From Dusk Till Dawn

"From Dusk 'Till Dawn" is not a great film by any means, but it is entertaining...up to a point. The first half of the film is an effective, stylish and creepy noir/suspense film, with director Robert Rodriguez showing uncharacteristic restraint in his film direction. Clooney and (surprisingly) Tarantino are good in their roles, and play off of each other well. Unfortunately, the second half of the film becomes increasingly silly, as Robert Rodriguez succumbs to his fetish for over-the-top action and cartoonish violence, quickly undoing all the creepy suspense that was so carefully built up over the film's first half and settling for a parody-like tone for the rest of the film.

If done right, over-the-top horror film parodies can be very entertaining, as the first two "Evil Dead" films show. However, that sort of tone usually works best in a short feature format (such as the "Tales From The Crypt" television series). If the film is to be feature length, then a good deal of imagination is needed to sustain interest, otherwise a sense of a fatigue sets in. It is imagination that makes the "Evil Dead" films work as well as they do, and is what's missing in "From Dusk 'Till Dawn" (endless vampire explosions notwithstanding).

Still, if you're a "B-Movie" horror fan, the film definitely has its moments; besides the two leads, there's a great supporting cast (put together especially for genre fans), fun (albeit goofy) make-up effects, plenty of scantily-clad women, and buckets of fake blood, making the film an acceptable (if padded out) "B" genre film. Overall, a three-star film (out of five).

Regarding the Echo Bridge Blu-Ray release, it is truly a lazy catalog release title, if I've ever seen one. Currently available exclusively at Best Buy stores (but not on Best Buy's online website), I picked this up for ten bucks less than a week ago, and have already decided to get my money back (the Blu-Ray will see a general release in stores on May 3rd).

Presented in the incorrect film aspect ratio of 1.78:1 (from the film's original 1.85:1), the picture quality of the Echo Bridge transfer is a wildly inconsistent mess. A few scenes here and there look very good. However, most of the time the picture quality is soft and murky-looking, giving the film a dull, flat look. Colors tend to look unnatural and overly-saturated. The picture has plenty of digital artifacting and is riddled throughout with edge enhancement, killing off fine background detail. Blacks come off as strong but shapeless, crushing any detail thanks to the transfer's murkiness. I've read by some that DNR was occasionally an issue with the transfer; personally, I didn't see it, but I think we can all agree that even if DNR has been used, it is the least of problems for Echo Bridge's Blu-Ray release of "From Dusk 'Till Dawn".

As a result of my disappointment with the Echo Bridge release, based on the good reviews I've read online, I decided to take a chance and order online the Canadian Blu-Ray release of "From Dusk 'Till Dawn" from Alliance. Now, I must confess that I'm not very big on importing Canadian Blu-Ray's, and I've heard fairly crummy things about Canadian distributer Alliance's Blu-Ray releases. Well, after a side-by-side comparison, there is simply no contest: in every respect, the Alliance Blu-Ray release is superior to the Echo Bridge U.S. release.

The picture of the Alliance disc is sharp throughout, without any of the murkiness and softness that plagues the Echo Bridge Blu-Ray. Colors pop but maintain a natural look, blacks are strong without being crushing, and neither DNR or edge enhancement are anywhere to be found. Regarding the audio, both the Echo Bridge and Alliance versions contain a DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix (ignore the notation of 2.0 stereo on the cover of the EB release of "From Dusk", as it's a misprint). My initial (and rather quick) comparison did not find much difference between the Alliance and Echo Bridge releases. However, a second, deeper comparison revealed there was indeed a difference between the two soundtracks, and once again, Alliance came out ahead. Surround was more expansive throughout with stronger panning effects, and bass was definitely more present. In fact, about the only thing the two releases have in common is a complete lack of extras.

Overall, while the Alliance transfer is not quite demo quality, it is a vast improvement over the Echo Bridge release, and a commendable hi-def transfer for a catalog title (In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the Alliance transfer of "From Dusk 'Till Dawn" even trumps Lionsgate's recent U.S. Blu-Ray releases of the "Scream" trilogy, which were all flat-looking and had far too much edge enhancement for my tastes). Only the complete lack of extras prevents me from giving the Alliance Blu-Ray release a four-star review.

