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Dead Alive
Description by Tim DiGravina

New Zealand's Peter Jackson is known for his skewed, gross-out films. Dead Alive is probably the grossest film he's made, but it's also the funniest, and the unrated, widescreen presentation on this DVD is a sick, hilarious treat. The video quality is superb. The widescreen transfer is clean and colorful. Jackson's steadicam trickery is allowed to make its maximum effect; the camera zips around every nook and cranny of the stylish settings. Colors do seem a bit muted at times, but this only adds to the clean-cut look of the more sedate scenes. The cookie-cutter look contrasts quite fiercely with the graphic mishmash in other sections of the film. Buckets of blood and comic dismemberments shockingly spill off the screen, and the digital transfer never hampers the horror. The digitally mastered sound fits the visuals to a tee. It's a startling, unusual vision done justice by DVD. As far as supplemental material, the package is lacking. A scene index and a theatrical trailer are the only bonus features. The scene index is split into six screens, allowing instant access to 24 chapters (displayed in full-motion video thumbnails). The theatrical trailer is a full-frame, amusing affair that will either win over uninitiated viewers or turn their stomachs. Dead Alive is a disturbing comic gem, given a respectful, yet bare-bones transfer to DVD.

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