DVD Review: Shaft

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The Movie:

A DVD review of "Shaft"? Can ya dig it?

The DVD

VIDEO: Warner Brothers has presented "Shaft" in anamorphic widescreen and I can definitely dig that. Especially when the picture quality looks so impressive; sure, it's not perfect, but it's also a picture that's about 30 years old. For a movie that long in years, the picture quality looks great, with images that are nicely sharp with good detail, and clarity that may not be outstanding, but is never lacking. Colors look excellent as well, looking bright and clean, never looking faded or exhibiting other signs of problems.

The print used looks damn fine as well, with hardly a sign of scratches or marks. There's not a bit of shimmering or pixelation as well; the only problem is that the picture occasionally looks grainy, but that's not consistently apparent in every scene. What you get is a really solid looking image that, although it has some faults here and there, looks really good for a movie of its age. Very good work from Warner Brothers.

SOUND: The original mono soundtrack is included and it's pretty limited, although not terribly problematic. The sound is pretty thin, but not harsh; the music score sounds very good and energizes the film nicely. Dialogue sometimes could stand to be a little clearer, but it's not terrible. Good stuff, gets the job done.

MENUS:: Non-animated main menu, but it's great to have the score playing in the background.

EXTRAS: There could have been some great extras included on this DVD; a commentary from the cast/crew would have been nice, or even "Pulp Fiction" director Quentin Tarantino, who demonstrated an impressive knowledge of 70's cinema on the commentary for "Switchblade Sisters". We do get some nice extras here, though:

Trailers: Trailers for all 3 "Shaft" films.

Featurette: a 10 minute featurette on the film in general and some of the stunt sequences.

Also: Cast notes.

Final Thoughts: Although there could have been a few more extras, the picture and sound quality are very good for a film this age. With the $19.99 price tag, I'd definitely recommend Warner's DVD.

Film Grade
The Film B+

DVD Grades
Video 85/B = (340/400 possible points)
Audio: 75/C = (300/400 possible points)
Extras: 80/B- = (240/300 possible points)
Menus: 80/B- = (160/200 possible points)
Value: 81/B = (243/300 possible points)

TOTAL POINTS:1283/1600
DVD GRADE:B-/80%

FILM GRADE: B+

DVD GRADE: B-

DVD Information

Shaft
Warner Brothers
1.85:1/Pan&scan
Mono(English)
1970
Dual Layer:No
Rated:R
100 Minutes
Anamorphic:Yes
Region:1

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