The Dead Zone 07/01/15

[Davidian]

Finally, after years of waiting for this classic. JB has it slated for 07/01/15:

[phelings]

Damn . Only bought this on Italian Bluray a few weeks back.
I wonder if it will be the same transfer

[PLG1962]

Any special features

[Mobe1969]

Oh wow nice!!!

[Boschy]

Will it be 1080i or 1080p? And it should be the uncensored version as per DVD (Infograms).

[Davidian]

I do remember one scene with a disgraced cop and a very sharp pair of scissors and always wondered if that scene was censored...

[LordCrumb]

Originally Posted by Boschy

Will it be 1080i or 1080p? And it should be the uncensored version as per DVD (Infograms).

It looks like 'Via Vision Entertainment' is a division of Madman. They got back to me pretty quick about the Castle of Cagliostro.. maybe shoot them an email and see if you can get some early specs?

[Boschy]

I bought it today for $20 with JB's discount and watched it tonight.

The 1080p AVC picture quality is very good. The main problem is edge enhancement. Black levels are inky, too. But otherwise this release has a detailed and colourful transfer. I didn't notice any glitches.

The Dolby HD 5.1 soundtrack is also good...mostly at the front, with music and ambient sounds filling the room and the occasional directional pan to the rears. There is only one soundtrack...English. No subtitles.

The trailer seems to be a new edit, and is preceded by a Lionsgate logo.

I'm happy with this release, which is also the uncensored version, and probably using the Italian video transfer but HD audio. I dare say only a Criterion edition would improve on the transfer...and extras. Running time is 103:43.

[Dickieduvet]

Thanks for the update, can you confirm if it looks like the caps below

http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergl...D=2047#auswahl

The only scene that looks really rough on the Italian is the first vision scene in cap #2.

The whole transfer features some pretty obvious machine noise too, hope it's absent on your release.

Cheers

[Boschy]

Originally Posted by Dickieduvet

Thanks for the update, can you confirm if it looks like the caps below

http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergl...D=2047#auswahl

The only scene that looks really rough on the Italian is the first vision scene in cap #2.

The whole transfer features some pretty obvious machine noise too, hope it's absent on your release.Cheers

I advanced to that scene and stepped through a number of frames. The grain/mosquito noise is basically the same as on the Italian screenshots. However, this is a night scene with poor lighting, and I would not expect it to look great anyway. From a normal viewing distance at 24 fps, the grain/noise is not distracting and brighter scenes fare much better. If anything, the edge enhancement has just made it more obvious.

I'll add that a quick scan on my Oppo 83 showed that the bitrate reached 40.6mbps in one exterior scene at around 17:00. The graph on the Italian release seems to peak at around 30kbps, with the 58mbps maximum happening at the end of the file.

If you want the best that THE DEAD ZONE will look, wait to see what Criterion does with it. For me this release, with its edge enhancement and limited shadow detail, is good enough...it's certainly on par with SCANNERS and THE BROOD.

[Dickieduvet]

Thanks for all the info Boschy, much appreciated

[Davidian]

BDinfo:

                                                                                                                Total   Video                                             
Title                                                           Codec   Length  Movie Size      Disc Size       Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track                          Secondary Audio Track
-----                                                           ------  ------- --------------  --------------  ------- ------- ------------------                        ---------------------
01002.MPLS                                                      AVC     1:43:43 23,407,355,904  23,768,224,307  30.09   23.99   Dolby TrueHD 5.1 3109Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)

DISC INFO:

Disc Title:     The Dead Zone
Disc Size:      23,768,224,307 bytes
Protection:     AACS
BD-Java:        Yes
BDInfo:         0.5.8

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   01002.MPLS
Length:                 1:43:43.133 (h:m:s.ms)
Size:                   23,407,355,904 bytes
Total Bitrate:          30.09 Mbps

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description     
-----                   -------             -----------     
MPEG-4 AVC Video        23993 kbps          1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
Dolby TrueHD Audio              English         3109 kbps       5.1 / 48 kHz / 3109 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)

FILES:

Name            Time In         Length          Size            Total Bitrate   
----            -------         ------          ----            -------------   
00003.M2TS      0:00:00.000     1:43:43.133     23,407,355,904  30,091          

