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| Category | Action | Theatrical Trailer(s) | Yes, 1 |
| Rating |  |
Other Trailer(s) | None |
| Year Released | 1994 | Commentary Tracks | None |
| Running Time | 116 minutes | Other Extras | Booklet |
| RSDL/Flipper | No/No |
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| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region | 4 | Director | Stephen Hopkins |
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Distributor |
Warner Brothers |
Starring | Jeff Bridges
Tommy Lee Jones Lloyd Bridges Forest Whitaker Suzy Amis |
| Case | Amaray | ||
| RRP | $34.95 | Music | Alan Silvestri |
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| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | No | MPEG | None |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Dolby Digital | 5.1 |
| 16x9 Enhancement | Yes | Soundtrack Languages | English (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
| Theatrical Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
| Macrovision | ? | ||
| Subtitles | English
English for the Hard of Hearing |
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Mixed up in all of this is Dove's new wife, Kate (Suzy Amis) a retired Irish policeman, Max (Lloyd Bridges) and a cocky newcomer to the bomb squad, Franklin (Forest Whitaker).
Overall, the plot is mildly interesting, and there are a good number of explosions, though a lot less than you would think given the packaging blurb.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced. The DVD cover indicates incorrectly that this disc is formatted at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.
The transfer was generally sharp and clear, though a few scenes were on the grainy side. Shadow detail was excellent. Very large portions of this movie are shot in almost complete darkness, and detail in these scenes is excellent. However, I would highly recommend watching this movie in complete darkness. No low level noise was apparent.
The colours were clearly rendered and consistent throughout the entire movie.
No MPEG artefacts were seen. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of excessive amounts of aliasing, but this was not as bad as the last MGM DVD I reviewed, Thelma & Louise. Film artefacts were acceptably rare.
Dialogue was usually clear and easy to understand, except for a few words here and there. This was as much a fault of the simulated Irish accents as of the mix.
There were no audio sync problems with this disc.
The music by Alan Silvestri accompanies the on-screen action nicely, along with a number of contemporary and near-contemporary pieces of music.
The surround channels were reasonably used for music and special effects, without being particularly outstanding in this regard. This is despite a very promising start with a superbly enveloping opening title sequence.
The .1 channel was used for the special effects and for the music. I expected more from this soundtrack, however, given the sheer scale of some of the explosions.
The video quality is acceptable.
The audio quality is reasonably good.
The extras present are limited.
| Video |  |
| Audio |  |
| Extras |   |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
© Michael Demtschyna
15th March 1999
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| DVD | Pioneer DV-505, using S-Video output |
| Display | Loewe Art-95 95cm direct view CRT in 16:9 mode, via the S-Video input. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder | Denon AVD-2000 Dolby Digital AddOn Decoder, used as a standalone processor. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | 2 x EA Playmaster 100W per channel stereo amplifiers for Left, Right, Left Rear and Right Rear; Philips 360 50W per channel stereo amplifier for Centre and Subwoofer |
| Speakers | Philips S2000 speakers for Left, Right; Polk Audio CS-100 Centre Speaker; Apex AS-123 speakers for Left Rear and Right Rear; Yamaha B100-115SE subwoofer |