Dark
Night Of The Scarecrows 1 & 2 4K: 1
(1981) + 2 4K
(2022/VCI 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray*)/Sting
(2024/Well Go USA Blu-ray)/To
Kill A Mastermind
(1979/88 Films Blu-ray/*both MVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+/B Picture: B/B-/B+/B- Sound: B- (Sting:
B) Extras: B-/C+/C+ Films: B-/C/C+/C+
Now
for some creepy thrillers, including an upgrade to a near classic....
In
the early days of television, though analog and low definition, TV
movies were the result of the rise and fall of live TV, plus people's
love of movies. Telefilms became a new thing in the late 1960s and a
big boom for a long time, most were still shot on 35mm film (and
sometimes 16mm film) so they would look better than if they were on
videotape (then new and low-def) and the same of mini-series that
followed in the 1970s. The unexpected benefit is that you can now
scan them for 4K discs (et al) and get some great results. Along
with Spielberg's Duel, The Dark Night Of The Scarecrow 4K
(1981) and 2 4K (2022) become the first classic
telefilms to make it to 4K disc.
VCI
has been handling the 1981 classic for a while and the belated curio
sequel is also theirs, so that has helped the reputation of the
original and you can see our Blu-ray coverage of the previous
releases, for the original telefilm:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11570/Claustrofobia+(2010/MVD+Visual+DVD)/Dark+Nig
and
its sequel...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16138/Dark+Night+Of+The+Scarecrow+2+(2022/VCI+Bl
The
silly horror films and slasher cycle of the 1980s had not yet
overtaken the creepier, more serious and
many good and effective horror genre films were made as telefilms,
including Duel,
The
Night Stalker,
its remarkable sequel The
Night Strangler,
Trilogy
Of Terror
and Dan Curtis' version of Dracula
among them and Curtis was not the only one making them for TV. As
far as I am concerned as noted in my coverage of the last two
versions of the release, Dark
Night Of The Scarecrow
is as effective as those and belongs on he same shelf with them,
surprisingly effective for a telefilm and that it got through in the
cut it did with CBS is something. The sequel is a curio and the only
belated sequel of a telefilm that was not intended as a telefilm I
can think of.
The
one problem with the 2022 revisit is that if you have not seen the
original, you will be a bit lost and it does not work as well if you
see it on its own, similar to The
Two Jakes
a few decades after Polanski's Chinatown
and Furiosa,
a few years after the last Mad
Max
film. All honest, serious attempts to follow up, but not what they
could be or have been despite some good moments. Needless to say you
should watch the first one before seeing the seconds, but having them
in this Ultra HD set is the best way to see them both.
Extras
repeat the previous releases and and a few new items (per the press
release, but they are all good) including a New 2023 DNOTS
Triple Fan Commentary Track Hosted by Heath Holland (Cereal
Midnight Podcaster) and featuring Robert Kelly noted film
historian and artist, and super-fan Amanda Reyes, expert
extraordinaire on TV movies, author, podcaster! There is also the
original DNOTS Commentary Track with Writer J.D. Feigelson and
Director Frank DeFelitta, New 2023 DNOTS2 Commentary by J.D.
Feigelson Video Feature, ''Bubba Didn't Do It: 30 Years of the
Scarecrow'' by Daniel Griffith Video Feature, DNOTS Cast
Reunion Q&A Recorded at the 2011 Frightfest Film Festival
Trailer, 1981 CBS World Premiere Broadcast Promo Trailer, 1985 CBS
Network Re-Broadcast Promo Photo Gallery and Behind the Scenes.
Sting
(2024) is
a return to form for giant spider movies and creepy crawly movies in
general. Following a slasher style formula, a little girl raises an
intelligent spider that rapidly gets bigger, smarter, and more
lethal. As it grows in size, its threat to mankind grows as well as
soon any being in its path can easily become lunch. It's going to
take more than an exterminator to take out this out of control
spider.
The
film has some pretty solid special effects and storytelling that
makes it a fun watch. Sting stars Ryan Corr, Alyla Browne,
Jermaine Fowler, and Penelope Mitchell.
Special
Features include Three behind the scenes featurettes, but that is it.
Sting
is pretty good as far as giant spider movies go with impressive
special effects and decent production value for being on the lower
budget spectrum.
Chung
Sun's To
Kill A Mastermind
(1979) has a deadly gang of kung-fu criminals on the loose, but have
a spy among them to stop them and reveal the secret identity of the
man who has been running their operation with such efficiency. A
solid premise, but the fight sequences are the greatest feature here,
though for some viewers like this viewer, they get surreal, even
fantasy genre-like Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon
work and bonkers moments like the Shaw Brothers gem Super
Inframan
(reviewed elsewhere on this site; we await a 4K restoration and
upgrade) undermining taking this seriously.
In
that, this followed the producers more successful Five
Deadly Venoms
and was somehow a lost film for a long time, until now. Why, who
knows, but it has its moments and it should have always been
available. Also going all out like Five
Fingers Of Death,
action fans and martial arts fans will want to see this one at least
once, but note it can be bloody and graphic.
Cheers
to the cast that includes Wei-Hao Teng, Kang Shih, Sheng Lo, Wah
Yuen, Bun Yuen, Lung-Wei Wang, Hui-Ling Liu, Fei Ai, Tat-Wah Tso and
Feng Ku.
Extras
include Extras include four collectible art cards, reversible sleeve
and a nice slipcase, while the disc adds an Original Theatrical
Trailer.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.33 X 1, HDR (10;
Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on the
original Scarecrow
telefilm looks really good from the original 35mm camera negative and
other elements, with especially impressive color, depth, detail and
definition as good as any telefilm on home video to date, though we
still need to see Duel
and eventually, Night
Stalker
and Night
Strangler
which already have impressive 4K scans on their regular new Blu-ray
releases. This is also the best looking release on the list. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and 2.0 stereo lossless mixes for the
film are still nice upgrades as they were on the previous Blu-ray
version, working fine with the 4K improvements.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra
High Definition image on the sequel is a not bad, likely a slight
upscale from the recent production, but has slightly duller color and
detail is not as good, but al are better than the older, recent
Blu-ray. The DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mix is never, ahas some better bass and
clarity, but even with some Pro Logic-type surrounds, but the
combination is not bad. They are on the same 4K disc, as the
included regular 1080p Blu-ray also included here, with all the same
picture and sound quality as the previously issues, separate
Blu-rays.
Sting
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and English audio
tracks in lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. The film looks and sounds great on
disc as per usual with Well Go USA releases.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Mastermind
can show the age of the materials used, a little soft for how it was
shot (some of this is the style) and some of it is just how the
original surviving 35mm camera materials aged. The
Mandarin PCM 2.0 Mono is limited for its age, but sounds as good as
this film ever will, so the combination is not bad.
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James Lockhart (Sting)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
