Red Sun

At the start of the Western Red Sun Link (Charles Bronson) and Gauche (Alain Delon) with their band of outlaws rob a train and as part of their haul steal a sword being delivered by the Japanese ambassador to the President of the USA, Gauche murdering one of the Samurai bodyguards in the process. Gauche double crosses Link, leaving him for dead, but Link survives and is then forced to act as guide for Kuroda (Toshiro Mifune, who also appeared in the classic Kurosawa film The Seven Samurai on which The Magnificent Seven - which of course had Bronson in it - was based), another of the ambassadors Samurai to hunt down Gauche, avenge his friend and retrieve the sword. Link also wants to find Gauche but wants him alive so he can retrieve his share of the robbery loot and the pair set off in pursuit...

The sword, the loot and even the reasons the two men pursue Gauche for are really just McGuffins for the journey the two undertake whilst tracking him down; the physical journey of the pursuit (which is wonderfully shot) and the journey the two make from mutual dislike to respect for each other and maybe even friendship. Don't get the idea this is all 'emotional' stuff though as there are plenty of dangers, shootings and sword usage along the way and the pace never really slows that much. The one constant is Link trying to 'persuade' Kuroda (by fair means or foul) to let Gauche live long enough for him to find out where his loot is hidden and Kuroda's determination to avenge his friend and kill Gauche on sight.

All three main leads are superb, Bronson as the tough outlaw is well suited to the role and Kuroda as the perfect honourable Samurai (sworn to ritually kill himself out of shame if he doesn't recover the sword  within just seven days) especially play their parts to the hilt, with the changes of attitude in the characters coming slowly and logically as the two begin to rely on each other for mutual protection from bandits and Indians.
Alain Delon as bad guy Gauche meanwhile seems to be having a great time as the smart, debonair but ruthless criminal, though he's not given much to play off except in the opening scenes and in the (slightly over-stretched out) finalé, the two times when all the leads are together.

The action is pretty graphic and obviously someone has been doing their homework which shows is small things like all the pistols being single action and requiring cocking for each shot, which was accurate for 1870 when the film is set, and also in Kuroda's attitude when the pair stay at a brothel (run by a lover of Links, played by the alluring Capucine) where they kidnap Gauche's girlfriend, Cristina (Ursula Andress) who plays her small role acceptably (the men's attitudes towards women in the film are probably quite realistic but some may find them a bit misogynistic for easy watching).
A lesser script may have had such an 'honorable' man as Kuroda turning down female companionship in such a situation whereas in fact in Japanese culture men were sometimes traditionally offered women for 'pillowing' as part of a host's hospitality so it was quite natural for Kuroda to accept... even ignoring the fact he may only have a day or so to live if he doesn't succeed in his mission!
There are a couple annoying mistakes in the use of Japanese, when not using real Japanese spoken between Japanese characters. One was the use of the phrase Hara Kiri for Japanese traditional Samurai self-sacrifice after losing honour (it was actually only banned from being ordered as a form of capital punishment some 3 years after the film was set, adding to Kuroda's words that the Samurai tradition was dying out) whereas a real Samurai would be much more likely to use Seppuku, Hara Kiri being more of a slang term (though it does have Japanese etymology).The other was when the Japanese ruler is referred to as the Mikado which only came into use after the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta written ten years after the film's setting. Still, these are small things and may have been done deliberately to aid understanding.

Even though the story it tells of the bond forming between the two men is quite straightforward and one that's been seen before and since, it is told very well here, with great scenes of the battling of the two men's wills, and its hung on a basic plot which works well to support the action and drama. The above mentioned attention to detail and the general realism of the Red Sun works massively in its favour and along with some good action set pieces, some worthy acting, well written dialogue and some lovely cinematography make it well worth a watch.

The DVD: (UK, Region 2)
You would hope that when a DVD is released under a banner of "Western Classics" they treat the product as just that, a classic. Sadly this isn't the case here.

