After spending over a year looking for this LaserDisc I finally managed to get hold of a copy brand new and sealed from a Laserdisc trader in Japan. This has to be one of the most sought after LD's you can get because it was the only format which you could get in widescreen before the DVD came out recently by Warner Bros. So what is the quality like?
JAPANESE WIDESCREEN LASERDISC
Picture:
The picture holds up well for a disc produced
in the late 80's. There wasn't many widescreen LaserDiscs during this period
many were cropped in the Pan and Scan ratio. The film starts off with the
Cannon logo instead of the Warner logo. Cannon hold the distributions rights
for Superman IV outside of America and Canada. The Cannon logo does look
very dated and the print for it looks very sratchy. The intro for the film
doesn't look as sharp and as clear as the new DVD. The film upon release
looked very dirty, all the dirt present in the LD and VHS versions has
been removed from the DVD. The picture does still look nice through out
the film despite the odd dirt present on close ups on Superman and Nuclearman
fighting it out. Flesh tones look fine and there is no pixeliation. There
is a slight tone of blue through out the film. I thought at first It was
Ernest Day's photography but it was down to the transfere. The lighting
and photography on the DVD is very natural so I would say that the DVD
is closer to the original style of the film. The film was shot at 2.35:1
but the Laserdisc does seem to have a taller ratio. It seems that the pressing
was framed at 2.1:1, it won't spoil your enjoyment of the film knowing
this but I would prefere that the film was transfered at its original ratio
like the DVD.
Sound:
The DVD was a slight improvement in sound compared
to the Warner Pan and Scan laserdisc. But I noticed on this disc the sound
does seem to be alot more richer in surrounds and bass. For example when
the volcano explodes and the lava pours down into the town the bass rumbles
out of control making it sound abit unrealistic but hey it sounds alot
better than the flat compressed DVD. The best scene to test the bass is
the scene not available ont the DVD, the tornado scene with Reeve's daughter
playing the part of the girl who is sucked into the tornado. When Nuclearman
creates the tornado by spinning around causing a vacume the bass rumbles
with the surrounds to create a very cool effect that is not present on
the European VHS.
Overall:
The LaserDisc is worth owning for the superior
sound over the DVD and the excellent cover which like most LaserDisc collectors
will know is one of the most important parts. The version does run to the
original length of the 92 minutes. It contains both the scenes available
on the TV edit and the European cut. I paid quite alot for this disc
because it was sealed but you can get hold of a copy used for about $60,
so try emailed some laserdisc collectors in Japan and try your luck.
Picture **
Sound****
Cover design *****
Overall ***
