G.I.Joe:-The-Movie-(Special-Edition)
June 10th 2011 07:19
G.I. Joe: The Movie (Special Edition) - Review
Information:
Actors: Michael Bell, Don Johnson, Arthur Burghardt, Peter Cullen
Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 2
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: July 27, 2010
Run Time: 93 minutes
Synopsis:
In the hands of G.I. Joe, the Broadcast Energy Transmitter is a device capable of fulfilling all of the energy needs of Earth. However, in the hands of Cobra and the newly revealed Cobra-La, led by the ancient and otherworldly Golobulus (Burgess Meredith), the B.E.T. could spell the end of human civilization. With Duke critically wounded on the battlefield, it is up to Lieutenant Falcon (Don Johnson) and a new class of G.I. Joe recruits, trained by none other than Sgt. Slaughter, to prevent Golobulus from infecting the entire globe with deadly mutating spores!
IMAGE QUALITY:
What you really want to know is whether this is any better than the Rhino release from a few years ago. I always thought the Joe movie looked pretty good, but this new Blu-ray is a significant improvement. The visual aspects of the film still have some minor issues (scratches, dust and some slight color shifts that could be the product of bad prints or bad restoration), but it still looks better than ever. Colors are vibrant and detail is generally quite sharp. I noticed several visual details on characters or in the background I'd never caught before.
WIDESCREEN:
It is also worth noting that this is the first time the film has been released in widescreen. It was intended to be released theatrically, but after the 1986 Transformers: The Movie flopped, Hasbro and Sunbow opted for the direct to video route. As a result, G.I. Joe: The Movie has always been presented in the standard 4:3 TV format. For the first time with this release we can see the movie as it would have been shown in theaters. This means that a little of the top and bottom of the TV version have been shaved off and a little has been restored to the sides. There are some sequences when the new format works in its favor, and others where the 4:3 format works better, but on the whole, I enjoy the new format, especially when viewing the movie on a widescreen TV.
BONUS FEATURES:
The bonus features are fairly minimal, but the commentary is surprisingly fun to listen to. Story Consultant Buzz Dixon talks about the process of writing the movie, and how things changed along the way, mostly due to input from Hasbro. He's really funny in an understated way and I found his discussion informative and interesting. The other bonus features are worth about one watch. The art is presented in a terrible slide show video format, and the PSAs are fun but represent only a few of the many that were made for the Joe cartoon. The DVD of this release is also included with the Blu-ray, which I always appreciate.
Grade - B (plus) This release is certainly the best to date. If you like G.I. Joe: The Movie, you'll want to add this to your collection.
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