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    • WSR Detailed LaserDisc Review

    Platoon: Scrapbook Special Edition
    Genre:Action Adventure

    Reviewed In Issue 14 Of Widescreen Review® Stars:
    Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker.

    WSR Review Scores
    Picture Rating: 4.5
    Sound Rating: 4
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    Reference Systems
    Critics' Composite Score:
    Internet Links

    Supplementals
    Presented as an impossible-to-resist hardbound, display-quality volume designed with the look and feel of a Vietnam Veteran’s scrapbook, complete with em-bossed silver images of “dog tags” hanging from the top edge of the cover, this is one laser-disc experience to proudly own and treasure. The dog tags belong to the character that star Charlie Sheen portrays, a character that writer-director Oliver Stone meant to be his alter-ego. The lavishly produced 148-page photo album-scrapbook includes production stills, snapshots of Stone with his 1st Cavalry division platoon mates taken in his days as a GI in Vietnam, and a complete script, printed in four type styles and asterisks to track its evolution from preproduction draft to final cut, identifying what was added or deleted at the different stages.

    DVD General Information
    (Studio/Distributor): Pioneer Special Editions
    (Catalog Number): PSE-95-58-WS
    (MPAA Rating): R
    (Retail Price): $$129.98
    (Running Time In Minutes): 120
    (Color Type): Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
    (Closed Captioned): Yes
    (Theatrical Release): 1986
    (LD Release Date): 5/1/95
    (THX® Digitally Mastered): Yes

    Credits Information
    (Director): Oliver Stone
    (Screenplay/Written By): Oliver Stone
    (Story): NA
    (Music): Georges Delerue
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer): Bruno Rubeo
    (Visual Effects): NA
    (Costume Designer): NA
    (Editor): Claire Simpson
    (Supervising Sound Editors): NA
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers): John Daly & Derek Gibson
    (Co-Producers): A. Kitman Ho
    (Producers): Arnold Kopelson

    DVD Picture Information
    (Principal Photography): Academy Standard Flat
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio): 1.85:1
    (Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): 1.85:1

    DVD Sound Information
    (DVD Soundtrack): Dolby Surround
    (Theatrical Sound): Dolby Stereo A
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (Remastered Dolby Digital):
    (Remastered DTS Digital Surround):
    (Additional Languages):

    WSR Narrative Review
    Story Synopsis:
    Drawn from director Oliver Stone’s own experience in combat, Platoon relives the fear, the heat, the jungle, the hatreds and the horrors that were daily life for young “grunts” in Southeast Asia. Seen through the eyes of a college dropout (Sheen), the war is a real nightmare—with enemies on both sides of the line. His platoon’s allegiance is split between leaders Sgt. Barnes, a gung-ho fanatic bent on destroying the Viet Cong, and Sgt. Elias, who has lost faith in the war, but not in man.

    LaserDisc Picture:
    Working through the quality assurance THX® Laser Disc Program the transfer is a tour de force. The picture is matted at 1.85:1. Detail and sharpness are exemplary, especially evident in the darker shadows, although there is evidence of the slightest grain and noise in those scenes. The picture is, as hoped, artifact free. Fleshtones are accurate and blacks are deep and solid for an exceptional natural rendering.

    LaserDisc Soundtrack:
    The soundtrack also is impressive over that of the theatrical mix. For this edition, the original discrete six-track elements have been re-mixed and encoded for a more potent surround effect and greater dynamics.
    (Surround Bass Below 50Hz):
    (Aggressive System Surround):
    (Intense 25Hz Bass):
    (Deep Bass Challenging):
    (Aggressive 0.1 LFE):
    (Holosonic Soundfield):
    (Aggressive Split Surround):
    (Center Back Surround Imaging):
    (Directionalized Dialogue):
    Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality:
    Superb Music Score Recording Quality:
    Superb Special Visual Effects Quality:
    Superb Color Fidelity:
    Superb Cinematography:
    Reference LaserDisc:
    Collector Edition: