Dead Calm Blu-ray

Dead Calm

 (1989)

Horror | Thriller



A thriller involving a couple who have gone on vacation to overcome a personal tragedy and become involved with a dangerous and mysterious stranger.

For more details about Dead Calm on Blu-ray, see the Dead Calm Blu-ray Review

Dead Calm Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Prepare yourself for a more frightening sight than Billy Zane leering through an open hatch: the first ten minutes of Dead Calm's 1080p/VC-1 transfer. The image is simply awful. Uneven grain, surging noise, digital artifacts, murky colors, sickly skintones, detail-sapping shadows, telecine wobble... you name it, it probably haunts the film's opening scenes. Thankfully, once Kidman and Neill reach the open sea, the presentation improves dramatically and stays strong for the duration. The palette springs to life, offering vibrant spatters of blood, striking blue expanses, and absorbing blacks where there once were none. Contrast is bright and healthy, delineation is revealing, and depth and dimensionality are convincing (particularly for a twenty-year old catalog title). Whites are occasionally a bit hot and faces sometimes flush above deck, but the majority of scenes boast a natural appearance. Likewise, edge enhancement is a persistent issue and textures are prickly at times, but detail remains quite satisfying. Granted, overall clarity is hindered by errant noise and several soft shots, but the Blu-ray edition nevertheless represents a substantial upgrade over previous releases. It isn't perfect, it isn't impervious to criticism, and it isn't consistent. However, I doubt Warner could do much more to improve matters without tackling each frame of the film and giving Dead Calm the sort of high-dollar high definition overhaul reserved for the studio's fan-favorites and critically acclaimed award-winners.

Dead Calm Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Warner offers Dead Calmers a basic but capable Dolby TrueHD 2.0 mix that offers a decent sonic experience, but ultimately fails to overcome its inherent limitations. Dialogue is crisp, clean, and well-prioritized (despite a few muddled lines attributable to the film's original audio elements), and the remaining soundscape is commendable, if not underwhelming. I would have enjoyed listening to the raging ocean engulf my home theater; to hear Zane scamper across the deck above Kidman's head; to quiver as Neill scrambled to escape a sinking ship. Dead Calm strikes me as a natural candidate for an involving 5.1 remix, but I suppose it wasn't meant to be. Ah well. At least Warner delivers the film's stereo mix via a lossless track. While proper LFE support and engrossing rear speaker activity would take the film to new high definition heights, fans will be fairly pleased with the results.

Dead Calm Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Warner Announces Ten Catalog Titles for September - May 13, 2009