WSR Detailed LaserDisc Review

Untouchables, The
Genre:Drama

Reviewed In Issue 30 Of Widescreen Review® Stars:
Kevin Costner, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Robert De Niro & Sean Connery

WSR Review Scores
Picture Rating: 4
Sound Rating: 3.5
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Reference Systems
Critics' Composite Score:
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Supplementals

DVD General Information
(Studio/Distributor): Paramount Home Video
(Catalog Number): LV1886-WSRM
(MPAA Rating): R
(Retail Price): $39.98
(Running Time In Minutes): 119
(Color Type): Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
(Closed Captioned): Yes
(Theatrical Release): 1987
(LD Release Date):
(THX® Digitally Mastered): No

Credits Information
(Director): Brain De Palma
(Screenplay/Written By): David Mamet
(Story):
(Music): Ennio Morricone
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer): William A. Elliott
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor): Jerry Greenberg
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers): Art Linson

DVD Picture Information
(Principal Photography): Panavision
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio): 2.40:1
(Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio):

DVD Sound Information
(DVD Soundtrack): Dolby Digital Surround
(Theatrical Sound): Dolby Stereo A & 70mm 6 Track Dolby
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(Remastered Dolby Digital): Yes
(Remastered DTS Digital Surround): No
(Additional Languages):

WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
The Untouchables is a fierce depiction of Prohibition-era Chicago, its gangsters and cops.

LaserDisc Picture:
The 2.35:1 picture is sharp and detailed with excellent clarity and texture and when compared to the previously released LaserDisc (not reviewed), there is slightly less color saturation and NTSC moiré artifacts. Some scenes are soft and hazy, but do not terribly distract. Color fidelity is nicely rendered with rich and warm colors and deep, sometimes bluish-blacks. Contrast and shadow delineation are excellent, with good visual information in the darkest scenes. Minor noise is apparent, as well as artifacts.

LaserDisc Soundtrack:
The soundtrack has been remastered in discrete 5.1 and encoded in Dolby® Digital. The matrix PCM sounds much more spatially dimensional, but during music scoring, the discrete soundstage has more clarity. Surround on the Dolby Digital version is quite limited, while the matrix version delivers more consistently, though both versions at times produce aggressive monaural surround envelopment. Dialogue is forward sounding ADR-produced. Occasional bass boost is provided by the .1 channel but to no dramatic effect. The music score is the highlight of this movie.
(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: