After seeing the VHS version from a rental store, I was instantly impressed. A full year later I bought the DVD two weeks ago. First impressions were not good, you get no extras, but it is shot in true letterbox shape, which was great! But I had no widescreen TV.
A first look at the film, was quite good, only the repeating production company logo (appears twice ??) is a little strange. The first chapter show the crisp lines of faces, and when the meteor rocks come flying down you can hardly tell they were computer generated, sound was good too, but seemed a little quite for me, and the low stuff was a little distant. I can see they put a little extra effort to get the DVD as crisp as possible, and has quite fine subtitles, which you can choose from English with or with out effects like most DVD’s.
Because I had a normal TV, the faces looked extremely thin, but I later tried it in proper widescreen on another TV, and the faces became much more acceptable, even a little fatter.
Actions sequences played a big part in this film, and there’s no shortage of the huge explosions or crater holes. Even the launch has pretty good sounds, while you can only listen through Dolby Digital and not DTS, its surround was not the best I’ve heard. As this film is something like a long time older than Dolby Digital. In space the picture shows how dark that hostile places is, and the space craft fly past the camera, and carry plenty of detail over the VHS version. If you watch it through a true widescreen set, you see a little further outward, and the asteroid will see even bigger too.
Music comes through with plenty of detail and is well separated from speech or SFX, such as the rock or smooth emotional sound tracks from Areosmith play a big part in the films feeling.
Unfortunately once you see it you won’t like it as much as the first time. The story seems a little repetitive and quite un -exiting.
I’d say it best if you rent it, try and ret it on DVD for better quality, but it won’t impress a second time as much as the first. After seeing the VHS version from a rental store, I was instantly impressed. A full year later I bought the DVD two weeks ago. First impressions were not good, you get no extras, but it is shot in true letterbox shape, which was great! But I had no widescreen TV.
A first look at the film, was quite good, only the repeating production company logo (appears twice ??) is a little starnge. The first chapter show the crisp lines of faces, and when the meteor rocks come flying down you can hardly tell they were computer generated, sound was good too, but seemed a little quite for me, and the low stuff was a little distant. I can see they put a little extar effort to get the DVD as crisp as possible, and has quite fine subtitles, which you can choose from English with or with out effects like most DVD’s.
Because I had a normal TV, the faces looked extremely thin, but I later tried it in proper widescreen on another TV, and the faces became much more acceptable, even a little fatter.
Actions sequences played a big part in this film, and there’s no shortage of the huge explosions or crater holes. Even the launch has pretty good sounds, while you can only listen through Dolby Digital and not DTS, its surround was not the best I’ve heard. As this film is something like a long time older than Dolby Digital. In space the picture shows how dark that hostile places is, and the spacecraft fly past the camera, and carry plenty of detail over the VHS version. If you watch it through a true widescreen set, you see a little further outward, and the asteroid will see even bigger too.
Music comes through with plenty of detail and is well separated from speech or SFX, such as the rock or smooth emotional sound tracks from Areosmith play a big part in the films feeling.
Unfortunately once you see it you won’t like it as much as the first time. The story seems a little repetitive and quite un exiting.
I’d say it best if you rent it, try and ret it on DVD for better quality, but it won’t impress a second time as much as the first.