Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
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Scream 2's initial release on dvd was an underwhelming affair. If you had the R1/R2 version all you got was a widescreen print of the film, not 16x9 enhanced and devoid of any extras.
Well now that situation has been redeemed with the release of a collectors edition of the film. In R1 land it's available in a bix set and is anamorphic. The same goes for R2 except that some clever guy forgot to include an anamorphic transfer. Yep this means that those without multi-region get screwed again.
Personally I think Scream 2 is the better of the trilogy. It's just a more glossy well orchestrated film that has laughs but thanks to a larger canvas and locations gets better scares. Don't agree ? Then take a look at the killer's stalking of Gale in the recording studio or the taunting of Randy on the cellphone. Both of these rack up the tension with the help of space. The Cox/Arquette relationship also fires on all cylinders with some real heat that comes good in the end. Only the ending lets it down by being a bit silly but this may be due to the script being leaked onto the net.
So what about the dvd ? Well I have the R1 boxset version but the R2 is the same in terms of extras so you can still make a judgement.
The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a new transfer and is very clean, crisp and full of colour. The night scenes are very well handled and nothing looks dull.
Sound wise we get a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and it's very good. The rears kick in whenever there's a chase scene, use of music or a moment to make you jump.
Kicking off the extras is an audio commentary with Wes Craven, Producer Marianne Maddalena and Editor Patrick Lussier. This is a good track where the participants are recorded together and has a lot of great info to share about the film and those leaked script moments.
Next is a behind the scenes featurette that features some decent behind the scenes footage but it's too short at only 6 minutes. It doesn't really tell you anything.
There are also 2 music videos from the soundtrack by Kotton Mouth Kings and Master P, both decent tracks that feature in the movie.
Next are a collection of deleted scenes with optional commentary. These are in a rough video format and are nothing groundbreaking but one of them was cut and re-shot because it hinted too much at the killer.
Finally the best extra is a collection of out-takes where cast members bang heads, propos are dropped and David Arquette screws up his lines. Most are quite amusing.
Rounding out the dvd is the usual trailers, tv spots and cast/crew biogs. All this comes with new animated menus that aren't great but do the job.
If you're a scream fan like I am then this is the best version available on dvd and probably the final one. It's not the best special edition out there but more than makes up for the poor first effort.
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Production Year: 1982 - Horror - Director: Tommy Lee Wallace - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O'Herlihy
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1drunkbrit 24.09.2001 (24.09.2001)
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Review of Scream 2 (DVD)
![Scream 2 [DVD] [1998]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78550360.jpg "Scream 2 [DVD] [1998]")
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