Though the print is clean (no obvious dust, sparkle or film damage that I saw) and the colours are probably deliberately muted to add mood, rather than a messed up transfer, the picture is extremely soft and any night scenes show up as 'mushy' with no deep blacks, and quite a bit of over-obvious grain... luckily it's mostly shot in daylight! Even if this is unavoidable due to the original film quality it isn't a good sign when the opening credits sequence has black bars down the sides of the actual image and then switches to a proper image after the credits are complete... unless the original was like this but it seems quite unlikely.

The aspect ratio is at least correct at 1.85:1 (an improvement over previous cropped releases) and the sound is the original mono (dual mono for the DVD and it seems to be very quiet, even for a DVD which has more dynamic range than VHS or than is permitted on TV programmes). However that's where it ends with no subtitles and no extras at all barring the ability to select a scene, not even a trailer (and that was on a previous 'pan and scan' release)... scene selection may have been a revolutionary feature in late 90s when DVD started to replace video tapes, but not what I'd expect of a "Western Classic". The film deserves better even though it is admittedly not that well known a title.

Sanctuary: Season 2, Episodes 7-9

Episode 7 Veritas - All the evidence points to Magnus being guilty of murder and even as Will defends herthat evidence grows. Three telepaths known as 'The Triad' are brought in to uncover the truth and it's discovered that Magnus has been lying about the supposed elimination of a hugely dangerous abnormal 'Big Bertha' years previously.

More a question of 'who and how' as you're pretty sure from the off that Magnus isn't going to turn out to be guilty of murdering a regular cast member this is nonetheless well done with the tension coming out of working out the truth at the same time as Will... though to be fair you do have your suspicions about who will turn out to be the bad guy just because the story tries too hard to convince you they aren't. Some clever ideas make this a clever and enjoyable episode and, interestingly, the first time Amanda Tapping has directed 'solo' (for the episode of Stargate she did she was aided by a regular director).

Episode 8 Next Tuesday - Magnus and Will collect a rare type of abnormal but their helicopter crashes on the return journey leaving them stranded inside a disused oil platform.

Not much of a story - it's all exposition about the past (a bad thing on a visual medium generally), flashbacks to earlier in the day (which gets annoying) and a rather weak monster sub-plot (and the ending is a bit of a cop out really) but the interplay in this two-hander is decent enough and, later in the episode, certainly seems to  be suggesting a possible mutual attraction between Magnus and Will (it would have been better to swap this and the previous episode, Veritas, in my opinion as at least it would have shown why Will was so loyal in the face of the evidence). It's a shame this attraction, which seem more than just respect, is not really expanded upon in coming episodes as it would have added an extra adult dynamic to the show... especially if John Druitt wasn't happy about it.

Episode 9 Pennance - A former gang member, Jimmy, attempts to bring his friend Magnus a rare abnormal but the underground mob he stole it from want it back. After a gunfight Kate is wounded and her and Jimmy hide out whilst the mob closes in... and unpleasant secrets from Jimmy's past are revealed.

The idea behind the device for the normally anger-prone abnormal mob boss is mildly interesting but doesn't really add up on closer examination (why build it and let someone else become boss rather than taking over yourself?) but the twist used against it is quite clever. sadly the rest of the episode is more flashbacks and more exposition based back-stories and even though this time they add into the plot in the end the confrontation involved seems actually less important or realistic than the less exciting and disconnected talk between Will and Magnus last episode, since you know it's not going anywhere and Kate (now she's a good girl team member) isn't going to kill someone who is also basically good, if flawed. Even the ending isn't as shocking as intended because the whole 'mercy shown by Kate' angle is bound to have to payoff somehow.

X-Men 2

Following on soon after the first X-Men film, X-Men 2 (sometimes called X2 or X-Men United) has William Stryker, a mutant-hating covert government operative, working to control and destroy all the mutants on the planet... and an unprovoked mutant assassination attempt on the President gives him the opportunity to carry out his plans.