So, to sum up: since both Blu-Rays are competitively priced and available right here on Amazon.com, I recommend that casual and hardcore fans skip the U.S. Echo Bridge release and pick up the Canadian Alliance Blu-Ray release. Is the picture quality on the Echo Bridge Blu-Ray disc better than the Miramax DVD? Sure...and for all my complaints, it's not the worst transfer that I've seen on Blu-Ray (check out "Five Corners" and "Lars and The Real Girl" to see truly terrible Blu-Ray transfers). However, considering the fact that a far superior three-year-old Blu-Ray transfer already exists elsewhere, there is simply no excuse for the existence of this poor Blu-Ray release, which is why I give Echo Bridge's Blu-Ray release of "From Dusk 'Till Dawn" a one-star (out of five) review.

Of course, true fans will also need to pick up (or hang on to) the Miramax two-disc DVD set, with all of its top-notch bonus features, including the feature-length making-of doc, "Full Tilt Boogie", audio commentary with Rodriguez and Tarantino, deleted scenes and outtakes, a special effects doc and more (I do not recommend that DVD set for casual fans, as the picture is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen).

Between this and the shamelessly cheap Blu-Ray release of "Halloween: H20", I'm going to take a pass on future offerings from Echo Bridge.

A lot of folks have trouble with this film. They are turned off by the over-the-top violence, mayhem, and sex. What they don't understand is that it is nothing more than a really well-made exploitation film. Remember those? Movies which had no higher agenda than providing plenty of fun, cheap thrills, like gratuitous sex and violence? Many of them were made in the late '60s and throughout the '70s? Like Women In Prison films? Blaxploitation? Car-racing movies? Slasher films? Russ Meyer movies? Anyone? Well, for those who DO remember, and who don't need every flick they see to contain lofty statements about the nature of mankind and the universe, you will love this movie. The cast is great: I mean, come on, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Fred Williamson... even Quentin, who can't act, is utilized effectively. Clooney has a great role which no one seemed to appreciate, Hayek does a lewd dance with a snake which will make your shorts explode, and Cheech Marin is, as always, a laugh riot. This film is at fever pitch every step of the way and contains plenty of Rodriguez camera-acrobatics and clever Tarantino dialogue. Please understand, people, this film IS trash. Good, fun, doesn't-take-itself-at-all-seriously trash! God love it!

Buy From Dusk Till Dawn Now

Miserable Blu Ray release of a great movie. The picture is cropped from its original aspect ratio, the sound is sub-par, and the picture quality is all over the map. There are moments when the picture is stellar, especially during the beginning moments of the film in the outdoors. Colors pop and the picture is crisp and clear, but then it will suddenly change to something comparable to VHS.

Extras? Forget it! Nothing...zero...zilch.

It's a shame that one of Miramax's best titles wound up in the hands of this company, who produced such a horribly shoddy transfer of this film. Skip it and stick with your DVD.

Read Best Reviews of From Dusk Till Dawn Here

Having trouble finding a good vampire flick that's exciting and scary? Looking for something that doesn't abide by regular horror genera rules? "From Dusk Till Dawn" may be the one to choose. With a sizzling screenplay by Quentin Tarantino and perfectly directed by Robert Rodriguez, this is a horror/thriller to remember.

The Gecko brothers are two extremely violent criminals who end up taking a family hostage. The family is forced to drive the notorious brothers to the end of the border. They end up making a pit stop at a Mexican bar, where the brothers are supposed to meet their contact. However, things get out of hand when it turns out that the place is contaminated with vampire strippers and truckers. You add all of those elements together and you get one hell of a ride that you'll never forget.

I'm not the biggest fan of vampires, but I thought this was an EXCELLENT movie. It's unpredictable and exhilarating. You have no idea where the movie will take you until it's all said and done. This is not your ordinary vampire flick, and that's what makes this movie so great. It's a breath of fresh air and so much more.

