'Black Sunday' was released by Paramount in a letterboxed edition some months ago. The letterboxing of the Panavision film, about 2.25:1, is the only real attraction. The video transfer is only average. The colors are generally good, sharpness and contrast are fair. The transfer is a bit dark in some scenes, whether this is the fault of the colorist or the source material, I don't know. Don't get me wrong. This isn't a bad transfer, it just doesn't measure up to the standards that have been set in the past year or so.
While the video transfer is ok, the mono soundtrack is pretty bad. Those with a subwoofer will probably detect a very low frequency pulsing in a number of scenes. I am sure this is not part of the soundtrack as the frequency range is quite limited. There is noticable distortion in the high frequencies. Overall, the audio is overly bright and, at times, difficult to listen to.
The film runs 143 minutes and is spread to 3 sides in CLV. The disc is not chapter encoded. List price is $39.95. Fans only need apply.
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