Link 4K UHD (1986)

[samlop10]

Film: B

Jane (Elizabeth Shue) is an American studying zoology in Great Britain. She is recruited as an intern by a professor to help him with the research he is conducting on chimpanzees. Most of the research takes place in the seaside mansion of the professor, and so, Jane moves into the mansion. As the days go by, Jane starts noticing that Link, the chimpanzee to which the professor seems closest to, might have a darker side to him, playing twisted psychological games with her and the other chimpanzees. Later, Jane finds herself having to outsmart him if she hopes to leave the seaside mansion alive.

Link feels very much like an 80s film. Not only in its aesthetics and themes, but also in the progression of its story. It takes its time, setting up the plot and its characters without any rush, letting the audience soak up the seaside mansion setting, as well as the chimpanzees, before Link begins doing its shenanigans. It also has an interesting tone which tries to balance some playful humor (like the one from Gremlins) with its more suspenseful and psychological thriller elements. It is successful for the most part, but the directing could have done with a bit more camera work, and smarter editing, to inject more energy into the story. Regardless, this is a very interesting, and unique, film. Instead of going for the easy horror elements, the filmmakers have instead opted for something smarter and more interesting, making Link stand head-to-head with Jane as they try to outsmart each other around the mansion. With Link murdering animals, and people, around her as she tried to save herself as well as another chimpanzee. It does not accomplish everything the film sets out to do, but it does succeed way more than not. Elizabeth Shue is a great lead playing Jane, and Terence Stamp as the professor is also quite good. Even the chimpanzees do a great job and is worth mentioning given how much screen time they get. Jerry Goldsmith's score is a standout as well, with a playful beat that might get stuck in your head for a few days. I have not checked out the longer version (which the director seems to prefer, and which it is included here), so I cannot provide any comments on it.

Picture: 4.5 / 5

Excellent presentation by LCQF. There is an inherent softness to the source in some shots but this 4K/HDR10 transfer still provides a nice upgrade over anything that even the best 1080p transfer could possible offer. Fine detail on textures, patterns, and objects is rendered with near-perfect results. Elizabeth Shue's hair, and the chimpanzees' fur, for example, have a really nice clarity that makes everything more realistic. The edges of the frame can look a little softer but that's accurate to the source given the camera lenses used to shoot it. The film grain is rendered beautifully, with enough clarity that pausing almost any given frame would allow one to inspect each individual speck of grain.

The cinematography and color grading are both very natural and realistic. And while the HDR grade leans very heavily on the filmic side, the transfer still benefits from it, especially in the darker gradations which allow the picture to achieve that more filmic grading without compromising neither the detail nor the various highlights that reside in that side of the visual spectrum. Because of the more conservative grading, bright highlights hardly every go beyond SDR levels, but there are a few (such as when Jane fires the shotgun) that do catch the eye and go into bright HDR territory. But again, despite the more filmic grading, the picture achieves a more natural and realistic result without compromising much, if any, of the detail in the darker highlights thanks to the wider available gradations of HDR. Colors can be subdued but the primaries and greens still benefit from the wider color gamut. The greenery around the mansion looks very deep and vivid even in lower lighting. The bloody reds are also very nicely saturated achieving more impact for the viewer. The ocean next to the mansion can also, at times, achieve deeper shades of blue.

Compression is excellent for the most part. There are a few mild chroma errors on some whiter objects but they are small and mild enough that are hard to notice for the most part (if you closely inspect the caps below you might find a few). But for the great majority of its elements, the compression excels. Once again, the film grain is retendered beautifully, taking full advantage of the 4K resolution to give us a stellar presentation that comes close to a first generation film print (or even the negative). There are a few shots with effects that do not quite look as pristine, but they still blend very well with the rest of the transfer.

Audio: 4 / 5
There are two English audio options: A stereo mix as well as the mono one. Both sound great overall but they do have their pros and cons. The mono mix has seemingly been mastered at a higher volume, and while it sound a little 'muffled', for lack of a better word, it still retains very good clarity and dynamic range. The stereo option has been mastered at lower volume, and while the dynamic range is also good (once one compensates in volume level), there is a bit of a hiss for most of the film, and it becomes more apparent once the aforementioned volume compensation is done. Still, the stereo mix provides better separation and more finesse to the audio. Perhaps a little more work could have been done on the stereo mix to get rid of the hiss and master it a higher volume, but both options still sound good overall with no major complaints.