The acting really makes the movie what it is. George Clooney gives a remarkable performance (this was before he was the big star that he is today). Quentin Tarantino does a great job of contributing dark and chaotic humor to the film with his role. Other major players include Harvey Keitel, Juliet Lewis, Cheech Marin and plenty more. The screenplay by Tarantino is great and never misses a beat. It's packed with snappy dialogue that one would not expect to hear in a horror movie. Rodriguez does an exceptional job of directing as well.

I don't have the fully loaded version of the movie, so I am stuck with the plain version for now. The picture quality looks pretty good, considering that it isn't enhanced for widescreen TVs. The sound is really lacking, though. I had to keep fumbling around with the volume controls throughout the movie, as it kept going from being quiet to extremely loud. That might be reason enough to get the Collector's Edition of the film. A theatrical trailer and teaser trailer are both included on the DVD, but those are the only extra features you'll find on this DVD version.

"From Dusk Till Dawn" is a wildly entertaining flick that really stands out from the others. It has some extremely funny moments, as well as some very scary and exciting sequences. This movie pretty much has it all. If you're looking for a horror/thriller movie that isn't like the rest, give this one a try. This is definitely one of my favorites.

Want From Dusk Till Dawn Discount?

I finally got around to transforming my home entertainment center into a full HD experience late last year, with the final step (a new Sony blu-ray player... 3D capable w. built-in wireless) occurring just weeks ago.

When I upgraded the TV from a picture-tube unit (albeit a very nice one) to a big flat-panel HD monitor, I discovered what "anamorphic widescreen" really meant. Far too many of my favorite movies, which always look "right" on my standard-def 4:3 tube, suddenly were totally inadequate on a 1080p 240hz high-def monitor. For anyone who's not familiar with it, you may have noticed it once or twice... "non-anamorphic widescreen" means that the image is actually recorded in 4:3 image ratio, with the "black bars" actually being part of the recorded image! So, play a "non-anamorphic widescreen" movie on a widescreen display, and you get a 4:3 image (including black areas) in the middle, with big black areas on either side as well... basically, a postage-stamp image of the movie in the middle of a sea of black! NOT acceptable... (and there's no excuse for egomaniacs like James Cameron REFUSING to allow upgraded versions of their movies ... "Titanic," "The Abyss," "True Lies," and so forth... unless they, personally, oversee the entire transfer process... hence why none of those flicks have decent transfers yet!)

SO... I discovered that my DVD of "From Dusk Til Dawn" was non-anamorphic. And I decided to upgrade it to a blu-ray disk.

Now, this disk is a "Canadian" disk... which surprised me a bit. There may be a "domestic USA" version which is different, but this is the one I bought from Amazon, so that's what I'm reviewing. (I had no idea that it was "Canadian" until it arrived, by the way.)

Okay... so, here are the PROS:

1) This is a truly beautiful transfer. The image is perfect, as far as I can tell. I saw no artifacts, no noise, no blur... nothing. This actually looked better than it did when I saw it on the big screen. I'd rate the image as a 9.5/10 (and thats' simply because I never rate anything as "perfect").

2) The sound is also a wonderful transfer. My home theater system allows full HD audio (in this case, DTS-HD Master Audio, though I also have Dolby TrueHD capability, which is a bit less common but sounds at least as good as DTS-HD MA). Using the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack, it sounded very nice... but using the DTS-HD track, it was phenomenal. (Mind you, I have a very nice 7.1 sound system... if you're going off the TV speakers, you almost certainly won't hear any difference between the two!) The surround effects were well-used... hearing "bat wings" fluttering behind my recliner, clearly moving from one side of my living room to the other, was pretty impressive!

So, the movie itself is nearly perfect.

But there are a few CONS:

1) There are ZERO "extras" on this disk. I know that there were extras on the DVD... I've got it right here. It's a shame that they chose not to provide those on this disk.

2) As a "Canadian" disk, this has the original English soundtrack (Dolby Digital, and DTS-HD MA, as described before). It also has a French Dolby Digital soundtrack. But that's it. This is perfect for me, but if you're buying it in the USA, you're going to get some other language choices (for instance, you'll almost certainly get Spanish).

SO... if you only want to watch the movie, in the original form and with the original sound, in the best possible quality, this is a wonderful choice. If you're one of those who likes "extras" as part of your entertainment purchases, you'll be disappointed in that part of it.