Columbia/Tristar continues to remaster much of the Columbia catalog and the latest effort is my second favorite Bill Murray comedy, 'Stripes'. Besides Murray, the cast includes a number of names that most will recognize. The stars, of course, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates and John Candy as well as early performances by John Larroquette (sp), P.J. Soles, and my favorite wacko, Sean Young. If you have quick eyes look for Timothy Busfield and Bill Paxton in bit roles.
This new transfer is, of course, letterboxed and the framing, at about 1.85:1, looks well balanced. The image quality is a bit inconsistant, ranging from rather grainy and dark to clear and clean. Mostly, I rate this transfer as good to very good. Colors are solid and appear accurate. Sharpness and detail are good, but again, vary from scene to scene. Contrast and brightness are very good.
The soundtrack is mono and the digital tracks are fairly clear with no noticable distortion, though the audio could be described as unremarkable. Dynamic range and frequency response are somewhat limited but the charm of this film lies in the performances of it's stars not in flashy effects.
'Stripes' runs 106 minutes and this disc contains 39 chapters. Sorry, no trailer. List price is $34.95.
Perhaps a better film element would have yielded a better transfer. As it is, the best thing that can be said about this disc is that at least they didn't screw it up, and it is letterboxed. The movie is amusing and the transfer isn't terrible...recommended.
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