Product: Chiefs [Region 2] (1983)
Rating: 3.0
One of the worst video transfers I have seen.
Although the storyline is very good and the big-name actors a plus, if you are a videophile you will want to avoid this particular DVD version. Although the audio is very good, the video leaves much to be desired. The image is slightly out of focus (the FBI warning is, however, very sharp); the color is off...too much red; and the contrast is weak, giving a slightly washed out appearance. Additionally the compression rate is too high, resulting in severe "pixelation" in action scenes and some scene changes. Even the frame rate was slightly off, causing intermittent frame freezing, which is odd because this was a made-for-TV feature. The VHS recordings I made 30 years ago of the original broadcast still have better video quality than this DVD (unfortunately, the audio on those tapes has deteriorated to very poor quality). I'm not a videophile, so I found the poor video quality somewhat less than distracting, just disappointing. If you want a high quality DVD version, you'll have to wait until someone does a professional transfer from the original masters, if ever. But, if you can overlook the poor video quality, it's an enjoyable movie. I would also mention that the original broadcast was in three parts, while this version was done as one part spread across two DVDs - I would have preferred the original 3-part presentation.