X-Men 2 has the advantage over the original X-Men film that it doesn't have to introduce a lot of the characters or provide the whole world back story and it uses this advantage to the fullest. Not to say it doesn’t introduce new characters... oh, it does, but by weaving them into the ongoing plot, rather than giving them plots of their own (too many characters with their own full plots is what let down the third in the trilogy) it stops them overwhelming the film and means that the viewer can enjoy the new blood without being confused as to who is who. Of course comic book fans also have the bonus of spotting the new characters before they're named but the film doesn't fall into the trap of this knowledge being a requirement.

The story moves along at a terrific, though never rushed, pace throughout the two and a quarter hours of the film with fantastic action set pieces, with excellent special effects, at regular intervals all following on logically from the plot which is slowly revealed, often in a creative and exciting manner rather than through simple exposition. The characters are all well used and the pretty much all potential "Well couldn’t character X use their power to...?" questions cleverly addressed and simple short-cuts nullified. The writing also makes sure that each character is not just a 'power'; they're all real people with their own personalities and agendas… agendas which see 'villains' and 'heroes' on the same side even when disagreeing on methods. In fact there is significant blurring of the lines between what makes one a hero or another a villain when sometimes it just comes down to the means rather than the end... prejudice and hatred are the real bad guys here.

Four characters I'm going to give a specific mention (not including Sir Ian McKellan who is, as always, magnificent as Magneto); three positives:

Wolverine, of course, holds a lot of the focus of the film and is excellently played by Hugh Jackman as he protects the younger mutants (and it's great to see him really going to town with those claws even though the resultant blood is missing to keep the film at a more child-friendly 12 classification) and continues his quest to find out about his past.

Mystique, (played by wonderfully unselfconscious Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, despite her costume being practically just blue paint in places) with the ability to shapeshift into any person she wants, is used brilliantly to push forward the plot, also adding a touch of tension throughout as the viewer never knows whether who they are watching is her in 'disguise' or not; I actually wish we'd got to know the 'real Raven Darkholme' even better than we do rather than just through her actions in disguise.

Nightcrawler, new to this film, is played excellently by Alan Cumming and his ability to teleport is brilliantly realised on screen - it is just how this fan imagines it would look like based on the comics.

The fourth is sadly a small negative; Lady Deathstrike was really not introduced enough before her 'climactic' battle with Wolverine, taking away from the scene a little because it wasn't made clear how powerful a foe she should be… still, nothing's perfect!

In summary, though, X-Men 2 is one of those rare films which is a sequel that is better than the original with a plot that keeps the viewer engaged without being so convoluted it becomes muddled, top-notch special effects all the way through and 'believable' (in a superhero way) characters each with their own personality and place, adding to rather than diluting the plot, which all adds up to probably the best realised Superhero film made to date.

The Blu-Ray Disc (UK, Region Free)

The 2.40:1 ration image was very good if not quite up to the sharpness of some more recent films released on Blu-Ray, and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 was of a similar standard.

Extras (which I haven't watched yet... sorry!) on the main disc are 2 commentaries (one by the director and director of photography, the other with screenwriters and producers) and 'Bonusview' picture-in-picture interviews and stills as well as some Marvel Universe trailers (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men, X-Men: The Last Stand, Daredevil and Fantastic Four).

A second disc has sections on History of the X-Men (2 featurettes, 23 minutes total), pre, during and post production featurettes (29 1/2, 102 and 28 1/2 minutes respectively), 12 minutes of deleted scenes and a stills gallery.

This is a good chunk of extra content but, to be fair, apart from the Bonusview stuff it was all on the original DVD release so don't expect anything new... though to be even more fair I must point out the US release didn't get the Bonusview material so has nothing new at all!

Additional audio tracks are Hungarian (Dolby 5.1) German and Spanish (both DTS 5.1) and there's also a simple English Dolby 5.1 in case your set up prefers that to the DTS signal.

Subtitles are available in Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish as well as English (for the hard of hearing) and for the Commentaries.

