'Short Circuit' - High-Def Digest Review

[Attebery]

Kenneth's review of 'Short Circuit' is up. It's not the timeless classic he remembered it to be, but it hits a few nostalgic notes. Unfortunately, this Blu-ray features a 1080i video transfer, an average lossless audio track, and a decent but repetitive collection of supplements. For fans only.

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/shortcircuit.html

[mmmmDoNut]

Review link is incorrect.

Here's correct link.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/418/shortcircuit.html

[bfellow]

Well I guess this belongs next to House of Flying Daggers in worst transfers of all time?

[Nicodimus22]

Huh...As far as the film itself goes, I had the opposite reaction when I picked up the DVD last year and re-watched it for the first time in over a decade. I felt like a kid again, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I will say that I was a fan in the 80s though, and that a newcomer who didn't come from that era and didn't already like the idea would probably be better off renting, or maybe checking out SC2. Sorry to hear the transfer is so poor...the price pretty much made me assume that to be the case though.

[Arecsa]

I think the review is a bit harsh on the movie itself, and the disc.

[shawnmos]

Originally Posted by Arecsa

I think the review is a bit harsh on the movie itself, and the disc.

I agree. The bad rating is undeserving. I think this movie looks excellent for it's age and is WAY better than some of the early blu-ray releases such as American Psycho which I just saw recently. That movie looked like crap yet it got 3.5 stars when it really only deserved about 1.5 stars. Short Circuit deserved at least 3 stars for PQ, maybe even 3.5.

[pkremer]

Wow! Normally I agree with the reviewers here, but I can't even begin to believe how much I disagree with this review.

First, the movie. I can completely understand how a child that has grown up with Toy Story and Finding Nemo might be less than impressed with this movie, but for those of us who grew up in the 80s, it was a different story. You can call it nostalgia if you want to, but I enjoyed rewatching this movie every bit as much as I did when I was younger. The Indian guy's complete mangling of every English saying alone keeps the film moving for me. And "Hey laser lips, your mama was a snowblower!" Classic stuff!

The video? Yes, there were definitely scenes where the grain was apparent and they were flat, no argument. However, the better lit scenes looked pretty great. Has the reviewer not seen the full screen DVD version that was put out? This blows it out of the water. Contrary to the 2 star rating, this is nowhere near the worst HD transfer I've ever seen. Other sites gave the PQ a 7/10, which would translate to 3.5 stars, which is what I expected this to get. I understand that the reviewers are getting more and more used to new movies with fabulous transfers, but I don't think giving 2 stars to a transfer that absolutely far and away blows away the next best DVD is fair.

I realize that judging PQ is subjective and weighted to the personal reviewer's taste (hence the orange skin tone obsession they have that never ceases to amaze me), but this really bothers me. I feel the PQ deserved at least 1 more star.

Just my 2 cents for anyone who may be using this review to consider a purchase. If you do like the movie, you will be very happy with this.

[Blu-Dude1976]

Two words alone make this a pass: Fisher and Stevens.

[Josh Z]

No mention of Fisher Stevens' offensive Indian caricature?

Edit: Blu-dude beat me to it.

[joeymac]

Number-5 is constantly worried his pursuers will disassemble him, but there isn’t a strong enough case to suggest his fears are warranted.

Completely disagree there. He's an out of control weapon, they want to stop him as quickly as possible. They haven't seen him cooking, or dancing so they would have no reason to believe the crazy cat lady. I would say there is a very strong case for disassemble!

Spoiler:

Considering they do actually blow him up at the end... I would say J5's concerns are well placed

I used to watch this movie a lot when I was younger and watched it again a couple of weeks ago for the first time in more than ten years. I thought it held up very well. I was actually surprised how well the jokes still worked and I was definitly laughing at one's which would have gone completely over my younger self's head.
The comic timing was spot on in the scene where Stephanie first sees J5 in her truck, the little looks and gestures they got out of that robot are pretty amazing.

They are supposed to be working on a remake out in 2009/2010, by the same director I think. He's pledged to do it with a real robot.... but after the 'Alien Jones and the Kingdom of the Flying Fridges.... my faith in Hollywood is basically dead.

[project-blu]

Originally Posted by Arecsa

I think the review is a bit harsh on the movie itself, and the disc.

i'd rather have a harsh review and be pleasantly surprised, than a rave review and be disappointed.

i don't always agree, but hey, my set up and my eyes and ears aren't as good as either reviewers, so who am i to say otherwise?

[Blu-News.com]

Definitely a score too low, yes it had imperfections but it was never meant to look amazing visually. It was a light comedy filmed hella long ago, with a script that screams made for TV and low/lower budget.

I would give the movie 7/10
PQ 7/10
AQ 7/10
Bonus Features 2/10

Overall: Recommended, and the price doesnt hurt.

[mistermono]

They should have made this a 2-fer with "Electric Dreams".

[Ken Brown]

Hi all -- some clarification. One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to the quality of a video transfer is its consistency (or lack thereof). Yes, 'Short Circuit' has quite a few scenes I'd classify as 3 or 3.5 material. However, fluctuating quality from scene to scene yanked me out of the film and made it easier to notice and dwell on its problems and visual quirks. I would rather sit through a less polished transfer than one that looks fantastic one second and awful the next.

Also, I'll definitely agree that the high-def version of 'Short Circuit' looks far better than the old DVD releases -- but has anyone compared it to the new SE DVD released alongside this Blu-ray edition? Aside from the BD's increased resolution and clarity, the two look strikingly similar. Image Entertainment used the same remaster and simply slapped it on a BD disc for a slightly improved experience.

If you compare both 2008 versions (SD & HD) and consider the consistency of the BD transfer rather than focusing on its best scenes, I think you'll be able to at least see the root of my logic and rating.

Thanks as always for posting! I love reading other fans' reactions to the discs we review.

[ben1080p]

Never seen it ever. But am dying to! Hope its the movie of the week soon