Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Beetlejuice (1 Viewer)

[Citizen87645]

Beetlejuice Release Date: October 7, 2008 Studio: Warner Home Video Packaging/Materials: Single-disc Blu-Ray case with cardstock slipcase and lenticular cover Year: 1988 Rating: PG Running Time: 1h32m MSRP: $34.99

	MAIN FEATURE	SPECIAL FEATURES
Video	1080p high definition 16x9 1.85:1	480i or 480p standard definition
Audio	Dolby TrueHD: English 5.1, Dolby Digital: English 5.1, French 2.0 (Parisian 2.0, dubbed in Quebec 1.0), Spanish (Castillian 2.0, Latin 2S), German 2.0, Italian 2.0, Japanese 2.0	Stereo and mono
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish (Move and select bonus materials)

The Feature: 3.5/5 Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) are very dead, but that doesn't make them any less attached to their work-in-progress dream home. Unfortunately the worst possible people have taken over the place, intent on changing everything they loved about it. Adam and Barbara do their best to scare them away, but real estate developer Charles (Jeffery Jones), his snobby wife Delia (Catherine O'Hara) and their daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) are nonplussed. In fact, Lydia is immediately taken with them and their non-living condition; it's a moment of pleasure in her otherwise teen angst life. Yet despite making a new friend, Adam and Barbara remain determined to reclaim their home and, against better advice, invoke Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a self-proclaimed "bio-exorcist" spirit. His methods at purging the living turn out wholly unpredictable and dangerous though, especially for their new friend, and the Maitlands quickly learn they probably made a big mistake unleashing the devilish spirit. Though Tim Burton has done blockbuster films like "Batman" and "Planet of the Apes," it's the fusion of the dark and whimsical for which he's best known and "Beetlejuice" represents the first mainstream acceptance of the filmmaker's unique vision and sensibility. Much of that may be due to a story that makes some of his more eccentric qualities seem perfectly appropriate. Yet there's also a certain tameness to the film, a sort of "Burton Light" compared to later films where his vision is undeniably manifest due to more control, more budget, or both. Nevertheless, "Beetlejuice" is plenty entertaining and fun and provides an intriguing look at an early entry in a filmmaker's incredible career. Video Quality: 4/5 Accurately framed at 1.85:1, the VC-1-encoded image is free of physical blemishes and devoid of edge enhancement. Black levels are generally deep and inky, though there are a couple scenes where things look a little muddy and contrast overall looks crushed on the bottom end. The super saturated color palette - particularly with the color red - holds up well, though some might not like the sometimes overly warm skin tones. Grain structure is nicely preserved with no signs of compression noise or artifacts. Detail and sharpness are generally very good, though a handful of shots do look a bit soft. Audio Quality: 3.5/5 The Dolby TrueHD audio mix is mostly front focused, with only a few directional effects and some light soundtrack support in the surrounds. The center and front channels handle the job well, providing an adequately expansive, if not particularly enveloping, soundstage. Dialogue is cosistently clear and intelligible and LFE is, for the most part, non-existent. The 640 kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 track in comparison sounds less expansive and flatter in its dynamic range, making the lossless track preferable. Special Features: 2/5 "Beetlejuice" Cartoon Episodes: Includes episodes "A-Ha!", "Skeletons in the Closet" and "Spooky Boo-Tique" from the Saturday morning animated series. Each runs around 12 minutes and is presented in 4:3, 480p video. The quality is mostly acceptable, showing some dust and sparkle and being fairly low in resolution and detail. Music Only Audio Track: Danny Elfman's film score gets isolated in a 640 kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Theatrical Trailer (1m27s): Presented in 1.78:1, 480p video and stereo audio. "The Beginners' Guide to Seeing Ghosts" Pamphlet: Accordion-folded pamphlet features photographs of the film's major ghosts and eight tips on how to identify spirits. CD Sampler: Five tracks from Elfman's orchestral score and the "Banana Boat Song" by Harry Belafonte. Recap The Feature: 3.5/5 Video Quality: 4/5 Audio Quality: 3.5/5 Special Features: 2/5 Overall Score (not an average): 3/5 An early and widely popular Tim Burton film gets decent audio and video treatment but somewhat thin special features. Though this Blu-Ray release is an obvious choice for first-time purchasers, with only average quality overall, it's a harder sell for those who already own previous DVD versions.

 

[TonyD]

i would give the "special features" a 2 out of 5.
this is a weak set extras for this movie.
3 cartoons and a sampler cd track.

the iso score is good.

 

[Citizen87645]

Thanks for the input. On second thought I have to agree with you, so I've adjusted the scores accordingly.

 

[James L White]

extras or not I can't wait to own this on disc
I never bought the old DVD so the Blu Ray is a no brainer

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Still, it's good to hear that the isolated score is on the disc. The Beetlejuice score is a favourite of mine, and there was some discussion after the early press release made it sound like the isolated score had been dropped. Glad to know that's not the case.

And, since I never quite got around to buying the DVD, it's an obvious choice for this first-time purchaser.

 

[Mark-W]

This Blu-ray was $11.99 at Target this week and last. Few extras or not, at the price it was an obvious "impulse purchase"
as long as the picture and sound quality was acceptable for my expectations of Blu-ray!
Thanks for the review!

 

[Stephen_J_H]

For Canadian HTFers (and those close to the border), this is on sale for $10 until Thursday. Hard to pass up @ that price.

 

[Nick Martin]

Originally Posted by Stephen_J_H

For Canadian HTFers (and those close to the border), this is on sale for $10 until Thursday. Hard to pass up @ that price.

EVERYWHERE I've seen this, which for whatever reason is now quite hard to find, had it at least $32, so when I saw the one and only copy for $10 at Walmart, damn straight I picked it up.