTER, Steenburgen portrays struggling New York actress
Katie McGovern, who travels upstate in the midst of a snowstorm to screen
test for a small independent film. Katie is informed by the film’s
producer Dr. Lewis (Jan Rubes) and his associate Mr. Murray (Roddy
McDowall) that she has been given this opportunity because she is a dead
ringer for another actress, who walked off the film in mid-production.
However, Katie soon discovers that the offer of a movie role was just a
pretense to get her up to an isolated house in the country, and that she
has become a pawn in a very deadly game of cat and mouse. The cast of DEAD
OF WINTER also includes William Russ, Ken Pogue, Wayne Robson and Mark
Malone.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made DEAD OF WINTER in a 1.85:1 wide screen
presentation that has NOT been enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays and
a full screen version other side of the disc. In this day and age, I find
it inconceivable that a major studio would release any wide screen film on
DVD without the benefit of the 16:9 enhancement, but that is just what MGM
has done. On an ordinary 4:3 television, DEAD OF WINTER looks quite
respectable, but when one is forced to digitally "blow up" the
image to accommodate a 16:9 display, there are a number of problems. In
particular, the picture becomes somewhat soft, plus existing flaws in the
film elements become exaggerated and some digital artifacts are
introduced. Still, the wide screen version of the movie remains entirely
watchable in this mode, although it could have looked much better had it
been given an enhanced transfer.
Owing
to the fact that DEAD OF WINTER was a modestly budgeted film from
1987, there are some limitations in the film’s cinematography that haven’t
been overcome in the transfer to video. Much of the film displays a rather
noticeable grain structure, especially the darker scenes, which can be
excessively grainy. Additionally, there are occasional nicks and minor
speckles on the source element. Colors have a fairly natural level of
saturation, although there are sequences that are on muted side, which
does serve to enhance the film's wintry atmosphere. Blacks are accurately
rendered, whites appear clean and contrast is generally good. Digital
compression artifacts rarely make their presence known during the
presentation.
DEAD
OF WINTER comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack that
decodes to standard surround. The sound mix isn’t particularly
directional; in fact, it was almost totally bereft of directional effects.
Surround usage is pretty much limited to atmospheric effects and musical
fill. Dialogue is crisp and always completely understandable. French and
Spanish language tracks are also encoded onto the DVD, as are English,
French and Spanish subtitles. The basic interactive menus provide access
to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a
theatrical trailer.
DEAD
OF WINTER is a really entertaining little thriller that deserves to be
seen for its suspenseful twists and turns, as well as Mary Steenburgen’s
terrific performance. Considering that the wide screen presentation isn’t
enhanced for 16:9 playback, MGM’s DVD rates as rather lackluster.
Personally, I think DEAD OF WINTER deserves better treatment- a new
16:9 enhanced transfer and a Mary Steenburgen audio commentary would
certainly be more than welcome.
DEAD
OF WINTER ($15) is a somewhat underrated old style thriller in the
vein of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Actually, this Arthur Penn directed
thriller quotes Hitchcock quite liberally and fans of the Master of
Suspense will find those particular moments to be good fun.
Additionally, director Penn makes great use of the film’s claustrophobic
setting to reinforce the central character’s isolation and inability to
escape her plight. DEAD OF WINTER also showcases the talents of
actress Mary Steenburgen, who handles every twist and turn of the
convoluted plot with aplomb.
In
DEAD OF WINTER, Steenburgen portrays struggling New York actress
Katie McGovern, who travels upstate in the midst of a snowstorm to screen
test for a small independent film. Katie is informed by the film’s
producer Dr. Lewis (Jan Rubes) and his associate Mr. Murray (Roddy
McDowall) that she has been given this opportunity because she is a dead
ringer for another actress, who walked off the film in mid-production.
However, Katie soon discovers that the offer of a movie role was just a
pretense to get her up to an isolated house in the country, and that she
has become a pawn in a very deadly game of cat and mouse. The cast of DEAD
OF WINTER also includes William Russ, Ken Pogue, Wayne Robson and Mark
Malone.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made DEAD OF WINTER in a 1.85:1 wide screen
presentation that has NOT been enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays and
a full screen version other side of the disc. In this day and age, I find
it inconceivable that a major studio would release any wide screen film on
DVD without the benefit of the 16:9 enhancement, but that is just what MGM
has done. On an ordinary 4:3 television, DEAD OF WINTER looks quite
respectable, but when one is forced to digitally "blow up" the
image to accommodate a 16:9 display, there are a number of problems. In
particular, the picture becomes somewhat soft, plus existing flaws in the
film elements become exaggerated and some digital artifacts are
introduced. Still, the wide screen version of the movie remains entirely
watchable in this mode, although it could have looked much better had it
been given an enhanced transfer.
Owing
to the fact that DEAD OF WINTER was a modestly budgeted film from
1987, there are some limitations in the film’s cinematography that haven’t
been overcome in the transfer to video. Much of the film displays a rather
noticeable grain structure, especially the darker scenes, which can be
excessively grainy. Additionally, there are occasional nicks and minor
speckles on the source element. Colors have a fairly natural level of
saturation, although there are sequences that are on muted side, which
does serve to enhance the film's wintry atmosphere. Blacks are accurately
rendered, whites appear clean and contrast is generally good. Digital
compression artifacts rarely make their presence known during the
presentation.
DEAD
OF WINTER comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack that
decodes to standard surround. The sound mix isn’t particularly
directional; in fact, it was almost totally bereft of directional effects.
Surround usage is pretty much limited to atmospheric effects and musical
fill. Dialogue is crisp and always completely understandable. French and
Spanish language tracks are also encoded onto the DVD, as are English,
French and Spanish subtitles. The basic interactive menus provide access
to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a
theatrical trailer.
DEAD
OF WINTER is a really entertaining little thriller that deserves to be
seen for its suspenseful twists and turns, as well as Mary Steenburgen’s
terrific performance. Considering that the wide screen presentation isn’t
enhanced for 16:9 playback, MGM’s DVD rates as rather lackluster.
Personally, I think DEAD OF WINTER deserves better treatment- a new
16:9 enhanced transfer and a Mary Steenburgen audio commentary would
certainly be more than welcome.