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From director J.J. Abrams comes the next installment in the Star Trek saga, Star Trek Into Darkness. See it at Cinemark theaters now and pre-order on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, and the Exclusive Starfleet Phaser Gift Set. Shop Star Trek Into Darkness and more in the Star Trek Store. Learn more |
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The video transfer on the Image DVD, said to be made from "original elements", is much, much sharper and more detailed than that on the VCI and Madacy versions. It also shows a little more picture on all four sides of the screen. The picture looks somewhat battered during the opening credits, but it looks great the rest of the way. There is a slight amount of graininess and other blemishes throughout, but it is not detrimental. I'm especially impressed with the scenes that take place in the dark, in which some of the background details, such as engravings on the wall, the subtle lights and shadows, etc., can be seen with much greater clarity. The VCI disc, conversely, looks much less sharp, and the Madacy disc even less so.
The monophonic audio tracks on the VCI and Madacy discs are louder but have more noise compared to that on the Image disc. The problem of the dialogs not being synchronized properly on the VCI and Madacy discs has also been fixed on the Image disc.
The Image disc has one extra: the film's British opening credit sequence, which uses the deplorably offensive title "Ten Little N******" (which is also Agatha Christie's original title for her whodunnit). The sequence is preceded with an explanation of its use so the viewer has the historical context in mind. The VCI disc has a biography section on the filmmakers and the 1946 comedy short TWIN HUSBANDS, starring Leon Errol. The Madacy disc has a 9-minute newsreel footage from 1945, a 12-minute blooper footage (of OTHER films), 3 screenshots of lobby cards, and a trivia quiz section. All three discs are region-free and without subtitles or closed captioning.
Countless novels, plays, and movies have borrowed the premise Christie presents in AND THEN THERE NONE, and there have been at least four film versions (most often known as TEN LITTLE INDIANS) of the original work. All of these versions rely more upon the play script than the novel, offering a mix of comedy and suspense, and by far and away the best of them is famed French director Rene Clair's 1940s version. Brilliantly played by an ensemble cast of famed character actors including Judith Anderson, Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, C. Aubrey Smith, and Roland Young, Clair creates a stylish, somewhat surrealistic romp that satirizes British "stiff upper lip" sensibilities with florishes of black comedy while quietly building a sense of increasing unease. From a modern standpoint, the Clair version seems more comic than suspensful; few will find it in the least unnerving. This does not, however, change the fact that it is a tremendous amount of fun to watch. The film creates an air of old-fashioned mischief that is compulsively enjoyable, and even if a contemporary director decided to have another go at the material it seems unlikely that any cast to equal this could be assembled. If you're prepared for a witty amusement, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE is recommended.
I don't usually comment on the quality of DVDs unless there is a glaring issue--but since there are several DVD versions of this film, and some have been poorly reviewed, I will specify that I purchased the VCI edition. (The cover of this particular edition is yellow with the faces of the characters appearing in a V-shaped "wedge.") When the DVD began to play, the VCI logo was very distorted; when the DVD changed over to the menu, however, the picture became stable. When I ran the movie, I found the titles had a bit of a flicker, but this quickly vanished; as for overall quality, the picture and sound quality are rather poor as the movie begins but quickly corrects to an acceptable--although not excellent--level.
TECHNICAL: The DVD presentation is average. The image is not stable; it wobbles quite a bit around the frame which is especially noticeable during the opening titles. The black and white picture has good contrast but is a bit on the soft side. The bios are brief but nicely done screens. There is also a comedy short on the disc which I haven't yet watched. Sound is good, dialogue is usually clear throughout.
SUM: I'm ignoring comparisons to the Agatha Christie novel on which the film is based... with that in mind, the movie is fun, interesting and worth a viewing. I'm not entirely sure how well the narrative would hold up on repeat viewings, but the performances are entertaining enough to warrant them.
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Acting was OK, scenery and old house, especially the butler were great.
Take time.
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