Films (Almost Entirely Surround)

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Just fininished Walker (1987), monaural Criterion Bluray, starring Ed Harris.
Joe Strummer sountrack, check.
Directed by Alex Cox, he of Repo Man as well as Sid & Nancy, check.
Based on William Walker, an American that ended up being president/dictator of Nicaragua. His story is so weird and hard to believe that I actually enjoyed Alex's decision to create such a surreal and dare I say humorous representation.
I also get why he has been blackballed by major US Hollywood studios since.
 
Marplot said:
Just fininished Walker (1987), monaural Criterion Bluray, starring Ed Harris.
Joe Strummer sountrack, check.
Directed by Alex Cox, he of Repo Man as well as Sid & Nancy, check.
Based on William Walker, an American that ended up being president/dictator of Nicaragua. His story is so weird and hard to believe that I actually enjoyed Alex's decision to create such a surreal and dare I say humorous representation.
I also get why he has been blackballed by major US Hollywood studios since.
Click to expand...
I was curious about this film as well since I'm a fan of Repo Man and Sid and Nancy but then the excruciatingly bad reviews started piling up which includes this one from FILM FRENZY:

10walker.jpg
Ed Harris in Walker (Photo: Criterion)
WALKER (1987). Roger Ebert gave it zero stars (TV partner Gene Siskel was equally scathing). Leonard Maltin slapped it with a BOMB rating. And USA Today‘s Mike Clark included it on his year-end “10 Worst” list, pairing it with director Alex Cox’s other 1987 offering, Straight to Hell. And these reviews were just the tip of the iceberg — no wonder I was hell-bent back in the day to catch a movie that immediately gained such notoriety as it was barely being released to theaters (it ultimately grossed a ground-scraping $257,000 against a $5.8 million budget). Alas, my hope of finding perverse pleasure where others only found pain (as with The Bonfire of the Vanities, for instance) failed to come to fruition, as this movie truly was torturous. A fresh viewing decades later reveals that the picture has improved only a smidgen — its points about American imperialism are as noteworthy today, but its satiric take on the subject remains as obvious and ham-fisted as it did back when it premiered. Although it centers on William Walker (Ed Harris), the 19th-century adventurer who overthrew the Nicaraguan government and set himself up as the country’s president, Cox and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer (Two-Lane Blacktop) meant for their work to serve as an indictment of the Reagan administration’s illegal dealings with that country’s terrorists throughout the 1980s. But for all its admirable intentions, Walker is a chore to endure, and even the deliberate anachronisms — Coke bottles, TIME magazine, and more — reek of desperation rather than inspiration. Only the excellent score by The Clash’s Joe Strummer escapes the monotony that settles over the rest of this strident picture.



Movie: ★½
 
That review isn't wrong, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. (full disclosure, I like The Crow, Hitman, Dogma and Godfather I, II so don't trust me)
I went into my viewing knowing nothing about it and it quickly became obvious that it was not going to be a serious treatment. In all fairness, the actual life of Walker isn't very believable so the decisions Alex made for this interpretation might be the only way to pull it off.
And yes, there were quite a few choices made which reflected current (when filmed) US policy in that region. Some subtle, some a bit obvious like the Han shot first edit)
 
A fair look at it, although I would bet it was written by a younger person because it misses the implied condemnation of (then) current events through the anachronistic items embedded in the film.
 
The Northman (2022) 4K:

1. Really good discrete and pretty constant surround mix with panning around the room + a few decent room shakers that'll rattled the mechanisms in my window blinds. Worth a look for this aspect alone, Quaddies.

2. No mention of Dolby Vision on the cover artwork but while MKVing, FEL appeared so I watched it via the Zidoo Z9X and Dolby Vision was engaged on the TV. As with every other DV 4K picture I've seen, this looks great.

3. Due to the amount of CGI and some areas that I thought probably should look a bit sharper, I thought this might be a 2K upscale (despite blu-ray.com saying that it's a native 4K scan - not sure how they would know though and I'll take pretty much anything I read on that site with a grain of salt). However, I put in the BD after the flick was over and did some comparisons and yep, the 4K has a sharper image and better colours. So, getting the 4K's your best bet.

4. I found the movie to be alright but there's something in the back of my mind that says it'll benefit from a subsequent viewing in a year or so. Quite a bit of whining about the movie on the interwebs and I can't understand why. I thought it was going to be some super-gruesome gorefest but it really isn't. It's pretty basic and Shakespearean.

5. I've previously found Alexander Skarsgard a bit "wet" but forgot I was watching him in this which is good. Danish actor Claes Bang is also good (anyone seen The Square? It's a goodie The Square (2017) - IMDb). Good to see Bjork again. Co-written by the dude who wrote Lars' Dancer in the Dark.

Bottom line: Great surround mix and picture so worth a gander on 4K.
 