Purchase Tip:

You can get the X-Men 2 Blu-Ray for under £10 now but if, as I do, you like the rest of the X-Men films, search out the X-Men Quadrilogy boxset which includes all three X-Men films and X-Men Origins: Wolverine and you can pick it up for only £6 or so more (which is presently cheaper than getting the Trilogy set for some reason!)... These are all the same region free 2-disc sets as individually, not cut down one-discers; you just don't get the Wolverine Triple play DVD/Digital copies - just the region A/B only Blu-Ray.

At about £4 a film on beautiful Blu-Ray even the lesser ones have got to be considered a bargain!

Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders

Planet of the Spiders starts with ex-UNIT member Mike Yates calling in Sarah Jane to help him investigate strange goings on at a monastic retreat, run by a mysterious Tibetan monk K'anpo and his kindly assistant Cho-je, while the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and the Brig (the late, much lamented Nick Courtney - used her more for comic relief than anything else... and who should be a much better shot in episode 2) investigate psychic activity as part of a pet project of the Doctor's.

Soon the two story strands join together as at the retreat a man named Lupton, with a band of followers, summons a large telepathic spider from Metebelis 3 and the pair team up to retrieve a large blue crystal, taken by the Doctor from that planet on a previous visit.

The action then jumps partly to Metebelis where the Doctor must use his intelligence and wits (as well as a little Venusian Aikido) free the enslaved human population from the tyranny of the "eight legs" and then face his own fears and "The Great One" (voiced by the late Roger Delgado's wife, Kismet) in the final confrontation.

This seems to me to be one of those serials which is often remembered for the negatives.

Yes, the massively long chase scene involving a gyrocopter, the Doctor’s roadster, Bessie, the Whomobile, a speedboat and a mini-hovercraft is a huge indulgence for Jon Pertwee in his final story, because of his love of speedy vehicles, and it could have been finished to the same effect in seconds rather than the 11 minutes it takes.

Yes, the CSO (Colour Screen Overlay - the bluescreen effect) is rather ropey at times, though this isn't unusual for the time.

Yes, the acting from some of the villagers once the story reaches Metebelis is, at times, abominable including a fluffed line William Hartnell would be proud of (one pace forward, Jenny Laird).

But what about the good things in this serial… lets just have a look at some of those.

The return of Mike Yates is a rare use of a character who has actually changed during his time on the show because of events in other serials… a proper personal story arc, and it also makes sense as part of the plot.

The well captured atmosphere in the retreat of deception and conspiracy and, counteracting the poor ‘Metebelan villager’ actors (who were, it must be said, hampered by stilted dialogue trying to show they’re backwardness) are pretty solid performances from all the supporting characters in the scenes set on Earth.

The special effects, barring the already mentioned CSO problems, are simple but extremely effective - the mental energy bolts look good (and line up with the live action) and the spider models are actually rather well made, especially since I believe the design team were advised not to make them too scary for the children (they're much better when they’re not moving I must confess, but compare them to the rubber toyshop ones appearing some 6 years later in the Tom Baker serial Full Circle and they’re masterpieces of terror!)

Lupton is a fantastic character; he’s not an arch-villain, he’s a sales executive upset by poor treatment from his company (I think many of us can relate to that) who just takes advantage of the chance to get the power to get his own back. He’s also played intelligently and believably by John Dearth with some great lines and real personality and it's a shame he’s mostly sidelined as the plot concentrates on the spiders as the real bad guys (well girls) as serial progresses.

The pacing is generally good and instead of just using the usual idea of splitting the 6 part story into two mini sub stories of 4 and 2 episodes, it combines this technique with splitting the story between Earth and Metebelis to keep everything moving along… OK it is helped a bit by that long chase scene and some very long reprises in the latter half but still, it works.

The plot is well structured, introducing new aspects and small twists as well as slowly but remorselessly raising the stakes right up to the end. Also the writing has some lovely lines for many of the characters - for example the rather non-PC treatment of the loyal but mentally 'backwards' Tommy (a surprisingly important character) is brilliantly countered by one of his lines after he's looked into the crystal.

Add to this the fact that Jon is obviously having a ball resulting in a good performance (rather than his sometimes criticised 'phoning it in' ones of some serials near then end of his run) especially as the serial, and his time as the Doctor, reaches its climax… an end faced bravely and stoically rather than lamenting his impending 'death'.

