• Login

    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Klondike

    Featured In Issue 191, November 2014

    Picture3.5
    Sound3.5
    WSR Score4
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Cinedigm/Discovery
    (Catalog Number):
    DS4389
    (MPAA Rating):
    Not Rated
    (Rating Reason):
    (Retail Price):
    $20.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    429
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2014
    (Theatrical Release):
    No
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    Yes
    (Disc Release Date):
    06/10/14
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Simon Cellan Jones
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    DTS HD Lossless 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    "Klondike" is the story of lifelong friends Bill Haskell (Madden) and Byron Epstein (Prew), who set out to stake their claim in what would go down in history as the last great gold rush. They know the quest would change their lives forever, but they never could have predicted the unprecedented desperation they would unearth in the unclaimed Yukon Territory. Greedy businessmen, seductive courtesans, and native tribes facing extinction all claw their way into this land and the promise of undiscovered wealth, but a sweeping plague, ravaging conditions, and unpredictable weather will leave the final say in who walks out alive. In the end, the question is no longer if they will find gold but if they will stay alive long enough to enjoy it. This Discovery Channel miniseries is based on the actual events from Charlotte Gray's book "Gold Diggers." (Gary Reber)

    There are no special features.

    The 1080p AVC picture is desaturated throughout and lacks vividness and saturated color. Occasionally a glimpse of rich, vivid color is exposed. Contrast also is generally poor and lacking in deep, solid blacks. An overall grayness permeates the imagery, with shadows relatively unrevealing. The aerial scenes of the frozen wilderness and snowcapped mountains are often impressive in terms of color fidelity and depth. Fleshtones exhibit naturalness throughout. Because the lighting design exhibits natural gas lights, the night imagery appears murky, which deprives the picture of clarity and resolution. (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack sounds dynamic at times, with strong deep .1 LFE bass that sounds rumbly, such as in the devastating avalanche and storm and raging rapids sequences. Atmospherics sound realistic and provide a sense of surround envelopment. The orchestral music score is nicely recorded and aggressively enveloping, with a wide and deep soundstage presence and effective low-frequency foundation. Dialogue is often muted and non-intelligible. While there are some effective segments with excellent fidelity and dynamics, the soundtrack sounds "produced" rather than natural. (Gary Reber)

    Reason #114 Why Readers Love Widescreen Review:

    I appreciate the technical nature of your DVD reviews; that is, the way you rate the sound and picture quality of newly released DVDs. The reviews in most other magazines are concerned not with how good the DVD is, but with just the film itself: quality of the script, actors' performances, etc., all of which are subject to the critic's personal tastes, which may be wildly different from my own.

    Paul Mulik
    26864 Mandelieu Drive, Murrieta, CA 92562 • Phone: 951 676 4914 • Fax: 951 693 2960
    Copyright © Information • All Rights Reserved • www.widescreenreview.com • Web Site Established In 1995 • Privacy Policy • Partners