Krull
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Cast: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony
Extras: Commentary Tracks, Featurette, Marvel Comics Video Adaptation, Photo Gallery, Trailer
Rating:
’Krull’ is one of the few fantasy highlights that really takes viewers not a different world. A world where centaurs are as real as dark wizards and sorcerers who use their powers to kill their foes. Stylish put in place and with great special effects – although they appear slightly dated in this day and age – ’Krull’ is one of the great fantasy films of the 80s and Columbia TriStar Home Video. While the story is quite formulaic and does not offer the wealth of some of the greatest fantasy masterpieces, ’Krull’ nonetheless is a fun movie that is very enjoyable, especially for fans of the genre.
Columbia TriStar Home Video is presenting the film in an anamorphic widescreen transfer on this DVD in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The print is generally clean and without notable blemishes, and despite its age it shows no real signs of grain. Colors are well reproduced, although a bit dull at times. The level of detail on the other hand is remarkable, making it a great presentation. Blacks are very deep and solid, and overall, ’Krull’ is a beautifully looking disc without compression artifacts.
The audio on the disc comes as a5.1 channel Dolby Digital track, which is well transferred to this DVD. With good dynamics and wide frequency response, the film feels much less dated than you would expect. Especially the music has a rich quality to itself with clear, soaring strings and good low ends. Dialogues are well integrated and always understandable.
The DVD also contains a number of highly informative and entertaining extras, such as a new commentary track featuring director Peter Yates, editor Ray Lovejoy and the film’s actors Ken Marshall and Lysette Anthony. The second commentary track is an essay on the making of the film with extremely insightful information about the full scope of the production.
A 20-minute featurette called ’The journey to Krull’ is also part of the release, but it is clearly a promo piece rather than an informative behind-the-scenes featurette, attempting to get viewers excited and interested in the film. To that extend I have no doubt that this piece ran on TV to promote the movie’s original theatrical release. A photo gallery, trailers and talent files complete this release, making ’Krull’ a very exciting release for all fans of the fantasy genre… and the phenomenal Marvel Comics Video Adaptation – a 45 minute comic book version of the film – on the disc will add to that quite substantially!