Elisabeth Sladen, too, is on top form as companion Sarah Jane Smith given full rein for the part as she plays the investigator, friend, liberator, and prisoner, all the while never losing her faith in the Doctor... and her smile as she hears the Doctor described as "quite naughty" by K'anpo lights up not only the screen but the whole room where you're watching.

Overall I think the positives far outweigh the really rather minor negatives and if the memory cheats, as Who fans are often told, then Planet of the Spiders is one that has suffered because of it rather than being remembered more fondly (as is the case for some other serials) because it really is a cracking adventure and a worthy send off for Jon Pertwee's Doctor.

--

This review is dedicated to the memory of Elisabeth Sladen who died this week; in fact I heard the tragic news of her passing whilst I had the DVD of this serial paused on her name credit at the end of episode 2. Widely believed, rightly so, to have played the finest companion the Doctor ever had she will be sorely missed but never forgotten.

RIP Elisabeth Sladen 1946-2011.

Sanctuary: Season 2, Episodes 4-6

Episode 4 Hero - There's a Superhero in town and whilst the team try to find out more about him there's also the discovery of a large, newly hatched egg to look into.

A stand alone episode with reasonably straightforward plots that, this time, are not kept totally separate from one another; you do actually feel like both are going on at the same time. There's some definite deliberate humour injected here which works as far as it goes, and in nicely balanced by a 'new girl Kate' subplot which actually has a bit of edge to it and is the best 'introduction to her character' yet.
Overall not bad, with Kate getting the best of it, but I'm missing Druitt and Tesla... and the ending really is a bit "Everyone has a laugh after the action's over" like at the end of each Star Trek episode with Jim, Spock and Bones!

Episode 5 Pavor Nocturnus - Magnus wakes up a few years into the future to discover a post-apocalyptic world where infectious 'zombies' roam the world and most of her team are long dead.

Though this is pretty obviously going to somehow be reset at the end of the episode it still has a tension to it that I'd been waiting for. The muted colours it's shot in add a deliberately downbeat look to it, the sets use more real props and less green screen to get an extra grittiness and the zombie creatures really are suitably scary - my investigations lead me to believe this is actually the only 15 rated episode of the season but obviously that means 15 applies to the whole set
Cast wise the change in character of Will between his usual self and future self is excellently done and Amanda Tapping plays Magnus just perfectly (maybe helped by the fact this episode is being co-written by the series' creator) as she searches for the cure the 'regular time line' her never did.
It is very reminiscent of the "I am Legend" story which has, of course, been done before but this episode is still edgier and more adult than anything else so far (one scene has been stated by Amanda Tapping as the toughest she's ever had to do in her career). The ending has a nice little reveal to it but basically is simple and it works rounding off an excellent, well crafted darker episode.

Episode 6 Fragments - A normally docile abnormal attacks a Sanctuary reseach scientist and the team investigate why but the scientist's husband cares less about why and more about making sure it won't happen again.

A nice little investigation style episode though it gets a bit too CSI: Sanctuary in places and, sadly, is a bit too easy to guess the general direction the outcome will take, in my opinion... maybe I've watched too much crime TV! However, the season is now really starting to miss the more individual "non-team-player" attitudes that Druitt and Tesla's presence gave the early episodes.
A decent enough episode which uses the skills of 'the team' well and does have some relatively mature themes but I'm a bit disappointed with the there being no sign of a new new arc following the apparent end of the Cabal, no new secrets being revealed that would lead to changes and no real character development except in the simplest of senses.

Sanctuary: Season 2, Episodes 1-3

(Contains spoilers for Season 1)

Sanctuary is an organisation designed to protect "abnormals" (any weird sentient beastie... some benign, some nasty ones that need locking up for everyone's good) and humans from each other, run by Dr Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping of Stargate fame) who is over 150 but never ages.

