Paramount is releasing five of their Stephen King adaptations, and after checking into the availability of the titles, it’s beginning to remind me of one of those stories we see on the news every so often. The back of an armored car opens, and cash flows freely along a highway. A few people pull over to the side, and help to make certain that it doesn’t blow away.
What we have on Blu-ray, are the two editions of Pet Seminary (1989 and 2019), The Stand, a CBS multi-part TV series, Silver Bullet and The Dead Zone.
All of these titles are available somewhere, but not for about $5 each, and that’s for a pre-order, so one would expect the price to go down a bit.
You can currently purchase The Stand, which is properly 1.33 and runs 359 minutes for $10.
Pet Sematary (1989) and (2019) are available for $18.50 and $10 respectively.
The Dead Zone is Region B, and will run you $20.
Silver Bullet is only available as an import, at $28.
So it comes down to this. If you’re a Stephen King fan, and want that copy of Silver Bullet on Blu, you’re going to pay $3 more for that single title than you will for the five film set. Virtually the same for The Dead Zone.
Quality for the five films varies, but they’re generally fine, with The Dead Zone the only title that dips a bit in image quality. I gave it a 3.25.
The Stand, which had me concerned. How do you fit 359 minutes onto a single Blu-ray disc? Apparently, if you’re running partial screen, it will work. There’s nary a problem in sight.
I also did a comparison of the two Pet Sematary films vs the new 4k discs, and the result was interesting.
The 1989 was shot on fillum, the 2019 as data, and finished as a 2k DI.
The original film looks improved in 4k, but with its inherent grain structure, the added resolution isn’t earth-shaking. It is there, however.
The 2019 is a bit less of an improvement, but still adds a bit of added information.
Both of these were screened via projection from a 4k player, uprezzing the imagery, so without the player doing it’s thing, the difference will be greater.
If one doesn’t have the five films, or has been waiting for the two import titles to arrive domestically, this is a great deal.
If you’re a King collector, and already have the three in release domestically, it’s still a great deal.
And if you’ve already picked up the two 4k titles, you can give the Blu-rays to friends.
Each disc comes along with some extra features.
Image
Pet Sematary (1989) – 4.5
Pet Sematary (2019) – 5
The Stand – 4.5
The Dead Zone – 3.25
Silver Bullet – 4
Audio – 5 (most are 2-track, while the two Pet Sematarys are 5.1)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Upgrade from DVD – Yes
Recommended
RAH
Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.
His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.
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