Watcher
15-11-2001, 02:37 PM
<I><B>WARNER HOME VIDEO</I></b>
<center><b>
<h2>WILD AMERICA </h2>
Release Date:</b> November 21 2001.
<B>Warner Home Video.</B>
<b>Rating:</b> PG
<B>RRP:</b> $29.95</center>
<UL><b>Special features and specs…..</b>
<LI><B>NTSC</b> Region 4.
<LI>Languages in Dolby Digital 5.1 English.
<LI>Subtitles: English, Portuguese, Spanish.
<LI>Aspect: 1.33:1, 4:3 transfer.
<LI>Running Time; 107 Mins.
<LI>Single sided.</UL>
<b>Cast…</b>Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Devon Sawa, Scott Bairstow, Frances Fisher, Jamey Sheridan.
<center><B>From the back cover….</b></center>
<I> <B>"Wild America is splendid! Thrilling! "</b></i>
- Michael Medved, New York Post.
<i>Jonathan Taylor Thomas ["Tom and Huck"], Devon Sawa ["Casper"], and Scott Bairstow ["White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf"], star in the amazing true story of the Stouffer brothers, three boys who's summer vacation would turn into an adventure to last a lifetime.
It's summer of 1968, and Marty [Bairstow], Mark [Sawa], and Marshall [Thomas] Stouffer have a wild idea. Fascinated by the nature that surrounds them, they decide to hit the road with a 16mm camera to capture America's vanishing wildlife in it unspoiled natural habitat.
Now these three intrepid travellers will learn to trust and depend on each other as they record their life-endangering odyssey and collect images never before seen of majestic, powerful animals in their natural surroundings.</i>
<B><I>"A delightful adventure!"</b></i> - Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times.
<b>Audio/Visual….</b>
This is a Region 4 <B>NTSC</b> release so you'll need a television that is able to display the NTSC picture.
When you first put in the DVD and start it up, you get the copyright messages, the Warner Bros logo and then a text message basically informing you that the feature has been modified from its original format to fit your screen. Aaaaaaarrgghhhh!!! Why did they do this!
Wild America is in a 1.33:1 full screen format and it's a shame as the movie travels through swamps, desert, mountain and forest terrains of which some would have looked awesome on a better quality (and in widescreen) picture..
There are small imperfections and scratches and the film looks like it's riddled with very fine grain at times, however the actual picture is bright and sharp and colours are very strong and rich. Reds, blues, greens and blacks are very strong in particular at times. Flesh tones seemed a tad too orange at times, but were good for most of the movie.
It's a shame we don't get a PAL transfer as this NTSC version has dropped the image quality a notch.
Wild America only has a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track and it's not the greatest, but still works well.
The front soundstage is strong and this is where it seems that most of the audio is focussed.
The rears do offer some surround effects with birds, crickets horses stampeding and some music, but they are mostly soft and only just add to audio mix. The sub is also mostly quiet, but then suddenly rumbles to things such as fire crackers exploding and the semi trailer pulling up to the house in one scene. Speech is clear and in sync.
<B>Extra features…..</b>
There are no extra features on this DVD which is a shame.
<B>Overall......</b>
Wild America is set in the late 60's and is about 3 brothers who head off on their own with a movie camera to film endangered American wild life. Things obviously don't go to plan and the movie has its fair share the boys getting in trouble and some of it's pretty funny.
This is an enjoyable film if not taken too seriously and Jonathan Taylor Thomas does a good job as the youngest brother Marshall who's always picked on by his brothers, but is always willing to do what it takes to gain their approval.
O.k, so it's NTSC, full frame and the picture quality suffers at times, but this is a light hearted, fun adventure movie and is still well worth a look.
Renting it first and having a look rather than buying it blind is the best option here as it will not be to everyones taste, but I do think some will be surprised at how much they actually do enjoy this movie.
Thanks for reading…
<center><b>
<h2>WILD AMERICA </h2>
Release Date:</b> November 21 2001.
<B>Warner Home Video.</B>
<b>Rating:</b> PG
<B>RRP:</b> $29.95</center>
<UL><b>Special features and specs…..</b>
<LI><B>NTSC</b> Region 4.
<LI>Languages in Dolby Digital 5.1 English.
<LI>Subtitles: English, Portuguese, Spanish.
<LI>Aspect: 1.33:1, 4:3 transfer.
<LI>Running Time; 107 Mins.
<LI>Single sided.</UL>
<b>Cast…</b>Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Devon Sawa, Scott Bairstow, Frances Fisher, Jamey Sheridan.
<center><B>From the back cover….</b></center>
<I> <B>"Wild America is splendid! Thrilling! "</b></i>
- Michael Medved, New York Post.
<i>Jonathan Taylor Thomas ["Tom and Huck"], Devon Sawa ["Casper"], and Scott Bairstow ["White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf"], star in the amazing true story of the Stouffer brothers, three boys who's summer vacation would turn into an adventure to last a lifetime.
It's summer of 1968, and Marty [Bairstow], Mark [Sawa], and Marshall [Thomas] Stouffer have a wild idea. Fascinated by the nature that surrounds them, they decide to hit the road with a 16mm camera to capture America's vanishing wildlife in it unspoiled natural habitat.
Now these three intrepid travellers will learn to trust and depend on each other as they record their life-endangering odyssey and collect images never before seen of majestic, powerful animals in their natural surroundings.</i>
<B><I>"A delightful adventure!"</b></i> - Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times.
<b>Audio/Visual….</b>
This is a Region 4 <B>NTSC</b> release so you'll need a television that is able to display the NTSC picture.
When you first put in the DVD and start it up, you get the copyright messages, the Warner Bros logo and then a text message basically informing you that the feature has been modified from its original format to fit your screen. Aaaaaaarrgghhhh!!! Why did they do this!
Wild America is in a 1.33:1 full screen format and it's a shame as the movie travels through swamps, desert, mountain and forest terrains of which some would have looked awesome on a better quality (and in widescreen) picture..
There are small imperfections and scratches and the film looks like it's riddled with very fine grain at times, however the actual picture is bright and sharp and colours are very strong and rich. Reds, blues, greens and blacks are very strong in particular at times. Flesh tones seemed a tad too orange at times, but were good for most of the movie.
It's a shame we don't get a PAL transfer as this NTSC version has dropped the image quality a notch.
Wild America only has a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track and it's not the greatest, but still works well.
The front soundstage is strong and this is where it seems that most of the audio is focussed.
The rears do offer some surround effects with birds, crickets horses stampeding and some music, but they are mostly soft and only just add to audio mix. The sub is also mostly quiet, but then suddenly rumbles to things such as fire crackers exploding and the semi trailer pulling up to the house in one scene. Speech is clear and in sync.
<B>Extra features…..</b>
There are no extra features on this DVD which is a shame.
<B>Overall......</b>
Wild America is set in the late 60's and is about 3 brothers who head off on their own with a movie camera to film endangered American wild life. Things obviously don't go to plan and the movie has its fair share the boys getting in trouble and some of it's pretty funny.
This is an enjoyable film if not taken too seriously and Jonathan Taylor Thomas does a good job as the youngest brother Marshall who's always picked on by his brothers, but is always willing to do what it takes to gain their approval.
O.k, so it's NTSC, full frame and the picture quality suffers at times, but this is a light hearted, fun adventure movie and is still well worth a look.
Renting it first and having a look rather than buying it blind is the best option here as it will not be to everyones taste, but I do think some will be surprised at how much they actually do enjoy this movie.
Thanks for reading…