Far and Away

ID: PA-HD81287

Price: 25,000 yen

Discs: 2

Sound: A-Mode / EFM

Running Time: 2:20

Released: Panasonic

from IMDb

Joseph Donnelly, a young Irishman facing property eviction after his father's death, decides to take revenge on

Daniel Christie, his landlord. Instead of killing Christie, however, he is injured and sentenced to a duel with

Christie's arrogant manager, Stephen Chase, Christie's manager. Meanwhile, Shannon, Daniel's daughter, is

growing dissatisfied with the traditional views of her parents' generation and longs to be modern. She makes her

plans to leave for America, and with her help, Joseph is able to escape. Upon arriving in Boston, Mass., they find

jobs and begin saving money. Joseph becomes a local barehands boxer, while Shannon works in a chicken

processing plant and then as a dancer at the social club. All goes well until Joseph loses a boxing match, after

which their money is taken away. Joseph and Shannon are left to starve in the winter cold. Shannon's parents, still

in Ireland, face a devastating loss and decide to come to America to be with her. Chase, who joined them, has

begun a campaign to find her, but his efforts are unnecessary Joseph brings Shannon to them after an accident.

Joseph then heads west to work on the railroad. After many months, Joseph is confronted by his father in a

dream, and is reminded of his desire to own his own land. Joseph decides to join the wagon trains and arrives in

Oklahoma Territory just in time for the big land race, upon which his fate will lie.

Kind of shocking considering other Panasonic releases, but this film is actually not bad looking at all, but rather good looking. There are lots of details both in low lit scenes as well as the outdoor scenes. Where the film was shot lends itself very well to the Hi-Vision format. Colors appear balanced (not over saturated or dull), and picture detail is very good.

MUSE compression artifacts are present, but do not detract from the picture very much. They come across as grain as opposed to the mosquitos that can plague MUSE movies.

Just a good well balanced picture, not much I can say bad about it.

Sound is also well balanced and very lively and enveloping (EFM tested). There is minimal low frequency effects, and surround channels aren’t very active nor should they be.

Just a well balanced disk, can’t say good or bad, but the movie is a little on the slow side.