This Oscar-nominated adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Tony Award-winning play erupts on the screen with the same power and passion as the stage original. Richard Burton gives "one of his best performances ever" (Boxoffice) in this "elegant and provocative" (Newsweek) take of myth and madness.
What would drive Alan Stang (Peter Firth), a troubled adolescent stable boy, to blind six horses with a metal spike? Psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Burton) investigates these unspeakable acts and delves deep into Alan's psyche, confronting the mysteries of sexual passion and madness-as well as the dark demons buried within his own soul.
According to TT on Facebook: This will also include the PBS documentary Richard Burton: In from the Cold (1988) in HD. The documentary runs 128 minutes.
Remember folks, full-frontal Jenny Agutter nudity (just to get your attention!!!), on top of a powerful, disturbing film. This is excellent 70's cinema.
Looking forward to pre-ordering this tomorrow. I've never seen it, but always heard about it. For some reason, I've never watched it on any home video format. Critics' reviews of the film were a decidedly mixed bag.
This film marked the end of Lumet's 5 year run of great films in the mid '70s:
Serpico, Murder on the Orient Express, Dog Day Afternoon, Network and Equus.
This brings me to a piece of trivia about Lumet...maybe this is only interesting to me, but....All 5 of the above earned various Oscar nominations. What do they all have in common? All 5 were nominated for both Best Screenplay and Best Actor.
So, for 5 CONSECUTIVE YEARS ('73, '74, '75, 76, '77), Lumet directed a film that was nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Actor. How many directors can say they directed films for 5 CONSECUTIVE YEARS that were nominated for Best Screenplay? Woody Allen in the '80s, maybe? Not even Billy Wilder, I don't think. And to have have directed a leading actor to a Best Actor nom for 5 straight years.... what other director can say that?
I'm not an expert on the Oscars, but I'd be surprised if any other director can match that streak. And say what you will about the merits of Oscar noms...I know they are endlessly debated on a yearly basis.
I'm not saying Lumet is the greatest film director who ever lived.....I'm just saying that's a pretty impressive 5 year stretch for any director. Lumet never came close to matching that streak, before or after the 1970s.
Looking forward to pre-ordering this tomorrow. I've never seen it, but always heard about it. For some reason, I've never watched it on any home video format. Critics' reviews of the film were a decidedly mixed bag.
This film blew me away when I saw it in the theater in 1978, and put Sidney Lumet on the short list of my favorite directors. (Even a misstep like The Wiz later that year couldn't take him off that list...) This was one of the most masterful film translations of a highly stylized theatrical work that I have ever seen.
Curious about the aspect ratio for this one. The DVD is 1.66:1, but the Blu-ray is listed as 1.85:1. This is a UK/US co-production, so I suppose it's possible that it had a different aspect ratio in different markets. (IMDb gives it as 1.66, FWIW.) But seeing as 1.85 is the standard flat widescreen ratio in the US, that's most likely what I saw in the theater (but no guarantee). Not really worried about this, but just curious...
Curious about the aspect ratio for this one. The DVD is 1.66:1, but the Blu-ray is listed as 1.85:1. This is a UK/US co-production, so I suppose it's possible that it had a different aspect ratio in different markets. (IMDb gives it as 1.66, FWIW.) But seeing as 1.85 is the standard flat widescreen ratio in the US, that's most likely what I saw in the theater (but no guarantee). Not really worried about this, but just curious...
I have the same keen curiosity about the framing. When I first saw SAE's specs yesterday, I thought perhaps it was a misprint and they swapped aspect ratios with the Richard Burton documentary (this was originally on PBS and I doubt that it was matted for 1.66:1). Although I pre-ordered the disc, I still plan to contact SAE and inquire about the transfer. I own the MGM Region 1 disc and although all their DVD back covers list "Theatrical Release Format" under the AR, they've occasionally been wrong. I'm a film scholar who does a lot of archival research so I may dig into the old trades and original critical reviews. I adore Equus and consider it one of Lumet's most underrated pictures.
I contacted SAE concerning OAR and am waiting to hear back. I saw this from an old review of the Region 2 MGM DVD of Equus, courtesy of Mike Sutton at The Digital Fix (formerly DVD Times):
"The film is presented in a non-anamorphic transfer which is framed at 1.66:1. This looks fine and comparisons to a full frame VHS version suggest that the film was made in fullscreen and then matted to 1.85:1 for cinema release."
Contacted TT too but heard from SAE first (below). My hunch is that the film was projected at 1.85:1 in theaters back in '77. (The Image Entertainment LaserDisc was 1.66:1 so that's likely the source MGM used for all their DVD releases).
"The only answer I have is that the master is provided by the studio themselves – it was not a Twilight Time decision in regards to this but the studio itself."
Documentary: In from the Cold: The World of Richard Burton
Hmm, Twilight Time had said this was HD, and the documentary was certainly shot on film, but the source here looks like upscaled SD video. This feature is presented in 1.66:1, which appears cropped from a probable OAR of 1.33:1.
Also, note that there are no subtitles or chapter breaks for this feature-length film.
A shame, then, considering so much space was sacrificed on the disc. Still, it is great to have this feature either way, and it adds tremendous value to this release.
Code:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
00037.MPLS AVC 2:06:00 21,069,207,552 46,854,931,766 22.29 19.00 DTS-HD Master 2.0 2068Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
Code:
DISC INFO:
Disc Title: EQUUS
Disc Size: 46,854,931,766 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: Yes
BDInfo: 0.5.8
PLAYLIST REPORT:
Name: 00037.MPLS
Length: 2:06:00.594 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 21,069,207,552 bytes
Total Bitrate: 22.29 Mbps
VIDEO:
Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-4 AVC Video 18997 kbps 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
AUDIO:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2068 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2068 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit / DN -7dB)
FILES:
Name Time In Length Size Total Bitrate
---- ------- ------ ---- -------------
00045.M2TS 0:00:00.000 2:06:00.594 21,069,207,552 22,294
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 2:06:00.594 18,997 kbps 36,595 kbps 01:05:21.459 34,772 kbps 01:05:17.538 31,964 kbps 01:01:09.374 99,042 bytes 362,057 bytes 00:47:38.188
STREAM DIAGNOSTICS:
File PID Type Codec Language Seconds Bitrate Bytes Packets
---- --- ---- ----- -------- -------------- -------------- ------------- -----
00045.M2TS 4113 (0x1011) 0x1B AVC 7560.428 18,998 17,953,665,323 97,680,154
00045.M2TS 4352 (0x1100) 0x86 DTS-HD MA eng (English) 7560.428 2,068 1,954,350,160 11,801,985
Just got my copy in the mail yesterday. The picture looks great, and is a significant improvement over the non-anamorphic MGM DVD release. Very nice detail, color, and dynamic range in the image.
It's framed at 1.85:1, showing just a little more on the sides, and a little less on the top and bottom, compared to the 1.66:1 DVD.
This is my first TT title. I was please to see that in included a very nice little 8-page booklet. Is that typical for TT releases?
Just got my copy in the mail yesterday. The picture looks great, and is a significant improvement over the non-anamorphic MGM DVD release. Very nice detail, color, and dynamic range in the image.
It's framed at 1.85:1, showing just a little more on the sides, and a little less on the top and bottom, compared to the 1.66:1 DVD.
This is my first TT title. I was please to see that in included a very nice little 8-page booklet. Is that typical for TT releases?
Just got pinged that mine is out to ship. I'm really excited, this is a blind-buy for me but I love the script of the original play so it'll be interesting to see it in action!
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Equus (1977) - March 10, 2014 - Limited to 3,000 copies
Linear Mode