Overall, a very welcome and excellent transfer by LCQF. I am being very strict, holding it against a high bar, in my assessment of this given format, and I cannot say it disappoints. The picture is near perfect with some pretty mild compression errors, and likewise for the audio, it sounds great even if neither mix is perfect. It is sold out but if you can find it I would highly recommend it.










CLICK ON SPOILER to see the rest of the caps:

[Show spoiler]

General
Unique ID                                : 287919611893949607672190682775281718847 (0xD89B4CDAB6733AA5729E0C036E53D63F)
Complete name                            : D:\temp\Movies\Link  (1986).mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 2
File size                                : 58.8 GiB
Duration                                 : 1 h 43 min
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 81.3 Mb/s
Encoded date                             : UTC 2021-12-07 20:08:20
Writing application                      : MakeMKV v1.16.5 win(x64-release)
Writing library                          : libmakemkv v1.16.5 (1.3.10/1.5.2) win(x64-release)

Video
ID                                       : 1
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Format                                   : HEVC
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Format profile                           : Main 10@L5.1@High
HDR format                               : SMPTE ST 2086, HDR10 compatible
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEGH/ISO/HEVC
Duration                                 : 1 h 43 min
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Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.376
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Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Color range                              : Limited
Color primaries                          : BT.2020
Transfer characteristics                 : PQ
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.2020 non-constant
Mastering display color primaries        : BT.2020
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Maximum Content Light Level              : 1000 cd/m2
Maximum Frame-Average Light Level        : 400 cd/m2
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
ID in the original source medium         : 4353 (0x1101)
Format                                   : DTS XLL
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                          : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 1 h 43 min
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 1 807 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
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Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Stream size                              : 1.31 GiB (2%)
Title                                    : Stereo
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
ID in the original source medium         : 4353 (0x1101)
Format                                   : DTS
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 1 h 43 min
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 1 509 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : Lt Rt
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 1.09 GiB (2%)
Title                                    : Stereo
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Audio #3
ID                                       : 4
ID in the original source medium         : 4354 (0x1102)
Format                                   : DTS XLL
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                          : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 1 h 43 min
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 1 568 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Stream size                              : 1.13 GiB (2%)
Title                                    : Stereo
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Audio #4
ID                                       : 5
ID in the original source medium         : 4354 (0x1102)
Format                                   : DTS
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 1 h 43 min
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 1 509 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 1.09 GiB (2%)
Title                                    : Stereo
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Menu
00:00:00.000                             : en:Chapter 01
00:06:02.833                             : en:Chapter 02
00:12:23.708                             : en:Chapter 03
00:18:21.875                             : en:Chapter 04
00:22:49.875                             : en:Chapter 05
00:26:14.000                             : en:Chapter 06
00:33:02.166                             : en:Chapter 07
00:37:34.625                             : en:Chapter 08
00:42:31.500                             : en:Chapter 09
00:50:29.166                             : en:Chapter 10
00:59:31.291                             : en:Chapter 11
01:08:04.916                             : en:Chapter 12
01:15:44.666                             : en:Chapter 13
01:24:28.958                             : en:Chapter 14
01:33:11.916                             : en:Chapter 15
01:39:37.708                             : en:Chapter 16

[WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW]

So far only a single copy has made it to any auction site and it seems like it was a short 1 day setting so gone before I even noticed it. Only 1 bidder but a vicious price, went for starting bid of $199 plus shipping!

[Suspiria79]

Originally Posted by WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW

So far only a single copy has made it to any auction site and it seems like it was a short 1 day setting so gone before I even noticed it. Only 1 bidder but a vicious price, went for starting bid of $199 plus shipping!

LOl that was me. I made an offer for $144.00 + $6.00 shipping and he took it!

I missed the boat when then this went live for the 1st 1000 copies.

I don't mind spending cash for rare editions, as I probably have over 200 in my collection well over $100....mostly Nova, Manta Labs, Film Arena, Cinemuseum titles, rare mediabooks, rare steelbooks etc

[OSHAN]

I hope this doesn't end up like Possession or Rad. It's a nice surprise when you find a movie you own eventually went out of print and the price has gone up, but during initial releases, you'd like to think people interested in a movie will have a 2-3 year window to pick it up without trouble.

I understand agreements on limited runs, just sucks for the consumer.

[samlop10]

Added bitrate chart to the review (in my previous post).

[RevolverOcelScott]

Originally Posted by Suspiria79

LOl that was me. I made an offer for $144.00 + $6.00 shipping and he took it!