Helping her out there's Will (who's human but has a Sherlock Holmsian deductive ability from visual clues), Henry (tech expert and part time werewolf), John Druitt  (Magnus' ex and possessing nifty teleporting abilities... he went through a 'bad patch' as Jack the Ripper) and Bigfoot (thankfully looking more like the Beast from Beauty and the Beast than from Bigfoot and the Hendersons!).

Episodes 1-2 End of Nights Parts 1 & 2 - Season 2 of Sanctuary starts off pretty much where the cliffhanger for Season 1 left off as the team try to track down Magnus' daughter, Ashley (who's been 'brainwashed' to work for the evil Cabal organisation) and work out what the Cabal have done to her and why. The first episode seems quite 'disconnected' for the first half with too many groups and threads not particularly well interwoven.

It picks up in the second half as the team stick together to start working towards one goal but there's still a sub-plot for Bigfoot which seems very 'tagged on' and unnecessary. After a rather ineffectual cliffhanger episode 2 is more action oriented but, in common with episode 1, the good guys seem to be a little to 'good' to be realistic with only the Tesla and John Druitt adding any edge to the proceedings, which is odd since at least in the UK the set is rated 15 and could therefore be (and could do with being) a bit 'harder'. Tapping does also occasionally up her acting game to show the harder side of Magnus but then lets herself down by being too trusting and motherly. To a certain extent this is quite reasonable but the script  sometimes makes her act this way to the point of stupidity, not aided by some rather stilted and/or clichéd dialogue all round.
The plot, whilst it works reasonably well, is quite derivative (Ashley really is in the Wolverine 'Weapon X' project) and despite being supposedly (well, according to the Cabal) impossible for the Sanctuary team to work out their plan it is actually solved in 2 minutes by Magnus and Nikola Tesla (yes, that Tesla - he's a vampire) having a chat. There are some nice humorous touches though and the final result is reasonably satisfying even if how they reach it is a bit of a cop out and obvious.

Episode 3 Eulogy - An obvious 'respond to the opener, set up for the next one' episode:

In the 'respond to the opener' section of the plot throughout the whole episode I sat there worrying they were going to 'jump the shark' and press some big reset buttons (including some ideas stolen off other shows... there's a blatant Star Trek one in there) but somehow they managed to avoid making the mistake you were fearing they might, despite the over sentimental attitudes on display (and the unexplained and rather annoying 'dream walk' sequences).
In the 'set up for the next one' plot strand the new girl (Kate, who they captured in the first episode) goes through the traditional 'can the untrusted mercenary become a proper member of the team' story in a self-contained little adventure (so self contained it didn't impinge on the other plot line at all which sat rather oddly). The funny ending is, well, fun, and gives a convenient result for future episodes but I think the whole issue should have been played out over a number of episodes as it could have been.

One odd plot choice was that John Druitt gets just about 3 minutes on screen in the whole episode to let everyone know he's actually been doing what the rest of the team probably should have been: (very successfully) going after the Cabal people who almost wiped them out in the first two weeks. I was hoping this would be Episode 4 at least instead of a side comment in this one.
Even though the two main threads did need to be addressed, overall I think this episode is much better when you look back at it after having finished watching. this is because the reasonably satisfying conclusions, in preparation for the rest of the series, are the only pay off for the episode that you get as you breath a sigh of relief that they didn't totally lose any edge the show had. Overall, personally I think in a lot of ways it was the off-screen Cabal hunting storyline that I'd have preferred to actually watch!

The Duchess

The Duchess is an interesting and enjoyable, though moving, drama about the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightly) married off at 17 purely to produce a suitable male heir for the Duke, who seems to care nothing for her at all and in fact not to care much about anything else bar his pet dogs.

Sadly this young Duchess is seemingly only able to produce daughters which places a heavy strain on any little relationship there is; and the Duke's strong attraction to his mistress who lives under the same roof as them doesn't help to ease the situation either!

Being based on a true story I suspected, as I imagine most people watching did,  that it's not all going to 'work out beautifully' but I recognise that this is sometimes a good thing and I've certainly criticised many a all-too-nice Hollywood ending in the past. In this case, the ending as portrayed is true to the historical period in attitude and probably 'best of a bad lot' but because I felt for the well acted and realised characters (especially the Duchess herself) it was hard to see them suffer... I suppose if nothing else that just proves how much I did  relate to these characters, however different their lives are from our own, by the end of the film.

