DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "The Mission" (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) (with screenshots) (2 Viewers)

[Randy A Salas]

the colours are muted, with a haze over the print.
disappointed with the flat look.
yes, there is too much red as well.

what, no other comments since release date?

sound is also flattish, definitely front heavy and levels are low.

listening to the CD on end has probably skewed my anticipation greatly.

As I noted in another thread, director Roland Joffe and the movie's cinematographer were intimately involved in the transfer of The Mission on DVD. He said:

"Warner has worked very, very hard to get this right. I was really impressed and pleased with what they did. They took this so seriously. [Cinematographer] Chris [Menges] and I went over all the camera corrections, and they basically restored the prints and did wonderful stuff with the sound. I think they really deserve a pat on the back."

So, the director's happy with how the DVD looks and sounds. He played a role in it--more than most directors do when it comes to DVD, even bringing back the cinematographer to weigh in on it. I trust that the film looks and sounds the way they want it to.

As far as the music, it's possible that you've become so used to listening to the music on its own on the CD (which does sound fantastic) that it sounds diminished when listening to it in its film mix. But I know this movie pretty well, and I have to say that the music within the film sounds fantastic. The DD 5.1, for which it was remixed, gives it a nice bloom. But it still features the film mix of the score, which is not as prominent as the music-only CD.

I did ask Joffe why the DVD did not feature an isolated score with a 5.1 mix. He said he wanted to do that but that the rights could not be cleared for it.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Just for the record the CD mix does present the music in a much more involving way than the manner in which it's mixed on the laserdisc. I remember watching the laserdisc after having heard the CD for about a year and "the falls" piece almost sounded like there was a blanket over the music in the film.

Still planning to compare the DVD and LD...but rest assured that the CD sounded "better" than the laserdisc as well.

 

[Yumbo]

I better keep watching...I did notice some scenes look better than others.

I did watch it theatrically.

just came back from MReloaded...overloaded? that was disappointing, and makes Equilibrium look even better.
more warning signs at door about searching bags for camcorders.

crap...had a dinner for my staff and they had too much.

The Mission should set me straight - redemption!

 

[Joel Vardy]

I bought this title on the combined knowledge that I had seen this is was very 'moved', Robert DeNiro's involvement and your recommendation. I haven't had a chance to give it a spin of yet. I certainly look forward to it.

Joel

 

[Yumbo]

well,

had to finish it this morning.
I'll have to deduce that the original elements weren't great to start with.

dark scenes are brown or blue, not BLACK.
like watching an archival print from the '60s.

other Warner efforts have been MUCH better.

soft images...disappointed. they could at least have done some colour correction or something.

I would not have approved it personally, but as has become a review cliche - "this is the best this movie has looked on video" - I suppose.

as for sound, certainly not any improvement in 5.1.

rent the DVD, buy the CD!

 

[Cees Alons]

Chris,

What do you think you're doing here? Posting a (sort of) review inside a review thread?? Please stop this nonsense!

Cees

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Yeah, Cees, it is nonsense!

Joffe approved the transfer. End of story.

Chris, is your television monitor fully calibrated?

No offense, of course.


Gordy

 

[Paul X.]

QUOTE*
America, over slavery around the period
of 1750. Despite the fact that film can be often
painful to watch, it is a deeply arresting visual
experience.*


Why is it difficult to watch?

 

[Edwin-S]

Making a one or two line statement that a person thought the picture was soft or that some EE was apparent, which the original reviewer may have missed is one thing. However, the comments about the PQ posted earlier are so diametrically opposed to Ron Epstein's assessment of the film, it ends up causing Mr. Epstein to appear as if he didn't know what he was looking at.

A mini-review that is diametrically opposite to another reviewer's assessment should be in a seperate thread, not embedded in the opposing reviewer's thread.

I do not believe that the admins are trying to protect Mr. Epstein's virtue or prevent disagreement with his opinions. They just don't want another reviewer hi-jacking someone else's review thread......especially the owners.

 

[Randy A Salas]

I think it would really be best--for Ron's sanity (and any future reviewer's) and for the forum membership--if reviews were posted in locked threads. Make them a sub-forum of the software forum, or put them in a separate area altogether.

Making them interactive just invites digressions like this. If people want to comment on a DVD, they can create a separate thread in the software forum and the moderators can ensure that there is no duplication. Allowing people to comment in a review thread is unnecessary and simply detracts from the review.

Consider the typical responses in a review thread:

1) Variations of .
2) Corrections.
3) Adding information.
4) Re-reviews.
5) General discussion on the title.

1 and 2 can be done via private email to the reviewer. 3-5 would be best suited for a separate thread.

That's my take, anyway.

 

[Joel Vardy]

I finally got around to viewing this fine film with some guests today. I was pleased to see the quality of the material was presented so well for a film of this age. The music and the performances were as 'stirring' as I remembered from first viewing. It is an 'intense' movie and guests/family members should probably be warned if they are a bit sensitive to such things. I did get some comments about the 'pacing' of the movie, especially the first half. For my taste this wasn't an issue but I guess YMMV, considering the quick editing MTV style of today's fare. The included documentary is not to be missed, as indicated by Ron. Thanks, Warner .

Joel

 

[Cees Alons]

I do not believe that the admins are trying to protect Mr. Epstein's virtue or prevent disagreement with his opinions.

Exactly! Of course I wasn't "protecting" Ron Epstein at all, he doesn't need that, BTW. One can freely post all kinds of opinions on this forum, with only a few specific restrictions as layed out in our rules.

But here I was trying to protect the membership of this forum, at least the ones who are interested in a review of The Mission, from those repeated, unpunctuated shards of badly founded "interestingly" dissenting information that tend to side-track the thread. This time even starting before the poster watched the DVD!

It has happened before, so Chris Caine should consider himself seriously warned now, to stop poisoning other people's threads with smalltalk like that.

Cees

 

[oscar_merkx]

two days and counting before my copy arrives

can't wait

 

[Yumbo]

Sorry all,

I didn't realize I was inadvertantly contravening this guideline, interestingly:

"5. No thread farting. If you see a thread that talks favorably about a particular subject, don't ruin it with negative comments."

Looking forward to OTHER observations on this DVD.
Thanks Randy.

Peace

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Nice review.

This title was way overdue for being released on DVD! Great film!

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Glad to see so many people that enjoy this film. I love it, and am very glad to finally have it on DVD. My first viewing of the movie was on P&S VHS when I was about 11 or 12. My dad introduced it to me. We used to check out videos from the local library, and he had been avoiding it for a while, but he finally watched it and just loved it and thought I would, too.

Because I've only seen the film on VHS and a few times on TV, this DVD is a revelation to me. First time I'd seen it in OAR, and Chris Menges cinematography is very well represented, and Ennio Morricone's score sounds glorious.

This is a magnificent movie, and it's great that more people will now have the chance to experience it.

 

[Jeff Adams]

This was the first time I have ever watched this movie and have to say that I was deeply moved by it. What a great,great movie. And what a fabulous job they did with this transfer. The picture looks stunning for an 1986 film. Now if they can do the same job with the transfer on the film that won best picture of the year in 1986. Platoon is so deserving of a special edition.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Now if they can do the same job with the transfer on the film that won best picture of the year in 1986. Platoon is so deserving of a special edition.

PLATOON: SPECIAL EDITION!

It's been out for a long time now. Very good anamorphic transfer and 5.1 sound. The two commentaries are absolutely superb and the 50-minute making-of documentary is one of the best I've seen yet. Buy today, Jeff!


Gordy