4-earredwonder said:
Through August 15th, SHOUT SELECT is offering 50% off their 'Select' titles including the remarkable UHD4K transfer of Michael Cimino's THE DEER HUNTER [$17.49]. FREE s/h on orders $50 and above!

https://www.shoutfactory.com/sale/s...=Shout+Select+Sale+-+Aug.+2022&rjnrid=1qNW2Oe

DeerHunter_UHD_Cover_72dpi.png
Click to expand...
I got the 4k version of this a while back and the audio sync is way out, so bad that i’m unable to watch it, I know that I can mess about in the settings to fix it but just cant be bothered for one disc out of over 200
 
madscot said:
I got the 4k version of this a while back and the audio sync is way out, so bad that i’m unable to watch it, I know that I can mess about in the settings to fix it but just cant be bothered for one disc out of over 200
Click to expand...
I've experienced 'sync issues' on more than one occasion and find that pausing the disc and waiting a minute and then restarting it restores the sync! You might have to do it more than once, however, to get video/audio properly synched up. Works for me!

Have you tried that?
 
Last edited:
4-earredwonder said:
I've experienced 'sync issues' on more than one occasion and find that pausing the disc and waiting a minute and then restarting it restores the sync! You might have to do it more than once, however, to get video/audio properly synched up. Works for me!

Have you tried that?
Click to expand...
It’s been so long I can’t remember, will try again tomorrow 🤞
 
4-earredwonder said:
I've experienced 'sync issues' on more than one occasion and find that pausing the disc and waiting a minute and then restarting it restores the sync! You might have to do it more than once, however, to get video/audio properly synched up. Works for me!

Have you tried that?
Click to expand...
The problem appears to be the 5.1 soundtrack, if I swop back and forward between them the stereo is perfect and the 5.1 is out, pausing and changing chapters fixes it for a while but soon goes out of sync again. I bought it new in a sale and could have taken it back but it was cheaper than buying the blu-ray on its own and my version has 3 discs so I decided to just keep it. I’m not impressed with the 4k picture on this, it’s the worst picture of the 15 or so 4k discs I have, since it’s one of my favourite movies I wont get rid of it though
 
madscot said:
The problem appears to be the 5.1 soundtrack, if I swop back and forward between them the stereo is perfect and the 5.1 is out, pausing and changing chapters fixes it for a while but soon goes out of sync again. I bought it new in a sale and could have taken it back but it was cheaper than buying the blu-ray on its own and my version has 3 discs so I decided to just keep it. I’m not impressed with the 4k picture on this, it’s the worst picture of the 15 or so 4k discs I have, since it’s one of my favourite movies I wont get rid of it though
Click to expand...
I just recently picked up the 2012 Universal blu-ray which I believe has no problems with the 5.1 track. If I recall correctly some other Blu-ray releases had the 5.1 soundtrack playing at the wrong speed, could that be the cause of the sync issue?

I’ve never seen the movie but I plan to very soon.
 
bookofsaturdays said:
I just recently picked up the 2012 Universal blu-ray which I believe has no problems with the 5.1 track. If I recall correctly some other Blu-ray releases had the 5.1 soundtrack playing at the wrong speed, could that be the cause of the sync issue?

I’ve never seen the movie but I plan to very soon.
Click to expand...
Mine is the 2019 studiocanal version so you would think with it being up to date it would be fine and dandy but apparently not. I can watch the normal blu ray if I want, the picture is just as good and has no sound problems
 
madscot said:
The problem appears to be the 5.1 soundtrack, if I swop back and forward between them the stereo is perfect and the 5.1 is out, pausing and changing chapters fixes it for a while but soon goes out of sync again. I bought it new in a sale and could have taken it back but it was cheaper than buying the blu-ray on its own and my version has 3 discs so I decided to just keep it. I’m not impressed with the 4k picture on this, it’s the worst picture of the 15 or so 4k discs I have, since it’s one of my favourite movies I wont get rid of it though
Click to expand...
I think I have the same UK edition as you in the thick cardboard packaging with CD soundtrack? My 4K plays the surround mix fine with no audio sync issues on my Sony X800. Have you had a Google around, maybe also check Blu-ray.com's forum too, if there are others with the same problem? The original BD release of Twin Peaks S1/2/Fire Walk With Me had audio sync problems and there was an issue with frame rate messing things up so if your player can output with or without matching frame rate/resolution, that might be worth trying. Annoying to be sure though. You shouldn't have to monkey with it to get it to work.

Regarding the image, I find the 4K to look superb. My only minor gripe is that the HDR is a little dark in 1 scene (I won't say which as I don't want to ruin anything for bookofsaturdays) but it's easily adjusted by raising the black level a smidge. I've since MKV'd the 4K and am looking forward to watching it this spring (Deer Hunter season round my neck of the woods!) via my media player so I can see the Dolby Vision for the first time. I'll keep an eye out for audio sync issues when I do as I've found the Sony X800 can be a forgiving player whereas others aren't.
 
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