Advertised as an allegory for Princess Di (using the "There were three people in her marriage" tagline as well as the fact that there was a genuine Spencer family connection) but there's really very little of that in on the screen and it's almost totally just marketing department ploy - Keira herself has apparently indicated she's unhappy with the approach taken by the advertising too. There are some contemporary parallels drawn, especially with the forward thinking (for the time) Duchess herself, but it's far from what is implied on the rear cover of the DVD!

What I urge you to do is ignore this supposed Diana parallel and instead sit back with an open mind and drink in this sumptuous, beautifully made, emotionally stirring, well acted and absorbing film... that is what I did and I enjoyed The Duchess as a nice change from my usual action/SF fare (though that's not to say action films can't make you think or care about characters too... especially if they're SF!) and, for what it's worth, my wife and my Mum enjoyed it even more than I did!

Doctor Who: Kinda DVD / Extras

As usual for classic Doctor Who releases the list of extras on the Kinda disc is extensive to say the least, but before we go through them all, the technical bits:

The DVD:
The image is in the correct 4:3 aspect ratio and has, as usual, been restored to full glory by the dedicated Restoration Team, as has the soundtrack (presented in the original mono).
There are English subtitles for those who are hard of hearing and audio navigation of the menus for those who are visually impaired.

On to the extras:

Commentary: Full length commentary across all the episodes featuring Peter Davison (The Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) and Nerys Hughes (Todd, the scientist of this serial) who all seem to have a high regard for the serial and a hugely enjoyable time whilst imparting their anecdotes and information... and yes the "Matthew Waterhouse in second acting job gives advice on acting to Richard Todd who has over 40 years of experience including star role in classic film The Dam Busters" story comes up very quickly...but, unlike some previous occasions, it all seems to me to be meant and taken in good spirit.

Peter Davison is amusing and prepared as always, Matthew gives a decent account of himself, coming across much better than he did in the part some might say, and Nerys adds a nice 'external' view from outside the TARDIS crew. Also Janet Fielding is generally a bit more positive about this serial than some in the past, even when pointing out its weaknesses compared to the new series, which is refreshing, but the real shock is that there are four mentions of hairstyles and she not only didn't start any of them but never mentions her own hair as Tegan once!

Though some of the anecdotes have turned up before generally this is a very interesting and informative commentary which is enhanced by the people on it having a great time!

Dream Time (Making of documentary): An even handed documentary, especially concerning the writer's feeling that the story needed no explanation as it went along and (script editor of the time) Eric Saward's belief that it did. Though not usually a big fan of Saward, and indeed some of his reasoning here I still disagree with, in this case I was personally very glad he won most of the battles in the studio.

My only regret for the documentary is that, given the participants comment on the poor quality of the 'big pink snake' and about the possibility of a CGI one nowadays, I would have loved the participants reactions to the new CGIone that has been created for this DVD!
(34 minutes)

Peter Grimwade - Directing with Attitude: I felt the 'introduction to each question whilst walking around' style was a bit odd (though nice to see Mark Strickson again) but the content I found very interesting though some of the attitudes and points had been made before.
(23 minutes)

Optional CGI and Comparison: The replacement CGI for Kinda is aimed purely at the 'pink snake' scenes at the climax of the serial and boy have the team have really out-done themselves with this one - certainly worth the actual 'side-by-side' comparison feature just to see how good it is.

It's impressive enough the way they managed to replace the rubber snake used at the start of the 'growing' scene when it was about normal python sized, but the full size snake replacement, including adding reflections in all the mirrors surrounding it, that weren't even present on the original, was absolutely outstanding. For me, when watched in the serial itself, it really helped to keep me "in the action" rather than having to work my suspension of disbelief really hard so that the finalé wasn't spoiled by a rather rubbish monster!