I missed the boat when then this went live for the 1st 1000 copies.

I don't mind spending cash for rare editions, as I probably have over 200 in my collection well over $100....mostly Nova, Manta Labs, Film Arena, Cinemuseum titles, rare mediabooks, rare steelbooks etc

Tracking says it should be to you on Tuesday, hope you enjoy!

[WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW]

Originally Posted by Suspiria79

LOl that was me. I made an offer for $144.00 + $6.00 shipping and he took it!

I missed the boat when then this went live for the 1st 1000 copies.

I don't mind spending cash for rare editions, as I probably have over 200 in my collection well over $100....mostly Nova, Manta Labs, Film Arena, Cinemuseum titles, rare mediabooks, rare steelbooks etc

ah damn beat me to it!

I just missed only the second copy I've ever seen for sale too, I looked just now at 4:00PM and it sold at just after 3PM. I do really hate when they make absurdly limited editions of things though. Don't really see who it is good for.

[Rayjg]

I appreciate the comments about the forced subtitles for certain scenes. I made sure to set my player’s subtitles to appear as low as possible and didn’t notice any during playback. I set it back to the original setting and went back to a few scenes to see where they might be forced. The opening scene, not just Dietrich’s singing in Blonde Venus, seems to have them. Both parents are subtitled when they come in to comfort their daughter. I jumped to the scene where The Kink’s Apeman plays and it didn’t have forced subtitles. This is probably the definitive release for now if you can manually adjust the subtitles on your player. Hopefully Kino took note at how quickly this sold out.

[Brian81]

Can one create a dummy/empty subtitle file on a thumb drive (one that is a sub file but has no actual subs on it) and play that to the film?

[meremortal]

Interesting that this one was so scarce. Looks like a pretty nice 4k scan and a good improvement over the KL blu.

[DMRI2006]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

This is probably the definitive release for now if you can manually adjust the subtitles on your player. Hopefully Kino took note at how quickly this sold out.

They pressed a tiny run of copies. Kino isn't going to be motivated by those sales to produce a UHD of it.

[Rocklandsboy]

So - Kino HAS announced a UHD but it's basically just an uplift of their Blu-ray, with mono-only sound.

[Marv Inc.]

And no HDR or DV.

[DMRI2006]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

They pressed a tiny run of copies. Kino isn't going to be motivated by those sales to produce a UHD of it.

Well I was wrong -- but unfortunately they didn't improve upon their 1st effort, making you wonder why they bothered. No HDR, and still in mono!

[superunknown80]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

I appreciate the comments about the forced subtitles for certain scenes. I made sure to set my player’s subtitles to appear as low as possible and didn’t notice any during playback. I set it back to the original setting and went back to a few scenes to see where they might be forced. The opening scene, not just Dietrich’s singing in Blonde Venus, seems to have them. Both parents are subtitled when they come in to comfort their daughter. I jumped to the scene where The Kink’s Apeman plays and it didn’t have forced subtitles. This is probably the definitive release for now if you can manually adjust the subtitles on your player. Hopefully Kino took note at how quickly this sold out.

I've just received the Link bluray from Le Chat Qui Fume. The issue with the forced subtitles is only for the shorter theatrical cut. The extended composite cut that's 125mins is in the bonus section on the disc menu, and the subtitles can be turned off completely on that version. If you got this release you most likely got it for the extended cut, so really there is no issue. I'll just keep my UK Studiocanal bluray for the shorter theatrical cut. Maybe even get a double case and keep them both together.

[superunknown80]

Originally Posted by superunknown80

I've just received the Link bluray from Le Chat Qui Fume. The issue with the forced subtitles is only for the shorter theatrical cut. The extended composite cut that's 125mins is in the bonus section on the disc menu, and the subtitles can be turned off completely on that version. If you got this release you most likely got it for the extended cut, so really there is no issue. I'll just keep my UK Studiocanal bluray for the shorter theatrical cut. Maybe even get a double case and keep them both together.

Mine is just the bluray edition by the way. Not sure if this is the same for the 4k version.

[LtGothmog]

Where did you get it

[superunknown80]

Originally Posted by LtGothmog

Where did you get it

https://lechatquifume.myshopify.com/...k&_ss=e&_v=1.0

[superunknown80]

Just watching this now. Be aware that the inserted scenes in the 125 min version are from SD sources, and a couple of tiny inserts are in French language (literally a couple of seconds each). But im guessing that's because that part was only ever on the French release. I'm personally delighted to have this version as a curiosity