City of the Living Dead [Blu-ray] [Region Free]

A lot of people seem to be discussing the pciture quality of the Arrow Video releases. While I was pleased with their outputs of "Inferno", "Phenomena" and "The Beyond", "City Of The Living Dead" sure is kind of a let-down. I'm not sure about the heavy grain on this transfer, but what really scares me is that this Blu-Ray has severe compression-problems. On many occasions you can see heavy digital blocking and it looks like a DVD. While it sure is an upgrade to the DVD, it is not up to par with the Blue Underground Release.

Just have a look at the sky, to see what I am talking about

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I think this film is pretty good. I think it has a creepy mood.I like the moody music of frequent collaborator Fabio Frizzi, who made music for many Fulci films. I like the theme song, but i personally think Fabio overused in the film. At the end of the film, i was a bit tired of hearing that repetitive song. I think it kind of loses it`s effect because it`s just used too much. I also like the Zombie makeup.

Picture Quality: 4/5

Previously i only had the region 1 DVD of this film, and i think this BD look much better than my old DVD. It has a lot of grain, but it is supposed to have that. The grain does not bother me. I think the details and colours are very much improved compared to my DVD.
COTLD was shot on 2-perf 35mm and only using part of the available 35 mm frame, resulting in a loss of overall resolution and detail.

It was not shot on 16mm then blown up to 35mm, as many people think. Yes, some scenes look unclear, but it is not the people doing the restoration`s fault. They looked like that originally in the cinema in 1980. There is some compression artifacts and noise, but it didn`t ruin the film experience for me. I think they did a pretty good job.

Audio Quality: 4/5

I used the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The music and the dialog sounds good coming from the Center speaker. The subwoofer channel does not sound like a new film, but i didn`t expect that at all, but there are several times when i hear good bass. Just make sure you have more volume on the sub, compared to newer films.

I was suprised to hear Zombies moaning, the wind and some other effects several times in the rear speakers. I thought the rear speakers would be used much less. I think it sounded good and was surprisingly used for good effect.

If you really like this film and has it on DVD, and was thinking about buying the BD, i would recommend you to buy it. I think it was worth the upgrade.

Film: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5

One of Fulci's best finally gets the treatment it deserves. Throw away your Vipco copy as this has it all. Decent transfer, 5.1 sound and a tonne of extras to boot.