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New to Blu-Ray: More Friday the 13th films
We take a look at the three new Jason films on Blu-Ray.
by
Jun 16, 2009
Jun 16, 2009
This month brings several collector’s items to Blu Ray for the Jason Vorhees fan. The reboot of Friday the 13th gets is expected Blu Ray release, and Paramount catches up on the original series’ parts 2 and 3.
As expected, the new Friday the 13th looks perfectly clear and crisp. It’s a brand new movie, shot with the latest materials and prepped for HD transfer as such. Now Crystal Lake looks like Discovery Channel nature footage, and every death looks likes CSI because they can make it look real now.
The colors are awesome, particularly the red in the opening studio logos and the late coming title screen. The forest looks green and vibrant but never unrealistic. This isn’t a Disney forest. The green actually gets brighter at night, under moonlight, and the low light holds up in the corners and crevices of the screen in which it’s exposed. This is good because most of the film is set at night, and it adds a crispness to the high-def view of Crystal Lake.
This is really the first Friday that looks like a real movie anyway, so it’s the first Blu Ray so far that really has a lot to show off. There’s just more to look at all around than the old Fridays. Jason’s new lair has plenty of grit and crust to see in detail. The cabin, the barn, wherever the kids go, even out in the woods, the filmmakers just packed the movie with details that are now clearly displayed on Blu Ray.
As for that “Killer Cut,” the one big difference I noticed is the window gag during the stupendous sex scene. That actually changes the background events of the film. Otherwise, holding on a kill longer doesn’t change the impact to me. More interesting are some of the deleted scenes, presented in Blu Ray HD and including alternate kills.
Jason fans waiting for hi-def versions of his ‘80s slashers have to wait a little bit longer as the Blu Rays fall behind the DVD re-releases. They’re up to part six on DVD but only 3 in HD, As the Blu Rays plod along, the transfers remain consistent.
FYI - You can also get Friday the 13th - Killer Cut on iTunes, Playstation Store and Amazon Video On Demand.
Friday the 13th Part 2 looks just like 1 did, which is to say grainy with the age of the film, yet a clear preservation of the film look. The colors pop nicely, with faithful night scenes and lush daytime campgrounds. And firm, young, jiggling ass in ‘80s short shorts has never been smoother.
Friday the 13th Part 3 is the interesting one because it’s 3D, but I’m going to go ahead and recommend the 2D version. It’s red/blue 3D so to get that effect, you lose any advantage to Blu Ray. It gets all discolored and you don’t want to watch 90 minutes of that. Plus at home, the 3D effect isn’t THAT great, maybe a few inches out of your TV.
The 2D version is the same consistent Friday the 13th. The film is now in ‘scope widescreen so there’s a big more in the frame to see, but it’s the same grainy, sometimes fuzzy old film. In the 2D version, you can really see the difference between foreground and background as elements were photographed for 3D. Some of the print is dirty, but the colors and clarity are on par with the first two Blu Rays.
Not in any way associated with Crave Entertainment, Inc.
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