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| Ghost And The Darkness, The |
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Genre:Thriller
Reviewed In Issue 25 Of Widescreen Review®
Stars:
Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, John Kani, Bernard Hill, Tom Wilkinson |
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 DVD General Information |
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| (Studio/Distributor): |
Paramount Home Video |
| (Catalog Number): |
LV323503WS |
| (MPAA Rating): |
R |
| (Retail Price): |
$39.98 |
| (Running Time In Minutes): |
110 |
| (Color Type): |
Color |
| (Chaptered/Scene Access): |
Yes |
| (Closed Captioned): |
Yes |
| (Theatrical Release): |
1996 |
| (LD Release Date): |
4/9/97 |
| (THX® Digitally Mastered): |
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| Credits Information |
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| (Director): |
Stephen Hopkins |
| (Screenplay/Written By): |
William Goldman |
| (Story): |
NA |
| (Music): |
Jerry Goldsmith |
| (Director Of Photography): |
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| (Production Designer): |
Stuart Wurtzel |
| (Visual Effects): |
Sony Pictures Imageworks |
| (Costume Designer): |
Ellen Mirojnick |
| (Editor): |
Robert Brown & Steve Mirkovich, ACE |
| (Supervising Sound Editors): |
Bruce Stambler, MPSE |
| (Re-Recording Mixers): |
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| (Executive Producers): |
Michael Douglas & Stephen Reuther |
| (Co-Producers): |
Grant Hill |
| (Producers): |
Gale Anne Hurd, Paul Radin & A. Kitman Ho |
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| DVD Picture Information |
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| (Principal Photography): |
Super 35 |
| (Theatrical Aspect Ratio): |
2.35:1 |
| (Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): |
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| DVD Sound Information |
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| (DVD Soundtrack): |
DTS Digital Surround |
| (Theatrical Sound): |
DTS, SDDS & Dolby Digital |
| (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack): |
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| (Remastered Dolby Digital): |
No |
| (Remastered DTS Digital Surround): |
No |
| (Additional Languages): |
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| WSR Narrative Review |
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Story Synopsis:
A truly astounding man versus beast thriller, The Ghost And The Darkness tells the fact-based tale of an 1896 African adventure. Colonel John Patterson (Val Kilmer) is a confident Irish engineer in charge of constructing a bridge for a British trans-African railroad. Joined by Samuel (John Kani), the project’s African overseer, the bridge has a successful beginning. But when a pair of almost supernatural lions, dubbed “The Ghost” and “The Darkness,” bring the railway construction to a devastating halt with their daylight attacks, big-game hunter Remington (Michael Douglas) is called in to help stop the unstoppable beasts.
LaserDisc Picture:
The THX®-quality assured picture, matted at 1.92:1, is exemplary in all imaging aspects. Color fidelity is excellent with warm, rich colors, natural fleshtones and deep, solid blacks. Images are always sharp and detailed with excellent contrast and the darker scenes provide excellent shadow detail. The picture is nearly pristine, except for the slightest chroma noise and minor artifacts.
LaserDisc Soundtrack:
The soundtrack fidelity and resolution on the matrix PCM version is superior to the often dull sounding Dolby® Digital 5.1 discrete soundtrack. The dullness is particularly evident with dialogue which sounds muffled and often unnatural. Not engaging THX re-equalization helps the dialogue in the Dolby Digital version sound nearer the PCM version, but then the other elements sound brighter. The dialogue also suffers from extensive use of ADR-”manufactured” replacement. The spatially effective music score is absolutely stunning with forceful dynamics. The discrete is superb at rendering aggressive split surround effects that enhance the spatial envelopment with a more realistic soundfield delineation.
| (Surround Bass Below 50Hz): |
Yes |
| (Aggressive System Surround): |
Yes |
| (Intense 25Hz Bass): |
No |
| (Deep Bass Challenging): |
No |
| (Aggressive 0.1 LFE): |
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| (Holosonic Soundfield): |
Yes |
| (Aggressive Split Surround): |
Yes |
| (Center Back Surround Imaging): |
Yes |
| (Directionalized Dialogue): |
No |
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality: |
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Superb Music Score Recording Quality: |
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Superb Special Visual Effects Quality: |
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Superb Color Fidelity: |
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Superb Cinematography: |
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Reference LaserDisc: |
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Collector Edition: |
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DVD To LaserDisc Comparison:
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