Equalizer 2000 (1987) - Code Red - June 30, 2015

[rdodolak]

Spine # 44

Available exclusively at Screen Archives Entertainment (SAE)

EQUALIZER 2000 (1987) (Limited Edition)

Following a nuclear holocaust, Alaska is turned into a desert ruled by a cruel tyrant. This sci-fi post-nuke actioner chronicles the attempts of rebels to usurp the tyrant and free up water and other resources for others. Essentially, this is another wild knockoff of the “Mad Max” films. One man named Slade (Martial Arts great Richard Norton; Force Five, Gymkata) leads the revolution to battle the army of villains using a special gun called the EQUALIZER! Penthouse hottie Corinne Alphen (Spring Break), William Steis (Demon Of Paradise), Fred Bailey (GAS-S-S-S) and Robert Patrick (T2) star. Directed by Post-Nuke director Cirio H. Santiago(DESTROYER, DUNE WARRIORS, WHEELS OF FIRE).

Special Features:

• Original director's cut from original 35mm negatives
• On camera interview with Fred Bailey
• Theatrical trailer

Equalizer 2000 (1987) - Widescreen Trailer - YouTube

[rdodolak]

[rdodolak]

                                                                                                                Total   Video                                             
Title                                                           Codec   Length  Movie Size      Disc Size       Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track                          Secondary Audio Track
-----                                                           ------  ------- --------------  --------------  ------- ------- ------------------                        ---------------------
00003.MPLS                                                      AVC     1:27:48 18,420,940,800  23,280,289,101  27.97   24.51   DTS-HD Master 2.0 1986Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)

DISC INFO:

Disc Title:     Equalizer 2000
Disc Size:      23,280,289,101 bytes
Protection:     AACS
BD-Java:        Yes
BDInfo:         0.5.8

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   00003.MPLS
Length:                 1:27:48.304 (h:m:s.ms)
Size:                   18,420,940,800 bytes
Total Bitrate:          27.97 Mbps

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description     
-----                   -------             -----------     
MPEG-4 AVC Video        24512 kbps          1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
DTS-HD Master Audio             English         1986 kbps       2.0 / 48 kHz / 1986 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

FILES:

Name            Time In         Length          Size            Total Bitrate   
----            -------         ------          ----            -------------   
00003.M2TS      0:00:00.000     1:27:48.304     18,420,940,800  27,972          

CHAPTERS:

Number          Time In         Length          Avg Video Rate  Max 1-Sec Rate  Max 1-Sec Time  Max 5-Sec Rate  Max 5-Sec Time  Max 10Sec Rate  Max 10Sec Time  Avg Frame Size  Max Frame Size  Max Frame Time  
------          -------         ------          --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  
1               0:00:00.000     1:27:48.304     24,512 kbps     53,301 kbps     00:31:18.585    37,088 kbps     00:10:39.847    34,917 kbps     00:51:54.528    127,798 bytes   578,162 bytes   01:04:21.065    

STREAM DIAGNOSTICS:

File            PID             Type            Codec           Language                Seconds                 Bitrate                 Bytes           Packets         
----            ---             ----            -----           --------                --------------          --------------          -------------   -----           
00003.M2TS      4113 (0x1011)   0x1B            AVC                                     5268.221                24,513                  16,142,360,799  87,804,151      
00003.M2TS      4352 (0x1100)   0x86            DTS-HD MA       eng (English)           5268.221                1,986                   1,307,761,404   7,904,113

[slimdude]

I bought this last year.

[rdodolak]

Added screenshots.

[The Great Owl]

A century after the world was devastated by a nuclear winter, Alaska has become a desert wasteland controlled by “The Ownership”, a government faction that hoards the remaining supplies of oil, despite the efforts of rebel armies who want the resources to be divided fairly. When he is betrayed by a fellow Ownership commander in a battle that leaves his father dead, Slade, a military leader played by Richard Norton (Forced Vengeance, Gymkata), teams up with a rogue female warrior, played by Corinne Wahl (Spring Break), after rescuing her from a marauder played by Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The X-Files). Now a fugitive enemy of The Ownership, Slade joins the rebel cause to turn the tables on the tyrannical government, and leaves a trail of corpses in his wake with the help of the “Equalizer 2000”, a superweapon rifle that fires automatic bullets, shotgun shells, and explosive rockets.

The 1987 sci-fi action film, Equalizer 2000, was one of many collaborations between the legendary B movie producer, Roger Corman, and the Filipino director, Cirio H. Santiago, who also helmed drive-in fare like Stryker, The Sisterhood, and Dune Warriors. Like its post-apocalyptic predecessor, Wheels of Fire, this one was filmed in the Philippines and joins the ranks of countless other wondrously destructive Mad Max ripoffs of the 1980s, namely 2019, After the Fall of New York and The Exterminators of the Year 3000, that populated theaters and VHS rental stores.

The plot of Equalizer 2000 is flimsy, at best, and it serves no purpose other than to take us from one action-packed desert shootout to another. This movie delivers decently well for what it is, even though the battles have a distinctly laughable edit style to them, in the vein of 1980s television shows like The A-Team, where people fire their machine guns at others from only a few feet away and still somehow manage to miss.

When the Ownership leaders find out about the Equalizer 2000 rifle, they go to extraordinary lengths to acquire it, despite the fact that they probably could have built guns just like it on their own. Slade continues to fight heroically and save the day, even when the super rifle is taken from him by other soldiers, and he even manages to take down a couple of villains who are trying to use the rifle against him. I suppose that the moral of this story is that it is not the size of your gun that counts, but how well you use it.

Be on the lookout for Filipino drive-in legend, Vic Diaz, who also graced B movies like Wonder Women and Silk.

Once again, Code Red delivers the goods with a filmic Blu-ray presentation, a Katarina Leigh Waters supplement, and a Frederick Bailey interview.

[Ruined]

SHOUT FACTORY VERSION

SUMMARY: FAR better resolved grain and fine detail, with less compression artifacts than the Code Red Blu-ray. Contrast also appears improved. Bitrate generally 30-35mbps, DTS-MA 2.0-encoded English Mono audio. Extras are the same. Optional English subs included. Full runtime 1:27:57.

Worth the upgrade! Inside art attached