Flatliners (1990)

[Randall Flagg]

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Flatl...lu-ray/102557/

I see it is being re-released with a different cover. Anyone know if it is a remaster or have special features?

I see the original release got a bad review on here.

[AgentOrange]

Echo Bridge = lowest of the low budget blu-ray company.

Probably not going to be an upgrade. On the off chance it is a slight improvement, there would be no way to know until somebody gets their hands on it. Even if Echo bridge claimed it was a new master compared to Sony's original release, nobody would believe them until it was verified on the disc.

[DetroitSportsFan]

It's not Echo Bride, it's Mill Creek. It will likely be the same as the previous Sony release.

[redrunner97]

Mill Creek is miles away from the shittiness of Echo Bridge. So that's fairly comforting. I expect it to just be a repressing of the Sony disc.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

It's not Echo Bride, it's Mill Creek. It will likely be the same as the previous Sony release.

Oh, the database said Echo Bridge earlier, but now it says Mill Creek.

[BleedOrange11]

Sounds like the Sony release is still the one to own.

It has been many years since I last watched this film, it is still a great ride. “Flatliners” has continued to flat line for their Blu-ray releases. In case you are not seeing a trend here. This film has also previously been released by Sony on Blu-ray dating back to 2007. It came with disappointing 1080p transfer and a flat LPCM 5.1 audio track. This release continues that trend but also only includes a Dolby Digital 2.0 track for the audio, which fares even worse than the original. Lastly, there are no special features included at all, which though matches the previous release.

http://www.mediamikes.com/2014/07/bl...22nd-releases/

[Majin Blu]

I may get the Mill Creek version since I don't own it and it's so cheap. I enjoy the film.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by reelgeek

I may get the Mill Creek version since I don't own it and it's so cheap. I enjoy the film.

The Sony release is just a few dollars more.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Flatliners-Blu-ray/438/

[atvs]

Since Mill Creek isn't in the game of just repressing, is there any chance this will be AVC? I don't own the original Sony one either, and it wouldn't take much to beat it PQ wise from the sounds of it, so a simple re-encode from the same master Sony used for their squished bd25/mpeg-2 disc could be enough of a reason to buy this one instead for people who didn't get the original.

[halloween5309]

there is a review up at dvdtalk.com
this site says it has subtitles but according to the box it does not

[atvs]

"Flatliners arrives on Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1080p high definition framed at 2.35.1 widescreen and the transfer seems to be identical to the one used by Sony on their 2007 Blu-ray release."

^http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/64931/flatliners/

Now we need screenshots comparisons. The potential for a small uptick in PQ makes me want to bite the bullet and pick up the Mill Creek one, but it's backordered on Amazon for whatever reason already. Also, the original poster art is better than the one Sony used for the 2007 release, so props for that too.

Doesn't sound like the audio is actually bad, just disappointing since the original featured a 5.1 mix.

[bookcase]

Was Flatliners originally 2.0 or 5.1? I know the original release was LPCM, but the review made it seem underwhelming at best.

[Cliff]

The new Mill Creek release is rather terrible. Compressed 2.0 Dolby instead of the original PCM 5.1 (Flatliners had a 70mm release, so this should have been on there).

Additionally, while Mill Creek gives the film a new AVC encode, the transfer itself is filthy. Riddled with dirt and debris throughout. The original release, while MPEG2, was at least clean for the most part.

The only thing the new release gets right is the cover art.

What say you now Twilight Time haters?? Still think all the labels are the same?

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Cliff

The new Mill Creek release is rather terrible. Compressed 2.0 Dolby instead of the original PCM 5.1 (Flatliners had a 70mm release, so this should have been on there).

Additionally, while Mill Creek gives the film a new AVC encode, the transfer itself is filthy. Riddled with dirt and debris throughout. The original release, while MPEG2, was at least clean for the most part.

The only thing the new release gets right is the cover art.

What say you now Twilight Time haters?? Still think all the labels are the same?

No. They just expect Twilight-like transfers for the $5 price.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by Cliff

The new Mill Creek release is rather terrible. Compressed 2.0 Dolby instead of the original PCM 5.1 (Flatliners had a 70mm release, so this should have been on there).