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     0:03:06.603     10,985 kbps     25,823 kbps     00:00:07.674    21,576 kbps     00:00:03.753    19,982 kbps     00:00:01.084    57,258 bytes    339,415 bytes   00:00:11.803    
2               0:03:06.603     0:06:58.209     22,119 kbps     38,047 kbps     00:04:27.558    36,883 kbps     00:04:35.775    35,682 kbps     00:04:33.147    115,320 bytes   332,045 bytes   00:04:22.136    
3               0:10:04.812     0:10:14.196     25,674 kbps     38,191 kbps     00:17:01.687    37,071 kbps     00:16:57.891    36,900 kbps     00:16:49.425    133,850 bytes   324,486 bytes   00:17:09.611    
4               0:20:19.009     0:08:57.870     25,184 kbps     37,725 kbps     00:22:58.251    36,869 kbps     00:22:26.803    36,680 kbps     00:22:25.469    131,299 bytes   353,630 bytes   00:22:25.510    
5               0:29:16.880     0:11:39.240     23,614 kbps     37,294 kbps     00:30:52.851    36,983 kbps     00:30:48.763    36,846 kbps     00:30:48.680    123,112 bytes   409,624 bytes   00:30:46.344    
6               0:40:56.120     0:09:53.301     21,776 kbps     36,806 kbps     00:47:59.668    35,242 kbps     00:49:04.816    34,318 kbps     00:49:04.816    113,528 bytes   381,314 bytes   00:43:52.129    
7               0:50:49.421     0:10:07.648     22,304 kbps     34,926 kbps     00:55:54.184    33,120 kbps     00:55:54.267    30,628 kbps     00:55:54.184    116,284 bytes   304,682 bytes   00:57:12.011    
8               1:00:57.070     0:06:21.255     28,928 kbps     37,918 kbps     01:04:48.134    36,697 kbps     01:03:20.630    34,439 kbps     01:05:20.291    150,816 bytes   341,068 bytes   01:06:38.369    
9               1:07:18.325     0:06:11.662     21,952 kbps     30,500 kbps     01:07:36.802    29,076 kbps     01:07:39.138    28,298 kbps     01:07:35.301    114,448 bytes   294,284 bytes   01:09:43.387    
10              1:13:29.988     0:06:45.530     28,115 kbps     39,360 kbps     01:15:19.681    37,198 kbps     01:15:15.677    36,926 kbps     01:15:10.672    146,581 bytes   390,266 bytes   01:17:33.982    
11              1:20:15.519     0:10:55.529     28,750 kbps     38,418 kbps     01:24:11.671    37,062 kbps     01:23:52.777    36,888 kbps     01:23:47.772    149,889 bytes   395,819 bytes   01:23:10.110    
12              1:31:11.048     0:09:18.724     27,155 kbps     39,565 kbps     01:36:59.271    37,247 kbps     01:36:55.309    36,195 kbps     01:36:50.304    141,573 bytes   362,039 bytes   01:32:03.935    
13              1:40:29.773     0:03:13.359     5,699 kbps      27,262 kbps     01:43:37.336    25,825 kbps     01:43:33.832    24,658 kbps     01:43:31.079    29,720 bytes    232,594 bytes   01:43:36.585    

STREAM DIAGNOSTICS:

File            PID             Type            Codec           Language                Seconds                 Bitrate                 Bytes           Packets         
----            ---             ----            -----           --------                --------------          --------------          -------------   -----           
00003.M2TS      4113 (0x1011)   0x1B            AVC                                     6222.967                23,993                  18,663,649,037  101,519,703     
00003.M2TS      4352 (0x1100)   0x83            TrueHD          eng (English)           6222.967                3,749                   2,916,128,196   20,117,058

[UpsetSmiley]

The newer "special edition" is is available via eBay for shy of £15. Not bad, think I might bite.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dead-Zone-...0AAOSwYIxYAt8c

[Shemp]

Bought this last week and it's only worth it for the special features. The excessive DNR is a constant distraction.

[DVDsBlow]

Originally Posted by Shemp

Bought this last week and it's only worth it for the special features. The excessive DNR is a constant distraction.

I don't see DNR being a problem on the Australia "Special Edition". However, I do see poor compression and a brighter picture on the Italian release.

https://www.caps-a-holic.com/c.php?g...=93655&i=7&l=0

[Dickieduvet]

I've owned both the Italian and Australian discs, DNR and machine noise on both, throw in some extra sharpening on top.

Needs a new scan ASAP

[yellowcakeuf6]

No doubt this (AUS) looks and sounds better than the Special Edition DVD with the aliasing and edge enhancement coming off worse in standard definition. I'd settle for a 2K scan with the updated technology and say goodbye to the DVD master. It looks like there is a special feature missing from on the AUS that was on the DVD SE, is that correct?

[Trigger89]

I watched 'The Dead Zone' for the first time last weekend and I really enjoyed it. I'm not a fan of Cronenberg, but he strikes gold here with King's novel. Excellent performances from Walken and Sheen. Good to see Herbert Lom in this as well. I always remember him for playing the deranged chief inspector in the Pink Panther films, but it was nice to see him play a different and likeable character.

Onto the Blu-ray, can someone recommend what edition to go for? I really want to add this masterpiece to my collection.

[TheOneWithThePrize]

Watched this the other night, ended up ordering the soundtrack right after.

[GasmaskAvenger]

Ordered the special edition through DeepDiscount with help from their one day only free shipping code.

About $18 shipped. Great deal on this underrated Cronenberg/Walken/King film.