Extras |
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Captures |
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Review |
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Anthony
Romero |
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Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the
Land of Demons, the fifth title in the
Lone Wolf and Cub series, follows in the footsteps
of other AnimEigo titles of the time. This
disc, which incorrectly starts off with the
Daiei logo subtitled as Toho (something left
over from their Zatoichi movies, but particularly
embarrassing here as Daiei had nothing to
do with this series), features: good video
quality, a good audio offering, that is all
topped off by another ho-hum selection of
extras. |
Video: |
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The video track included for the film
is decent, although borders very close to
being quite good. The problems are that the
movie is slightly too dark, and that there
is a slight brown tint to the colors. The
print used for the transfer, while generally
in good shape, does have a notable scratch
on occasion. In terms of noise levels, there is also a good layer
of grain present through out. On the plus
side, the colors are generally vibrant and
distinct on this release. The level of detail
present is also impressive, with a number
of the close ups on the characters being very
vivid although a few of the wide angle shots
suffer from over compression. Sadly, the window
boxing is a little off in this release, with
sometimes the image appearing across
the whole screen and other times being
slightly cropped. It's a very small complaint,
though.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the
Land of Demons is presented in its
original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and is Anamorphic
for widescreen TVs.
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Audio: |
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The disc contains one audio track, which
is the movie in its original mono presentation.
The track is in good quality, without any
notable hiss or cracks. Hideaki Sakurai's
musical score does sound a little scratchy
at points, but otherwise is good for most
of the movie's duration. In the end, the only
thing holding back the audio here is a lack
of other options, although "purists"
likely won't be bothered by it.
The audio is complimented by removable English
subtitles, with additional subtitles available
for Japanese terms/expressions.
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Extras: |
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AnimEigo is at it again. If you have reviewed
as many titles from the company as I have
at this stage, the first thing you always
think of is: Program/Production Notes, and
sure enough here they are. This being an earlier
title from the firm, they are also present
on a little insert in the box as well. Anyway,
like other Program Notes from the company,
these have almost nothing to do with the production
itself and are more focused on giving background
information on Japan and relevant side topics
seen in the movie. It's a nice gesture, but
in the age of Wikipedia, and other internet
sources, not all that impressive today.
Outside of this, the disc contains four trailers,
many of which feature some notable print damage,
in the form of: Lone
Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell, Lady
Snowblood, Zatoichi's
Conspiracy, and one for the movie
on the DVD.
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Overview: |
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Bottom
line, this disc, while far from amazing, is
serviceable for those wishing to just watch
the movie and don't care much for supplemental
content.
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