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A Few Words About A few words about...™ F/X -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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Robert Harris

I first encountered Robert Mandel's F/X during its original release in early 1986.  I loved the film then and continue to love it today.  I just think it's one of those two hour, highly entertaining roller coaster rides of a film, that never stops moving.

F/X is a film that just works, on all levels.

Kino Lorber's new Blu-ray, courtesy of MGM looks and sounds terrific.  Color, density, black levels, shadow detail (which is important here), are all intact.  While the transfer appears to be from an IP, which seems to be the norm for MGM, it has no problems.  Occasional minus density, that could have been removed, remains, but there's nothing that looks anything other than what would see on a print.

The reality of minus density or "sparkle," is that the more a negative was run, the more we saw on the screen.  Today, when we view an immaculate presentation -- anything that has been properly digitally cleaned -- what we're actually seeing is what the first few prints would have looked like at the time of release.  While minus density was lab dependent, it was a part of printing, and just was.

Currently at $18 on Amazon, and for me, this one's a keeper.

Just have fun, and keep following the characters and story line.

Image - 4.5

Audio - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Highly Recommended

RAH

 

zoetmb

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Martin Brooks
I always loved this movie as well, but I suppose with all the emphasis on CGI today, some younger people who think they understand filmmaking may look at the film and think they're watching the equivalent of a telegraph operator.

Today, when we view an immaculate presentation -- anything that has been properly digitally cleaned -- what we're actually seeing is what the first few prints would have looked like at the time of release.

This is what the digital naysayers don't understand. If you didn't see a film in the first week in a major city that opened films in a decent theatre, chances are you saw something far worse than almost any digital presentation of today - dirt, scratches, frames missing at the changeovers and worn out mag tracks and that's all aside from bad lab prints after the initial run or dim projectors and bad sound in the theatres. I think people truly forget how bad it used to be in all but the best theaters.
 

Oblivion138

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James O'Blivion
Hear, hear. Film is a great capture medium, and under the very best circumstances, a great presentation medium. But those circumstances are, and always have been, rare. We who came of age in an analog world forgave much in the way of dirt and minor print damage. And of course, the great thing about truly effective cinema is that when you become engrossed in a film, you don't really notice such things (unless the print is really in dire condition). But I never balk when I see a bit of dirt on a BD transfer. Big-budget remasters and restorations for landmark films, of course, can afford to go through and clean every speck from every frame. And that's a wonderful thing. But a little dirt never hurt anyone. And for a film like this, well, I'm just glad its gotten a strong transfer. Realistically, this isn't a film that's going to get the Ben-Hur treatment, and I'd much rather they leave it alone than do a quick autoclean job on it.


F/X is a fun little picture that I've always enjoyed, and I'm happy to hear that the BD is going to be a quality affair.
 

youworkmen

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david
Does this come with a surround track ( even PL would be nice).

The Oz Bluray was mono which was a step back as the dvd was stereo
 

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