The Last Emperor (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
![The Last Emperor (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]](/images/The-Last-Emperor-The-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray-B001EOQCLM-L.jpg)
|
List Price: Our Price: $26.38 You Save: $13.53 (34%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $22.82 (click here) Category: Blu-ray See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Last Emperor (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: Widescreen image cropped!
Summary: 2 Stars
This is not a rating of the film, which is excellent, but of this particular edition.
Unfortunately Criterion fell into the same trap that the producers of the previous "Apocalypse Now" DVDs did. They allowed Vittorio Storaro, the original cinematographer, to tamper with the widescreen image. Storaro has been on a crusade for the last few years to advocate 2.00:1 as the most desirable widescreen aspect ratio. This is fine if applied to new productions but, disastrously, he wants to demonstrate his passion for this by going back and chopping up movies he worked on in years past. Despite whatever care he may have taken in this project, it is painfully obvious in many scenes that some of the screen image has been cropped from the sides. I compared this to the scenes in their original ratio of 2.35 and there is significant information missing. In tight scenes inside cars you often lose portions of people seated on either side of the picture. The worst for me, though, was what happened to a couple of the breathtaking scenes where the child emperor is viewing the large assembled crowd of his subjects. In the original framing you can see the complete perfectly symmetrical formations filling the screen and perfectly tapering off right at the edges of the picture. In this version chunks of that image are chopped off on either side and a lot of the power and beauty of the scene is diminished.
I had been eagerly anticipating this release but the butchering of the image took all of the joy out of it for me. Even though other aspects of the package such as the extras are very nice and well done, I ended up selling off my copy
I'm surprised and disappointed that Criterion let something like this happen.
Fortunately the new Apocalypse Now blu-ray has corrected the previous poor decision and is restoring that movie to its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio. I just hope that Criterion, or someone, will do the same thing somewhere down the line and give us a proper release of The Last Emperor.
It's been frustrating since the previous Artisan DVD was in the proper aspect ratio but the transfer itself was horrible. The visual quality of this transfer is a huge improvement but the picture is chopped. You just can't win
Movie Review: The Fly In The Ointment
Summary: 2 Stars
The one bad apple in The Criterion Collection Blu-ray releases. There is hardly any difference between the blu-ray edition and the SD DVD edition. All the special features in the SD DVD you get in the blu-ray in a digipak (a really crappy one at that), however, you do not get the extended edition of the movie that came in the SD DVD. The one saving grace is that on amazon the Blu-ray is cheaper that SD DVD. I recommend that you pay a few dollars more for the SD edition which comes in a really nice digipak and a better booklet thats on the blu-ray.
The news is that the transfer was approved by the cinematographer - what was he thinking?!?! Despite the crappy blu-ray transfer, the aspect-ratio is not what was in the original release.
By the way, the movie is great and you will enjoy it
Movie Review: Last Emperor Has No Clothes.
Summary: 2 Stars
Too Bad... What a shabby dressing technically given to this 1987 first class world ranking film.
If it was shot in 70 mm this means the resolution, sharpness and color should be as smashing
as it was in the theater. AND production standards at the time long before 1987 would have separated
the different audio sources especially the rich Sakamoto score hence the ability to use surround sound
but IN REALITY the video is a bumpy ride; Grainy and color faded. No NOT with all that rich camera work
possible. The audio is the original TWO CHANNEL stereo. This was a sweeper at the Oscars and International venture. Why was it slapped directly to Blu Ray From shoddy transfer? ... give up? Gotta be money.
TOTALLY Disappointing and a Shame.
Ray Blue
Movie Review: Defective Criterion Blu-Ray Soundtrack
Summary: 2 Stars
Sadly, Criterion's Blu-Ray edition of THE LAST EMPEROR has a quality control problem severe enough to note here. The DTS surround track has been incorrectly mastered in monaural for the first couple of hours into the picture. Hopefully Criterion will correct the problem on subsequent prints, otherwise their standard dvd version is the one to own for now.Movie Review: Great Film, Lousy Blu Ray
Summary: 2 Stars
This has got to be one of the worst transfers to blu-ray I have seen. I was so disappointed in the lack of quality in this edition that I turned it off less than half way through. What a shame to treat a great film like this. It deserved better. Much better.