The most significant aspect of this particular CGI in my opinion was that it was the first time a 'biologic' had been done. Spaceships, blaster beams and such we've seen before but the team have always said doing living creatures in CGI was much more difficult and (importantly) expensive.Even given that in this case the basic CGI design for the snake was probably already created so it didn't have to be done from scratch (I'm pretty sure it was some sort of Viper recoloured with more pink... I'm sure someone will tell me the variety!) this is a major step forward in the capabilities within budget and I can only hope fervently that at least the few Loch Ness Monster scenes in Terror of the Zygons, and maybe even the awful plastic toys used in Invasion of the Dinosaurs, are now potential candidates for such a CGI makeover... I really hope so.
(1 min 32 sec)

Deleted and Extended Scenes: Though there was no detailed explanation given for the cutting of scenes (at least not associated directly with the scenes, there are some references elsewhere on the disc) I found it interesting to see that a large number would have provided a lot more background to the Sanders/Hindle relationship which would have provided some good background for Hindle's breakdown.
(15 minutes)

Trivia Text: All nicely timed for easy reading and with plenty of information to impart, especially about the Buddhist and Sanskrit references such as the meaning of the names of the characters and how that actually fits with the story.

Also on the disc there is an automated Photo Gallery (4 1/2 minutes), Trails and Continuity announcements for the show (the BBC Received Pronunciation style of speaking always makes me nostalgic - 4 minutes), PDF Documentation of the Radio Times billings for the serial and a "Coming Soon Trailer" for the Revisitations 2 set.

Fans of the music for the episode will also be pleased to learn there is an Isolated Score soundtrack which they can select.

Overall, therefore, a great package of special features with, I think, something for everyone from hardcore fan to first time watcher.

Interlude...

There will now be a short interlude whislt my laptop is rebuilt after a hard disk failure resulting in Blue Screen of Death on start-up taking quite a few of my review notes with it...

... please use your imaginations to pretend there is soothing music and possibly pictures of toy Daleks bumping into each other on your TV screen.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Conagher

Conagher is a western based on the Louis L'Amour novel (that I haven't read) and on watching the film you get a very strong sense it was sticking very closely to that novel... and whilst I have read high praise for this by fans of the book I personally think it was a mistake for the film.

Sam Elliot (tough cowboy) as Conn Conagher is supposed to come 'in and out of the life of' a widow (played by his real-life wife, Katharine Ross) and slowly fall for her... personally I'm not sure if he falls slowly (it is set over a long period of time) or really quickly given the amount of time they actually spend together before the end of the film - they actually only meet for the time it takes to eat one meal and then not again in the first 1 1/4 hours of the film.

During their long time apart it seemed to me that the book would have been describing their thoughts of each other whilst telling their separate tales (their stories are linked only by the widow attaching notes of her thoughts to tumbleweed and letting it head off into the wilderness, which Connagher occasionally finds) but the film has great difficulty getting their feelings and thoughts about each other over to the viewer unless that viewer is one of those that's read the book already.

Mis-sold (in my opinion) as an actioneer on the cover, there are a few low key fights but essentially for the two leads the main storyline comes across of more of a Mills & Boon romance than anything else. There are some excellent character pieces centring around the ethics and actions of Elliot as he moves through the authentic feeling story, and some very good work from Ross too as she struggles in her new life. In fact both roles are very well acted but they're just never together on screen long enough for me to get any real sense of their feelings about each other and it's all too low key.

With Conagher if you've read and like the book the I think you'll like the film, because it remains true to the novel and you'll also be able to fill in the film's blanks, but otherwise only go for it if you're willing to do a lot of the director's work for him and are not expecting a lot of shoot 'em up, tough guy action.

The DVD (UK, Region 2):
A made for TV movie from 1991 this is presented in its original 4:3 aspect ratio and with the audio in Dolby Digital Surround.

Optionally you've got a mono French dub and subtitles in just about every language you're likely to need; as well as English there's Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovenian, Swedish and Turkish!

Sadly, being a TV movie, there's just some trailers for other Warner Home Video products as an extra.