Additionally, while Mill Creek gives the film a new AVC encode, the transfer itself is filthy. Riddled with dirt and debris throughout. The original release, while MPEG2, was at least clean for the most part.

The only thing the new release gets right is the cover art.

What say you now Twilight Time haters?? Still think all the labels are the same?

if the transfer they have is full of dirt and debris than I would say that's the fault of whoever gave them the master, not the studio... the 2.0 IS a definite stupidity factor on their part though.

[Guydowood]

watching it now. PQ is gloomy with no real detail. Audio is horribly bad at 2.0. I have to crank up my receiver to hear them speaking. The disc has no menu and just starts playing. Mill Creek definitely flatlined on this release.....

[atvs]

Originally Posted by Cliff

The new Mill Creek release is rather terrible. Compressed 2.0 Dolby instead of the original PCM 5.1 (Flatliners had a 70mm release, so this should have been on there).

Additionally, while Mill Creek gives the film a new AVC encode, the transfer itself is filthy. Riddled with dirt and debris throughout. The original release, while MPEG2, was at least clean for the most part.

The only thing the new release gets right is the cover art.

What say you now Twilight Time haters?? Still think all the labels are the same?

So it's either had less digital manipulation done to it or it's a different transfer altogether? I'll probably wind up getting both now

The lack of lossless/5.1 audio doesn't really bother me as much as it probably should, but I'll gladly make due with a 2.0 track with English subtitles if this is the only aspect that got downgraded.

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

They just expect Twilight-like transfers for the $5 price.

It's not like Twilight Time has control over the transfers they receive. And, for the record, I found both Fright Night & The Fury to be quite underwhelming given the amount of praise they had. Christine is the only one that stands out in my memory as being remotely worth the amount of money they were asking for in terms of PQ (from the ones I own, that is). TT doesn't have a perfect track record either (Night of the Living Dead), so I think of them with a more neutral mindset then an inherently negative or positive one. Mill Creek fixed most of the issues I'd heard about by early 2013 (I picked up a few double features), so I give them the benefit of the doubt now, but they definitely did drop the ball with the audio.

Does anyone have specs for the release in general? Average bit-rate, screenshots, etc? Five bucks wasn't too much to plunk down to check it out, but I don't want to wind up picking up the Sony one as well unless it's notably better in terms of PQ.

[antennahead]

Originally Posted by Guydowood

watching it now. PQ is gloomy with no real detail. Audio is horribly bad at 2.0. I have to crank up my receiver to hear them speaking. The disc has no menu and just starts playing. Mill Creek definitely flatlined on this release.....

Thanks, I like this flick and have been on the fence on whether to pick up this new Mill Creek or the original Sony release....... looks like the Sony, at least the audio is uncompressed and 5.1.

[Visionist]

Been wanting to see this for a while. It sounds creepy and edgy.

Got the UK Sony release with the better transfer/audio AND the better boxart

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Just saw Flatliners for the very first time, on the Mill Creek Blu-ray. Amazing horror/suspense film - I'm surprised I had missed it for this long.

From a technical stand-point, I thought the print was great. Decent PQ, good colors; though the PQ was "soft", I'm sure that was intentional & it looked fine to me. That being said, note that since I've never seen the film before this viewing, I haven't compared it to the previous Blu version or the DVD.

The story about about a group of young medical students who conduct "experiments" on themselves to see if they can "kill" someone & then bring them back to life soon after was very disturbing. And, the film is incredible; extremely creepy & atmospheric, especially the dream sequences that each character has when they are "dead" and also the recurring "nightmares" that they all have after coming back to life.

The Chicago-based Autumn/Halloween setting is very appropriate as well, especially the scenes outside the college with the bonfire/people in costumes/etc.

I also like the scenes of the almost-deserted city streets at night; empty diners; gothic sculptures; neon lights; etc. There was a lot of work put into the visual "look" of the film to create a palatable sense of unease/creepiness - and it worked.

Even though the movie was released in 1990 - it definitely has a late '80's vibe re: the synthesizer music, hair-styles, etc. - which makes sense since it was almost certainly filmed in '89.

I typically don't like JR as an actress (I hated Pretty Woman), but she's great in this.