My review of The Rock, Face/Off, Con Air and Air Force One

[lgans316]

1. Air Force One [J]

PQ - 4/5 - Smooth image. Could have been a tad sharper but that might have led to some EE.

SQ - 10/5 - Reference [The LPCM track on Air Force One is close to Patriot and other reference titles]

2. The Rock [U.K]

Note: There seems to be some quick edits on the U.K version which I am unable to confirm at this moment.

PQ - 4.5/5 - Typical Micheal Bay PQ except for few hazy shots of Alcatraz.

SQ - 4.5/5 - This is light years better than the Criterion collection. However the sound effects are spoiled by the parallel music track.

3. Con Air [J]

PQ - 4.75 / 5 - Razor Sharp image. Slight EE visible in few chapters. Background detailing won't be there coz the camera always focuses on the foreground.

4. Face/Off [J]

Note : The E.U / J editions are UNCUT.

PQ : 4/5. Slight EE and ringing in few scenes. Picture may look soft in certain scenes but will blow you away in many scenes coz of extremely good color usage.

AQ : 10/5 [Reference]

HD DVD review of Face/Off can be found here : http://www.highdefdiscnews.com/?p=283

[DR-SA10]

The edits on The Rock i pointed out some time ago. It was cut when it was in the cinemas & on vhs & dvd. I imported the Criterion edition from the US on dvd & i'll stick with that unless they release an uncut version in the UK.

[JBlacklow]

Originally Posted by DR-SA10

The edits on The Rock i pointed out some time ago. It was cut when it was in the cinemas & on vhs & dvd. I imported the Criterion edition from the US on dvd & i'll stick with that unless they release an uncut version in the UK.

Are you sure about this? I just checked IMDB and this is what they had to say:

# The UK cinema version was rated 15 and was uncut.

# In 2002 the BBFC waived all previous cuts required for a "15" rating in the UK.

# The UK video and initial DVD pressing had around 15 seconds cut for a '15' certificate. These cuts included the sequence in the morgue where Connery throws a knife into one Marine's neck, along with his blackly comic "You must never hestiate" line and the susbsequent shot of the Marine choking. The shooting of the other Marine in the morgue was also cut to reduce the multiple angles of his foot being blown apart down to just the one impact. Also the zoom-in on his face as the ceiling machinery falls on him was removed; the shot of the machinery falling was slowed down to cover the missing footage. Connery's neck-breaking of the Marine threatning Cage was reduced in impact by removing the sound of the bones cracking. Finally, in the gun battle towards the end of the film, the throat-shooting has been cut short of a few frames to remove the blood cloud, and all the bloody bullet hits to David Morse and Ed Harris have been poorly cut out, resulting in some unusual jumps in the footage.

I could have sworn the "You must never hesitate" line and the Marine in the morgue scene were both in the UK BD version, which I presume would mean that it's uncut. I'll have to check my copy.

[JBlacklow]

Okay, did a quick check of the first two scenes mentioned in the IMDB "UK Cut" description, and it looks like the UK Blu-ray is indeed uncut.

the sequence in the morgue where Connery throws a knife into one Marine's neck, along with his blackly comic "You must never hestiate" line and the susbsequent shot of the Marine choking

Not cut. On the UK BD, you can see this at 1:24:23.

The shooting of the other Marine in the morgue was also cut to reduce the multiple angles of his foot being blown apart down to just the one impact. Also the zoom-in on his face as the ceiling machinery falls on him was removed; the shot of the machinery falling was slowed down to cover the missing footage.

Not cut. This is starting at 1:25:13.

Haven't checked the other scenes, but I think it's safe to say (barring further cuts not mentioned at IMDB) that the UK BD is uncut.

[lgans316]

Thanks for the confirmation.

[xcntuatd77]

so conair u reviewed was the UK import, correct?

was it also unrated extended cut?


Im not waiting t3-4 months for it when i can pay $10 extra now and just get it with identical picture quality as the future region 1 copy.

thanks

[lgans316]

I have the Japanese edition of Con Air and it's the extended cut. PQ is stunning and rivals even recent releases except for slight EE.

[xcntuatd77]

is it region free? where can i buy it to play for the USA? does it have english as subtities, languagae etc? can you post the technical language, audi and video specs.?


thanks

[kjacobs03]

That link says that the HDDVD of Face/Off is in AVC 1080p. When did HDDVD turn to AVC?

[lgans316]

I will post the top menu pics of both Con Air and Air Force tomorrow. All catalog releases don't have REGION CODING. I think the U.S version may have 24-bit LPCM audio track but I am not sure if it will have any major impact in the overall sound.

[lgans316]

Air Force One - J - BD Menu Pics attached

[lgans316]

Con Air - J - BD Menu Pics attached