Being in Canada when the first Lost Highway DVD came out, I never imagined that it was a States-free release. And, since I didn't have the best home entertainment system in the late '90s, I never noticed the pan and scan. Just the mere fact that I didn't have to rewind it was good enough for me. But now, ten years later, Lost Highway is getting a new release -- one that isn't confined to the land of the maple leaf, and one that should screen well with its widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1 aspect ratio.However, there's a reason that I didn't include it as a feature on my post about new DVD releases -- it's still not that great. Sure, it isn't pan and scan, but is that really enough? After ten years and all this time, you'd think that there would be a release with some features and perks to make the disc worth it -- especially since the UK has a 2-disc edition.
DVD Beaver has an excellent comparison up about the myriad of Lost Highway discs to hit the various regions -- from aspect ratios and comparison screencaps to bitrate graphs. Where the UK release from 2006 has interviews with Lynch, Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, and Robert Loggia, plus some featurettes, this new North American release has... a keep case. Wait. There is, also, subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, so it has that over the old UK Cinema Club release. But, the review also states that the colors don't seem to mesh with the other releases.
All in all, it's not the greatest option for Lynch fans. If you're itching to have it on your shelves in any form, by all means, pick it up, but you might want to try for the UK version if you want something to really delight your inner, impatient fan.












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-25-2008 @ 10:04PM
Ben said...
I think only you watch it, you can comment on it whether the newly release is good or not. I have seen the movie, and think the movie is fantastic. The movie sucks me in, envelops me beckons me to search my own depths for answers. Yea, all the answers are in this newly released:
http://dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=92842&ru=279
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3-25-2008 @ 11:44PM
Accordion27 said...
When this title was originally announced, there was supposed to be a 10-part multi-angle interview with David Lynch as a special feature. I wonder what happened to that?
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3-26-2008 @ 1:06AM
Bill said...
Yeah, I ended up buying the disc today after work. The transfer is pretty lackluster. Too soft, too warm and too dark. I can see why Lynch wants to have as much control over his DVD releases as possible... when he doesn't supervise a release, it ends up like this. Regardless, it's still really nice to finally have a DVD of one of my favorite movies. I'm looking forward to buying a deluxe Blu-Ray version... in 2019.
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3-26-2008 @ 6:09AM
Josh said...
Lost Highway Letterbox is the only VHS that I've purchased since I started buying DVDs in late 1999. Now, it's the only VHS that I still own. I guess I'll just keeping holding onto it for a while longer.
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3-27-2008 @ 5:28PM
steve said...
just looking at the dvdbeaver screencaps, i almost think the movie looks better dark.
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