Review for The Lawnmower Man: 2-Disc Director's Cut

1 / 10

Introduction


I missed out on the first DVD release of The Lawnmower Man, and have been nursing my VHS copy since I bought it, so you can bet that when this Director's Cut DVD was announced, I poised myself to pounce, and have been suffering from cramp ever since. Ok, so VR turned out to be a dead end, so a handheld console can outdo the digital effects in this film, but The Lawnmower Man turned out to be prescient in many ways. I also found it to be a stunning and effective sci-fi horror, which still isn't an oversubscribed genre. Of course, the less said about the kiddified sequel, the better.

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I was looking forward to taking my time and reviewing the discs, but I forgot that I had entered into one of those reviewer lotteries that the big studios have so much fun with. The DVD's out in mid-October, but the studios want their discs back now! Or as close to now as possible. That means that I don't have the time to watch the film, to write about the story, the acting, or any of that stuff.

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I do have the time to tell you why you are not going to buy this film, and I do have the time to tell you that even if I was the thieving pirate that the big studios are so convinced that I am, I would still treat this DVD like something a puppy yet to be housetrained had left on the carpet. And it's nothing personal against security crazy studios that send draconian security contracts with the disc, instead of informing you before you request them, in case that might put you off the added expense. And by the way, expecting the discs back by courier (requiring signature), when you send them in unpadded envelopes by normal mail… not going to happen!

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The Disc


So the reason that you are not going to buy The Lawnmower Man Director's Cut on DVD. This is 2010, we're all going hi-def now, with Blu-rays and all sorts of cool hi-tech stuff. We're all savvy about how films should look, we're meticulous in demanding the finest in audio-visual quality. The Lawnmower Man: Director's Cut, with its 40 minutes of extra footage comes in 4:3 pan and scan. That's right, it's for old TVs. It also has a runtime of 140 minutes, exactly the same as the US director's cut, which means that not only is it pan and scan, it's an NTSC-PAL standards conversion, with ghosting, judder, lower resolution, the whole litany of complaints apply. Not that you care at this point, but the whole thing is VHS quality, so there's even less detail than you would have hoped for. As for audio, how does a muddy DD 2.0 stereo track grab you, lacking in clarity and frequency range? At least there are subtitles. 

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Extras


There are extras to help salve the wounds. And these are the only discs on the planet where the Universal logos are skippable. The discs autoplay with a trailer for the indiVision label, and they get pleasant themed animated menus.

The Lawnmower Man gets the Trailer, 10 minutes of deleted scenes, 2 minutes of Storyboard to Film Comparison, an Animated Montage that collects the CGI of the film into a 4-minute sequence, and a 5-minute making of featurette.

The insult to injury comes in that all except the featurette are presented anamorphically in the original aspect ratio.

Incidentally, mention was made in the PR blurb of a director's audio commentary. It isn't here.

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The big extra, or a big reason (if you need another one) not to buy is the inclusion of the sequel, Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace on a separate disc. It's the one where Matt Frewer replaced Jeff Fahey. They look nothing alike, but hell, Matt Frewer was Max Headroom, he's practically overqualified.

Widescreen! Don't get excited though as it is a cropped, 1.85:1 letterbox transfer. The film's OAR is 2.35:1. This is a native PAL image, but once again, it's dismally poor VHS quality, which will have your big screen TV spitting in derision. It has subtitles, but they are zoom unfriendly. It's also another 2.0 Stereo track, which sounds even muddier than that on the first film.

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Conclusion


So, there you have it. You have been warned. If you buy this DVD, you only have yourself to blame. You can have your discs back now Universal. Seriously, you worry about movie piracy when your legitimate product looks worse than pirated material?

Shame!

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Your Opinions and Comments

Gotta love Universal. The most ludicrous 'anti piracy' restrictions of any studio I deal with (although Warner come in a close second). Best thing is when they send stuff unsolicited and demand that it's returned ASAP or you'll never get another disc blah, blah, blah. Well, I don't return any of them and I'm still getting them, although that's a mixed blessing.
posted by Chris Gould on 9/9/2010 00:45
What a bag of you know what. I'm so glad I was too slow off the mark for this one! Doesn't sound much like "a stunning two-disc set, complete with a stunning array of bonus features"...
posted by Rich Goodman on 9/9/2010 08:10
I can't believe how paranoid Universal, with their ridiculous notices demanding immediate return of the product and, when you want watching it, that it be kept in a locked place!  Like Chris, I haven't sent any of the discs back yet they continue to come through the door.  I don't even think Universal take the warnings seriously and just do it to annoy the people who give them free publicity -- go figure!
posted by David Beckett on 9/9/2010 09:26
Well, judging from the screen grabs - eeeeeeeyuck!  Universal UK looks like it's back on form, then.  I remember some of their early DVD releases were terrible.
posted by Mark Oates on 9/9/2010 09:27