#toliveanddieinla #4kuhd #filmreview
I review the EXTREMELY disappointing and heavily flawed new MGM 4K master and no effort Kino Lorber 4K UHD Blu-ray combo format release of TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA. The film is a masterwork and a film I've been obsessed with for years. For me it remains William Friedkin's masterwork and the definitive film of the 1980s. It is still criminally underrated.
So to finally have it get the 4K treatment on a UHD was extremely welcome news even over the previous 4K master on the Shout and Arrow Blu-ray releases....until you get the disc and see all the weirdness in the new picture transfers form the stagnant and odd looking grain structure, softened moments that possibly indicate DNR and the consistent damage throughout the transfer. This would be one thing but then you turn to the audio and find a lesser remix of the 5.1 remix and HIDEOUSLY and PAINFULLY OBVIOUS defective 2.0 audio which so grates on the ears that anyone should've caught this. The audio options are both compromised and the 2.0 is so bad that it ranks among the worst audio problems of any Kino disc release to date.
There are no new extras, the legacy extras aren't encoded as well as they could be and to be honest someone else at another label who actually cares needs to be allowed to release the film and do the work MGM didn't do-especially in souring the proper original audio which is best heard on the old and very rare Image Laserdisc reissue.
00:00 Intro Goof
02:15 Introduction and film discussion
15:54 Friedkin “Friedkinizing” his films and the basic video editions
18:36 The Kino Lorber 4K UHD
19:27 Picture Quality…is iffy
19:56 the film grain structure is frequently weird possibly occasional DNR
21:14 Consistent film damage and wear not in previous 4K master
24:14 Visual summary-Very disappointing
26:26 Dolby Vision HDR presentation
30:15 Audio Quality…oh dear. Tweaked 5.1 remix
33:08 COMPLETELY DEFECTIVE 2.0 Audio
36:45 Audio Summary-Fubar.
37:27 The Image digital audio Laserdisc Reissue is BY FAR the best audio source
39:50 New Blu-ray is from 4K new master but also with same issues and crap audio
41:18 Slipcover, Artwork and generic Kino Packaging
42:26 Legacy MGM and Shout Supplements
46:17 Final Summary-problematic as heck and needs a complete overhaul!
59:26 Outro Goof: “To Live and Die In KL Soundtrack”
