In case you missed it--Last Seduction 11/19/02 (1 Viewer)

[EugeneR]

I know I missed it, and this is one of the movies I've been really, really waiting for on DVD. Didn't find out about it until today, which is kinda nice-- less than a week to wait!

 

[Michael Reuben]

Before you get too excited, note that this is an Artisan disc selling for around $10. Based on Artisan's track record, this is likely a recycle of the transfer done for LD in the 90s, which was very poor -- and wasn't widescreen. According to DVD Empire's listing, this will be a 1:33:1 disc with stereo surround. I have yet to see a review, so maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised. But I'm not holding my breath.

M.

 

[EugeneR]

Thanks for raining on my parade, Michael.
Seriously, thank you for the tip. I hope against hope that you are wrong, but I'm guessing you are not.:frowning: I might actually be tempted even with the P&S version I love this movie so much.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Thanks for raining on my parade

I'm in the same parade. Just putting up a cautionary umbrella.
As a huge fan of the film, I can't tell you how disappointed I was to receive the LD -- advertised as "widescreen", releasedwith "widescreen" in a banner across the top of the cover -- only to find a washed-out fullscreen version that looked like it had been done for VHS. No one would be happier than me if the new DVD turned out to be an improvement. But I won't buy it without seeing a review.
M.

 

[EugeneR]

If you look at the big picture of the back of the case at DVD Empire, it says a couple of contradictory things--the always popular "formatted to fit your screen." Well, not MY 16x9 screen!!
Then it says "presented in the original 1.33:1 format." Seeing as this movie was originally made for cable, I think that it just might be that 1.33:1 is OAR? It also says "digitally mastered." If the print sucks, the print sucks--I think I will still get this for ten bucks and it will tide me over until (hopefully) a new version comes along.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I do think I'll wait on this one after all. When DVDEmpire first had it up for pre-order, the did list it as 1.33/1 but then, they list that for alot of films that are widescreen. But, it is still listed as 1.33/1 and that is not the OAR. Once it's released, then we'll know for sure.

Bruce

 

[Mark-W]

While not great, just keep in mind that this film was
shot soft-matted, and that to achieve the OAR, one only
need put some soft black mattes on their 4x3 television
or zoom the picture on the 16x9 television.

Yes, I can hear you now: But we've lost 33% of the DVD's
potential image resolution.

I know...I know.

I want it presented on the DVD OAR, too, without needing
to place my rarely used mattes on the television.

I just think in this case, in the old debate, we need
to distinguish between open-matte presentations, and
true pan-and-scan, which is the most vile of MAR
presentations, and always should be deemed unpurchaseable.

And this brilliant, low budget film doesn't have the issue
of SFX shots being pan-and-scan, while the rest is open-matte. It is all open-matte.

Regretfully,

Mark

 

[Sean Aaron]

If you have multi-region and PAL display capability it is available very cheap in a bare-bones anamorphic widescreen release in the UK.

I got mine for £9.99 at HMV in Glasgow.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Seeing as this movie was originally made for cable

Not quite. It was shown on cable when no distributor picked it up (which is why Linda Fiorentino was robbed of an Oscar nomination), then released to theaters. But Dahl shot it for theatrical exhibition.
M.

 

[DeeF]

I bought the disk.

The picture quality is good!

It is 1.33:1, which is not a surprise, but I watched it zoomed to fit my 16:9 screen, and it looks great.

Good movie.

There are literally no extras.

 

[Michael Reuben]

I also was going to cut a break to "open matte" DVDs but (sorry to move slightly off-topic here) when I watched The Road To Wellville in ZOOM mode, there were many scenes where actors' heads were cut off or in half!!!

People often make the mistake of assuming that, if the film is shot "flat" and the transfer is "open matte", the entire photographed frame is being transferred to video. That's simply not true. On a shot-by-shot basis, telecine colorists often zoom and crop individual shots for a variety of reasons, e.g., concealing boom mikes or other equipment that intruded into the frame. Just because a transfer is "open matte" doesn't mean you can safely zoom it to 16:9 and be assured of getting the OAR.

M.

 

[Ted Todorov]

I have the Australian (R0, I'm pretty sure) DVD and aside from being amazingly inexpensive it does sport an OAR anamorphic transfer, so anyone who has PAL capability should buy that one.

On the MAR debate, really, MAR is MAR. All sorts of stuff claimed to be "open matte" is, as Michael pointed out, also zoomed and cropped on the sides and unless you happen to have both versions to do an A/B comparison, there is no way of telling. And of course, by definition it it isn't anamorphic.

No OAR, NO SALE! Period -- I'm really not interested in explanations and excuses.

Ted

 

[Jodee]

I also was going to cut a break to "open matte" DVDs but (sorry to move slightly off-topic here) when I watched The Road To Wellville in ZOOM mode, there were many scenes where actors' heads were cut off or in half!!!

Wasn't Road to Wellville originally 2:35:1? I thought I heard that disc was definitely panned & scanned, not open matte. So I'm not surprised zooming would look even worse on that disc.
Can't Buy Me Love looked nice zoomed on my widescreen set.

 

[DeeF]

Nothing is cut off in "The Last Seduction." Trust me on this one, will you? I just watched it.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Nothing is cut off in "The Last Seduction." Trust me on this one, will you? I just watched it.

Dee, we do trust you, but unless you have access to the widescreen DVD and are doing an A/B comparison on a monitor with no overscan, you can't really make that statement...

Ted

 

[Michael Reuben]

Just read the review at DVD Empire. The conclusion:

Bottom Line: What a movie! It’s modern film noir at its best and the cast and script make this a truly entertaining thriller. The disc on the other hand is flat, dull and lifeless and much less than this movie deserves.

I think I'll stick with my LD copy.
M.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

The disc on the other hand is flat, dull and lifeless and much less than this movie deserves.

I can't believe that studios are still releasing sub-par discs this far into the format. They are obviously capable of so much more. Very frustrating, as I was also looking forward to purchasing this movie on DVD.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Thanks to all of you who recommended the PAL version. After doing some shopping around, I picked this up for $13.98 with free shipping (almost the same as the R1 version sells for!). The anamorphic widescreen transfer looks very nice, not to mention what a terrific film this is (I can't believe I had never managed to see this one).

One thing I did notice while watching this is that the 1.85 framing works very, very nicely. It clearly looks composed for 1.85 to my eye. I highly recommend this disc (only the UK or Aussie version though).

Jeff

 

[Yumbo]

sound is VERY low.
My VHS copy is better.