Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extra: 0/5
Overall: 3/5
"Can We Get a Recall?"
It's a shame that Sony, creator of the Blu-ray format, has given up on releasing their movies on Blu-ray! Well, it's a good thing that Mill Creek decided to step in and release titles for them. I managed to order this Blu-ray from one of my favorite webstores and scored it for under $6. This Blu-ray would be perfect, if it wasn't for one small, but large flaw.
Anatomy: 5/5
Paula Henning (Franka Potente, Princess and the Warrior) is accepted into one of Germany's best medical schools. As she arrives to Heidelberg, we learn that there is a secret underground society that is conducting illegal dissections on people. As Paula discovers the mystery, her friends are dying off one by one.
I thought this was a great German horror film. Franka Potente does a great job as does Benno Furman. Which is a great duo as they are foes in this film and lovers in Princess and the Warrior. And it's really nice that we have a different kind of horror movie; it's a slasher, but the methods are unique as the killers are obsessed with the human body. 5/5.
Anatomy 2: 3.5/5
Jo is a young med student who is trying to find a cure for his brother's muscular disease. While at the same time, the same group of medical madmen are operating at his university. This time, this branch of the Anti-Hippocratics are focusing on improving the human condition. Jo is soon accepted into the group and realizes he is in over his head.
For a sequel, it was good. Franka Potente has a cameo in the film and is in it for about five minutes and that's it. The cast is ok. Just the plot of this film does not compare to the first film. Considering that these people are not preserving, but, essentially destroying the human body as they want to replace everyting with synthetic muscles and everything else under the sun. I give the film a 3.5/5
Video: 4/5
Anatomy: 4/5
Mill Creek's transfer of the film Anatomy is pretty good as it is in 2.35:1, 1080p, and MPEG4/AVC. This is a different source which was not used on the Sony DVD. The credits on the DVD were in English whereas all of the credits on Mill Creek's Blu-ray are in German. Grain is pretty strong in most spots. There was only three instances of print damage that I could spot while viewing the film; 56 minutes, 67 minutes, and in the final scene during the end credits. There might be some dirt here and there, but it's not as bad as the transfer was on the DVD. Sony and Mill Creek give Anatomy a quality debut on Blu-ray. 4/5.
Anatomy 2: 4/5
NOTE: I would give this a zero out of five stars, but, I don't feel it's entirely fair.
The biggest problem with the transfer on Anatomy 2 is that English subtitles are hardcoded into the video transfer of the film. So, if you decide to watch the film with French or Spanish subtitles, you have to watch it with English subtitles on top of that. This is something that you expect with a DVD. I cannot recall any Blu-rays that I have seen where the subtitles are actually hardcoded into the video itself.
While setting this aside, the video quality is pretty good for a film that is now ten years old. Presented in 1080p, in 2.35:1, and in MPEG4/AVC. I never saw Anatomy 2 on DVD, so, I cannot comment on the quality differences between both formats. Grain is present throughout. I give the video presentation, despite the hardcoded subtitles, a 4/5.
Audio: 4/5
Anatomy: 4/5
This is another oddity, the original German audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and the English dub is presented in Dolby Digital DTS-HD MA 5.1. Why Sony handed off the original audio in an inferior soundtrack is questionable. English is the default audio track on the film. But, are most people going to listen to the film in it's English dub? We also have the film with a French Dolby Digital 2.0 track. I give the audio presentations a 4/5.
Anatomy 2: 4/5
Unlike Anatomy, we do not have an English dub track for the second film and we now have the German audio in DTS-HD MA 5.1. Then we have a Spanish dub in Dolby Digital 5.1 for the film, which the first film didn't have. And on top of that, French Dolby Digital 2.0. I'd say the sound levels all sound even in comparison to the first film. But, I think the English subtitles are more of a distraction compared to listening to the audio. I give the audio presentation a 4/5.
Extras: 0/5
Can't say if there was any extras on the second film, but all of the bonus material from the first film is non-existant on this Blu-ray. I can't think of any Mill Creek Blu-rays, with the exception of the Gamera trilogy, that had extra features. 0/5.
Overall: 3/5
I got this for under $6; if the problem of hardcoded English subtitles on the second film doesn't bother you, then go for it. I think I'll wait until Sony Germany releases Anatomy 2 on Blu-ray over there and see if it has English subs. I just think it's such a doozy that this happened; was there any quality control done on this Blu-ray? Setting that problem aside, 3/5.
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