Colonel Blimp

You never know, it could be 16:9 ... it is Optimum after all ... I sat down excitedly to watch my 16:9 (as it said on the cover) Optimum DVD of The Go-Between, which I bought at full price the moment it came out despite being on the poverty threshold because - well, it's The Go-Between! ... and was almost reduced to tears to discover it's just 4:3.

Still, I cheered myself up by reading the blurb on the back, which is just about the worst piece of *&%+ ever to grace a DVD sleeve ... maybe Optimum should change their name to BareMinimum ...

Anyway, nearly everywhere seems to be selling The Go-Between for £3.99 now ...

R-T-C Tim

I can confirm that the disc is actually 4:3 - however it is an open-matte framing rather than P&S. I watched most of the check disc 'zoomed in' without any evident framing problems. The print is imperfect but very watchable, although as quite commonly with Optimum, the audio is rather quiet. Full review coming before the end of the week.

Mondo Esoterica - Cult and obscure DVD reviews from Spaghetti Westerns to Hammer Horror.

mariocki

Not again. What is it with those clowns at Optimum? I've been waiting years for this and they've managed to cock it up.

Thanks for the warning Tim, look forward to your review.

You crazy idiots - my name's McGill!

asiamiles

Unfortunately, I don't think they've "cocked it up," I simply think they're just doing it on the cheap, using an old master rather than making a new one. It really is unacceptable -- are 21" CRT's still the norm for a large % of UK households? -- but seems par for the course for UK DVD releases of anything British from the 70's or earlier, unless it's a niche title (horror, exploitation) which sometimes fall into the hands of those who care a little more. Virtually every DVD I order from the UK is substandard; the likes of HELL DRIVERS are sadly exceptions to the rule, and I'm wondering how many of the DVD's I'm planning to order from amazon.uk later this month will leave me disappointed.

I wonder who owns the rights to ROBBERY in the US?

R-T-C Tim

Robbery (1967) - freshly reviewed.

The print looks great, just a pity it is open-matte - as usual with Optimum the audio is a little low and there is not an extra feature sight.


PS. Click the links on the page for an all new Stanley Baker biography.

Mondo Esoterica - Cult and obscure DVD reviews from Spaghetti Westerns to Hammer Horror.

mariocki

Nice review, Tim. My copy is on it's way from HMV

You crazy idiots - my name's McGill!

Colpepper

Just watched my copy, which came today. It looks fine - not great but perfectly acceptable. Only one oddity - near the end when they are showing a fake B&W news report, there's a high-pitched whistle that accompanies the report. When Paul's wife turns off the TV it stops. Can anyone confirm if this occurs in all versions or is it a DVD fault?

Simon Sheppard

mariocki

I'm pretty sure that this was part of the film as I seem to remember it being on my old off-air copy. It's certainly on my DVD. As for the picture quality, I was hoping for better. As you say, it's acceptable but quite a bit of print damage is evident particularly in the opening scenes. Still, better than nothing.

You crazy idiots - my name's McGill!